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National Hispanic Scholarship Fund: Open Up Scholarship Monies to DREAM Students

As peoples who take the education of our communities seriously, and who have been past recipients and/or seen the NHSF support many students, we are hereby petitioning you to change your policy on scholarship eligibility so that DREAM students are eligible to receive NHSF scholarships. Your work is to be applauded because you have already awarded more than 1.5 million scholarships to students since 1975, totaling $368 million. It would be great if DREAM students were part of your mission and success because outside of their legal status, they are little different than the students that you have already assisted throughout the years. To open up your scholarship monies for DREAM students would not contradict your stated goal; in fact, it would adhere to it…

To the Chair and Board of Directors of the National Hispanic Scholarship Fund:

As peoples who take the education of our communities seriously, and who have been past recipients and/or seen the NHSF support many students, we are hereby petitioning you to change your scholarship policy so that DREAM students are eligible to receive NHSF scholarships.

Your work is to be applauded because you have already awarded more than 1.5 million scholarships to students since 1975, totaling $368 million. It would be great if DREAM students were part of your mission and success because outside of their legal status, they are little different than the students that you have already assisted throughout the years. To open up your scholarship monies for DREAM students would not contradict your stated goal; in fact, it would adhere to it: “we envision a future when every Hispanic household benefits from someone in the family with a college degree-creating an enduring impact for generations to come.”

Currently, it would be very difficult to accomplish your goal without that policy change. As you know, DREAM students are some of the brightest and hardest working students in our nation’s schools. With DACA (Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals), now many are eligible to go to college, but they simply lack monies to continue with their education, which as you well know, is exorbitant at most colleges and universities. This is where NHSF comes in. Perhaps when NHSF was envisioned, the need was not as great. However we live in a different time and a different era. You have the opportunity to affect the lives of many thousands of young peoples’ lives. All it takes is for you to change your policy.

We expect you to do so, (we see no obstacle to you making this policy change) because it is both legal and within your power to do so, but moreover, it is also the moral thing to do. If you do change your policy, what you will find is that many of us will also gladly and enthusiastically contribute for this specific purpose to the NHSF.

Sincerely

Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez, Asst. Prof. University of Arizona,
2013 Baker-Clarke Human Rights Award recipient (AERA)

Angela Valenzuela, Professor, College of Education, University of Texas at Austin

Rudy Acuña, Emeritus professor, Cal State University Northridge

Dr. Christine Marin. Professor Emeritus. University Archives. Arizona State University.

Roberto D. Hernandez, Asst Professor San Diego State University

Michelle Tellez, Arizona State University

Silvia Toscano Villanueva, Assistant Professor, Pasadena City College

Lilliana Patricia Saldaña, Asst. Professor, University of Texas at San Antonio

Javier San Roman, President of the California Association of Mexican American Educators

Ellen Riojas Clark, Ph. D. Professor Emeritus University of Texas at San Antonio

Cueponcaxochitl Dianna Moreno Sandoval, Ph.D., Post-Doctoral Fellow, ASU

Enrique G. Murillo, Jr., Ph.D. President, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CONSORTIUM OF HSIs,
Executive Director, (LEAD) ORGANIZATION

Devon G. Peña, Ph.D. Professor of American Ethnic Studies and Anthropology, University of Washington

Click here to sign the petition.

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