Skip to content

"Dreamers celebrate 5 years of DACA program as its fate looms"

ELP graduate, Alonso Reyna Rivarola, and ELP Masters Student, Brianda De Leon, were featured in the Salt Lake Tribune’s article titled, “Dreamers celebrate five years of DACA as its fate looms”.Reyna Rivarola is the director of the newly founded Dream Center at the U and De Leon is the first graduate assistant attributed to the center. Student advocacy along with faculty and staff support called for the university to pay attention to the needs of undocumented students and their families. Thus, the Dream Center was created with four foundational goals: 1) specialized outreach & access, 2) Individualized mentorship and scholarship support, 3) Campus-wide advocacy & trainings, 4) Community-wide awareness. At the Dream Center Reyna Rivarola and the team, work around the clock with students, families, community members, and faculty and staff to ensure that students have their needs met.

The Dream Center is critical in today’s political climate as we approach the decisions of September 5th, 2017 which will determine the future of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), the 2012 executive order which provides a two-year relief from deportation and access to a temporary work permit. The Dream Center not only provides resources, but also provides a space for students to work together, understand each other, and advocate for the continuity of DACA and other support systems on campus. For more information please contact dream@utah.edu or view the website at http://engagement.utah.edu/dream-center/.

 

Last Updated: 3/15/21