#undocuqueer

(transcriptions are in image descriptions)

Are YOU in the Oakland, CA area? Come join the protest on Friday! (And likely over the weekend - check https://instagram.com/occupy_millshall for updates.)

Do you know folks who might be in this area? Signal boost this!

Undocumented students demand stability! Mills students in general demand answers!

The Board of Trustees is forcing a shady deal with Northeastern University through at high speed. If they succeed, on June 30th Mills will be gone and Northeastern will take over.

They chose not to tell students until January that Northeastern is not accredited to offer about 70% of Mills' programs.

As of today (March 17th, the one-year anniversary of it all), students still don't know which of their credits Northeastern will accept; how many more credits they'll have to take to graduate; whether they'll be told to move to Boston to complete their particular major; or how much they'll have to pay for room and board next year.

A group of undocumented students is leading a protest to demand answers and commitments for all students.

Besides answers for all of the above, they're demanding that the administrations meet with the staff union (which has gone unrecognized for two years) and provide guidance counselors with expertise in undocumented student issues.

They would LOVE more people to join them!

If you can't be there in person, but can provide some of what they'll need, like meals, send it to:

Mills Hall, 5000 MacArthur Blvd, Oakland CA 94613

(Instacart and Postmates will deliver pretty much anything to them.)

If you have questions about other ways to support them, I can help connect you, but it's probably faster to go message their instagram!

If you want to know more about how the Board is selling the education of marginalized genders who are mostly QTPOC, and how people are fighting to stop it, you can visit:

The winners are HERE! 🏆🏳️‍🌈 "The advice I would give to any young LGBTQIA+ person is to be gentle to the child that is you. We are all really making this up as we go along. Respect your instincts and your body. God doesn't make mistakes so be loud and proud." -Simemezelo Xulu, Grant Recipient Shutterstock is on a mission to help change the way our LGBTQ+ community is represented in photos and the media - because we all know we're more than just rainbow flags and Pride parades. To start, they gave four It Gets Better Grants to artists committed to documenting real LGBTQ+ life. Head to the blog on our website to meet them, read their advice for young LGBTQ+ creatives, and learn about the projects they plan to fund with their grants, including:

Growing up, you know, being undocumented and being gay, were like two things that I was like, deep in the closet for. So like, coming out of those two closets was really difficult. coming out as gay to my mother was very difficult. Growing up, she would say, you know, homophobic shit. And so like, to me, that was like, No, you can't come out. And so growing up, I kind of had that, you know, that fear of coming out and, and being true to myself and confronting that. As well as being undocumented. You know, I don't need a degree to advance in life. But for sure, like, in high school, you're being thrown this idea of like “you’re going to need your education”, and that you “need” to go to college if you “want a better future, you want a better job.” And so in high school, I knew that if I if I wanted to get “there,” I needed to come out as undocumented. And so I did. I think for myself, I learned this along the way of like, I think for myself, i realized my coming out, is in different layers. Like, in the work that I do, realizing that many people have like, multiple layers. And for me, like, being accepting and being open to new identities, and being open to meeting new people has allowed me to create community. I think there's this idea of LGBTQ community, and yeah, we're the LGBTQ community, but like, are we really a community? So like, no, we're not a community. And it's gonna take, each one of us to make that effort to make that community happen. Whether it's locally or whether if it's at the club. Eduardo, He/Him Napa, California

I can remember applying to different colleges during my senior year. Being undocumented comes with many challenges, but one of the first was finding schools that are affordable and welcoming to immigrants - especially non-U.S citizens. Fall of my last year in high school was filled with a time of college preparation and excitement for the ambiguity of where you're going to be the following year. When the year came to a close, I was congratulating my peers for being accepted into their dream school. I felt alone and angry that it wasn't me being congratulated, but more-so, I was angry that I felt like I've spent years of preparing for a college that I won't even be able to attend.

Throughout my k-12 education, I felt like I was on my own about the college process. Many undocumented students are one of the first in their family to attend college. When researching ways to attend at a reasonable cost, I found that the only way to afford school  was to attend university. I remember relentlessly looking for undocumented students who are attending higher education, for anyone who was similar to me. Even though, school was my priority - like many of my peers, I was an average student. I wasn't valedictorian, nor was I a star athlete. When looking for colleges, the only category that I had was "can I afford this?". If not, then I knew that it would be useless to apply. When coming up with a list of colleges that cater to undocumented students financially, they had an acceptance rate of 20% or lower. I fell deep into a depression and self-hatred towards myself and my status. I thought that if I wasn’t able to attend a four-year I would not be successful. The only universities that are willing to give scholarships, primarily full-tuition scholarships to undocumented students are private and elite. Undocumented students are students! I am proud of the undocumented students that go above and attend Ivy League universities, but we must recognize the undocu-students that are average but try just as hard. Sometimes, life throws many different challenges at us, and sometimes the difficulties in our personal lives can oftentimes overpower our educational lives.

In states that have a process for DACA students to achieve higher education, we would first have to go to community college for two years to receive in-state tuition. Community colleges have a stigma around them, and a negative connotation to the students that go here. I admit, when I graduated high school, I was upset that my hard work would be eliminated because I had no choice but to attend community. I can confidently tell you that I couldn't be more wrong. My time at community was the best time in my educational career. It allowed me to focus on my self, career goal, and what I want to produce with my time there. More importantly, it allowed for me to graduate debt free. I want to do a separate post about community college, and how it became an asset for me. For this post, I want to focus on high school students who are about to enter college.

I am extremely proud of you, and I know that you will do amazing educationally and in your desired career. I want everyone of my undocumented students reading this to pay close attention to this: applying for scholarships is more important than applying to college. Undocumented students are restricted from receiving federal financial aid, and sometimes state-financial aid. Scholarships are going to be an asset in your educational career, and will help you tremendously. However, applying to them take time and effort. Treat applying to scholarships like its a part-time job. Take time out of your day to apply, and make a schedule of when each is due. Not only will it help you get out debt free, but it will be a great piece to add on to your resume.

The Struggle of Building Our Own Home