Grassroots Leadership Program

Transcription

1 Grassroots Leadership Program Planting the Seeds of Advocacy By Ali Soltanshahi, Iowa State University Ames, Iowa Planting the Seeds of Advocacy 1

2 About the Grassroots Leadership Program NAFSA: Association of International Educators, whose 10,000 members worldwide power the grassroots public policy community Connecting Our World, launched the Grassroots Leadership Program in 2010 in response to the growing demand at the state and local level for training and resources to help address public policy challenges faced by NAFSA members. Notice of Liability The information in these documents is distributed on an as is basis, without warranty. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of each document, neither the submitter(s) nor NAFSA shall have any liability to any persons nor entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in any of these documents. Please note that while NAFSA verified the website links included in this report, NAFSA cannot guarantee that every link will be current at the time of download. Acceptable Use Guidelines Electronic resources are provided for the benefit of the international education community. However, commercial use, systematic or excessive downloading, and electronic redistribution of these publications are all expressly prohibited. Released August NAFSA: Association of International Educators. All rights reserved 2 Planting the Seeds of Advocacy

3 Planting the Seeds of Advocacy Briefly describe how the lack of a federal immigration policy has affected your community. Immigration has been a part of our country and continues to be one of its major identities since its foundation. While the system is welcoming to a majority of new immigrants (and nonimmigrants), it still needs to be reformed in order to be relevant to today s global mobility (research, business, and educational dynamics), and for the sake of civility, diversity, and social justice. Nonimmigrants The lack of federal immigration policy has unfortunately created situations where students, scholars, and their dependents are under constant stress while they try to accomplish their educational goals. While many of the nonimmigrants that we serve at the university levels are privileged in their home country, they will sometimes for the first time experience being a minority in a society that has invited them to study or conduct research. Dependents, especially in F-2 status and mostly female, will experience the injustice of not being able to study part- or full-time, or work while they await their partner to finish a degree program for two to seven years. Same-sex partners will not be able to be together as recognized dependents although they may have married in their home country. I have known many who suffered the injustice and humiliation of obtaining a tourist visa because our country lacked the commonsense and just approach to welcome them as dependents. Students excel in their studies and produce numerous innovative works including publications and patents, and then struggle to obtain a work visa due to a conservative and obsolete approach from Congress. Students, scholars, and dependents wanting to enroll in hybrid and long-distance programs in order to improve their expertise are unable to do so because of a disconnect between the progression of U.S. higher education models and an immigration system that is obsolete, and despite many amendments seemingly not relevant to today s needs. DREAMers and aspiring citizens The lack of federal policy has also created a shadow society where DREAMers are unable to fulfill their educational and professional goals and contribute to their communities. These DREAMers were, are, and will be the future leaders in our communities though they ve had the unfortunate experience of going through years of injustice and oppression because they missed having a paper to legalize their existence. They ran away from probable chaos and injustice at home for a better life, which seems to be evasive. Many live day-to-day, working hours and hours without knowing what would happen to them the next day, getting underpaid, or not paid at all. I know many 16 year-old DREAMers who were victims of abusive employers. These DREAMers wonder on a constant basis whether they will be arrested, or whether their parents will be arrested. They could be more civically engaged in communities, Planting the Seeds of Advocacy 3

4 with bright ideas, but are often times ignored because politicians (as well as citizens) often look the other way, and ignore those who experience difficulties. Because we are we, and they are the others! This process of othering and micro-aggression is the fabric and essence that has created, and continues to create, a gap between peoples. In this particular case, it creates an ideological gap in how we should welcome new immigrants. While the DREAMers are being considered for adjustment in their legal status, they have to continue worrying about their loved ones who may not qualify for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) process. While we as a society are making progress toward a just immigration system, many are still being left out. These are some damages caused due to the lack of Federal leadership on fixing our broken immigration system, and it affects the lives of millions of individuals. What did you plan to accomplish based on your initial work plan (the three activities identified during the training session in D.C.)? The original plan was to host a (1) White House Roundtable; (2) engage community leaders; and (3) engage community members in Ames, Iowa. The goal was to start a conversation with the community about this uncomfortable topic, and bring in a perspective that would be different from what one might typically hear in the media. What did you plan to accomplish based on updates to the program in January 2013 (focusing on Federal Relations officers, in-district meetings, and working with the news media)? The updated work plans allowed us to shift gears and have a focused mission, which was to engage our state and federal officials in the conversation of comprehensive immigration reform. My main goal was to establish a replicable plan in accordance to policies at my institution. While I could have done a one-time program without going through the proper channels, I quickly realized that the goal was not for me to do a one-time program, but rather help create a culture of advocacy at our institution and in our state. What did you accomplish based on your initial work plan? I was interested in hosting a White House Roundtable, inspired by the program that was presented by senior officials from the White House Office of Public Engagement during the Advocacy Day With the program, I was able to host an event about comprehensive immigration reform and its consequences on the Ames, Iowa community. This was done with the help and mentorship of NAFSA Grassroots Outreach Manager Kari Lantos, and many others at NAFSA, including colleagues throughout Region IV, and cohort members in my graduate studies. This allowed many members of the community as well as community leaders (from churches, public library, faculty, and distinguished professors) to attend and have a discussion about immigration and how it translated into our community in Ames. Since some of the attendees were academic folks, we also discussed the intersection of higher education and immigration laws. I then was also able to engage the NAFSA Region IV community by presenting about comprehensive immigration reform, and hosting a mini-white House Roundtable 4 Planting the Seeds of Advocacy

5 in St. Louis, MO, during a NAFSA regional conference. This was a good opportunity to connect with professionals interested in helping our profession move forward. Many of them had attended a session I had presented the year before about supporting undocumented students. A few of the colleagues have now attended Advocacy Day, and one joined the Grassroots Leadership Program (GLP) cohort for Another colleague is interested to join the Region IV team to serve as public policy representative when I rotate off the team. A final engagement with the community was to host a poster presentation about international educators being civically engaged, and in conversation about comprehensive immigration reform. What did you accomplish based on the updated program goals? My master s degree capstone project was focused on NAFSA and The Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA) competencies. One of the common competencies was about advocating for our students and our profession. My reflective work was presented to my cohort and various professors in the School of Education at Iowa State University (ISU) in mid-april and focused on doing advocacy work in a sustainable and replicable manner. I believe that while one person may make a difference in the society on any topic (i.e., being civically engaged with commonsense immigration reform), the final goal is only reached when others take part in the social movement and create the amplification needed to create real change. In order to reach this goal, I got engaged in the following activities: (1) a presentation about immigration and integration of new immigrants at a Ph.D.-level class with participants being mainly superintendents at Iowa high schools; and (2) a session at my institution during the Iowa International Education Conference in May In the latter session, we analyzed the intersection of our work as international educators and how important it was for us to be in conversations with public officials, as they get to set up the regulations that will serve as a mainframe of immigration reform. Each Iowa representative had sent notes about their position on comprehensive immigration reform, and the ISU Federal Relation officer read the information to conference attendees. A staffer from the office of Iowa Congressman Steve King read a statement from King about the importance of international education, and also about his position on the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill, or CIR, that the Senate was about to debate in June. As far as the district meetings, I was not able to meet with representatives as of yet, as I needed to work with the existing system at my institution to create a formal and replicable process in the form of visits to the Des Moines State Capitol with students, scholars, and dependents. If one were to use a metaphor, the progress could be compared to planting the seeds of a tree, and then nurturing it so that it has time to properly develop its roots, its trunk, branches, buds, flowers, and fruits. The progress has been slow and frustrating at times, but is going to take place in the near future. I have three main goals for the fall and spring terms: (1) ISU international students, scholars, and dependents, as well as study abroad returnees, visit with state and federal representatives on a yearly basis to engage in dialogues when it comes to international education; (2) international students, scholars, and dependents, as well as study abroad returnees, from Iowa institutions meet at the Des Moines Capitol for an Iowa International Education Day; and (3) ISU international students, scholars, and dependents, as well study abroad returnees, invite various representatives during campus events (i.e., cultural celebration weeks/nights, as well as panel discussions). Planting the Seeds of Advocacy 5

6 Who are three people you met, who you didn t know before, who were able to help you with your project? There are more than three people; here is everyone: Former and current NAFSA staffers Kari Lantos, Bill Roberts, Heather Stewart, and Katie O Connell for inspiring me to keep on working and mentoring me throughout the process. Region IV team and GLP cohort for supporting me for the past two years. Iowa State University professor Dr. Nancy Evans, cohort members for my master s degree, and staff and professors for hearing me out as I developed skills in advocacy work, as well as for helping me put a theoretical frame around advocacy work. My office, my colleagues, and my institution for helping me create a sustainable plan to do advocacy work. The participants who attended and continue to attend my sessions during the conferences, and who remind me that advocacy work matters. Finally, the students, scholars, dependents, DREAMers, and immigrants whose stories and friendships have helped me better understand their struggles. What were two roadblocks you encountered and tips for overcoming those roadblocks (based on your experience)? The first was to realize that my institution was not prepared for the level of advocacy work that I needed to do as part of GLP. Things took a very long time to be approved, and some final steps are still in the process of being developed. The second was myself, as I had to mentally and emotionally work against the system in order to do advocacy work. At times I doubted the whole process and myself, and was ready to give up. To overcome these two main roadblocks I had to make a switch in the way I perceived outcomes. First, I had to work against a system that was not used to issues of international students; that took time and effort in helping colleagues understand the issues and why it was important to do advocacy work. Second, I had to reassure colleagues that the interests of the university were not at stake so there was some learning both ways. I also had to remind myself that when one paves a road, one must endure quite a bit of stress in order to create a path for others to follow. Changing the way I perceived things helped me have a positive attitude about the process and gave me the courage to continue fighting the good fight. What one piece of advice would you give to someone who is interested in working on this issue in their community? I would strongly suggest this person to be well informed about the issue and be able to articulate their thoughts, ideas, and talking points in a way that would be relevant to the audience listening. I would also suggest this person to develop relations on campus and in their community for support and also to be ready to pass along the torch when the time comes. 6 Planting the Seeds of Advocacy

7 What was the biggest outcome of your year-long program? The biggest outcome for me personally was to be able to better understand how the democratic system worked, and to learn to create a replicable process in order to do advocacy work. What s next for you, with regard to the work you ve started? My commitments and goals are yet to be completed as we are in the final stages of setting up our district meetings. My main goal is to make these meetings a tradition at ISU, and then expand to the whole state of Iowa. While I would like to help set this program, and sustain it for a while, I will quickly look for setting up a committee that will take it to the next level, and be able to carry on the work through the years as a traditional ISU program. Planting the Seeds of Advocacy 7