VOL 94 : 12 November 30th, 2016 torchonline.com
The independent student newspaper of St. John’s University
SEEKING SANCTUARY faculty petition seeks to protect undocumented students
University outlines immigration policies in campus-wide email Panels planned to address student, faculty concerns SUZANNE CIECHALSKI Editor-in-Chief In an effort to calm deportation concerns sparked by President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed immigration policies, St. John’s sent an university-wide email Monday, Nov. 28 that detailed three key points of its “current practices concerning immigration:” The university does not track a student’s immigration status. The university does not factor immigration status into housing, registration or other university processes. Public safety officers “are not law enforcement officers and are not directed by immigration or other enforcement agencies.” “The University will continue to support all our students—both documented and not—as full members of the St. John’s community,” the email said. The email, from Kathryn Hutchinson of Student Affairs and Nada Llewellyn of Human Resources, arrived in inboxes at 5:56 p.m. Monday, hours after the University received a faculty-driven petition that implored St. John’s to protect university members who could face deportation if Trump’s stated policies come to fruition. The petition, which is available online through a Google form, calls “on the University administration to make explicit our commitment to creating a campus that is supportive, welcoming, and respectful of students of different religious backgrounds, racial identities, sexual orientations, gender identifications, and immigration statuses.”
As of Tuesday night, the petition had 428 signatures from students, faculty and alumni, most of whom posted their names and connections to the University. The petition was delivered to the office of the president on Monday during common hour. English professor Gabriel Brownstein, one of the three professors who delivered it, said they were “very gracious in receiving us.” “The petition is part of a national movement - universities across the country are standing up for the members of their communities,” Brownstein said in an email to the Torch. “So it’s not really about any one person, or even a group of people, who started it - hundreds of people have signed it.” There is a nationwide movement that urges protection for undocumented and immigrant students on college campuses, especially those who have been protected since 2012 by the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Commonly referred to as DACA, the program protects students who were brought to the country illegally, are under the age of 31 and do not have a criminal record. University President Dr. Conrado “Bobby” Gempesaw is one of about 400 college and university presidents who have signed a statement urging civic, religious, business and nonprofit leaders to join in supporting DACA students. Continued on page 3
INSIDE THE ISSUE Keeping up with the professors Professors show off their outfits and share what they wear Pages 6 & 7