Students listen to stories of parents and families as immigrants and impacted individuals marched to Tivoli Quad on Auraria Campus to defend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program during a city wide walkout and rally at Auraria Campus downtown Denver.
After Hurricanes Harvey and Irma left their hometowns devastated, and rumors of mass deportations led them to question their futures, hundreds of Colorado college students are finding comfort and financial help on campus.
In addition to counseling and emotional support, money to cover tuition and other expenses is being offered to students who hail from America’s hurricane-battered south and southeast and the Caribbean.
And students brought illegally to the United States when they were children are finding money to pay fees and support through words and deeds at Metropolitan State University, said Iliana Chavez, a 24-year-old senior.
“To have the school stand up and say they are willing to help us, that’s amazing,” Chavez said.
The university’s Denver Foundation is raising money to help cover the costs of renewal fees for hundreds of eligible DACA students at Metro State. Renewal fees for inclusion in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program can run as high as $500.
Joe Amon, The Denver Post
Speaking for her 3 granddaughters at Manual High School, Rose Luella chants with students as immigrants, impacted individuals and community members marched to Tivoli Quad on Auraria Campus to defend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program during a city wide walkout and rally at Auraria Campus downtown Denver.
Joe Amon, The Denver Post
Students, immigrants and supporters marched to Tivoli Quad on Auraria Campus to defend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program during a city wide walkout and rally following the announcement that President Donald Trump would end the program.
Joe Amon, The Denver Post
Students, immigrants, impacted individuals and community members marched to Tivoli Quad on Auraria Campus to defend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program during a city wide walkout and rally at Auraria Campus downtown Denver.
Joe Amon, The Denver Post
Randi Smith, a psychology teacher at Metro carries a sign for her students as students, immigrants, impacted individuals and community members marched to Tivoli Quad on Auraria Campus to defend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program during a city wide walkout and rally at Auraria Campus downtown Denver.
Joe Amon, The Denver Post
Students listen to stories of parents and families as immigrants and impacted individuals marched to Tivoli Quad on Auraria Campus to defend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program during a city wide walkout and rally at Auraria Campus downtown Denver.
Joe Amon, The Denver Post
Students, immigrants and impacted individuals marched to Tivoli Quad on Auraria Campus to defend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program during a city wide walkout and rally at Auraria Campus downtown Denver.
Joe Amon, The Denver Post
Metro student 26 year old Victor Galvan speaking as students, immigrants and impacted individuals marched to Tivoli Quad on Auraria Campus to defend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program during a city wide walkout and rally at Auraria Campus downtown Denver.
Joe Amon, The Denver Post
Tears begin after 17 year old DSST Cole senior Karla Nino spoke to the crowd. "It's too much, Too much of a struggle to keep struggling for someone to tell us we can't get an education, got to college, can't go to high school." Students, immigrants and impacted individuals that marched to Tivoli Quad on Auraria Campus to defend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program during a city wide walkout and rally at Auraria Campus downtown Denver.
Joe Amon, The Denver Post
Students, immigrants and impacted individuals marched to Tivoli Quad on Auraria Campus to defend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program during a city wide walkout and rally in September 2017 at Auraria Campus downtown Denver.
Joe Amon, The Denver Post
Fifteen year old 11th grader from DSST College View, Mario Esparca and his flag stands with students, immigrants and impacted individuals marched to Tivoli Quad on Auraria Campus to defend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program during a city wide walkout and rally at Auraria Campus downtown Denver.
Joe Amon, The Denver Post
Ninth graders at DSST Cole 16 year old Julian Cadello comforts 15 year old Nancy Flores during the speeches as students, immigrants and impacted individuals marched to Tivoli Quad on Auraria Campus to defend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program during a city wide walkout and rally at Auraria Campus downtown Denver.
Joe Amon, The Denver Post
Metro student Stephanie Martinez, 19, at Tivoli Quad on Auraria Campus to defend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program during a city wide walkout and rally at Auraria Campus downtown Denver, CO.
Joe Amon, The Denver Post
Students, immigrants and impacted individuals marched to Tivoli Quad on Auraria Campus to defend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program during a city wide walkout and rally at Auraria Campus downtown Denver on Sept. 5, 2017.
John Leyba, The Denver Post
Students and faculty show support as they hold signs along Speer Blvd at Viking Park on Sept. 5, 2017 at Denver North High School in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
John Leyba, The Denver Post
Students and faculty show support as they hold signs along Speer Blvd at Viking Park on Sept. 5, 2017 at Denver North High School in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
John Leyba, The Denver Post
Arizona Valverde ninth grader at North High, students and faculty show support as they hold signs along Speer Blvd at Viking Park on Sept. 5, 2017 at Denver North High School in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
John Leyba, The Denver Post
Students and faculty show support as they hold signs along Speer Blvd at Viking Park on Sept. 5, 2017 at Denver North High School in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
John Leyba, The Denver Post
Students and faculty show support as they hold signs along Speer Blvd at Viking Park on Sept. 5, 2017 at Denver North High School in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Metro State University president Janine Davidson, meanwhile, responded strongly to a proposal from President Donald Trump that DACA students may be deported.
“DACA students and employees are valuable contributors to our learning community and among the hardest workers we have on campus,” Davidson said. “They have come to MSU Denver to better their lives, families and communities. I intend to do everything in my power to ensure that they can continue to do so.”
Chavez came here with her parents from Guadalajara, Mexico, when she was 4. She is set to graduate from Metro State with degrees in political science and sociology and hopes to go to law school.
Fears about the end of DACA leave Chavez and others on campus worried about their future. “We are dealing with a lot of uncertainty and anxiety,” Chavez said.
The University of Colorado started a Student Relief Fund in April aimed at helping students enrolled in DACA and the related ASSET — Advancing Students for a Stronger Economy Tomorrow — programs. The fund, supported by private contributions, helps students who face financial hardship or legal roadblocks to accessing federal or state financial aid, officials said.
Spencer Platt, Getty Images
A woman leaves her flooded home the morning after Hurricane Irma swept through the area on Sept. 11, 2017 in Fort Myers, Florida. Hurricane Irma made another landfall near Naples yesterday after inundating the Florida Keys. Electricity was out in much of the region with localized flooding.
Spencer Platt, Getty Images
A family leaves their flooded home in a rural area the morning after Hurricane Irma swept through the area on Sept. 11, 2017 in Naples, Florida. Hurricane Irma made another landfall near Naples yesterday after inundating the Florida Keys. Electricity was out in much of the region with extensive flooding.
Nicholas Kamm, AFP/Getty Images
A man paddles through a flooded neighborhood in Bonita Springs, Florida, northeast of Naples, on Sept. 11, 2017 after Hurricane Irma hit Florida.
Spencer Platt, Getty Images
Jizreel Plancher calls out from the back of a truck to see if people need help the morning after Hurricane Irma swept through the area on Sept. 11, 2017 in Naples, Florida. Hurricane Irma made another landfall near Naples yesterday after inundating the Florida Keys. Electricity was out in much of the region with localized flooding.
Spencer Platt, Getty Images
A couple walk through the flooded streets the morning after Hurricane Irma swept through the area on Sept. 11, 2017 in Naples, Florida. Hurricane Irma made another landfall near Naples yesterday after inundating the Florida Keys. Electricity was out in much of the region with localized flooding.
Will Dickey/The Florida Times-Union via AP
An Urban Flood Water Rescue Team with the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department makes its way along a flooded street on the Southbank of downtown as Hurricane Irma passes by Monday, Sept. 11, 2017 in Jacksonville, Fla.
Spencer Platt, Getty Images
An electrical worker repairs stop lights the morning after Hurricane Irma swept through the area on Sept. 11, 2017 in Naples, Florida. Hurricane Irma made another landfall near Naples yesterday after inundating the Florida Keys. Electricity was out in much of the region with localized flooding.
Mark Wilson, Getty Images
The roof of a gas station is shown damaged by Hurricane Irma winds on Sept. 11, 2017 in Bonita Springs, Florida. Yesterday Hurricane Irma hit Florida's west coast leaving widespread damage and flooding.
Spencer Platt, Getty Images
People wait in line for a store to open for food and water the morning after Hurricane Irma swept through the area on Sept. 11, 2017 in Naples, Florida. Hurricane Irma made another landfall near Naples yesterday after inundating the Florida Keys. Electricity was out in much of the region with localized flooding.
Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images
Hotel guests are served breakfast by lamplight as the power remains off at the Courtyard by Marriott one day after Hurricane Irma struck the state Sept. 11, 2017 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Irma made landfall as a Category 4 storm twice in the United States on Sunday after tearing a path across islands in the Caribbean Sea.
Mark Wilson, Getty Images
Road crews clear debris after Hurricane Irma passed through on Sept. 11, 2017 in Naples, Florida. Hurricane Irma made landfall in the Florida Keys as a Category 4 storm on Sunday, lashing the state with 130 mph winds as it moved up the coast.
Brian Blanco, Getty Images
A large tree is seen laying in the front yard of a home after high winds from Hurricane Irma came through the area on Sept. 11, 2017 in Fort Meade, Florida. The Category 4 hurricane made landfall in the United States in the Florida Keys at 9:10 a.m. yesterday, after raking across the north coast of Cuba.
Will Dickey/The Florida Times-Union via AP, The Associated Press
Urban Flood Water Rescue Team 2, with the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, makes its way along San Marco Boulevard on the Southbank of downtown as Hurricane Irma passes by Monday, Sept. 11, 2017 in Jacksonville, Fla.
Joe Raedle, Getty Images
A boat is seen washed ashore at the Dinner Key marina after Hurricane Irma passed through the area on Sept. 11, 2017 in Miami, Florida. Hurricane Irma made landfall in the Florida Keys as a Category 4 storm on Sunday, lashing the state with 130 mph winds as it moved up the coast.
Mark Wilson, Getty Images
A home is shown damaged after Hurricane Irma hit the area on Sept. 11, 2017 in East Naples, Florida. Hurricane Irma made landfall in the Florida Keys as a Category 4 storm on Sunday, lashing the state with 130 mph winds as it moved up the coast.
Mark Wilson, Getty Images
The Sunrise Motel remains flooded after Hurricane Irma hit the area on Sept. 11, 2017 in East Naples, Florida. Yesterday Hurricane Irma hit Florida's west coast leaving widespread damage and flooding.
Spencer Platt, Getty Images
A teen walks through flooded streets the morning after Hurricane Irma swept through the area on Sept. 11, 2017 in Naples, Florida. Hurricane Irma made another landfall near Naples yesterday after inundating the Florida Keys. Electricity was out in much of the region with localized flooding.
Joe Raedle, Getty Images
Philippa Regueira returns home through a street littered with downed trees and branches after seeking shelter in a friend's home after Hurricane Irma passed through the area on Sept. 11, 2017 in Miami, Florida. Florida took a direct hit from the Hurricane.
David Santiago/Miami Herald via AP
The Interstate remains empty as the outer bands of Hurricane Irma reached South Florida early Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017 in Miami.
Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP
The winds and sea are whipped up off of the Rickenbacker Causeway as two people cross the street in Miami as Hurricane Irma approaches on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017.
Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images
A car sits abandoned in storm surge along North Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard as Hurricane Irma hits the southern part of the state Sept. 10, 2017 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The powerful hurricane made landfall in the United States in the Florida Keys at 9:10 a.m. after raking across the north coast of Cuba.
Joe Raedle, Getty Images
A person walks through a flooded street in the Brickell area of downtown as Hurricane Irma passes through on Sept. 10, 2017 in Miami, Florida. Hurricane Irma made landfall in the Florida Keys as a Category 4 storm on Sunday, lashing the state with 130 mph winds as it moves up the coast.
Saul Loeb, AFP/Getty Images
Heavy winds and rain from Hurricane Irma are seen in Miami, Florida on Sept. 10, 2017. Hurricane Irma's eyewall slammed into the lower Florida Keys, lashing the island chain with fearsome wind gusts, the US National Hurricane Center said.
Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images
Large waves produced by Hurricane Irma crash into the end of Anglins Fishing Pier Sept. 10, 2017 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The Category 4 hurricane made landfall in the United States in the Florida Keys at 9:10 a.m. after raking across the north coast of Cuba.
Joe Raedle, Getty Images
A boat is washed on shore at the Watson Island marina as Hurricane Irma passed through the area on Sept. 10, 2017 in Miami, Florida. Hurricane Irma, which first made landfall in the Florida Keys as a Category 4 storm on Sunday, has weakened to a Category 2 as it moves up the coast.
Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images
A car sits abandoned in storm surge along North Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard as Hurricane Irma hits the southern part of the state September 10, 2017 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The powerful hurricane made landfall in the United States in the Florida Keys at 9:10 a.m. after raking across the north coast of Cuba.
Brian Blanco, Getty Images
Residents inspect the extreme receding water in Tampa Bay ahead of Hurricane Irma on Sept. 10, 2017 in Tampa, Florida. Hurricane Irma made landfall in the Florida Keys as a Category 4 storm on Sunday, lashing the state with 130 mph winds as it moves up the coast.
Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images
Broken tree branches block roads in the Coral Beach neighborhood as Hurricane Irma hits the southern part of the state September 10, 2017 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The powerful hurricane made landfall in the United States in the Florida Keys at 9:10 a.m. after raking across the north coast of Cuba.
Michele Eve, AFP/Getty Images
A fallen tree crashes atop a row of cars on Sept. 10, 2017 Miami, Florida in the wake of Hurricane Irma.
Hurricane Irma's eyewall slammed into the lower Florida Keys, lashing the island chain with fearsome wind gusts, the US National Hurricane Center said.
Gerald Herbert, The Associated Press
Evacuees stand in line to enter the Germain Arena, which is being used as a shelter, in advance of Hurricane Irma, in Estero, Fla., Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017.
Jim Rassol /South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP
A young girl and her family seek shelter from Hurricane Irma at the West Boynton Park and Recreation Center in Boynton, Beach, Fla., on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017.
David Goldman, The Associated Press
Hector Padron carries his mattress as evacuees are moved to another building with more bathrooms while sheltering at Florida International University ahead of Hurricane Irma in Miami, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017.
David Goldman, The Associated Press
Evacuees are moved to another building with more bathrooms while sheltering at Florida International University ahead of Hurricane Irma in Miami, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017.
David Goldman, The Associated Press
Evacuees are moved to another building with more bathrooms while sheltering at Florida International University ahead of Hurricane Irma in Miami, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017.
Jim Rassol, South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP
People seek shelter from Irma with their pets at the West Boynton Park and Recreation Center in preparation for Hurricane Irma in Boynton, Beach, Fla., on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017.
Saul Loeb, AFP/Getty Images
Hundreds of people gather in an emergency shelter at the Miami-Dade County Fair Expo Center in Miami, Florida, Sept. 8, 2017, ahead of Hurricane Irma.
Florida Governor Rick Scott warned that all of the state's 20 million inhabitants should be prepared to evacuate as Hurricane Irma bears down for a direct hit on the southern US state.
Chris O'Meara, The Associated Press
Ramsey Abdelkader, right, helps Sherri Skala, left, and Jennifer Morales fill sand bags to help protect their restaurant Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017, in Clearwater Beach, Fla. Business and residents were under a mandatory evacuation order as Hurricane Irma continued to churn towards Florida.
Lara Cerri, Tampa Bay Times via AP
Joseph, Jr., right, 15, of St. Petersburg, bends down to carry sandbags to his family's vehicle at Lealman Community Park, in St. Petersburg, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017, as residents prepare for Hurricane Irma.
Joe Raedle, Getty Images
People line up to get their propane tanks filled as they prepare for Hurricane Irma on Sept. 5, 2017 in Miami, Florida. It's still too early to know where the direct impact of the hurricane will take place but the state of Florida is in the area of possible landfall.
Joe Burbank, Orlando Sentinel via The Associated Press
Drivers wait in line for gasoline in Altamonte Springs, Fla., ahead of the anticipated arrival of Hurricane Irma, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017. Irma roared into the Caribbean with record force early Wednesday, its 185-mph winds shaking homes and flooding buildings on a chain of small islands along a path toward Puerto Rico, Cuba and Hispaniola and a possible direct hit on densely populated South Florida.
NASA/NOAA GOES Project via Getty Images
In this NASA/NOAA handout image taken at 11:45 a.m. Friday, NOAA's GOES satellite shows Hurricane Irma in the Caribbean Sea, Tropical Storm Jose in the Atlantic Ocean and Tropical Storm Katia in the Gulf of Mexico.
The fund now has about $50,000 in it, CU spokesman Ken McConnellogue said.
The Student Crisis Fund at Colorado State University was established in 1990 to help CSU students who face serious financial hardship due to unanticipated expenses. The fund is being used to help students whose families are facing hardships due to hurricanes and wildfires as well as DACA students, university officials said.
After Hurricanes Harvey and Irma hit, CU officials sent emails to students from Florida, Texas, other southeast states and the Caribbean, offering support and pointing them to free and confidential campus resources that assist students experiencing personal or family crises.
“Students who receive these emails expressed deep gratitude for the support and acknowledgement the campus offered,” McConnellogue said.
CU’s Division of Student Affairs, the Bursar’s Office and the Office of Financial Aid also worked to extend tuition and fee deadlines for students impacted by the storms and waived late charges, he said.
The CU Boulder Volunteer Resource Center is organizing service trips to the areas hit hardest by the hurricanes to offer help, McConnellogue added.
The University of Denver said as many as 125 students were impacted by the hurricanes and that the school’s Student Outreach and Support and the Office of Graduate Studies assigned a case manager to the students to provide information about the resources available to them.
A special Pioneers Care Harvey Report is posted on the Student Outreach and Support home page online and can be completed by a student or on behalf of a student. The report helps identify students’ needs.
