Allan Hancock College leaders committed to making the school a safe space for undocumented students last week, when the district’s board of trustees unanimously approved a diversity resolution at its meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 14.
The resolution states that the board “reaffirms its commitment to the values of inclusion, diversity, open discussion, and success for all students”—a motto Superintendent Kevin Walthers said aligns with the school’s mission statement.
“It’s really a statement by the board to say that they were supporting a campus environment that fosters mutual respect,” Walthers told the Sun. “That’s in our value statement, and that was really the whole point of what they were saying is we have a campus of mutual respect, and we’re going to honor those values.”
The resolution was originally drafted by Hancock faculty and students at the end of November, Walthers said, and passed by the academic senate and the Associated Student Body Government in December.
Walthers said students and faculty had an “overwhelmingly positive” response to the resolution when it reached the board, with no negative pushback that he knew of.
“All five trustees voted in favor of it,” he said. “All of our constituency groups supported it.”
Hancock’s district isn’t the first in Santa Barbara County to make this kind of declaration—the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District passed its own “safe haven” proclamation at its Jan. 10 board of education meeting.
“Anyone attending our schools regardless of ethnic origin, immigration status, race, or sexual orientation must feel safe at our schools,” district board member Dominick Palera said in an emailed statement to the Sun in January. “This will help them achieve success which benefits us all.”
According to figures cited by Hancock, the college has about 400 undocumented students who attend the school under AB 540, state legislation passed in 2001 that allows non-citizen students to pay in-state tuition fees under certain stipulations. These students are legally protected from being detained, questioned, or arrested by campus police based on suspected immigration status, and the resolution passed on Feb. 14 reiterates those protections.
Additionally, the college is required to protect student records from law enforcement, except in the case of a court order. The resolution also adds that the Allan Hancock Joint Community College District will not cooperate with any efforts to create a registry of individuals based on religion, national origin, race, sexual orientation, or any similar characteristics.
“The resolution reaffirms the district’s values and ensures there is no question that the district remains committed to standing behind all of our students,” board of trustees President Gregory Pensa said in a press release. “Our students deserve the opportunity to pursue an education and improve their lives at Allan Hancock College without being afraid.”
But some undocumented residents’ fears are proving valid, after a U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement sweep of Southern California resulted in five arrests in Northern Santa Barbara County.
The nationwide ICE operation began on Feb. 6 and resulted in at least 160 arrests of undocumented immigrants—including four arrests in Santa Maria and one in Los Alamos.
But according to Walthers and Hancock’s newly passed resolution, undocumented immigrants should feel safe on campus.
“It’s just a reaffirmation of what we already do,” Walthers said of the resolution. “We welcome all students regardless of their race, gender, political views, whatever—everyone’s welcome at Hancock.”
This article appears in Feb 23 – Mar 2, 2017.