Approximately 400-500 students, faculty members and local residents packed into the Driscoll Gallery last Tuesday, Jan. 31 to respond to President Trump’s Executive Order on immigration. The event was hosted by numerous DU academic offices, e.g. the Office of Religious and Spiritual Studies, the Center for Middle East Studies and the Office of Internationalization.
After President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order on Friday, Jan. 27, temporarily banning travel and immigration from seven countries and indefinitely halting the acceptance of Syrian refugees into the U.S., many around the country expressed outrage and dissatisfaction with the President’s actions by assembling protests, revolts and community meetings.
The assembly featured DU Chancellor Rebecca Chopp and seven other speakers who each presented a short assessment of the executive order.
Chancellor Chopp delivered an empathetic and candid address that emphasized the importance of unity and acceptance. She stated that “…we [DU] have to get together. We have to be an inclusive community. We have to work together; we have to teach; we have to research. We have to continue building for hope, for freedom, for truth.” She ended on a personal note by narrating parts of her academic history that she said were greatly “enriched by the immigrants that taught [her].”
The Chancellor was preceeded by the Chair of the Political Science Department Dr. Seth Masket. Dr. Masket began by explaining the history of and basics behind executive orders—establishing what he considers to be traditional presidential behavior. He distinctly stated that President Trump’s action on immigration was atypical due to its lack of “administrative review” and its abrupt configuration. Dr. Masket called this rder “poorly constructed.”
Later, Nader Hashemi, the Director of the Center for Middle East Studies, harshly attacked the “dynamic duo of Donald Trump and Stephen Bannon”—calling them “one of the biggest national security threats facing our country today.” He also stated that “…beyond the sheer recklessness and cruelty of the executive order, what Trump is actually doing…is making us less safe as a country.”
Hashemi predicted that after one or two terrorist attacks “…the situation could get much worse” due to the fact that “…there was open conversation from Trump….of revisiting the internment of Japanese Americans, except this time it will be Muslim Americans.” He concluded by pleading with the DU community to take an active role in electing Congressmen/Congresswomen and Senators who will draft Articles of Impeachment against President Trump.
The second half of the event featured the Vice Chancellor for Legal Affairs and General Counsel, Paul Chan who spoke briefly regarding legal issues that DU students may encounter as a result of changes to the immigration system. He was followed by three other speakers who each addressed how the Executive order would directly impact the DU community.
The DU chaplain Gary Brower spoke very briefly regarding the religious support that the university offers its students.
Laura Maresca, the interim Vice Chancellor for Human Recourses, stated that her office’s “initial reaction [to the Order] was to make sure that we did not have any community members…who were unable to get on an airplane to come back.” She followed up with, fortunately, we did not have any employees in that situation to the best of our knowledge.”
The final speaker was Lynn Warner from the office of International Student and Scholar Services. She provided an update on the international student population stating that only “three percent of students were affected” by the travel ban and that “all of them are okay.” She finished by urging students “to extend [a] warm welcome to [all] international students” on campus.
Finally, the assembly concluded with a short 30 minute “Q & A” session, which provided an opportunity for students to address each of the speakers or to express their personal feelings regarding the travel ban.
After the event it appears that the University of Denver will provide its students and faculty a platform to lobby against President Trump and his policies.
