Petition Asks Miami University To Become Sanctuary Institute

BY RACHEL TRACY
Miami University journalism student

Almost 400 students, faculty, and members of the Miami University community have signed a petition for university to become a "sanctuary institute."

After the election of Donald J. Trump as U.S. president, college students across the nation began calling on their universities to become “sanctuary institutions.” More than a dozen schools are considering sanctuary policies in reaction to campus calls, according to media accounts. Among them are Yale, Tufts, Stanford, Dartmouth and Wesleyan universities.

Trump promised that if he was elected president in 2016, he would deport millions of undocumented residents of the United States. Now that he is president-elect, Trump’s 10-step immigration process includes “ending sanctuary cities,” according his official website.

Sanctuary cities -- which currently number about 30 -- are ones that declare themselves as safe places for illegal immigrants. On Nov. 15, students and faculty at Miami joined other universities in seeking status as a “sanctuary institute.”

Definition of Sanctuary Institute

Although there is no clear definition of a “sanctuary university,” Miami's petition asks the university to protect undocumented and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals students, staff and family members.

"Given that many students and their family members now live in fear of deportation threats, we urge Miami University to immediately develop a protocol to instate itself as a sanctuary campus," it says.

The petition -- addressed to President Greg Crawford, Provost Phyllis Callahan, Dean of Students Mike Curme and Associate Vice President of International Diversity Ron Scott -- includes the following guidelines:

• Guarantee student privacy by refusing to release information regarding the immigration status of our students and community members. Refuse to comply with immigration authorities regarding deportations or raids.
• Assign a specific office and specific administrators who will assist our DACA students and other students who lack the privilege of citizenship on a strictly confidential basis.
• Guarantee that this same office shall be charged with pursuing funding for all students who lack citizenship.
• Guarantee in-state tuition to students previously awarded DACA recipients.
• Assure that all students receive a campus, classroom, and community experience free of hostilities, aggressions, and bullying.

"Given the urgency of the situation, we ask that Miami take these steps immediately, this semester, before the president-elect is sworn into office," the petition reads.

Signers seek social justice

Michael Loadenthal believes the Trump administration could threaten social justice.

“I decided to sign the sanctuary letter because I believe that as educators and advocates for social justice, we must act in solidarity with those threatened by a newly emboldened spirit of xenophobia, racism authoritarianism, and white nationalism which has found a viable host through the incoming administration,” said Loadenthal, a visiting assistant professor of sociology and social justice. "If history has taught us anything, it is that violent marginalization begins with the most vulnerable, but quickly metastasizes throughout a willing host.”

Miami 's Latino Community Outreach Coordinator, Silvia Rothschild, was born in Ecuador. Although she is an American citizen, she did not come to the United States until she was 18 years old.

“With this election and the climate that surrounds us now, I feel for anyone who is not white or has an accent,” said Rothschild. “I am convinced that if we do not start by showing our support toward all the things that we believe in, we are not doing enough to stop this administration from harming us as a country.”

Laurel Gilbert, an academic adviser on Miami's Middletown campus, generally does not supporting deportation.

“I believe that Miami University should stand up to the rhetoric that demonizes the people,” Gilbert said. "I signed the petition because I do not support the deportation of immigrants or the children of immigrants who are working to better their life and contributing to American society.”

Photo: A petition asks administrators to make Miami a "sanctuary institution." -- Photo by Rachel Tracy