Past/Archived Announcements

PAST/ARCHIVED ANNOUNCEMENTS – 2018

UPDATE November 20, 2018: WestConn Without Borders, a new student club on campus is co-sponsoring a“Spirituality With or Without Religion” event as a part of the WCSU Holiday Celebrations Around the World program that is hosted by the Office of Intercultural Affairs. The event will take place on Saturday, December 1, 2018, at 5:00 p.m., in the Westside Campus Center Ballroom, and a reception will be held following the event at 6:30 p.m.The program is free and open to the public!The keynote speaker will be Mr. Benjamin Teixeira de Aguiar, a United Nation’s Lecturer and Founding President of the Quantum Leap Institute, a NGO detached from any formal religious movement, established in 1988, with the main purpose of promoting the ideals of happiness, peace, and universal fraternity. The Quantum Leap Institute has a Special Consultative Status within UN’s Economic and Social Council (“ECOSOC”), allowing it 10-voting seats within the United Nations. Benjamin holds yearly lectures in New York City at the United Nations and/or The Freedom Tower, focused on the defense and development of essential spiritual principles for the consolidation of peace in the world, solidarity amongst people, and the integral evolution of humanity. This year, we have the honor of hosting this lecture at WCSU! Benjamin will bring these ideas and principles to WCSU in order to promote the concept of being spiritual with or without organized religion.
Please click here to view the noted flyer for the event and also click here to view a biography of Benjamin Teixeira de Aguiar. As a club, actively promoting inclusion, understanding, and acceptance, we appreciate your support in attending this event.
UPDATE November 14, 2018: WestConn Without Borders, a new student club on campus that is dedicated to breaking down “borders” that confine and label people, creating a space of inclusion, acceptance, and community is hosting a training session on campus on Monday, November 26^th, 2018 from 4:45 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. in Midtown Student Center (MTSC) Room 201. This training is open to all WCSU students and graduates! The training is geared around educating student leaders on how to interact and be conscious of undocumented students in the workplace, classroom, etc. Usually, this event is traditionally for faculty, however Connecticut Students for a Dream (“C4D”) is altering the program to fit college students and professionals in the workplace. A certificate of completion will be provided after the three hour training making this is a great resume builder! Please click here to view the noted flyer for the event. To sign up, please refer to the link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0B4CA8A723A7FA7-training. There are only 50 slots available, so students should sign up quickly to ensure their spot!
UPDATE June 4, 2018: The “New American Dream Foundation” is taking nominations for its “New American Dreams Awards”. There are three (3) categories, one for general nominations, one for students, and one for veterans. To qualify someone must be an immigrant or from an immigrant family, and must be from “fairfield county area”. Finalists in each category get tickets to a fancy gala, and winners get a $2,000 scholarship. Nominations are due June 15, 2018. Nominate any students that you know who need a scholarship! Please click here for more information and/or to obtain the nomination form.
UPDATE May 22, 2018: Connecticut Students 4 A Dream (C4D) has introduced a Summer Program for aspiring youth organizers interested in advocacy work. The C4D “Youth Organizing in Action” Summer Program offers participants with an opportunity to learn how one participant can make a difference and learning more about leadership skills. Registration is open, but spaces are limited. Please click here for more information about the program and how to register.
UPDATE April 25, 2018: The House passed AN ACT ASSISTING STUDENTS WITHOUT LEGAL IMMIGRATION STATUS WITH THE COST OF COLLEGE, in concurrence with the Senate. The bill was immediately transmitted to the Governor for signature. This is a true victory for many who have worked tirelessly to offer undocumented students equal access to educational resources in the state. Wait a go!
UPDATE April 23, 2018: Connecticut Student’s For A Dream is hiring for a full time Communications and Development Manager to join the C4D Team. If you are interested, please review the linked posting for details and how to apply.
UPDATE April 20, 2018: The University’s Undocu-Ally Taskforce sent a letter of support to state legislators to request support for undocumented students. Please click here to view the letter sent.
The Center for Children’s Advocacy will be hosting an immigration forum/event called “From Aspirations to Achievement” on Wednesday, April 4, 2018, from 9:30 – 11:30 a.m., at Eastern Connecticut State University, Betty Tipton Room. For more information about the event. please click here for details. Members of C4D will be participating and providing information about barriers to achievement for immigrant youth and community organizing.
UPDATE March 1, 2018: Please attend the upcoming C4D statewide meeting on Saturday, March 10, 2018, from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m., at the Centra Civico, 20 West Street, Danbury – C4D Statewide Meeting – #AffordToDream – Facebook Event. Meet youth from around the state, Food and beverages will be provided. Please review the attached event flyer for more details.
UPDATE February 18, 2018: “Supporting Undocumented Students: Lessons from Berkeley”Event on Thursday, March 1, 2018, from 1:00 – 2:00 PM at the Harvard School of Public Health.GUEST SPEAKER: Meng So is a Bay Area based educator, strategist, and community organizer. As a Cambodian refugee, he’s always felt a deep commitment towards issues of immigration, political identity, and educational equity. He is the founder and director of the Undocumented Student Program at UC Berkeley, coordinating efforts to initiate and enact a comprehensive agenda that responds to the needs of first-generation, low-income, undocumented students. The program has quickly emerged as embodying best practices of support that are now being replicated at other universities in California and nationwide. Today, Meng serves on the University of California Presidential Task Force on Undocumented Students, and the Leadership Board of Educators for Fair Consideration (E4FC). He is a Rockwood Immigrant Rights Fellow for a New California and lends his voice to national efforts to advocate for comprehensive immigration reform. He believes in the power community coalition building through radical love, storytelling, soul-hugging. WHY YOU SHOULD JOIN: Hear about the Undocumented Student Program’s genesis and his perspective on creating institutional support for undocumented students. RSVP NOW — Lunch provided to attendees: https://harvard.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_54uJGx1lZwLGw3b
UPDATE February 18, 2018: WCSU Student Government Association (SGA) is hosting a Town Hall Meeting on Wednesday, February 28, 2018 at 3:30 p.m., in the Midtown Student Center Theater. There will be a live presentation by members of Connecticut Students For a Dream (C4D) and panel discussion to follow. Refreshments will be served. Please click here to view the SGA flyer.
On Monday, February 26, 2018, the Supreme Court has refused to make a decision about the injunction reopening DACA. This means that USCIS will continue to accept DACA renewals. No new applications will be accepted to the program which is unfortunate; but renewals will continue to be accepted. As a reminder, CT Students for a Dream is once again able to offer scholarships for students who are looking to renew their DACA to cover the $495.00 fee that is associated with renewing. Here is the link that students can use to fill out a scholarship application – www.bit.ly/CTDACAScholarship2018. You can find more information here as well: http://bit.ly/dacatpsdreamjan2018edu.
UPDATE February 13, 2018: News feed on CT Dreamers testimony to the Legislative Higher Education Committee on equal access of financial aid for undocumented students.
UPDATE January 25, 2018: Open Letter to Congress regarding DACA from President Mark Ojakian
UPDATE January 24, 2018: News feed on community forum held at WCSU and organized by Republican Elizabeth Esty, The forum was attended by members of the WCSU community to discuss the DREAM Act, immigration, DACA and related issues at the federal level.
UPDATE January 5, 2018: The Immigration Detention and DACA (IDD) Clinic at UConn Law School is offering legal consultations for people who have lost, or will be losing, protection they previously had under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) or Temporary Protected Status (TPS) programs. The consultations will provide advice on possible immigration avenues, and assistance on DACA renewal for those who qualify, but the IDD Clinic is generally not equipped to provide further representation. The consultations will be performed by teams of law student interns under the supervision of an experienced attorney. Consultations and any other services will be free of charge (except for potential filing fees) and will likely require two or more meetings at the UConn Law School in Hartford. If you would like a consultation with the IDD Clinic, please contact Jon Bauer, at jon.bauer@uconn.edu or 860-570-5205, or Anna Cabot, at anna.cabot@uconn.edu or 860-570-5460.
UPDATE January 1, 2018: CT Students For A Dream Update on TPS, DACA & DREAM Act

PAST/ARCHIVED ANNOUNCEMENTS – 2017

On April 13, 2017, the College Presidents of all 17 Connecticut State Colleges & Universities (CSCU) sent a collective letter to President Trump requesting his support for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.’
On March 28, 2017, the Office of Governor Dannel Malloy released a Family Preparedness Plan Toolkit. The toolkits can be found in English and Spanish.
On September 13, 2017, CSCU presented a resource page to frame the CSCU position clearly and provide access to external information that may be helpful. The CSCU page is preliminary, and we will continue to add information as it becomes available.

US LABOR MIGRATION: POLITICS AND POLICY: Attorney Daniel Costa, director of Immigration Law and Policy Research at the Economic Policy Institute, will discuss “U.S. Labor Migration: Politics and Policy” on November 6, 2017, at 6 p.m. in Ives Concert Hall in White Hall on the WCSU Midtown campus, 181 White St. in Danbury. Labor migration — the movement of persons from one country to another for the purposes of employment — is a complex and often controversial issue in most countries. Costa will offer a background on the basics of the U.S. labor migration systems, including the various pathways through which migrants enter the U.S. labor market, and explore key themes within the context of what a fair immigration system should look like. The talk will be free and the public is invited. It is funded by a grant from The Macricostas Family Arts & Sciences Endowed Speaker Series. For more information, visit staging.www.wcsu.edu/news/2017/10/19/macricostas-lectures-bring-immigration-and-greek-history-to-wcsu/