Planning committee debates DREAM Center name

The Dream Center Ad Hoc Committee met Feb. 20 to discuss the creation of a resolution to allocate funds for a DREAM Center for undocumented students at UTRGV.

Student Government Association Senator Andrea Francis said during the last SGA meeting that she is listening to the people in the committee to try to get a resolution that works for the general university population, as well as DACA recipients.

“We want to make sure we have a center that could provide mental and physical help to the students,” Francis said.

The bill, drafted by Denisce Palacios, SGA senator-at-large and committee member, calls for “the creation of a consortium of resources for undocumented students located on the Brownsville and Edinburg campuses.”

During the committee meeting, members debated on what the center should be named.

Mexican American Studies graduate student Alejandro Sanchez said the center should be exclusively for DACA students.

“Our fear is that if it is a multicultural center, the resources will not be used for DACA students, and DACA students need those resources, and DACA students need those resources most desperately right now,” Sanchez said.

Palacios, who is running for the SGA presidency, said it should be a general multicultural center that encompasses a DREAM Center.

“Before we move forward with the plan to get funding, we need to be able to agree that the services are what’s most important,” she said.

Peter Averack, SGA vice president for the Edinburg campus, attended the meeting and explained why calling it a DREAM Center could be problematic.

“The problem is, the university can’t be seen as endorsing a specific form of legislation, since we receive federal money,” Averack said.

The plan for the center is still in its early stages, so the funding has not been allocated nor its location determined.

The resolution will be discussed at the next SGA meeting, which is scheduled at 2 p.m. Friday in Academic Services Building 1.106 in Edinburg, and Biomedical Research and Health Building 1.222 in Brownsville.