Linette Garcia | Staff Writer
With the news that a donor withdrawing their $1 million donation from the university due to the removal of in-state tuition eligibility for undocumented students, it’s time we refocus on the values the university was founded on.
Cuban American businessman Miguel Fernandez promised a donation intended for scholarships for all FIU students. Unfortunately, he halted the funds in opposition to Florida’s early decision to revoke tuition for undocumented students—a policy supported by University President Jeanette Nuñez.
What’s even more disheartening is that Nuñez was once in favor of the tuition equity law, which required educational institutions to waive out-of-state tuition for undocumented students to increase opportunity for all.
Because of this legislation, many undocumented Floridians will face a future devoid of educational opportunities, and knowing that our own university’s president agrees with it puts a sour taste in my mouth.
This isn’t just a financial loss—it’s a moral one.
Butler E. Waugh, one of FIU’s co-founders, wrote a message about how he and his colleagues wanted to define the university during the complicated times of the Vietnam War during the 1960s.
“During a time that universities throughout the world are being torn about, we need to focus on bringing the outside in, to accommodate the world in a world come of age.”
FIU is a school that not only strives for academic excellence but also vows never to be elitist. FIU was built to give higher education to all people, including the working class and those immigrating from different countries.
Over 60 percent of the student body at FIU is Hispanic or Latino, many of whom are either first-generation, undocumented, or Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals (DACA). It’s estimated that about 500 FIU students will be affected by the tuition removal.
For the president to stand behind this exclusionary policy feels like an utter betrayal of the diverse student body FIU claims to champion.
Undocumented international students have taken hit after hit this year, with FIU’s partnership with ICE creating a significant ripple effect. Repealing this bipartisan law signals a final nail in the coffin.
Although I am an American citizen, my academic pursuits would have faltered if it weren’t for financial aid. It’s frustrating to know that such resources are immediately denied to those less fortunate solely because of their immigration status.
Of course, FIU can earn the $1 million elsewhere. However, reading that a businessman who has vowed to help first-generation students retract his pledge should serve as a wake up call for the university— it’s better to stand on its foundational values rather than bend a knee to an unreasonable authoritarian regime.
FIU is built on the promise of access and opportunity for everyone, and these are values that shouldn’t shift with the tides of politics. To abandon that legacy is a disservice to all of us.
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