The Freedom to Learn: Experiences of Students without Legal Status Attending Freedom University

This article focuses on an in-depth case study of Freedom University, a counterspace in Georgia to address the ban that prohibited students without legal status from applying to five selective colleges/universities. Based on interviews with eight Freedom University students, the authors demonstrate that Freedom University fulfills most of the tenets of the Culturally Engaging Campus Environments (CECE) model and offers a humanizing learning space infused with culturally relevant pedagogy where students can express their empowered identities, activism, and resistance. Implications for implementing culturally responsive sanctuaries of learning within traditional university contexts, especially for students without legal status, are provided.