As controversy swirls south of the border over what will happen to roughly 800,000 young people illegally brought to the United States by their parents, London’s Huron University College is trying to help.
The college announced a $60,000 scholarship Wednesday for so-called “Dreamers,” people covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that was instituted under former U.S. president Barack Obama.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced earlier this week his government would move to end the program, meaning those children and young adults would face deportation if Congress doesn’t come up with legislation over the next six months.
“We did this because we see this as a small gesture in something that seems like a terrible injustice,” said Jon Munn, director of marketing and communications at Huron University College. ” Our principal, Dr. Barry, really acted quickly. He said we want to walk the walk about our slogan about ‘moulding leaders with heart’ and really show our students what that truly means.”
Munn says they’re offering the scholarship because they want to bring about positive social change.
“Most of the students in the States that are affected by this, all they know is being an American, all they know is the United States education system, and they`re being forced to uproot their lives and go someplace where they have never been before, where they don’t know the culture, they don’t know the language. Being a leader with heart means we want our students to truly care about those around them and also care about the events happening worldwide,” said Munn.
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He says because they are not a large university they were able to come to a quick decision about the scholarship.
“We’re not a big box institution, we are a strategically small university that enables this kind of fast thinking and fast approaches to certain things that happen around the world. This institution cares about the world we live in, and we feel this is an important way to ensure students affected by DACA, regardless of their race, identity, background, etc., have an equal opportunity to thrive.”
Munn says applications are now being accepted and although they don’t have a timeline for selection, they hope to choose a recipient as soon as possible.
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