Dozens of students and community leaders rallied at the fountain in Journal Square on Friday in support of the proposed New Jersey Dream Act.

The event, organized by members of the Hudson County Community College, Phi Theta Kappa:Beta Alpha Phi International Honors Society, was intended to help push state legislators to support tuition equity for undocumented students.

"We (Phi Theta Kappa) were asked to form a project [Honors in Action] on the culture of competition, and for our project we chose Economics: To Big to Fail," said Melissa Ortiz, president of Hudson County Community College's, Phi Theta Kappa, Beta Alpha Phi. ""We learned that, economically, it makes no sense to deny an entire population the right to an education."

Undocumented immigrants in New Jersey are currently required to pay out-of-state tuition rates to attend state colleges. The New Jersey Dream Act -- also known as the New Jersey Tuition Equality Act -- would have state universities and colleges charge them they same as any other resident.

"We were the first (municipality) to introduce the resolution that supported and urged our legislation to pass the NJ DREAM ACT," said Rolando Lavarro, president of the Jersey City Council. "Hopefully, it will see passage by the end of the year."

Reversing his previously held position, Gov. Chris Christie, who heavily courted the Latino vote in his recent re-election bid, came out in October in support of the Dream Act.

Many students of Hudson County Community College chanted by the fountain, holding signs that read, "the time is now" and "no human being is illegal".

"I don't think that you should be denied certain things if you're trying to be a contributing member of society," said Christina Smallwood, 21, an education major at HCCC. "If you've been in this country for a certain amount of years, you are automatically entitled to certain amount of benefits, especially in relation to education."

Although this is their very first rally, the members of Phi Theta Kappa already have plans for future projects.

"We plan on going to Trenton next week and we're going to be pushing the legislation to let them know that there is pressure on them," said Ortiz. "We are collecting money now to let them know that there is a scholarship for students for transfer scholarship for undocumented students."

"It's nice to see it come to play because we didn't think that it was going to happen," she beamed.

To learn more about the New Jersey Tuition Equality Act, visit their website NJ DREAM Act.

For more information of the International Honors Society, Phi Theta Kappa, 'like' their Facebook page, Phi Theta Kappa:Beta Alpha Phi

