Do Latinx students feel supported at DU? Sometimes, but sometimes not, according to two DU students, Keylen Villagrana and Evan O’Rourke, and a faculty member who is the head of DULCCES (University of Denver Latino Center for Community Engagement and Scholarship), Deb Ortega.

Villagrana is a first-generation college student and U.S. American, whose two older brothers attended DU. Her parents immigrated from Mexico, and “have instilled [in her and her siblings] the importance of education.” After being an English language learner herself, Villagrana now works in the DU Writing Center where she consults with students and helps them develop their writing skills in English. She can identify with their challenges, she said: “I still struggle with the two languages, so doubting myself is going to come naturally… it’s a clash between ‘I’m proud that I’m in the Writing Center’ and ‘I have to believe in myself.’”

But Villagrana doesn’t always feel as if she belongs.

“I was born here in Denver, but I don’t really consider myself American,” said Villagrana. “Like what does it even mean to be American, you know?” She continued, “When someone sees a Latino on campus, they automatically assume that they are Mexican.”

When asked about her experience as a Latina student on campus, Villagrana said, “The University of Denver likes to say that they strive for inclusive excellence, diversity, and everything.

But the thing about that is that it’s not apparent. It’s not apparent in the classroom, it’s not apparent in the hallways. You have to really seek it out… People constantly look at me as a token, like in class whenever we have a topic about Latinos in general, immigration or whatever, every time that topic comes up they glance over at me, saying like ‘Oh, what do you think about it.’ I always tell them I can speak on my behalf, I can’t speak for this entire group of people.”

Villagrana put her experience into perspective by saying, “You can’t help but constantly compare yourself to others who have privilege.” But her perspective has also given her a grounds to offer advice to others. “Don’t ever compare yourself,” she said, “because at the end of the day you have qualities and assets that other students don’t have. You have a lot of stuff that you bring to the table, you just have to bring that forward and stop comparing yourself to privileged individuals.”

Evan O’Rourke, a white-identified undergraduate, spoke to the importance of bridging the gap between certain privileges. O’Rourke addressed the importance of diversity in the current socio-political climate of the US, noting, “Diversity is important, and DACA allows for that, but in order to understand where someone is coming from, you must make an effort to understand where they’ve been.”

Students aren’t the only ones who receive and provide support for Latinx culture at DU.

Deb Ortega, the head of DULCCESS (University of Denver Latino Center for Community Engagement and Scholarship), strives to offer support both for students and for their families. The DACA repeal has directly affected her position as a person who provides support for students, faculty and staff, she said. “Many of us have already experienced long hours of problem solving and providing suggestions about keeping underage citizen family members safe in the event that an adult with DACA status is removed from the home. In other words, we help create safety plans so that a citizen child might be able to go directly to other relative care instead of having to be put into the foster care system.”

Chancellor Chopp released a statement on behalf of DU in January of this year, as a response to the DACA repeal. The following is a non-exhaustive list of Chopp’s statement:

• DU does not and will not voluntarily share student information with immigration enforcement officials.
• DU will not voluntarily grant access to University property to immigration officials for enforcement, investigative or similar purposes.
• DU Campus Safety never has and will not assist ICE, CBP, USCIS or Denver Police Department in efforts to identify and deport undocumented community members.
• DU will continue to admit students consistent with its nondiscrimination policy.
• DU does not make housing decisions based on immigration status.
• DU will continue with immigration attorneys and other community resources to provide support for undocumented community members. .
• DU will continue to advocate for the continuation of the policies of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
• DU will continue to support ICE’s treatment of college and university campuses as“sensitive locations,” where enforcement actions are prohibited.

From the student perspective, one might wonder how to help show support for the Latinx community within the context of DU. Ortega answers this with a suggestion of what can be done from within the classroom. “[Question if] your courses are populated with readings from primarily dominant culture authors (white, cis-gendered, able-bodied). Are you missing the perspective of the voices of others? Is the kind of content you are learning dehumanizing?”

Jessica Johnson’s article in this issue, “The end to DACA signifies the end to study abroad for many undocumented DU students,” has the word on how DACA affects students, including a visual breakdown of the representation of ethnicity in US students studying abroad.