Washington, D.C. – Today, college students from across D.C., New York, Ohio and more, gathered at American University to launch Powered by Students: The Takeover, a new campaign focused on organizing for safe campuses, access to higher education at an affordable cost for all students, and greater access to on-campus resources that support student success.
This campaign comes at a time when college students are facing some of the most pressing challenges of our time. From increased surveillance and federal agents on campuses, to federal efforts to end in-state tuition access and make higher education increasingly unaffordable and inaccessible. To date, the federal government has sued 24 states and Washington D.C. over its in-state tuition laws.
To access photos and videos from the press conference, please click here. All credit to United We Dream.
Kare Coley, American University Student, President of Liberation, Education, Accion student organization, and a member of United We Dream, said:
“Across generations, students have marched, organized, and put our futures on the line to lead campaigns for change because we’ve understood that our education, our safety, and our futures, are ours to shape. As a student at American University, I am disgusted by our university’s actions to platform the very people whose actions contribute to the violence we are seeing inflicted against our neighbors abroad and our immigrant parents, professors, and peers right here at home. Just recently, AU hosted the former Assistant Director of ICE. Soon after, they hosted the Israeli Police Attache. Our campuses cannot be safe places for students if we allow, welcome , and platform these kind of people and speakers
As we launch Powered by Students: The Takeover campaign, I am reminded that we have the power of the people on our side, we have love, and we have the ability to win. History has shown us that. And students will show our campuses and the world that you can never lose when you stand on the right side of history.”
Evelyn DeJesus, Executive Vice President of the American Federation of Teachers, said:
“United We Dream’s ‘Powered by Students: The Takeover’ campaign is exactly what we need in this moment, students taking over the conversation about their own futures. Education needs to be affordable and accessible, no exceptions. And immigration status should never decide who is allowed to learn. No student should have to look over their shoulder on the way to class. The world needs their talents. We need people with energy and new ideas who can solve hard problems. We cannot afford to lose your talent because getting an education was too dangerous or too expensive. The AFT stands with you.”
Ali Procopio, Director of Education and Workforce for FWD.us, said:
“We’ve known for decades that education is a unique ladder to opportunity, one that has too often been purposefully kept out of reach. More than 20 years ago, Texas became the first state to allow undocumented students to access in-state tuition. More than two dozen states followed that lead, but they certainly didn’t do so on their own. In every instance, it was students themselves who showed up, organized, and refused to be silent. Their courage unlocked opportunities for hundreds of thousands of people. While we are witnessing those gains are under attack today, we are also witnessing the growing power and passion of students across campuses ready to take action. With them at the helm, I know we can turn the tide in our favor and win.”
Zuraya Tapia-Hadley, CEO of the Dream Project, said:
“In Virginia, one of 24 states that the federal government has attacked for in-state tuition, many of us are waiting on a court ruling that will determine whether nearly 5,000 high school seniors get to start college next year, along with the fate of tens of thousands more. Today, one Dream Project scholarship covers most of a year at community college. Without in-state tuition, it will only cover about 10 percent. Eighty-two percent of our scholars tell us they depend on in-state tuition to stay in school. Without access to in-state tuition, college tuition could triple while students are already barely making ends meet, often working two jobs at a time just to cover tuition and living expenses. That is the point of these attacks: to cut off access to higher education for low-income, working-class, and immigrant students. But we refuse to stay silent. At the Dream Project, we stand shoulder to shoulder with students here in Virginia and nationwide in organizing for education they can afford.”
Kevin Carson, Youth Organizer at Adelante Student Voices and educator, said:
“We, the students and the organizers are not waiting for our lives to become harder. We are not waiting for more of our peers to be pushed into despair. And we are not waiting for higher education to become a place reserved only for the wealthy. We are organizing for campuses where every student regardless of race, class, immigration status can afford to go to college, has the resources to thrive, and can learn without fear. We know what happens when students organize together. We have done it before. And we are ready to do it again.”
Josie, Ohio State University, said:
“With anti-DEI legislation expanding at the state and national levels, increased ICE presence across Ohio, attacks on our Somali and Haitian communities in our state, and the shutdown of our Latine Student Success Center and other student centers on our campus, students came together to create The Monarch Collective, an organization response to the challenges facing our campus and communities. Through the Collective, we advocate for our immigrant communities, educate one another, share resources to help keep our communities safe, and empower students to take action. Universities can’t run without students’ voices. We power the school, we power the community, and we power the country. That is why we must stand together to fight for what we need: affordable higher education, a safe campus for everyone, and a permanent Dream Center for all!”
Dorys, Student at Georgetown University and student leader of Connecticut Students for a Dream, said:
“From American University to Connecticut State colleges and universities, students are facing policies designed to silence us, restrict us, and make college unaffordable. As the federal government tries to eliminate DACA and TPS statuses while also suing states like Connecticut over its in-state tuition law, I have seen immigrant students forced to work 3 jobs just so they can afford to study. Now, more than ever, we have to unify across campuses, across state lines, and cities, to organize and fight back for an our education we can afford; campuses that are inclusive and safe for all of us no matter our race or immigration status; resources that support all students in being able to thrive, because WE, the students, have always been the front lines of change.”