Intersection

Post-election uncertainty initiates efforts to make UNLV a sanctuary campus

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Professors launched a petition to declare the university a sanctuary campus for undocumented students.
Photo: Christopher DeVargas

While supporters celebrate President-Elect Donald Trump’s win, many citizens are unsure how to move forward following the election. In an effort to address concerns of students, UNLV professors held what they called a “post-election aftermath teach-in” on Monday to attempt a healing dialogue for students who feel the threat of marginalization.

“We need to build a sense of community,” said Anita Tijerina Revilla, event organizer, associate professor and chair of the university’s gender and sexuality studies program. “A community of people who are looking at the election not from a Republican/Democrat perspective, but from a social justice perspective.” The context she provides: the contentiousness of Trump’s candidacy, which incorporated anti-immigrant and white supremacy sentiments that often carried a bullying-like tenor.

“One of the reasons why I’m here is to prevent history from repeating itself,” said Costancio Arnaldo, a postdoctoral scholar who discussed the long-term negative effects of incarcerating 120,000 Japanese-Americans during WWII. “We have to be mindful of this kind of history,” he added, drawing comparisons between internment and Trump’s proposal of a Muslim registry.

The university has a responsibility to ensure a safe and inclusive campus, Revilla said in a phone interview after Monday’s event, which aimed to reaffirm such a commitment. “Dangerous groups are using this election as a means to affirm their discrimination and hatred of others. We want to be really proactive and say that’s not going to be accepted here on campus.”

After the election, Revilla and a group of professors launched a petition to make UNLV a sanctuary campus for undocumented students under Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program—something Trump has promised to revoke. The sanctuary effort is part of a nationwide movement urging universities to adopt policies that protect undocumented students, including prohibiting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from coming onto campus without a warrant. University president Len Jessup issued a statement Monday in support of DACA, declaring that “UNLV will continue to protect its students, faculty and staff against racism, discrimination, bullying or other intimidation.”

Revilla maintains that the petition is nonetheless necessary, especially if campus immigration raids become a threat. “We hope the president-elect will not enforce that kind of terror in university classrooms," she said.

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