Take Back the Night, Selma to Montgomery, and the Black Lives Matter movement. Throughout history, protests have defined the younger generation. Displeased with the current political climate, fighting for what we believe in can seem rebellious to some but righteous to others. Within the California State University system, the next great movement could be starting.
The California State University system has partnered with the California Department of Social Services to provide legal services on immigration issues to all students, staff, and faculty on all 23 CSU campuses. This program launched in August, and California State University, East Bay is already working toward making these services readily available for students for the rest of the year.
“The CSU system has contracted four providers throughout the state to deliver direct legal services to CSU campuses,” a press release from the California State University system reads. “Attorneys, paralegals, and/or accredited representatives will visit campuses on a routine basis determined by the number of students who need to be served on each campus.”
The Know Your Rights campaign, spearheaded by Associated Students Incorporated and the multiple immigration lawyers provided by Immigrant Legal Defense in Oakland, is a program that aims to provide students and staff with necessary advocacy and information that is required for filing for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) or another form of residency in the United States.
“We’re on each campus two times a month, and we sort of provide a legal presence. It is to provide legal support, legal presence, and we can take cases if there is something to be done,” attorney Kaitlin Kalna Darwal said in an interview.
Although this campaign is in its early stages, ASI has been working toward providing services and support for students and faculty for a few semesters.
“This has been a work in progress for a while. This year we’re really trying to amp up the campaign. We plan on having two more events [of this scale] this semester,” Bronte Kuehnis, an ASI chair and facilitator of the event said.
ASI also held a march for alumni Isabel Bueso who was at risk for deportation last month after President Donald Trump rolled back protections for those with life-threatening illnesses who are being studied for medical research. Students and members of ASI marched from CSUEB to the Hayward City Hall in downtown Hayward to inspire legal and social action against her removal.