HB 191, Nonresident Tuition Waiver, Passes the House, by Gaby Rodriguez

H.B. 191, introduced by Representative Carl Wimmer (R), would require undocumented students attending post secondary school to pay out of state tuition. Right now in Utah, undocumented students can pay in state tuition, if they attend a Utah high school for at least 3 years and graduate. If this bill becomes law, undocumented students would loose the privilege of paying in state tuition for college. The difference between in state tuition and out of state tuition in Utah is between 5,000 and 20,000 dollars a year.

As of last week, this bill passed the house committee with 10 votes in favor of the bill and 5 votes against. The representatives that voted in favor are: Brown, M., Clark, D., Dougall, J, Fisher, Julie, Froerer, G., Harper, W., Newbold, M., Nielson, J., Painter, P., Wimmer, C. The representatives who voted against are: Briscoe, J., Butterfield, D., Cosgrove, T., Duckworth, S., King, B.

Yesterday, Feb. 28, Wimmer uncircled the bill, and after a couple of amendments, HB 191 was passed in the house, which means that the bill will now move to a senate committee.

This bill matters to undocumented students aspiring to receive a college education because it affects their ability to afford college. These students want to help their community by going to school. If this bill passes, it will add many obstacles for undocumented students trying to achieve their dreams.

I interviewed students at West High School about their opinions on H.B. 191. I found opinions both in favor and against the bill. One of the students interviewed, Megan Dukr, a Caucasian female born and raised in Utah, was in favor of the bill. She said, “With more undocumented students going to college in Utah, the legal citizens will have less jobs.” Another student, Hanis Ibit, an African-American male raised in Utah, said, “Less students will go to college [if this bill passes], and our generation is not going to have as many educated people, due to the lack of students attending post secondary school.”

Teachers at West High shared their opinions as well. Miss Adrito a math teacher said, “we’re closing doors to kids that actually want to improve their life’s by getting education.” Another gear up instructor, named Ms. Julie, said "this bill affects me when my tax money pays for undocumented [students] to attend college."

My personal opinion is that, this bill should not pass. We should not hinder those individuals who want an education. Even if they are undocumented, many students didn’t have a choice to move to this country. A lot of undocumented students were brought, by their parents, to the US at a young age. If this bill passes, all we are doing is closing doors on who could be tomorrow’s great leaders.

Substitute Bill for Juvenile Fingerprints (HB48) passes House Committee, by Amy Novoa

Substitute HB48S3, which replaces the original HB48, excludes the language that juveniles shall be fingerprinted if they are believed to be affiliated with or in a gang. In addition, the bill clarifies that a juvenile may be photographed and fingerprinted if he/she commits a crime that would be a class A misdemeanor if the crime were committed by an adult. This substitute bill is more ethical, because innocent youth would not be targeted as much, however, it is not the way to educate youth to stay out of crime. We often see discrimination as an issue in our law enforcement. We often see youth being racially profiled or labeled as delinquents. Without the gang reference in this bill, youth won't be harassed as much as with the first bill, but we would rather see our money spent on programs that would benefit our youth. It is estimated that this bill will cost $51,000 the first year and $21,000 each year after. When we are cutting most state budgets by 7% we have to ask where this money is coming from, and if it could not be better used supporting youth programs. Through these programs we could teach morals to help educate youth to make healthier choices and become involved in sports, arts, community activities, academic activities, etc. We can offer them more opportunities to succeed, instead of labeling them and treating them as criminals. They are still very young and have the ability to change and better their community. This bill passed the house with a vote of 69-0 a and is now going into Senate committee. We strongly oppose this bill amended or not.

H.B. 48-Juvenile Fingerprints Bill, by Diana Ortega, Amy Novoa and Gaby Rodriguez

As the legislative session of 2011 began one particular bill brought up a lot of controversy, House Bill 48: Fingerprints of Juveniles. This bill requires the fingerprints and photographs of juveniles to be taken and stored if the juvenile is 14 or older and is suspected of being involved in gang activity or has committed a crime that would be a felony if it was committed by an adult.

This bill doesn't only concerns students, but parents as well. Blanca, a mother of West High students, expressed her concerns about this bill, "What would happen if the juvenile is undocumented? Would the juvenile be turned in to ICE (Immigration Customs Enforcement), and how would it affect their family?" It is important to recognize the outcomes of this bill that could negatively affect undocumented people of Utah.

Melquiades Flores, a father of a West High student, also spoke out against this bill, saying, “It’s as if we are labeling our children as criminals.” When his 14 year old son was suspected of involvement in illegal activities he was fingerprinted, although he was underage. Flores acknowledges that his son's actions were wrong but he also felt that fingerprinting was not the proper precaution. He worries that morals are going down not only in the family environment but also in schools. “In your schools you no longer say the Pledge of Allegiance daily," he says, "fights break out in schools because of various reasons when we are all Americans. There should be more peace.”

Norman, a freshmen student from West high school, expressed his concerns and worries for this bill. He thought it was a waste of tax money. He says, "There are a lot of crimes being committed among juveniles that are uncontrollable, but instead of wasting tax money trying to get this bill passed they could fund schools to have more after school programs and activities. Programs that help reduce crime among the youth."

The cost of the bill, over the next two years, would be around $90,000. Principal Parley Jacobs and Police officer Lynman Smith of West High School thought the cost of this bill wasn't a concern. Neither of them said this bill would benefit the community, but they did think it would help find students who are committing crimes. Smith, who has work at West High for over a decade said, “Crime will never end.” However, we think this bill is a waste of tax money considering the education budget may be cut by 7 percent this year.

H.B. 64- Human Blood Procurement and Use

The Willfords, a family in South Jordan, Utah, lives with the constant fear of a life threatening disease. Their daughter, Lola, suffers from a rare blood disorder, Diamond Blackfan Anemia. Blood donations have saved her life multiple times, and without blood donations Lola's life is on the line. Rachel, Lola's mother, said, "Through Lola's disease, we have been exposed to a world of people who are dependent on blood donations. Without these donors, we don't know how many times we would have lost Lola."

The Willfords aren't the only family in Utah who have relied on blood donations, and because of this, the Red Cross working with Representative Stephen Handy, is proposing a bill that would lower the blood donation age requirement to sixteen (H.B. 64). Currently, the Utah Code, Title 15, Chapter 2, Section 5 states that an "eighteen year old minor" may donate blood without parental consent. At seventeen it may be donated with parental consent. Bill H.B. 64, if passed, would increase the blood supply (ten to twenty percent) and establish a lifelong habit of blood donating for Utah's youth. The Red Cross, and other blood donation agencies, hope to start blood drives at schools for both Seniors, and Juniors. It may also increase Utah teen's sense of community and purpose. Utah would not be the first to adopt this legislation; in fact, thirty nine other states have already passed a similar bill.

H.B. 64 passed the House with no opposition (seventy two to zero). It earned favorable recommendation from Senate Standing Committee, and as of February 10, 2011 is standing by for its second reading in the Senate. We are very excited about the possibilities of this bill and what it may contribute to our community!

 

MAA Application 2010-11

Here is the application for Mestizo Arts & Activism 2010-11. Download and fill out and you can email back to mattb@mestizoarts.org or print it out and drop it off to Mestizo Coffeehouse (in the Citifront apartment complex at 600 n. and 600 w. ). You can also email mattb@mestizoarts.org if you would like a .doc version of the app.


MAA App 10-11 Lighter Logo

MICA mini-golf fundraiser at the Salt Lake Art Center

Hey all you golf pros and MICA supporters (even if you're no good at golf like me). Time to come out and help support MICA and MAA through the "Contemporary Masters" mini-golf fundraiser being hosted by the Salt Lake Art Center. The Salt Lake Art Center has commissioned 18 local artists to create a hole for the mini-golf course, and Tuesday, July 6th for a mere $10 you can come and play the course and help support MICA. All proceeds from Ticket sales to go benefit MICA programming, specifically MAA. So bring your families, friends, relatives, co-workers, etc. etc. for a great, affordable night of fun that also benefits an amazing organization.

Here's a little more information about the event:

Time to get your game on! Grab some friends and come to the only miniature golf course in downtown Salt Lake City. The 337 Project and Salt Lake Art Center commissioned 18 contemporary artists to design 18 fully playable miniature golf holes! The show is called Contemporary Masters and local Latino artist Jimmy Lucero designed one of the holes. The Art Center is opening the exhibit to a local nonprofit Mestizo Institute of Culture and Arts (MICA) on TUESDAY July 6th from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm for a fundraiser.

For only $10 ($5 for kids) you will get to play 18 holes of miniature golf as well as enjoy the whole museum. All proceeds will go towards supporting MICA-sponsored after school art and social activism programs for teens on the West Side. It's a pretty inexpensive way to have fun and help others. There will be food, posters, and cards for purchase. The catch is that we have to sell the tickets in advance so stop by Mestizo Coffee House (601 West North Temple) to purchase tickets or email Mary.Lucero@utah.edu and she will reserve them for you at the door.

For more info about the mini-golf exhibit, check out the Contemporary Masters blog.

Mestizo West Side Arts Festival

We're excited to soon be celebrating the 2nd anniversary of MICA, and this year, to really celebrate, we're going to throw a block party: Saturday, July 10th, 11:00 am-10:00 pm. Check out more info about the Mestizo West Side Arts Festival at the website.

And if you're interested in helping out and volunteering, fill out the volunteer form at this link.