The dream: Access to higher education for undocumented students. The goal: to inform students that it's possible to achieve that dream. That's what Improvement Dreams, Equity, Access and Success, a new student organization at SF State is all about.

Founded in fall 2008 and currently with over 20 members, the organization has been devoted to organizing events that provide information ranging from how to apply to a university to information on scholarships and other resources available on and off campus for undocumented AB 540 students.

AB 540 is a California law, passed in 2001, that allows students, including undocumented students to pay in-state tuition in public universities and community colleges if they have gone to high school for three years and have graduated. These students are excluded from applying to federal or state financial aid like FAFSA.

Rose Carmona, a financial aid counselor and one of the advisers of the organization, said that the need to create IDEAS came because of the lack of information on how to help AB 540 students at SF State. "I've seen there's a lot of misinformation on behalf of the faculty, and these students don't have anywhere to go to look for help and information," she said.

Rosa*, 19, a second-year student business major and vice president of IDEAS said, "our biggest goal is mostly to bring to light that, yes, you can go to college and get an education and succeed." She also added, "it's hard, because obviously you still have tons of limitations, but I think there are a lot of things we can do within those walls that people have built for us."

IDEAS is part of an umbrella group called the California Dream Network, through which universities like UCLA and UC Berkeley have set up organizations to help AB 540 students on their campuses.

Carmona said that at SF State there isn't a definitive count of AB 540 students, but estimated that there are over 150 students in this situation on campus. "Looking at how many have access, there's no way for us to know because students don't come to us. It's more like a word of mouth," she said.

She added that the number of Latino students in higher education is already low. "AB 540 students are a minority within a minority," she said. "We're trying to delineate all that and put students in a path that they can achieve their academic goals."

The organization recently put on the first SF State AB 540 conference to bring awareness in the California State University system as well. "We never expected such a turnout," said Carmona, referring to the170 high school and transfer students, counselors and parents from various Bay Area counties who attended. "It showed the needs on all levels -- counselors, parents and community organizations."

Angel*, 19, the president of IDEAS, said that networking is important. "The system is not working for us and you have to know those little people or those small groups of people in each single place that can help you and the only way to know where they are for them to help you is through network," said the cell and molecular biology major.

But regardless of the help provided by these organizations, there are still challenges.

Mark Silverman, an immigration lawyer and an advocate of the DREAM Act, federal legislation that would allow qualified illegal immigrant students throughout the country a possible path to a legalization, touched up a court ruling last year that questions the validity of the AB 540 law in California. But he also said that despite the challenges, laws like the AB 540 or the DREAM Act bill represent "a huge difference for the future of undocumented students because they're more likely to choose a career they enjoy to contribute to society."

Mario Flores, director of Project Connect, a ASI's program on campus, which promotes higher education for low-income students, said that AB 540 is not only an issue for Latino undocumented students, but Asians, Africans and Europeans as well. "Some come as tourists and have stayed here and they are no longer legal, but have spent three years in high school here," said Flores, who is working toward creating a resource guide for AB 540 students and, along with IDEAS, creating a documentary film called "SF State's AB 540 Students Speak Out" to document the reality of all undocumented students on campus. "We want to educate faculty and staff on the specific needs of these students' population on campus, and also we'll use it as an outreach tool for those undocumented students in high school who qualify so that they continue their education," he added.

"I would hope that probably by next year or so there won't be a such thing as IDEAS anymore because the DREAM Act has passed," Rosa said. "It equalizes the huge gap that there's in education because of what immigration status can do." Meanwhile, IDEAS is looking forward to getting more students involved and building stronger networks.

Scholarships that are also open to AB 540 undocumented students include:

• Associated Students Scholarships
• Marin Education Fund Undergraduate Scholarship
• Chicana/Latina Foundation Scholarship
• Alumni Association Scholarships
• Pacific National Bank College Scholarships Program
• Univision Exito Escolar Scholarship
• SALEF Fulfilling Our Dreams Scholarship Fund
• Diana T.Y. Chung Memorial Scholarship for International Students
• Maisin Scholar Award
• Education for Fair Consideration

*Some students preferred to have their last names withheld for privacy reasons.