First Year Student Reflections 2017 The Distance Between Us

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Appendix C: Anticipation Guide Quotes Students were asked to express their opinions regarding statements related to topics discussed in First Year Seminar both at the beginning of the semester and again at the end of the semester. The idea was to gauge how their opinions changed. Here are some comments from their responses:

“ I would say that my opinion changed. I now look at immigration without the negative stigma that society puts on it. Along with my opinion changing, I think I learned a lot. I learned about how difficult it is to come to the U.S. and gain citizenship. I learned how hard the government makes it to stay here and also how much people are still fighting to change the process of becoming a U.S. citizen.” “ I am now familiar with the challenges that families have dealing with immigration. Watching the documentary, Indivisible, in class was a real eye opener for me to see how the immigration system works. I also feel like immigrants are negatively judged in the United States.” “ I believe that overall, my perspective has broadened. I am not so close-minded. My views are the same––just overall, more well-rounded.” “ I am now more familiar with the struggles that immigrants my age go through. I am more familiar with how immigration works and common immigration language.” “ The most significant changes for me have been that I am now familiar with DACA, dreamers, etc. I didn’t really know what this was in the beginning. I understand the laws and the challenges that exist for the undocumented youth who are my age. I also know I probably wouldn’t pass the naturalization test!” “ I realized that the naturalization test is very complicated and difficult to pass. It requires knowledge that many educated people would not know, even if they were born in the United States. This test makes it almost impossible to qualify and pass.” “ The most significant change was the new knowledge of the challenges that exist with immigrant families. Before, I was not fully aware of the struggles they went through back in their home countries or the struggles they had while coming to America.”

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