Long Beach State’s Latinx Student Union will host two races at the Walter Pyramid on March 23.
The Breaking Fronteras: Undocu 5k marathon and 1k Kids run are hosted in support of the undocumented students at CSULB.
The Kids Run is a newly implemented idea created by the Latinx Student Union to keep support for the fundraiser fun and consistent.
For the 5k, participants can register individuals for $25, or register a group of five for a $100 fee. For the 1k, the fee is $10.
The 1k is set to start at 9 a.m. followed by the 5k starting at 9:30 a.m. Food, photo booths and live entertainment will follow shortly after until noon.
The Undocu 5k, founded by CSULB alumnus Carlos Guijarro in 2016, was created to raise awareness about the hardships undocumented students face.
“I know that this has become annual because we’ve realized there’s a lack of scholarships for our Latinx community and lack of scholarships for our undocumented community on our campus,” Alondra Enriquez, assistant director for the Latinx Resource Center, said.
According to a report from Higher Ed Immigration, an estimated 408,000 students enrolled in postsecondary education in the United States are undocumented.
The California Nonresident Tuition Exemption, also known as AB 540, allows undocumented students to apply to receive financial aid at California educational institutions.
The Undocu 5k Scholarship is provided by the Latinx Student Union and helps AB 540 students pursue higher education. The amount of money that the scholarship gives to students is heavily dependent on how much money the race makes.
“It’s giving a kickstart to undocumented students in their education. We know how hard it is for some of them to continue their education now,” William Vasquez, a student assistant at the Latinx Student Union, said.
The Latinx Student Union provides five Undocu scholarships per year. Enriquez said that the Undocu race in 2023 was not as successful as previous races.
The Latinx Student Union had money gathered from previous races so the scholarships were around $1,000 in 2023. Due to the decrease in support in the 2023 race, this years’ scholarships are $500.
“We’re just hoping we’ll get more attendees because last year it was rough. We were coming out of COVID so there was a lack of attendance, so all we focus on is trying to market it as much as we can,” Enriquez said.
Enriquez and Vasquez encourage students who can not afford the registration fee to help out the fundraiser by volunteering to assist with preparation and cleanup duties.
Participants can register up until the day of the race. Click here to register.