The United States is a country with generations of immigrants, often referred to as the melting pot of different groups of people and cultures. With all this migration comes a wave of new generation children brought to this country on someone else's terms.

They are referred to in many different ways, but whether they're called Dream students, Dreamers, or DACA students they strive for higher education opportunities in a country that they call home.

A Dream student is a student that is undocumented and cannot receive any federal aid or government assistance due to lack of citizenship. A DACA student can be defined as a subgroup of undocumented students that have received Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and have more protection and accessibility than regular undocumented students.

Chico State is a campus that supports and shares the goal for Dream students to receive a higher education and is one of the few California State Universities with a Dream Center. The Dream Center, located in Siskiyou 115, offers support to Chico community members and students who are undocumented or are from mixed-status families.

The center provides financial aid resources, health and wellness assistance, and academic guidance to any students, faculty, staff, or community members who may need these services.

“We wanted a place on campus for students to go to, an entity to receive the help they needed where they didn’t have to go throughout campus and explain themselves,” coordinator Elizabeth Alaniz said.

“We wanted a place on campus for students to go to an entity to receive the help they needed..”

They provide resources to undocumented students such as free legal consultations and online information about resources and assistance on campus. They also offer informative workshops such as the Know Your Rights workshops and Undocu-Talks, where students can learn more about accessible resources or how to handle real-life situations. These workshops provide opportunities to meet alumni while learning about life after college and the options that they will have.

The Dream Center is also responsible for Dream Ally Training. They train faculty and staff on what an undocumented student is and how they are different from US citizens. They also try to work with all departments on campus to provide information on how to help undocumented students.

“Some of my everyday duties in the Dream Center are finding ways to expand resources, we also work on ways to improve our outreach and visibility,” student intern advisor Aldo Vasquez said. “I also navigate and upkeep our website where we offer scholarships and provide resources to Chico State's undocumented students.”

The Dream Center strives to inform the community and break stigmas. They have informative handouts and worksheets available in the office and online that explain the difference between DACA students and Dream students.

There are many US-born students that are afraid for their families, and the Dream Center’s office is a great place for the students to find information for themselves and for their family. They are currently working on a student resource guide to be available on their website.

“We are very lucky with the Chico State campus. They have done so much in a short amount of time, but it’s important for the Chico community to come out to our center and see what we have to offer,” Alaniz said.

August 11 in Charlottesville, Virginia, terror rang through the nation as a white nationalist group marched through the University of Virginia with torches blazing.

August 19 in Boston, Massachusetts, 40,000 people marched against bigotry and hate in hopes of spreading peace and love.

The participants in each event used the first amendment to demonstrate their beliefs about current political issues. The major difference is that one created separation within the country while the other strived for unity. Both were protected under freedom of speech.

According to the United States Courts, freedom of speech includes the right not to speak, for students to protest war, to use certain offensive words and phrases to convey political messages, and to engage in symbolic speech.

This definition is understood differently for every person who reads it.

Chico State offers an arena for people to speak on a platform with their ideologies. Adrien Macias, student outreach coordinator for the Associated Students Gender and Sexuality Equity Center, acknowledged the tension around race relations and gender relations that protestors create while on campus.

“If the system isn’t trying to protect us, how are we supposed to grow?”

“We all are here for an education and to learn from each other,” Macias said. “If the system isn’t trying to protect us, how are we supposed to grow?”

The campus attempted to open the conversation about freedom of speech through a seminar about nurturing and negotiating free speech in a digital world. It was led by professors Stephen Caldes, Susan Wiesinger, and Mark Plenke and addressed some issues around the controversial topic.

Each professor prepared a 10-minute talk and encouraged people to join the conversation and bring questions. Students came to them with concerns about how freedom of speech can be harmful to our campus. The students also expressed worry about their safety regarding speech that incites violence on campus.

Stephen Caldes, journalism professor and former freelance writer, sees freedom of speech as an art form that should not be censored. “Free speech is ugly, but it is necessary to create a conversation,” Caldes said.

There was a conversation after Charlottesville and opposing sides clashed. There was a conversation after anti-abortion protesters came to campus with graphic content plastered on posters seven feet high. There was a conversation after The Orion published an opinion article about gender being binary. These conversations were all ugly, but they forged a path in their communities for opportunities to find middle ground.

A strong sense of community is what makes Chico State so special. In hopes of keeping this community unified, everyone should listen to each other’s ideas, even if conflicting of their own, and hope to meet in the middle. When difficult conversations do come up, these resources will help break down the barriers that can be caused by freedom of speech.

“We should value community,” Macias said. “We should value each other’s voices.”

Walking through Chico State campus, what is the first thing that catches your attention? Is it the vivacious green color of the trees, the slow and peaceful wind of the river, or the recognition to the tribe that started it all? Long before John and Annie Bidwell, the native landowners of Butte County were the Mechoopda tribe of Maidu people.

The Mechoopda are formally known and federally recognized as the Mechoopda Indian Tribe of Chico Rancheria. They reference the beginning of this world as Tadoiko, a place that was located a couple miles south of the village. Following John Bidwell’s acquisition to the Spanish Land Grant, Rancho Arroyo Chico, they were moved to a summer campsite on the south side of Chico Creek. A couple years later, their village was moved closer to Bidwell’s residence. In 1868, the tribe was finally moved to its final location that later became known as the Chico Rancheria.

“People have to realize when you’re talking about John and Annie Bidwell there were people that were here before them,” said Sandra Knight, vice chairperson of the Mechoopda. “The lives that they impacted, those lives are still here and very much alive. I don’t think people get that at all. We are still here.”

"We would like more acknowledgement of the local people at the University and in the community. But mostly our goal is to support tribal sovereignty."

A group of Chico State faculty members started Friends of Mechoopda due to concern with the county government’s insistence on thwarting the Mechoopda Indian Tribe’s goal to build a casino on Highway 149. The group's main objective was to address issues around the casino and support the Mechoopda and their sovereignty.

Sara Trechter, a faculty member involved with Friends of Mechoopda, said they formed the group to address the issue around the casino. As they got together and discussed concerns they realized they had a larger context to address.

“We would like more acknowledgement of the local people at the University and in the community. But mostly our goal is to support tribal sovereignty,” Trechter said.

Chico State is looking for ways to establish a relationship with the Mechoopda tribe. In order to build a solid relationship with the Mechoopda people, it is important to recognize their history.

“There’s a pretty clear lack of understanding and knowledge on the campus in general, about being on Mechoopda land,” Trechter said. Last year, through the academic senate, they achieved acknowledgement at university events like the graduation ceremony for the Mechoopda.

It was a step in the right direction but more can be done. Another goal of Friends of Mechoopda is to have recognition of the tribe on the University’s website and syllabi. Trechter expressed that there needs to be more evidence of the Mechoopda’s history and a stronger presence throughout the campus—students should understand that the campus and surrounding area are the Mechoopda’s home and history.

“I think the real acknowledgement happens when you put your money where your mouth is,” Trechter said. “Respect is one thing. Respect should come with, in my opinion, some sense of reparation.”

Respect can start with the campus environment by keeping it clean and thriving so the connection and relationship with the tribe is seen as something that’s valued.

“The most important thing is to foster respect for that land. It’s hard for us to walk over to the campus with litter. It's ugly and it’s a big deal,” Knight said. “I don’t know how to instill how important it is to honor the earth.”

Chico State values diversity and respect for all, so it is important to recognize and appreciate not only the students, staff, and faculty, but also all inhabitants of the land and its true pioneers.

“We don’t want people to study us. We don’t want to perform for anybody,” Knight said. “The most important thing we want to foster out of a relationship with Chico State.”

People are always searching for a place to fit in.

They try to find others to connect with on more levels than one. The Chico State community is becoming more multiracial, which means more diversity throughout campus and more opportunities to connect.

Brianna Ellis, career adviser for Chico State, grew up in Chico and had difficulty finding people similar to her. She identifies as biracial, meaning that she is two ethnicities, Caucasian and African American.

“My friend groups were not very diverse growing up. So one challenge I learned to overcome is accepting who I was as a person,” Ellis said. “People would always ask, ‘What are you?’ and that always made me think, ‘Well who am I?’”

Ellis graduated and then left Chico for five years to pursue her master’s degree and gain work experience. When she returned, she noticed a difference in the Chico State community.

“It so refreshing that I experience and talk to so many students that are from mixed backgrounds,” Ellis said. “When I was growing up no one was biracial. Being biracial is becoming a norm now. It’s fun and different.”

Now an adult, Ellis feels she has accepted her identity and used it to help her connect with other students that are similar to her. She thinks that future students would come here and find the same, making it easier for everyone to call Chico State home.

“My multicultural background has helped me see the differences in cultures more clearly”

Mark Faaita, a communications studies graduate student, is of Mexican, Samoan, Native American, and European cultural descent. For Faaita, being American furthers tension because of the history the United States has with his ancestors, but it gives him insight into different ways of life.

“My multicultural background has helped me see the differences in cultures more clearly,” Faaita said.

Faaita said being multiracial can make it hard to fully immerse oneself into a culture when people are constantly questioning if you belong. But being exposed to multiple races allows each individual to develop different lenses they can utilize in everyday life. Faaita uses his background as a way to help further his understanding in the literature he reads for classes.

When Charles “CC” Carter stepped foot on the Chico State University campus on his first day of college, he never knew he would spend the next 45 years of his life in Chico.

Everyone knows him as just “CC,” a nickname that was given to him in high school because Charles was just too stuffy for him. Carter, a champion for diversity, the founder of the Cross-Cultural Leadership Center (CCLC), and director of the Student Life and Leadership Department, is retiring after 38 years.

Student life at Chico State

Carter’s mother died when he was young. Growing up, he bounced around three foster homes.

He said Chico was not even on his radar, but when he turned 18, he needed somewhere to go. Carter called himself a “poster child.” He was a football player who also ran track and field, and planned to use his athletic talent to get into college because “education was not his thing.”

It worked. He was accepted to multiple colleges with athletic scholarships. Carter grew up in Seaside in Monterey County and decided he wanted to go far away without leaving California. For some reason, he said, he chose Chico. The first day he came for classes at Chico State was the first day he had ever been on campus.

“I came to Chico and within the first week, I fell in love with it and never realized it was going to be my home for the next 45 years of my life,” he said.

“Activism can take a number of shapes and forms, and it’s most effective”

Carter attended Chico State from 1975 to 1980 and majored in social work and psychology. What he loved most about the campus community was the people.

“The people, the community—everyone was so accepting,” he said. “Everyone was curious about me as an individual and who I was without judgement. And, everyone was here for the same reason—to go to school to find themselves.”

The connection to the campus for Carter was similar to a family, which was the most important thing to him. A political science class with Professor Homer Metcalf also solidified that Chico was the best college choice for him. Carter said Metcalf was a pure product of the ’60s.

“I’m sitting down having a beer at my professor’s house and we’re talking about what happened in the ’60s, why he was so passionate about it, what he was doing, and how he had to stand up and fight the system,” he said.

Engaging in stimulating conversations and testing new concepts learned in classes made Chico “magical” for him. He said he went to school during an exciting time when multicultural and gender programs were booming, and conversations about defining America differently were emerging.

“I call this place Disneyland because it’s unreal,” he said, “You will find that there is no other place in the world like it.” Carter said although the classes sparked his interest in activism, he didn’t engage in it until after college. He played football, ran track, and also worked 20 to 25 hours a week as a paraprofessional for the Educational Opportunity Program. He started becoming more involved with activism when he finished with sports and graduated from Chico State.

“It was always in my blood,” he said. “I just never had time to do it in college.”

Carter made the transition from student to professional in 1980. He said he took a full-time job at the university and never looked back.

Cross-Cultural Leadership Center

Carter said his greatest accomplishment is founding the Cross-Cultural Leadership Center, which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year.

“It is a place that symbolizes everything that I’m about in terms of creating inclusivity and creating a space where people feel respected, connected, and affirmed,” he said. “It’s a place of possibility, hope, and where individuals can really find themselves when they are lost.”

He also said the CCLC was a place where students can get support when they need it from their peers on campus and professional staff. It’s like a family away from home.

“There's nothing like it on this campus and in the state,” he said. “It’s so warm and loving. It’s a place you can get a hug, where you can be yourself and laugh, where you can go to just scream, and somebody will ask you if you’re okay and really mean it.”

Before the CCLC became a part of the campus community, Carter and a group of about 10 students traveled up and down California to research multicultural centers on other college campuses. And Carter was asked to come up with an idea to combine leadership and multicultural programs.

Through analyzing the trials and errors of other centers, a concept and philosophy were developed and are still in use at the CCLC today.

“We’re a cross-cultural center that focuses on multiple identities and providing the opportunity to engage no matter who they are in one space,” he said. “It’s not the promotion or advocating for one culture over another, it's about the building of all communities.”

The CCLC teaches students about how to have a voice, empower communities, and look at what needs to be changed and how to do it.

“You have to be empowered to control your own reality,” he said. “It is about activism in trying to change the status quo, and that does not happen by sitting on the sidelines.”

Though he’s retiring, Carter’s legacy will continue on at Chico State through the CCLC.