Emilio’s Great Race

By Frank Bruni, The New York Times

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The campaign for student body president at the University of North Carolina here has just begun, and there’s nothing unusual in the number of candidates – five – or he fact that two are Morehead-Cain scholars, an elite designation.

But there’s a wrinkle that’s certain to generate discussion, especially in a state whose politics have taken a profoundly rightward turn. One of the candidates is an undocumented immigrant who readily identifies himself that way. In fact he’s at or near the head of the pack.

His name is Emilio Vicente. He’s a junior, 22, and a minority three times over: Latino, undocumented and gay. He came to the United States from Guatemala at 6, his mother leading him under the barbed wire and into Arizona, as he recalls it.

Click HERE to red the full story.

[Photo courtesy of Emilio Vicente Facebook Page]

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