Eradicate Boston College Racism is joining universities across the country to call for Sanctuary Campuses on Thursday at 3 p.m. in O'Neill Plaza. A nation-wide walkout will be taking place, hosted by Movimiento Cosecha, an organization that advocates for the protection of immigrants in the United States.
"On Tuesday, November 8th, Donald Trump was elected president of the United States. In response, on Wednesday, November 16th, students all across the country mobilized their college campuses in what was the largest student immigration protest of our generation," EBCR's event Facebook page writes.
"Students walked out of their classes to fight not just against Donald Trump’s racism and pledge to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants, but also for a #SanctuaryCampus free from the fear of deportation, violence, and racism. These students are fighting to ensure that all immigrants in the United States have permanent protection, dignity, and respect."
A statement by an EBCR representative further elaborates on the importance of making Boston College a #SanctuaryCampus and of exhibiting solidarity with undocumented students on campus.
"Between 2009 and 2016, Barack Obama deported 2.5 million people (ABC News), and under Trump’s administration we can expect these numbers to rise. While we have very little control over immigration policy at the federal level, we can control how we as a university respond to the unwarranted deportation of university students, many of whom have been in the US since early childhood and know no other home.
The walkout on December 1st is part of a national movement orchestrated by Cosecha, an organization that advocates for the protection of immigrants in the United States. On December 1st, Boston College will participate in a nationwide walkout that has the potential to spark the largest student immigration protests in recent memory.
Across the United States, university students, faculty, and staff are creating and signing petitions like this one, which has already been signed by hundreds of members of the BC community.
We at EBCR have been told that we are not allowed to register or sponsor events on campus, but we will not stay silent. As the petition states, we are advocating for Boston College to become a sanctuary campus that protects undocumented students and their families to the fullest extent of the law. This would include refusing to voluntarily share information regarding immigration status, national origin, and/or religion with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)/Customs and Border Protection (CBP), providing financial assistance for undocumented students such as legal expertise and health insurance scholarships, and adopting a transparent policy of not factoring the immigration status of applicants to any Boston College program into admissions decisions, among other actions which are included in the petition.
On December 1st at 3PM we will peacefully protest in O’Neill Plaza, where we will demonstrate solidarity with undocumented students and show our support for the petition that hundreds of students, faculty, and staff have signed. We hope to see you there."
One-on-one friend dates, English Breakfast tea (with milk, no sugar), thrift shopping, and living on Newton (two years running) are life.