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News
February 14, 2017
Campus dialogue addresses travel ban Since November, Towson University officials have repeatedly emphasized their commitment to keeping students safe no matter their nationality, immigration status or other discerning factors. On top of this, and following even greater discourse from President Donald Trump concerning undocumented and/or foreign nationals, student government Vice President James Mileo said that representatives from Towson will lobby to make the University System of Maryland guidelines for protecting affected students a requirement for all Maryland state schools. “At Towson University, we are committed to the idea of fostering an environment that’s inclusive, that’s diverse, and that we are here to support all of our students,” Towson Vice President for Inclusion and Institutional Equity Leah Cox said. “Whether it’s about gender identity, race, ableism, religion, immigration status - all of that - we’re here to support you.” Under these guidelines, which will be advocated for at the State Legislature during Tiger Pride Day Feb. 28, according to Mileo, Towson University and the USM have committed to five major points of protection for students who may be at risk from the immigration orders. Originally stated in a campus-wide email from President Schatzel in December, Towson University will not permit immigration enforcement authorities to enter campus for an enforcement action without a warrant, unless there is an exigent circumstance
necessitating immediate action. The University will not voluntarily partner with immigration authorities to assist with enforcement activities or detain immigrants at the request of immigration enforcement authorities. Additionally, TU Police do not ask about nor record immigration status while serving and protecting the campus community, and, in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the University will not provide immigration enforcement authorities with student records without a lawfully issued subpoena or court order. The University reported on their website that this is a “very fluid situation,” and is subject to change on an almost daily basis. Students and faculty who are citizens or dual citizens of the countries affected by the executive order have been advised to seek legal advice before traveling outside of the United States. A campus-wide email sent Feb. 3 reported that one member of the Towson community was directly affected by the executive order while traveling internationally. The individual returned home safely. The email also reported that the university has about a dozen faculty, staff and students from the seven countries who could be affected if they travel internationally. Towson University officials said they were unable to provide any more details -- about, for example, country of origin and if the affected member was a faculty member or a student. At a Campus Dialogue on Immigration and DACA, or the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, Feb. 8, administrators shared updates on the executive order and ongoing efforts to support potentially
Gail Gibbs addresses students at a dialogue event Feb. 8 near a wall of sticky notes expressing solidarity for those affected by the travel ban with the hashtag #YouAreWelcomeHere. impacted students. The dialogue was co-facilitated by Cox and Vice President for Student Affairs Deb Moriarty. Director of the International Student and Scholar Office Gail Gibbs said that while the executive order and entry ban did not immediately address DACA students, it does immediately address international students on visas. “We have several students from some of the affected countries, and the rest are worried, rightfully so, about whether they might be added to that list,” Gibbs said. “So, I think events like this [are] really critical in shedding light on those populations.” Freshman Amjad Wakil, whose family is from Sudan, one of the countries affected by the entry ban, felt that many people who attended the dia-
logue were removed from the situation because it doesn’t directly affect them. “One of the most common things I get when I try to talk about it is, ‘Oh, it won’t stick,’ or, ‘That’s not going to stay around,’” Wakil said. “But people were saying the same thing about [Trump] getting electing. I feel like that’s the most important thing - to get people talking about it and actually understanding what’s happening.” Associate Vice President for International Initiatives Saleha Suleman, a Pakistani-American who immigrated as an international graduate student, reiterated that the University’s international faculty are just as afraid as the students. “Sometimes we think faculty and staff are very brave and not afraid,” Suleman said. “But we are equally
afraid - for our future, for our kids’ futures - because many of us have migrated here a long time ago.” Sophomore SGA Senator FatimeZara Beri, a DACA student, is in the process of working with the CSD to create a DACA support group that will function as a safe space for undocumented students. “It’s something I have to think about every day, but that’s something I have to deal with on my own,” Beri said. “I can’t talk to friends or other people because they just don’t know... In a way it feels like I’m living a double identity. My friends see this nice person who just goes to school and is a student, but they don’t know all the background history.” -- Bailey Hendricks contributed to this story.
Student Government Association Vice President James Mileo faced a rogue attempt from a group of senators trying to remove him from office – but the attempt died before a special resolution for impeachment was even brought to a vote. Mileo was accused of abusing his power and breaking a state law related to SGA salary. When pay procedures were being formulated by the SGA, members of the executive board consulted with the Office of the General Counsel
to make sure that none of the procedures would actually constitute a violation of state law. One point of contention was that Mileo interviewed potential senators on his own, instead of with the entire Senate Selection Committee. While Mileo said that is something that he “did wrong,” he did not single-handedly appoint them to their positions—the new senators had to be confirmed by the existing student senate. Former SGA senator Chris Shanahan, joined by three other senators, raised these concerns and others in a draft special resolution. Before it could be submitted to the
senate for a vote or debate, though, the draft leaked and the impeachment attempt derailed. Shanahan said he chose to pursue impeachment, instead of approaching Mileo or an SGA advisor, because Shanahan and other SGA members believed Mileo to be in violation of the SGA Constitution “since the beginning of the administration.” Mileo said he would have preferred if Shanahan and the other senators had talked to him, instead of trying to go directly for impeachment. “This should have been a conversation,” Mileo said. “If they believed I did something wrong, they should have followed the SGA
Accountability Procedures.” Shanahan originally contacted The Towerlight to announce he had resigned from the SGA for moral reasons. “I cannot be part of an organization that practices hypocrisy and a disregard towards the students of Towson,” Shanahan wrote in an email. What Shanahan called “hypocrisy” referred to, at least in part, three specific concerns that he later shared with student organizations in a series of emails. Shanahan sent an email labeled “***URGENT: SGA Concerns and how They Effect [sic] Your Student
Group,” on Feb. 6. In it, he raised three concerns he had with the SGA: The SGA held a retreat in Rockville, Maryland, which included members of the SGA staying overnight. The financial policy for student groups, at the time of the retreat, did not allow student groups to receive funding for overnight hotel stays if the destination was within 110 miles of campus. The SGA has occasional banquets and award ceremonies. Shanahan pointed out that SGA-funded student groups couldn’t use their SGAbudgeted money for food. -To read the rest of this article online, visit thetowerlight.com.
Sarah Rowan/ The Towerlight
Student gov. vice president accused of abuse of power