 "Photo: Christian Holland, CC")
Last Thursday, I stood in the visitor entrance to the Massachusetts State House, delighting in the anticipation that permeated the tiny lobby. People of all nationalities surrounded me, and my ears were filled with the sounds of greetings, as friends recognized each other in the line to the metal detector. My peers and I filed through and were immediately directed by guards and people with signs to Gardner Auditorium. The anticipation heightened as we descended the stairs, and the amplified voice of a man was distinctly heard. The table outside the auditorium was manned by students and young adults who greeted us warmly. Once we filled out our interest cards, we were ushered into the hall.
We were at a rally organized by the Student Immigrant Movement, whose banner was prominently placed above the central podium of the hall. Over 200 people had shown up to convince Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts to approve in-state tuition for undocumented students who have resided in the U.S. and graduated from a U.S. high school. One of the leaders of the Student Immigration Movement, José Palma, was already speaking when we entered, so we made our way past the rows of people and sat toward the back.
The following hour and a half was a daze of moving words, accent-tinted stories, cheers, standing ovations and cries of “Sí, se puede!” I feverishly took notes the entire time, but I could have quoted every word they said. Palma said, “We don’t want anything for free,” and many people around me nodded in solemn agreement.
The next speaker was State Senator Sonia Chang-Díaz (D-Boston), who co-sponsors the in-state tuition bill. At first, she was strictly a politician. She discussed the reasons for supporting the bill: fairness and “what is smart,” as she put it. She urged everyone to talk to their representatives, to send letters and especially to emphasize the role of money. Money makes people listen, and in this case of in-state tuition, it is the money that can put “the people first, and the politics last.” Senator Chang-Díaz then talked about her background. She spoke honestly and proudly of her father, Franklin Ramón Chang-Díaz, who came from Costa Rica with “$50 in his pocket.” After a very difficult start in high school, he obtained a scholarship to the University of Connecticut and after years of education, became one of the first Hispanic Americans to go into space. He now runs Ad Astra Rocket Company, and Senator Chang-Díaz praised him as one of the classic examples of an immigrant giving back to the country that welcomed him. He gave his time, his money, his perseverance and his acute mind to the progress of the United States. Ending with this powerful anecdote, Senator Chang-Díaz left the podium to tumultuous applause.
Another speaker was Thomas Pineros Shields (GA ’96), a sociology professor from Brandeis University. In 2004, he was doing research on students’ involvement with civic life. He said he was very discouraged by the results, as most students seemed to just pad their résumés. However, he met East Boston students who “called the State House their second home.” They threw themselves wholeheartedly into their roles as citizens, and they inspired him to write his dissertation on them in 2006. At this point during his speech, the East Boston kids let loose their ear-splitting cheers and applause; their teacher was translating all the speeches into Spanish for them. Dr. Shields made several compelling arguments and cited several reports that economically supported the bill. These will be used in future editorials in response to criticisms of in-state tuition and the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act.
Interspersed with all these speakers were the stories of high school students. They varied in their interests and aspirations. One student, originally from Brazil, had won the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship, only to realize upon opening the letter that she had to be a U.S. citizen to receive it. One was a shy, aspiring physics major who could not get paid for his time-consuming and exhausting internship at UMass Dartmouth because he lacked a Social Security number. They all captivated the crowd with their honesty and sheer courage; they looked out into the audience with a brazen, empowered look in their eye.
“We are all citizens here by heart,” one said frankly. Grace Ross, a 2010 Democratic candidate for governor of Massachusetts, swiftly connected to this line. She described the history of the United States as one of a perpetual struggle between the people on the inside and the people on the outside, and “the inside people always win.” The Student Immigrant Movement students behind the podium were all nodding in consensus, for the movement draws many ideas and inspiration from the Civil Rights Movement.
The rally was brought to a closer, more intimate ending with the words of a young man named Chris Lagunas. He took the microphone from the podium and walked in front of the seats instead, speaking nostalgically of the beginning of the movement. Five years ago, on the Grand Staircase at the Massachusetts State House, Lagunas saw the beginnings of what had bloomed into a hugely supportive community and network of immigrants. He discussed the motto of Centro Presente, a Latin American immigrant organization: “¡Unión, Poder, y Justicia!” A chant of the three words erupted, and then evolved into “¡Sí, se puede!”
When I left the State House that afternoon, my ears ringing and the pages of my notebook full, I realized the enormity of the Student Immigrant Movement’s actions. They had accomplished their “unión,” for the crowd pouring out of the State House doors was remarkable; they had recognized their “poder,” or power, for they had logic, reports and evidence on their side; now, they were demanding their justice: “justicia.”
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Suzanne Lis is a freshman who has not yet declared a major. She is the student and academic outreach coordinator for Students at Tufts Acting for Immigrant Rights.
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