Jessica Colotal, the Kennesaw State University student who was arrested last March, the day after a campus officer stopped her for blocking traffic was sentenced Monday to three days in Cobb County’s jail and almost a year probation for misdemeanor driving without a license. While this is an everyday offense in the state of Georgia, the debate Colotal has spawned is not. Colotal was stopped for impeding traffic and she told the officer she had a Mexican drivers license but could not find it. The officer gave her until the next day to produce the Mexican license.The next morning, after being unable to produce the license, Colotl was arrested, taken to jail and turned over to federal immigration officers. Colotal then spent 37 days in several immigration detention centers and was later granted a year-long deportation deferment to finish her college education at Kennesaw State University. Colotal is set to graduate in the spring with a bachelor's degree in political science and a minor in French. Colotal's arrest has led to a state wide debate on illegal immigration with regards to college admission. Demonstrations, protests and political debate have occurred statewide after learning that Colotal has attended Kennesaw State University as an instate resident the past three years. Just last month the State Board of Regents voted in favor of banning illegal immigrants from attending Georgia's top public colleges starting next fall. Debate and legislation continue to appear on this issue, however the issue of illegal immigration is far from solved. How do you feel about the punishment Colotal received? Do you think it was fair or too lenient?
I've been doing a lot of shopping around for grad schools lately, and I found some interesting programs in other countries. Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, B.C. Canada is interesting because it's a state school and foreigners like me can pay the same tuition as Canadians. I can't go there unless I apply for a Canadian student visa. Most countries like Canada (UK, France, Spain) that regularly waive Americans through the border without a visa requirement still require a student visa before you can register for classes in that country. No visa, no classes. That's just how it is.
ReplyDeleteI think Kennesaw did the right thing she should graduate and I also think the state did the right thing for banning illegal immigrants from attending school. How can you try to attend school while breaking the law and knowingly doing it.
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