Trump-ing NOLA Students
Not even education is safe from our blunder-in-chief
If you’re visiting this country, legally or not, this is a particularly bad time. Hell, if you just LOOK like you “don’t belong”, a bad time is almost guaranteed. Nationalism turns to scapegoating turns to Xenophobia turns to Racism turns to ___?___. I’d rather not guess what we’d fill in the blank with, but I have an inkling of an idea. Safe havens and sanctuary cities (that New Orleans identifies with but doesn’t go along with) are being hit with federal funding issues and political pressure to support our President’s ultimate border plan. If he doesn’t get his way?
A 2017 Time Picayune article expressed concern from local universities over Trump’s travel ban, and I think it’s worth revisiting in light of new policy that literally rips migrant families apart. The piece highlighted how colleges were being told to roundup or list students from Muslim countries for deportation. Of course, the schools protested. Of course, the people protested. And, of course, the Supreme Court will decide its fate. No matter what, this administration’s attack on people seeking opportunities — workers and students — is appalling, and their actions will have repercussions for years to come.
Trust in government. Being able to walk outside free from fear or anxiety of being harmed. The right to work or study without worry. Just being allowed to breath the same air as others. Shouldn’t these be givens in the land of the free? In The Big Easy?
I know many college kids in the area, all hungry for news of the day. All hungry for action. Hungry for change. New Orleans is a city under constant taunting by water and storms, but also thrives under such taunting. We fish. We sing. We name our drinks “hurricanes”. We have a sense of humor about things, and even wrinkle feathers during our most prized celebration, Mardi Gras.
Now is a bad time not just for a section of the population, but for the entirety of it. New Orleans can lead the charge against this Trump-ing tide just by being itself, but it can win with the effort, the creativity and the passion of its young adults.
In between classes and cafeteria breaks, make your voices heard. Cause if there is one thing our President is afraid of, it’s a smart person.
__________
Big Easy Magazine: For a city under threat by water, for a city that stays up all night, to a world in need of different perspectives. With insight and introspection, we strive to deliver thorough and thoughtful coverage of anything and everything NOLA
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