Delta College’s Academic Senate touched on several topics during a three-hour meeting on Sept. 15, with the reopening of the Dreamers Success Center being discussed twice by the faculty body.
The center is now reopened in limited capacity on campus after closures related to the pandemic and the staffing.
In 2019, the Dreamers Success Center opened with the support of the students, staff, and faculty.
The center provides a supportive space for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) , and undocumented students giving opportunities and resources to the students.
The center’s development was spurred on by the I Am/Yo Soy campus club.
“The students who were instrumental in advocating for the center also formed a club called the I am/Yo Soy Club to advocate and empower undocumented and immigrant students,” said Digital Media Professor Adriana Brogger, who is a senator for Arts, Humanities, and Multimedia.
The center had a dedicated full-time faculty member until earlier this year.
“The Dreamer Success Center lost our full-time resource specialist Sergio Lara in April of 2021,”said Brogger.
During this time, many students and faculty were advocating for the position to be fulfilled. This is important, because during this time a resource important to undocumented and DACA students had lost a vital place.
“In the meanwhile, members of the Chicanx/Latinx Faculty group have volunteered to prepare the center and have a soft opening until its Sept. 27 reopening,” said Brogger.
Students, faculty and teachers in the Stockton community had been advocating for the position to be fulfilled where it is necessary to provide resources to the student population. This is important because the pandemic had caused many places to close down due to Covid-19, limiting many resources to students. Brogger and other faculty advocates asked for the item to be put on the Academic Senate agenda to ensure staffing was taking priority. The Senate voted to craft a letter of support for hiring a dedicated staff member as soon as possible.
This will ensure the Dreamers Success Center will remain strong and provide resources and a safe space for students. This also means assisting many students regarding immigration concerns.
“Lately that has also included students who have questions regarding legal help to get relatives out of Afghanistan,” said Brogger, reinforcing the center’s place on campus as a pinnacle of resource opportunities.