Dr. Anna Babel has participated in groups involved in immigration advocacy work on OSU’s campus for many years. In 2018, she held the first session of the BuckIDream Ally Training Program – an opportunity for members of the OSU community to learn about the experience of undocumented students on campus. The training covers the various types of resources available for undocumented students at OSU, the types of legal, social, and emotional concerns that DACA/undocumented students often experience, and common barriers that undocumented students may encounter on campus. “We believe that being proactive about understanding these barriers and communicating clearly with our students is important for everyone on campus who deals with students in any capacity,” Dr. Babel says.
Since that first training session in 2018, more than a dozen additional BuckIDream Ally Training sessions and events have been held on campus. More than 200 faculty, staff, and students have signed an ally agreement to be listed publicly as allies to undocumented students. Dr. Babel notes that the Office of Student Life and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion have been involved since the very beginning and the success of the program would not have been possible without their support.
Role-playing and bystander training are also key elements in the training sessions. They provide an avenue for participants to think actively about how they would react in a circumstance that puts undocumented students in a vulnerable or disadvantaged situation. Dr. Babel explains, “This kind of reflective behavior makes us better prepared when we actually find ourselves in one of those situations, and helps us think out how to avoid these problems ahead of time.” For language courses, one of the issues that often arises is the emphasis on study abroad opportunities. It is important that the curricula is structured in such a way that students who are unable to take advantage of these opportunities, whether for financial, family, or legal reasons, can still be successful in their majors. “We need to be proactive in thinking about how certain requirements within curricula and even job opportunities may affect our students.”
In addition to the Ally Training Program, Dr. Babel is also involved with the BuckIDream Working Group. The group is smaller, and made up of individuals committed to advocacy for undocumented students at OSU. The group’s main areas of interest are education (including the Ally Training Program), fundraising, and policy. Participation in the group requires more of a time commitment and a great deal of individual initiative, so people participate as they are able.
In the years to come, Dr. Babel hopes to continue growing the Ally Training Program and the BuckIDream Working Group. In particular, she would like more faculty and students to go through the training as about seventy-five percent of the current allies are made up of staff members. Looking at the bigger picture, Dr. Babel hopes to see a coordinated plan from university leadership to address undocumented student concerns. The students have requested a dedicated staff coordinator for DACA/undocumented students and a policy that welcomes undocumented students and creates a plan in case DACA is discontinued. “There’s a lot more that we need to do to make this a truly welcoming campus for undocumented students.”
OSU’s campus is made up of a diverse community, with students from many different backgrounds. Dr. Babel points out that it’s impossible to know a given student’s situation simply by passing them in the hallway or taking a course with them. “A lot of people tend to think of undocumented issues as Latinx issues, but I want to emphasize that the undocumented population at OSU is extremely diverse.” She also notes that many policies that are helpful to undocumented students are also helpful to students who face other kinds of barriers to their education, such as family responsibilities, military service, and mental health challenges. “Good policy for undocumented students is good policy for students, period,” Dr. Babel concludes.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person BuckIDreamAlly Training Program sessions are currently on hold. However, the trainings will be moved to an online format for the Fall 2020 Semester. If you are interested in participating in an Ally Training Program session, please contact Dr. Anna Babel. The BuckIDream Working Group is collaborating with ODI in organizing a mini-conference during the Fall 2020 Semester as well. For those interested in joining the Working Group or participating in the mini-conference, please contact the BuckIDream Working Group.
Resources for undocumented students and information about the Ally Training Program sessions can be found here. For those interested in donating to a DACA support fund, which supports financial aid and programming for DACA students at OSU, please visit the following link: Give: Daca Support Fund
***Photos Courtesy of PBS Newshour. The BuckIDream Ally Training Program and Working Group were featured in a PBS Newshour Segment on DACA students in October of 2019. You can view the segment here.
