THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PRICE LIVES HIS DIVISION I DREAM AT KU
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TUESDAY APRIL 29, 2008
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RENOVATION PLANS BEGIN FOR TOWERS
VOLUME 118 ISSUE 140
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THE AMERICAN DREAM
One woman's journey; one people's hope
BY SARAH NEFF
sneff@kansan.com
Alejandra Castro-Hernandez wraps herself up in her blanket as a reminder of home and of her long journey. She uses her experiences to inspire and give hope to others.
Jon Goering/KANSAN
GIVING HOPE
lejandra Castro Hernandez waits patiently in the band room at Ulysses High School in western Kansas. She has her slideshow set up, a stack of pamphlets to give out, prizes on hand and a speech well prepared.
An announcement on the loudspeaker names off students to go to the band room for her presentation: "Fernandez, Garcia, Diaz..." The announcement doesn't mention the reason she is in this town near the Colorado border. When the students arrive, she will have to explain to them that they are not being deported, that they are not being singled out, and that this is not a "brown meeting."
She is there to introduce the kids to a new program that could help prepare them for college. The kids file in, snickering and making jokes in Spanish. She lets them joke for a while, then starts telling them about the program.
The kids sit up straighter, eyes wide, realizing they can't get away with talking about her because she speaks both languages. She tells them she was once in the same situation: an undocumented high school student, the daughter of a migrant worker and unsure that she could ever make it to college.
"And I do speak Spanish, too," she says.
Alejandra is a recruiter for Harvest of Hope, a new three-week summer college
preparatory camp at the University of Kansas for high school students who are children of migrant workers.
"I just feel like undocumented students are made to feel like they should be ashamed of themselves, like they don't have any future, like they are lower than everybody else," Alejandra says. "It just makes me mad. These people are supposed to give you hope; they are supposed to encourage you and support you."
Her story might have ended differently had President Ronald Reagan not granted amnesty to her father. It certainly would have been different had the legislation making its way through the Kansas Senate in the 2008 session been enforced 20 years ago. But Alejandra is living proof that undocumented immigrants can beat all the odds and achieve the American dream.
Alejandra doesn't fit the migrant profile. She's not like the majority of immigrants who crossed the border illegally. She has overcome nearly every hurdle that an immigrant could face. She crossed the border when she was 3 years old carrying no visa and little more than a blue plaid blanket and one change of clothes. Alejandra obtained residency status. She graduated from college. She has a good job.
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Multicultural Resource Center fights hatred
CAMPUS
The Sabatini Multicultural Resource Center plays host to Hate Out Week this week. Events include the Tunnel of Oppression, brown bag lunches covering
different topics of diversity and a tour of the Haskell/Baker Wetlands.
FULL STORY PAGE 8A
EDUCATION
Delta Force teaches students how to talk about sex ed
Student group tells students what is sexy all week long.
FULL STORY PAGE 8A