Wellesley Alumni Blog Petitions to Make School a Sanctuary Campus

WELLESLEY, MA – An alumni-run blog at Wellesley College is asking its president, Paula Johnson, to turn the school into a "sanctuary campus," an idea that has gained traction since the election of Donald Trump.

The petition was posted Saturday on the Tumblr page "Wellesley Underground," which its editors describe as an "alternative alumnae magazine."

In a message to colleagues and friends, Christopher Candland, Catia C. Confortini and Alejandra Osorio seek signatures for a letter to Johnson asking her to declare Wellesley College a sanctuary campus and "take steps to protect our community from discrimination on the basis of immigration status, nationality, religion, creed, race, or ethnicity."

>>>Click here to read the post. Note: The petition itself is solely available to people with a "wellesley.edu" email address.

Like sanctuary cities, sanctuary schools would not assist the federal government in deporting individuals – in this case, students, staff or faculty – based solely on citizenship status. Since the election, several administrators at colleges across the country have said their schools would be sanctuary campuses.

By Daderot (Own work [Public domain]), via Wikimedia Commons