The DREAM Act is No Dream

In March of 2016, Javier Olmos, an an illegal alien of the US, realized how unfair the Immigration Laws were when he obtained criminal charges, and came to find that being a criminal makes it easier to be granted citizenship.

Olmos is a 25 year old Mexican native who has been in the US since he was a year old, didn’t find out he was illegal until he was 18 years old, and who had no criminal background until his recent run in with the law. When Olmos was placed in jail he was warned about possible deportation, which would result in the separation of him and his children, who were born on American soil.

What saved Olmos from being deported immediately was his pending DREAM Act case, but ironically it is his run in with the law that could possibly keep him here forever.

“I tried to do everything to get approved for DACA and I was denied every single time” Olmos said.

To get approved for the Dream Act one must be able to prove that they’ve lived in the US  for a number of years using three types of legal documentation, and Olmos was denied because from 2008 (the year he graduated high school) to 2011 there were no records of him living in the US.

“How do they expect for people to have records of living here if they can’t get anything in their name or enroll in college because they have no Social? It’s unfair.” Olmos said.

Despite being denied citizenship through what most would assume is the “easy way”, Olmos is able to fight his case after his run in with the law, and the process is much more simple.

To be granted permanent citizenship while facing removal proceedings the only qualifications to becoming legal are: having been in the US for a minimum of 10 years, which can be proven with his high school records, that he has good moral character, and that he has a spouse and/or children in the US.

“How is it that until I’m apart of the system you can’t fight it? When I’m doing things the right way, just workin’ and takin’ care of my kids, they make it impossible to become a citizen.” Olmos said.

Olmos is in the process of fighting both his case, and to make the place he calls home, home.

“I’ve been here since I was one years old. I went to school here. I don’t have an accent. I don’t even know much about Mexico even thou it’s my culture. T’m American, dude… this is home.” Olmos said.

 

 

2016: Houston Texans Cheer Hopeful Has a Rock Star Experience

Over 600 Houston Texans Cheer hopefuls crowded the Texan’s practice field on Saturday, April 16, all with one goal: to be an NFL dance star.

Most cheer optimists went into tryouts nervous, some were stressed, and some had no hopes of making the team, but to simply have fun. Yet, contrary to all of the different emotions filling the room,  Jessica Tello’s experience was different than most.

Tello entered try outs for the 3rd time, feeling more confident and radiant than any of the previous years she attended tryouts, and asking herself, “is the 3rd time REALLY a charm?”

Tello entering 2016 HTC Tryouts

“I felt confident and relaxed going into tryouts this year verses my first 2 years. This year I just wanted to have fun and not stress out so much.” Tello said. “I’ve heard from a few girls that when they go into tryouts having fun, they make it further than when they stress out.”

Tello spent weeks searching for a unique costume so she could stand out in front of the judges, spending a pretty penny on what she and others thought was “unique and a hit.” She also gave herself some spunky blonde highlights and fabulous curls to pair with her professionally done makeup.

“I did my own hair and just did what I thought looked best on me, and I used the Texans Cheerleaders’ makeup artist, so I knew I was in good hands.” Tello said.

Tryouts consisted of three rounds, and ended with the top 50 girls for the public to choose from, resulting in an official squad of 30 after voting was closed April, 25. Tello’s positive attitude, unique look, and elaborate costume took her to the Top 50, exceeding the outcome of the previous 2 years.

“When I made top 50 I was shocked and super excited.  I couldn’t sleep that night.” Tello said “It was a dream come true becoming a finalist after 3 years of hard work.”

All there was left to do was rake in the votes. Tello’s social media and cell phone was blowing up with notifications and texts everyday for a week as family, friends, and admirers found out about her being votes away from being a Texan’s Cheerleader.

Tello said that all of that attention made her “feel like a Rock Star”.

Unfortunately, Tello did not end up in the final group of girls, but was happy to have experience all that she did this time around. She is unsure if she will continue on her quest to become a Cheer Star, but her supporters are hoping and encouraging she will give it one last try.

“At this point, I’m not sure if I’ll try out next year. Being a Texans Cheerleader is a part time job with full time commitment. You have to work out  ton, eat clean, and be super organized because all the practices, appearances, and games. If i have the availability, I’ll give it one last shot.” Tello said.

 

 

 

Student Forced to Deny College Scholarships

On April 9, 2016, Miguel Torres, an 18 year old soccer star at Clear Creek High School got a call from his school counselor that unexpectedly changed life as he knew it.

Torres had been trying to get his Social Security Number from his parents to complete the scholarship process for an offer he received to play soccer at the collegiate level, but he hadn’t been successful after several attempts. After becoming confused about why his parents wouldn’t give him his SSN he went to his school counselor for help. Torres and his counselor had a good relationship throughout his 4 years at Creek, so she didn’t mind going the extra mile to help him get into school.

After days of digging she discovered that Torres’ SSN did not exist.

Torres was pulled out of class and told that he was not a citizen of the United States, and that he could not proceed with the completion of his scholarship offers, because illegal aliens cannot accept money from the American government.

“I’m hurt and embarrassed that my parents never told me that I’m not a citizen, because I always thought I was” Torres said “I shouldn’t have had to find out this way”.

According to his school counselor, Torres is an expceptional student and athlete, and everyone expected great things from him.

“Its very heartbreaking that Miguel is being punished from something he has no control over. I’m not judging his parents, but it is simply wrong for him to have found out while trying to persure his dreams. He’s an exceptional student and athlete, we all expected him to do great things” Torres’ school counselor said.

Torres is planning on seeking help in getting legal documentation through the Dream Act so he can continue to peruse his passion in the place he has always known as home.

“I won’t let this stop me. I love soccer, and i really wanna play in college… college in America. America is my home.” Torres said.

Black Cop

Justen Evans, an African American man, is not blind nor is he oblivious to the differences that cops have with black men, because he felt the weight of those tarnished relationships for 2 long years of his life.

While serving as an officer for the Corpus Christi Police Department, Evans endured many trials when dealing with men with skin the same as his, trials that stole moments that should have been triumphant.

Ultimately, Evans joined the force with high hopes of protecting the men that looked like him, helping them to prosper, and most importantly beginning the mending process for the relationships that they had with police officers for centuries.

Black men made his dream harder to accomplish than he had anticipated. He had to walk into a job everyday where he knew he would be ridiculed, talked about, and down right disrespected more often times than not.

“They would tell me that I was a ‘sellout’, that I was an ‘Uncle Tom’ and a ‘pig’,” Evans said, “Lots of people would say that I was a disgrace to the hood because I chose the law enforcement route.”

Although Evans was timelessly tore down by the people he was trying to help, there were moments where the insults were more salient than others.

“This especially happened when I had to arrest not only someone of the same color, but someone that I knew personally,” he said, “ultimately there were some relationships that were tarnished and have never been severed!”

Ironically, even thou he had to deal with being tore down on a daily basis, the same men who were doing the stoning feel as if they could trust a black cop over a white cop.

Texas Southern University student, Tyler Pierce, stated that he is more likely to listen to a black cop whether he knows them personally or not, because he feels like a black cop is more likely to be on his side. It may be arguable that black officers give black men more leeway than a white officer would.

“There was a bit of an understanding when it came to men of my color,” Evans said, “I wouldn’t compromise the law rather to find a way to help an individual out within the confines of the law, but to say that there wasn’t a bit of a bias towards men of my color by me would be false, but never at the expense of compromising my integrity!”

The comfort level that black men have with black cops derives from them understand one another on a level that is above the exchange of words they have when interrogation begins. Communication studies show that the mannerisms and nonverbal actions that black men display out of habit are misunderstood by white law enforcement, and that is reason for white cops believing that a black man is acting aggressively when they approach them.

When Evans approached a black man he claims to have felt a sense of comfort rather than hostility.

“I did feel like there was a level of comfort when I approached an African American male,” he said, “In some cases though, black men did expect for me to be ‘on their side’ because of the color of my skin.”

Evans believes that there is still a tremendous amount of mending to do between cops and black men, but doesn’t think that the color of ones skin should continue to be an issue between the two.

Evans had words of wisdom to share with both white officers and black men.

“Advise for a white cop when dealing with a black man would be to seriously consider the history between white cops and blacks. The only way to change the mindset is to build positive and fruitful relationships.” Evans said, “My advise for black men would be to understand how things are, and make sure they aren’t doing anything that would cause police to act with hate or m

Special Education Teacher Realizes She has Fulfilled Her Calling

Corpus Christi, TX– March 13^th marks the day that Adrian Evans, special education teacher at HAAS Middle School, realized that she has fulfilled her calling when the parent of one of her students cried her way out of the door of her classroom after watching her son cry for the first time as he told Mrs. Evans goodbye.

The end of Fernando Gonzalez’s journey in her class was the beginning of a fulfilling journey for Evans after Gonzalez’s mother told her that his goodbye was the first time she had ever seen him shed a tear. That day made it apparent to Evans that she was doing what she was placed on this earth to do: impact the lives of children with special needs.

“I realized from a previous job at the state school that I had when I was only 20 years old that I enjoyed working with special needs,” Evans said, “I never thought I’d work with them again but once there was a lady that randomly asked me if I was a teacher before I had ever even thought about teaching, and as a Christian I always knew that was a seed that was planted.”

Evans went to school in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree in business for 2 years, took a break for 8 years after having a family, and then earned a degree after 2 more years of school, all to take a leap of faith and go back to school for a teaching certificate that took a mere 2 months.

After a long, yet worthy, journey, Evans has impacted her children and it has been recognized not only by her children’s parents, but also the administrators at her school.

“I’ve been told by administrators and special education coaches ‘Mrs. Evans, I’ve never seen these kids come as far as they have until they’ve gotten into your class’,” Evans said, “ and I know I make a difference ‘cause my expectations for them are high, I don’t treat them like they’re special, I treat them like regular students.”

Evans says that the key to teaching her kids is routine. She starts every day with a review of the calendar, moves along to the lesson for the day that begins with the students quoting “Education is not received, it’s achieved”, and ends with the students telling something interesting about themselves. Evans also reminds the students every day that there are no excuses for their behavior, so that they don’t think that their disabilities give them the right to misbehave.

There is not one student in Evans class that does not enjoy being there Monday through Friday.

“I like Mrs. Evans class because she’s pretty and cool and I learn stuff.” her student Darrien Mulligan said.

All of her students had similar reactions when asked how they felt about being in Mrs. Evans classroom.

It’s no secret that being a special education teacher isn’t an easy job, but at 2 years short of a decade, Evans still feels like she made the best decision of her life by doing all she can to impact the lives of students who need all the special love and care she can give.

“I want to retire as a teacher,” Evans said, “I can see myself doing this for 13 to 15 more years.”