would give some undocumented students a route to legal status and make
them eligible for in-state tuition nationwide. The legislation stalled in the Senate in October.
Present regulations leave North Carolina’s undocumented students in a terrible financial bind, Farmer said. “As a
teacher, as an admissions director, I see
extremely determined, well-prepared,
good-hearted children trying to find a
way to use their God-given talent.”
“These students will have passed
through our public schools in North
Carolina, and some have lived here
since infancy,” Moeser said. “In some
cases, we’ll prepare these students and
they’ll go to Harvard or another school
on a private scholarship, and North
Carolina will have lost them. These are
young North Carolinians. People are
branding them because of the action of
their parents, who came to this country
to support their families.”
Educating undocumented students
to their fullest capacity benefits the state
economy, he argued. “There are students who are ‘A’ students, taking honors and AP, who would make a fabulous
contribution to this University and the
state. Yes, I think we should change the
law. I think it’s in the state’s and the
nation’s interest to do it.”
— Kathleen Kearns
are fearful of the college application
process because they’re undocumented and
they worry the process will call attention
to them. “Some have limited horizons and
don’t believe it’s possible. Then there are
others who are all in favor,” he said.
Sometimes the hurdle — or perceived
hurdle — is financial. Because about half of
SLI students lack citizenship or residency
papers, and because undocumented students
are ineligible for state and federal financial
aid, Kaufman and the SLI board work to
locate private funds to help them continue
their educations, at Carolina or elsewhere.
The Scholars’ Latino Initiative provides
public service opportunities, cultural pro-
FRIENDS MAKE A DIFFERENCE
The Library
is the Heart of
the University
When I was a student in the early
80s, UNC libraries supplied the
lifeblood of my intellectual
growth. Now that I am twenty years into
a professorship at UNC, that lifeblood
infuses everything I do, from conducting
research on the world of Shakespeare
and Milton to teaching today’s students
to understand and even to love that
world. In the classroom, we must
demand that our students tackle
original research questions. My students
tell me that without library resources,
their research would not be possible.
The rising cost of print and electronic
library resources makes private support
critical. The library is the heart of
the University of North Carolina.
Won’t you help us protect our heart?
REID BARBOUR ’ 82
Gillian T. Cell Distinguished Term Professor of English
Gifts of any size help sustain and strengthen library collections
and services. Mail your gift today to the address below.
FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY
Post Office Box 309
The University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27514-0309
