Our board was pleased to read Margaret Spellings’ defense of undocumented students in the Washington Post last week. Writing eloquently on behalf of their right to an education, she spoke out against the Trump administration’s threats to DACA-protected students.
This isn’t the first hint of her support for undocumented students, which has ruffled a few conservative feathers. A year ago, Margaret Spellings arrived on campus amid a climate of tension and distrust. However, during a student forum in the spring, Spellings said something that made much of the campus — including our board — sit up and take note.
When asked about in-state tuition for undocumented students, she said, “I come from a state that that’s been a long-standing policy of the state,” she said. “Obviously the Board of Governors and the legislature need to weigh in on this, but I’ve seen it be successful in Texas — in a state with many, many miles of borders.”
After her Washington Post op-ed, we are pleased that Spellings has held firm in this defense of undocumented students, extending her voice to the national stage. In a time of great uncertainty for the undocumented students on our campus, the projection of her voice on the national stage is comforting. And for all UNC students, seeing an administrator use her position to advocate boldly for their needs is, in itself, entirely exceptional.
Our other administrators have fallen eerily silent on issues like the Muslim ban and deportation threats that directly infringe on the freedoms of UNC students. Students who are not full citizens rely on the University’s support. Chancellor Folt and others chose silence over support.
But not Spellings — or at least, not quite. She chose to leverage her voice to advocate for undocumented students and stand against Trump’s administration. But where is the corresponding advocacy for the students who are actually part of the UNC system, right now? If Spellings can launch a statement on the conditions of undocumented students nationwide, can she not afford to lend her voice to the students who fall under her leadership?
Now that she has taken to a national stage to declare her support for undocumented students, we sincerely, sincerely hope she will do the same for those who are entrusted to her leadership. As she herself argues, protecting DACA students is not an issue of partisanship. Rather, it’s an issue of identity — of who our country and our communities will accept. In the case of DREAMers, America is the only country they’ve ever known and our public schools are the only schools they’ve ever attended.
President Spellings ends her article by saying, “My whole career, I’ve advocated for education as a civil right, the bedrock that underpins our promise that this is a land of opportunity for all ... (DACA students) are our children, raised in our cities and towns and taught in our public schools.”
We stand with the undocumented students on this campus and in the UNC system, and we hope to see President Spellings carry through on her pledge. We are eager to see how she translates her words into action on our campus — using her University power on behalf of the undocumented students she praises.
