Brookhaven Courier

Issue date: 9/10/07 Section: News

Students and faculty at Brookhaven College are in the midst of the conflict going on in Farmers Branch, whether they like it or not.

Since FB council members have started introducing ordinances to try and ban illegal immigrants, Brookhaven has been a safe haven for some and a separate community apart from the ongoing struggle in the surrounding city.

Dr. Sharon Blackman, president of Brookhaven, said at convocation before school started this fall that the immigration issue has had a negative effect on our campus.

Blackman said the remark was based not on facts regarding Brookhaven, but on cursory comments made by faculty and students.

Sam Govea, professor of communication improvement at Brookhaven's East Center and also the assistant instructional dean at Brookhaven, said when he drives by the East Center in the mornings he notices the amount of cars in the parking lot has diminished.



He said this might be because so many FB police cars patrol that area of Midway and Marsh that some students might be scared of getting pulled over and asked for their papers.

He said international student enrollment at Brookhaven has not been affected because the students who attend classes here are in the city legally.

He said their student visas give them the ability to not worry about attending class, but a portion of students at the East Center are undocumented persons, which might cause some apprehension in attending the center.

Angela Jones, the continuing education workforce specialist at the East Center, said classes offered at the East Center are continuing education and not credit. She said because of this their enrollment numbers are always in a state of flux, so it's hard to pinpoint whether the issues involving FB are affecting enrollment or not.

"Our classes go up and down," Jones said. "We have high peaks and low peaks, so I would not say that the situation in Farmers Branch is having an extreme effect on our registration."

She said the hard part is making people realize Brookhaven is a safe place for them to come and learn English or take a citizenship class. But once they come in the door they stay.

Jones said administration and faculty at the East Center try and inform students that Brookhaven is a community in and of itself. She said at Brookhaven, students are governed by the rules and regulations of the Dallas County Community College District, not the FB government.

Continued...

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