MHCC students join fight for tuition equity

As proponents and opponents for tuition equity testified back and forth across the Capitol in Salem Wednesday, seven MHCC students added their input through personally political Valentine’s Day cards.

Eduardo Ortiz, MHCC student senator of legislation, led the group from MHCC to Salem. “We got a group of students together . . . and we made Valentine’s cards,” he said. “Basically we did arts and crafts — it was really fun — then we put in little messages like ‘support tuition equity.’ Just like your average Valentine’s card, with a little political twist.”

Laura Aguon, Associated Student Government director of state and federal affairs, added, “They [the cards] had a lot of information in them. A lot of them said ‘support equality, support education for all’ and ‘education is a human right’ and we asked them to be our tuition equity supporters.” Aguon said the cards were handed out to Oregon legislators.

Tuition equity is up in the Oregon Legislature under House Bill 2787. If approved, the bill would grant in-state tuition to undocumented students attending public colleges and universities if they pass certain requirements including: attending school in the U.S. for five years, studied at an Oregon high school for three years, graduated from high school and have an affidavit with an Oregon public college or university stating the student has or is planning on applying for citizenship.

Ortiz said he has a personal reason for being involved with lobbying for tuition equity.

“I have a friend who is undocumented and was brought here as a young child,” he said. “Her brother, who is a year older, is enrolled at Mt. Hood Community College, but unfortunately, she’s the middle child and she is now college-age too, but unfortunately her parents have to say ‘wait until your brother graduates because we can’t afford the tuition of community college.’

“I can’t imagine how sad it must be for her parents and for her to be told ‘wait on your degree and education because we can’t afford it’,” said Ortiz.

In a Wednesday article posted on oregonlive.com by Yuxing Zheng, Karla Castaneda, a Parkrose High School junior, testified Wednesday that even though she takes Advanced Placement courses, does theater and mock trials, organized a fundraise for Special Olympics and is on varsity water polo, she would have to pay out-of-state tuition and therefore would be unable to afford to go to college.

Ortiz said Thursday, “These stories are not needles in a haystack. It’s a story that applies to a lot of people that would be affected by this bill. As a Latino and as someone who goes to a community college, I’m surrounded by people who would be affected by this in a positive way.”

As MHCC students were in Salem Wednesday meeting with legislators, their voices joined with those of more than 1,000 other students and lobbyists, according to Aguon.

One of the lobbyists was Jazmin Roque, the co-chair of Oregon Students of Color Coalition, board member of Oregon Student Association (OSA) and a junior majoring in political science at Southern Oregon University.

“Students from all over the state and representative of as many districts as we possibly can to come in and talk to our legislators as students and constituents and let them know that this is an issue that we are deeply about and have been working on for the past ten years,” of Wednesday’s efforts.

“We are talking about the issue and making sure that we are being as educational as possible with our facts, our numbers and our figures and making sure that the legislators understand some of the nuances and the misconceptions that might get lost in some of the language and argumentation that goes on between conversations of tuition equity,” she added.

“During the hearing today and during our lobby visits, because legislators are more acclimated to the issue and it’s something that isn’t necessarily new to them,” Roque said. “We’ve definitely seen a really good response from our representatives and our senators in support, as well as being responsive to a lot of the concerns that folks have,” she said.

“I couldn’t gauge what the entire Oregon legislators’ feelings are about tuition equity, but there have been a lot of positive feelings not only in the hearings today, but with our meetings and just in the Capitol surrounding tuition equity,” she added.

Roque said OSA that is working with 20 other coalitions to formulate their strategy for continuing to lobby legislators on behalf of tuition equity.

In the oregonlive.com articles, State Rep. Michael Dembrow, D-Portland, said that he expects the House of Representatives to vote on the bill next week.