College Kids Care — How Can We Get Them To Organize?
College campuses tend to be epicenters for political activism. When first starting college, students from an array of different cultures and backgrounds are introduced to an incredibly diverse community. This helps to broaden their horizons and open their eyes to the reality that each person has a unique experience growing up. For many, this realization leads them to develop a strong sense of empathy for their peers and in many cases, introduces them to a whole world of new political movements.
Rutgers University, like most large institutions, is no exception to this. Countless student organizations on campus center around strengthening the voices of marginalized groups, from JAQs (Jewish Ally and Queer Students), to Fusion (Student Union of Mixed Race People), to UndocuRutgers, which according to the group’s Instagram page is “a student organization based in Rutgers University that seeks to empower, assist and advocate for undocumented students.”
Beyond clubs and organizations, protests and demonstrations are held to amplify student voices. In 2016, thousands of Rutgers students and faculty alongside UndocuRutgers and Movimiento Cosecha, a group formed to fight for respect and protection of all immigrants, participated in a walk-out protest to declare Rutgers a Sanctuary for undocumented immigrants. The protest, of which I was lucky enough to take part, flooded the streets of New Brunswick and stopped traffic with their chants against the current Trump administration and for the protection of our peers. Despite the counter protests organized by Trump supporters on campus which occurred alongside the march, news helicopters hovered over the group, allowing CNN to report on the inspiring amount of devotion that the Rutgers community, and thousands of other universities displayed.
These remarkable exhibits of activism prove that Rutgers students have the ability and drive to make a real difference, or at least gain enough attention to have their goals addressed. Even more so, the 2016 protest for a Sanctuary campus indicates that many students care about and want to stand for immigrant rights in our country. The inspiration for change is there, which means with the right education, real change could be possible for the increasing threat of detainment in which undocumented immigrants in the New Brunswick/Rutgers area are in. Diyaa Capil, a senior at Rutgers University and self-proclaimed political activist is well educated on the subject of immigration policy in the United States, and feels strongly for the rights of undocumented immigrants in the community.
“Immigrants are an essential part of American culture. This is especially true for our local communities here in Central Jersey. Immigrants make up a huge part of the populace and have helped shape our multicultural state to what it is now. ICE represents a world without empathy. ICE in our communities represents the destruction of the tightly woven connections between people and culture. It is important to protect our neighbors, no matter their immigration status. People come from all over for a better future and a better life, the exact thing most of us want. It is inhumane to have detention centers like the ones that ICE runs and it is irresponsible for us to standby and watch as they raid out towns and homes,” said Capil.
Like me, Diyaa was surprised to hear of the overwhelming ICE presence in our direct area after joining the Rutgers community. In 2018, ICE targeted 75 different New Jersey businesses to investigate their hires, and in September, 54 immigrants were arrested in a five-day sweep across New Jersey; and this is just the beginning. The ICE detention center in Elizabeth, mere miles from the Rutgers campus, has been described as being similar to a prison, with New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone telling NJ Advance Media, “It’s stark. They don’t have separate dormitories. They have a cot and they’re all together.” Though media outlets were unable to follow congressmen into the center during their visit in August, PIX11 was later able to experience their own tour, where they observed, “an outdoor rec area, which was really just a concrete court, fitted with a handful of large, open-air ceiling grates and several men passing the time… [and] the medical facility for 275 men and some 30 women, in addition to both short- and longer-term dorms, all furnished with simple cots, open bathroom areas, metal tables, televisions and not much else.” NJ Advance Media also reported that the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark was found to have, “rotting food, decrepit bathrooms, a lack of outdoor space and other ‘egregious violations of detention standards’,” according to a federal report.
This horrifying reality of the mistreatment of immigrants is why I feel a project designed to educate audiences on the real experience of detainees and those targeted by ICE is necessary, and the overwhelming display of concern from students like Diyaa in the Rutgers community shows that such a project could yield the positive results that we so desperately need.
It is hard to break free from the busy hustle-and-bustle of university life, and though students may have the motivation to protest for change, they may find themselves unintentionally blinded to the realities of underprivileged communities surrounding them. By creating an emotionally moving and engaging stage production designed to recreate the experience of hearing stories from undocumented immigrants first hand, the drive we once saw after the 2016 election could return. Though it may not be possible to stop ICE from performing raids, the conditions in which detainees must live in, and the strength of protection for those living in our community can improve.
