Freedom U: A School for Undocumented Youth
Tax deductible
Freedom University is a modern-day freedom school for undocumented students in Atlanta, Georgia. We provide tuition-free college preparation classes, college application and scholarship assistance, and leadership development for undocumented youth banned from equal access to public higher education in Georgia.
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to empower undocumented youth and fulfill their human right to education. We believe that all human beings have a right to education, regardless of where they were born or what man-made borders they may cross. We uphold Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that everyone has the right to education and that higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
OUR HISTORY
Freedom University opened its doors in 2011 following the passage of Georgia Board of Regents' Policy 4.1.6, which bans undocumented youth from attending Georgia's top public universities, and Policy 4.3.4, which bans undocumented students from in-state tuition. Georgia's 24,000 DACA students pay state and local taxes to fund the universities they cannot attend. And while more than 20 states allow undocumented students to attend public universities or qualify for in-state tuition, Georgia is the only state to ban DACA students from admission to its top universities and from in-state tuition. These policies effectively target and exclude undocumented youth, and usher in a modern era of educational segregation in the South.
WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO
To fulfill the human right to education of undocumented youth in Georgia, Freedom University welcomes undocumented students ages 17-25 and provides them with free college preparation courses in a safe learning environment. Our students arrived in the United States as young children from countries such as Mexico, El Salvador, Venezuela, Jamaica, Mali, Ghana, and South Korea. Many of our students' families moved to Atlanta in the mid-1990s to build the roads and infrastructure for the city to host the 1996 Olympic Games. While most of our students attended K-12 in Georgia public schools, many realized they were banned from public universities in Georgia as they neared their high school graduation.
Freedom University provides our students with rigorous courses in human rights and legal studies, mathematics and science, and music and the creative arts to fulfill their love of learning and prepare them for admission to selective universities throughout the United States. Our teachers are professors at local Atlanta universities, who volunteer their time to teach, mentor, and learn from undocumented students who are deeply committed to their education. Every year, as a result of our educational programs and college tours to welcoming colleges across the country, 1 in 3 of our students earn full scholarships to college. Freedom University graduates are now students and recent graduates of universities such as Emory University, Dartmouth College, Middlebury College, Smith College, Oglethorpe University, Berea College, and Eastern Connecticut State University.
OUR STRATEGY FOR CHANGE
While Freedom University is committed to helping our students reach their dream of higher education, we also work to change an unjust system that accepts the labor of undocumented immigrants, but denies their human rights - including the human right to education.
Our strategy for social change is multidimensional:
First, we provide educational programs that incorporate human rights and social movement leadership training to empower our students with the knowledge and skills they need to strengthen and lead the undocumented student movement.
Second, we organize creative actions of civil disobedience in the Kingian nonviolent tradition that pressure the Georgia Board of Regents to repeal Policies 4.1.6 and 4.3.4.
Third, we create campaigns with student allies to secure fair admissions policies at colleges across the country. For example, in 2015, we led the Freedom at Emory campaign that successfully pressured Emory University to accept academically-qualified undocumented students and provide full need-based financial aid.
Finally, we engage with the United Nations and partner with other international human rights organizations to hold the state of Georgia and the U.S. government accountable to international human rights norms.
Through our educational programs, local direct actions, national admissions policy campaigns, and international human rights advocacy, Freedom University is working to secure fair college admissions policies across the country and transform the public debate on undocumented student access to higher education.
HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT OUR WORK
Because we do not charge our students tuition or fees of any kind, our sustainability relies on the generosity of everyday folks across the country. Your donation will have a direct impact on our students' lives.
Funds donated to Freedom University will be used to support:
1) Books and classroom supplies.
2) College tours to welcoming colleges across the country.
3) Tuition and book scholarships to our graduates.
4) Hiring of additional DACA staff members.
5) Other critical costs to keep our doors open to undocumented students.
From all of us, thank you for your love, generosity, and support.
Sincerely,
Dr. Laura Emiko Soltis, Executive Director
Arizbeth Sanchez, Community Engagement Coordinator
Lily, Jose, Lidia, Gabriela, Connie, and Sam of the Student Committee
To learn more about our work, visit www.freedom-university.org
Freedom University is organized under the fiscal sponsorship of The Praxis Project, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to empower undocumented youth and fulfill their human right to education. We believe that all human beings have a right to education, regardless of where they were born or what man-made borders they may cross. We uphold Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that everyone has the right to education and that higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
OUR HISTORY
Freedom University opened its doors in 2011 following the passage of Georgia Board of Regents' Policy 4.1.6, which bans undocumented youth from attending Georgia's top public universities, and Policy 4.3.4, which bans undocumented students from in-state tuition. Georgia's 24,000 DACA students pay state and local taxes to fund the universities they cannot attend. And while more than 20 states allow undocumented students to attend public universities or qualify for in-state tuition, Georgia is the only state to ban DACA students from admission to its top universities and from in-state tuition. These policies effectively target and exclude undocumented youth, and usher in a modern era of educational segregation in the South.
WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO
To fulfill the human right to education of undocumented youth in Georgia, Freedom University welcomes undocumented students ages 17-25 and provides them with free college preparation courses in a safe learning environment. Our students arrived in the United States as young children from countries such as Mexico, El Salvador, Venezuela, Jamaica, Mali, Ghana, and South Korea. Many of our students' families moved to Atlanta in the mid-1990s to build the roads and infrastructure for the city to host the 1996 Olympic Games. While most of our students attended K-12 in Georgia public schools, many realized they were banned from public universities in Georgia as they neared their high school graduation.
Freedom University provides our students with rigorous courses in human rights and legal studies, mathematics and science, and music and the creative arts to fulfill their love of learning and prepare them for admission to selective universities throughout the United States. Our teachers are professors at local Atlanta universities, who volunteer their time to teach, mentor, and learn from undocumented students who are deeply committed to their education. Every year, as a result of our educational programs and college tours to welcoming colleges across the country, 1 in 3 of our students earn full scholarships to college. Freedom University graduates are now students and recent graduates of universities such as Emory University, Dartmouth College, Middlebury College, Smith College, Oglethorpe University, Berea College, and Eastern Connecticut State University.
OUR STRATEGY FOR CHANGE
While Freedom University is committed to helping our students reach their dream of higher education, we also work to change an unjust system that accepts the labor of undocumented immigrants, but denies their human rights - including the human right to education.
Our strategy for social change is multidimensional:
First, we provide educational programs that incorporate human rights and social movement leadership training to empower our students with the knowledge and skills they need to strengthen and lead the undocumented student movement.
Second, we organize creative actions of civil disobedience in the Kingian nonviolent tradition that pressure the Georgia Board of Regents to repeal Policies 4.1.6 and 4.3.4.
Third, we create campaigns with student allies to secure fair admissions policies at colleges across the country. For example, in 2015, we led the Freedom at Emory campaign that successfully pressured Emory University to accept academically-qualified undocumented students and provide full need-based financial aid.
Finally, we engage with the United Nations and partner with other international human rights organizations to hold the state of Georgia and the U.S. government accountable to international human rights norms.
Through our educational programs, local direct actions, national admissions policy campaigns, and international human rights advocacy, Freedom University is working to secure fair college admissions policies across the country and transform the public debate on undocumented student access to higher education.
HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT OUR WORK
Because we do not charge our students tuition or fees of any kind, our sustainability relies on the generosity of everyday folks across the country. Your donation will have a direct impact on our students' lives.
Funds donated to Freedom University will be used to support:
1) Books and classroom supplies.
2) College tours to welcoming colleges across the country.
3) Tuition and book scholarships to our graduates.
4) Hiring of additional DACA staff members.
5) Other critical costs to keep our doors open to undocumented students.
From all of us, thank you for your love, generosity, and support.
Sincerely,
Dr. Laura Emiko Soltis, Executive Director
Arizbeth Sanchez, Community Engagement Coordinator
Lily, Jose, Lidia, Gabriela, Connie, and Sam of the Student Committee
To learn more about our work, visit www.freedom-university.org
Freedom University is organized under the fiscal sponsorship of The Praxis Project, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
Organizer
Freedom University
Organizer
Atlanta, GA
The Praxis Project Inc
Beneficiary