For the first time, an undocumented student will receive a private scholarship from a UF organization.
The $500 scholarship will be awarded to one undocumented student who has graduated from a Florida high school or who has a GED and will attend a Florida college or university during the 2012-2013 academic year, according to Nichole Teixeira, public relations officer of the Coalition of Hispanics Integrating Spanish Speakers through Advocacy and Service (CHISPAS).
The deadline to apply at chispasuf.org is Sept. 30.
“These kids were brought to the U.S. as children,” she said. “By not helping them, it’s criminalizing a community who’s trying to survive.”
Undocumented students can’t receive federal funding or apply for scholarships that require a Social Security number.
Alexandra Mazur, an 18-year-old economics sophomore, was so baffled by the scholarship she posted it on the UF Class of 2015 Facebook group page.
“There are hundreds of students who want to come here, and they wait for visas,” she said. “Ifundocumented immigrants don’t respect our laws and regulations to get in, why would they respect them when they’re here?”
Philip J. Williams, director of UF’s Center of Latin American Studies, disagrees.
Williams said undocumented students are at a disadvantage financially because they have to pay out-of-state tuition and fees, which for the 2012-2013 academic year at UF is $28,548 for undergraduates compared to $6,170 for in-state tuition.
“I applaud CHISPAS for doing this, and I’d like to see more nonprofit organizations follow their example,” he said.
