I grew up with people who were undocumented and I saw how they were denied or rejected because of that one reason, even if they were talented. I’ve witnessed firsthand how status can affect someone and how it affects their sense of self. 

The library has always been a quiet area that allows one to be mindful and quiet in their little personal area. It gives people a small quiet comfort because it’s just regular people doing their own thing. In the far back of the Georgia State Library, there’s a small corner against the wall, hidden behind the rows of shelves of CDs and movies. There are computers lined up with its seats and chairs, long empty desks that are available to the students for whatever reason; to sleep, eat, study, complete assignments, etc. The library can be an area that many people can enjoy just for themselves because they’re familiar with the area. Small areas can be a way of private comfort to students or the opposite, where they prefer a more wide, open setting. There are many different types of students that you can notice in the library.

            There are quiet students, who just take their time with no rush. The loud students in the back who are just there for a good time, or the kids who are working in groups. For the most part, all of these students are all worried about school, with normal everyday worries, but it could make one wonder about the students who are under the radar, who are worrying over something different. It’s the students who aren’t seen as much around campus or in the library. It makes you wonder about the students who have even more worries, that are not just everyday things. Every student goes into the library for whatever private reason, including the students who are undocumented. The library seems like the perfect place to help ease a student worries about their education. And then there’s the one student that looks a little more tired than the rest, the one who has more factors piling onto their plate, maybe financial aid, or their renewal process to continue to be in school hasn’t been processed.

           Many institutions don’t focus on the fact that the student is bright and can have a lot of potentials; instead, they focus on what appears on the surface, a status. Institutions don’t seem to give a chance or give a student a chance. If they do however give them a chance, it’s not easy at all, those who are lucky to get in aren’t as fortunate to receive the financial aid they need to cover costs at school. There are a lot of students who don’t have the same privilege of getting government aid (pell grants, scholarships, etc) or can even get accepted into the school they’re pursuing because of their status. This leads students to apply for all kinds of loans and try to go through different methods to obtain the money they need ( get more than just one job, etc). If institutions always promote students to follow their dreams and education, why do they stop with students of a different background? 

     It’s not a very talked-about, or even thought about, a subject that could be associated with this space. It’s not mentioned, for the most part, whether an undocumented student has obtained a high winning award or if they’ve been successful in getting accepted into their dream school. A lot of schools and institutions don’t accept or give students the same access to scholarships to get any support. This can cause students to give up on what they want to pursue because of the obstacles that are left in their path.

     Being gifted doesn’t benefit someone if they’re denied to keep pursuing their education, it also doesn’t benefit them if the institutions deny them as well.  It is an issue that many people seem to ignore or don’t want to acknowledge. It is also doesn’t seem to be acknowledged by schools or forms of scholarships.

      There are many students who are undocumented that attend universities. I personally believe that access to their education

should be easier to obtain. Institutions should be more open when it comes to accepting new students, who are willing and fighting to learn. I know people my age, who are trying their best and doing what they can to keep going in school, and I also know people who can’t go to school, the kids I grew up with who had to settle for something else. This issue is very important because it affects thousands of kids who have a dream, just like anyone else.