The Academic Senate Meeting held on Jan. 31 at 2:00 p.m., discussed several items of change occurring throughout the California State University, Stanislaus (Stan State) campus. However, it was the discussion of available resources to faculty and students that would be affected by potential changes to federal immigration laws that emerged as the topic of interest that evening.
There to convey the available campus faculty and student resources stood Noelia Gonzalez, Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, and Carolina Alfaro, Assistant Director of Admissions and Outreach Services.
Accompanying Gonzalez and Alfaro that evening was Solange Goncalves Altman, Attorney Coordinator of Immigration Services from El Concilio, who made it her goal to provide as much clarification on services available to faculty and students in need of the assistance.
“There are people who are fighting really hard for them,” Altman said. “They need to fight too though. They need to be out there and advocate and make their views known. This is a time for lots of advocacy on different levels.”
According to Gonzalez, the campus has taken the initiative to train their staff and educate faculty and students on legal rights they are entitled to as well as services directly available to them.
“It depends on what they’re looking for advice for,” Gonzalez stated. “Their stories are important too, so students can share their stories, so people can recognize that they’re human beings and deserve to be treated as such.”
Services available directly on campus include counseling in the Counseling Center or Admissions and Outreach Services. These services are available to all who seek advice on what part they can play in assisting others and alleviating further confusion.
“We’re going to do our best to help them and to work things out,” Altman said.
Faculty and students will be referred to El Concilio if they wish to seek further legal advice in regards to potential changes made to immigration law and its enforcement.
Stuart Sims, Speaker of the Faculty, posed this question to Gonzalez, Alfaro and Altman, “What can we do, as teachers and colleagues of vulnerable folks, if they come to us and express fear, if they express a need of some kind, of anything?”
Gonzalez response was the Dreamers Summit, a conference established to educate individuals on the most recent policy changes on immigration as well as extended resources available to individuals in need of the assistance. Alfaro stated that, as of Jan. 31, 104 students and staff have signed up for the conference.
The conference will be taking place in the Event Center from 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. on Feb. 24 where experts will come in to talk about what will be directly effecting students and faculty in the near future. Gonzalez, who is also the chair of the Dreamers committee, highly encouraged all individuals interested to sign up online at the Dreamers Summit page located on Stan State’s website. For more information on the Dreamers Summit, contact (209) 667-3070.
 “For people who are in this position right now, not knowing what’s going to happen, their best bet is to focus on their work, to do well, to stay out of trouble, to continue to be good citizens and to go out and express their political views,” Altman said.
Should the need arise; contact Altman at (209) 523-2860 or by email at [email protected] for additional legal counsel regarding potential changes to immigration laws.