Thread: CBU event preps immigrant families on college process

CBU event preps immigrant families on college process

By Daniel Connolly
Posted October 19, 2011 at midnight


Organizers are contacting English as a Second Language teachers and ethnic news media to spread the word about a Nov. 7 event at Christian Brothers University that aims to educate immigrant parents and their children about going to college.

Several local colleges as well as the Shelby County and Memphis City school systems are backing the event, called "Making the most of your American education." Speakers will cover topics such as how to apply to college, how to get financial aid and scholarships, and what students should expect once they're in college.

It's for immigrant families from all nations, and there will be a breakout session in Spanish and possibly other sessions in Vietnamese and other languages.

Many immigrants in the Mid-South are Hispanic and advocacy group Latino Memphis is organizing transportation to the event from its Hickory Hill offices.

The head of Latino Memphis, Mauricio Calvo, is married to Yancy Villa-Calvo, a CBU staffer and a lead organizer of the event. Mauricio Calvo said there are several reasons why Hispanic students often don't go to college. Some don't have a strong academic background and others can't afford college, he said, and though children born here are U.S. citizens, some other youths lack legal immigration status.

It's often possible to work around these issues, he said, but many immigrant parents have little education themselves and don't understand the system. That's why it's important to hold the event on a real college campus, even though it's less convenient for some families than holding it in a local community center, he said.

"The idea is to have a family event, get them to the university so they can see what it looks like," he said.

More Hispanic children are living in poverty nationwide than children of any other racial or ethnic group, according to Washington's Pew Hispanic Center.

"They're the poorest of the poor, and the only way we'll break that cycle is with education," Calvo said.

The Obama administration recently urged immigration officials to consider mitigating factors before deporting someone, including whether the person is a child or came to this country as a child and finished high school here.

Though the government has shown a reluctance to deport young people who lack papers, there is controversy over what educational opportunities should be available to them.

For instance, GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry, governor of Texas, has been criticized for signing a law that allows illegal immigrant youths to pay in-state tuition at public universities.

Calvo emphasizes that the CBU event isn't designed just for illegal immigrant youth and that many children of immigrants are citizens. But he argues that society should help children of immigrants attain education regardless of their immigration status.

"The alternative is to have people on welfare, to have them in jail. To have them in the gangs . . . Even if you're fiscally conservative, education is a better route. You will spend less money educating someone than keeping them in prison for life."

Hispanics make up nearly one in four young people under the age of 18 in the United States, according to 2010 Census data.

Tennessee's Hispanic youth population grew from 39,000 to 108,000 between 2000 and 2010. It was the second-fastest Hispanic youth growth rate in the nation after South Carolina, and Hispanics now make up 7.2 percent of the state's population under 18.

-- Daniel Connolly: (901) 529-5296

"Making the most of your American education"

6 p.m., Monday, Nov. 7 at Christian Brothers University, 650 East Parkway South.

Participants are encouraged to let organizers know in advance that they're coming. Contact Abasi McKinzie of the Shelby County Schools, (901) 873-8130, amckinzie@scsk12.org. Or contact Yancy Villa-Calvo, (901) 321-3502 or yvilla@cbu.edu.

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It's often possible to work around these issues, he said, but many immigrant parents have little education themselves and don't understand the system. That's why it's important to hold the event on a real college campus, even though it's less convenient for some families than holding it in a local community center, he said.

It's a complete waste of time and money, the ONLY system these parents understand is cold, hard cash. Going to college does not immeddiately put money in their pockets and talking won't do it.

Trust me, been there, experienced it myself with my parents.