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Chapter 14 - ‘Now I Constantly Challenge Society by Bringing My Existence Forward’

Creating Counter-Spaces/Stories with Sanctuary Students Transitioning to Higher Education in Toronto

from Part III - Confronting Marginalisation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 September 2020

By
Paloma E. Villegas  and
Tanya Aberman
Edited by
Jacqueline Bhabha ,
Wenona Giles  and
Faraaz Mahomed
Jacqueline Bhabha
Affiliation:
Harvard University, Massachusetts
Wenona Giles
Affiliation:
York University, Toronto
Faraaz Mahomed
Affiliation:
FXB Center for Health and Human Rights
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Summary

In Canada, lack of permanent immigration status affects migrant students’ ability to seek rights in different settings, producing unsafe conditions and increasing the possibility of deportation. One example of these settings is schooling, as youth who hold precarious immigration status are regularly excluded from higher education. This access issue is widespread and invisibilised across the country. In this chapter, we draw from interviews with migrant students who participated in an Access Project at York University in Toronto to discuss the interlocking barriers precarious status migrants experience due to their immigration status. We specifically focus on one aspect of the Access Project, a bridging course that facilitated students’ entry to higher education by discussing immigration-related content and acquainting them with university procedures. We propose that the bridging course can be understood as a counterspace, where students redefine their narratives by creating counterstories within the university that challenge anti-migrant discourse and political context in their lives.

Keywords

Migrationyouthhigher educationcounterstoriescounterspacesresistanceinclusionTorontoprecarious immigration statussanctuary students
Type
Chapter
Information
A Better Future
The Role of Higher Education for Displaced and Marginalised People
 , pp. 317 - 338
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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