United We Dream is a student-run club looking to raise awareness of undocumented students here at Elgin Community College.
“We’re currently under the temporary status,” said club president and second-year student Marisol Flores-Montoya. “Our main mission is to create a campus that is safer and more inclusive to undocumented students.”
According to Montoya and the club’s Vice President and fourth-year student Miriam Salas, the club plans on meeting once a month, making sure each meeting is open to anyone interested in learning more about what the club stands for.
“We’re working on doing workshops and letting the student body know a little bit about immigration reality,” said Montoya. “That way it’s not only for those in the undocumented community but also for those who want to learn about this topic.”
In the long run, Montoya and Salas hope to make the club’s meetings more convenient for everyone by possibly holding meetings twice a month for students who have different schedules than others.
“We’re trying to make it as inclusive as possible,” said Montoya. “Whether that’s having split meetings, even remote meetings with one taking place in the morning and the other in the evening. We’re still working on that.”
Associate professor of psychology at ECC Dr. Manuel Salgado is the club’s founding member and advisor. Salgado is also a part of a committee here at ECC that is made up of faculty and staff members called Undocumented Students Support.
“We’re trying different things to better improve services for undocumented students,” said Salgado. “We thought having a club on campus that is made up of students who are empowered to share their voice and advocate on behalf of undocumented students would be a really good idea.”
Salgado has been involved in other student life organizations by helping plan events and activities but has never been in the position of advisor before.
“My idea is to be heavily involved with advising the group, they’re setting the agenda and I will just guide them along the way,” said Salgado. “I think my participation will be supportive and help them stay organized.”
Salgado is aware that there may be numerous obstacles that the club might anticipate since the topic of undocumented students is met with apprehension and fear.
“More than anything, groups outside of ECC would want to push back because they feel threatened and would want to push back these efforts,” said Salgado. “If you’re looking to make significant systemic changes on campus, you would have to sell the value of what these services might do for students and that’s a hard sell for some leaders on campus.”
Salgado hopes that United We Dream can help undocumented students share their stories, making them more known and powerful to the general public.
“When on campus this group’s identity is not being talked about and it’s being kept in the shadows, that leaves you as an undocumented person believing that it’s just you and that there might be a negative consequence when you say something,” said Salgado. “The hope is that through student peers, they will raise awareness and hopefully create a safer campus for those to share their stories.”
You can find more information about United We Dream on their Instagram.
“We want to make it clear that this club is not just for undocumented students,” Salas said. “Don’t be afraid to go because the club is named the way it is; go to learn and advocate for these people.”
