Nearly 30 students gathered on the Mayer Campus Center lower patio yesterday to show support for undocumented students at the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin).
At the event, hosted by student group United for Immigrant Justice, students voiced concerns about a controversial game at UT Austin and helped create a banner supporting justice for immigrants.
Rebeca Pessoa, who helped lead the event, explained that the student-led Young Conservatives of Texas (YCT) chapter at UT Austin stirred national controversy after announcing that it would hold a game called "Catch the Illegal Immigrant." The object of the game, which was meant to spark discussion about illegal immigration, involved finding and capturing students wearing the words "illegal immigrant" on their shirts.
"Students were invited to catch those people, bring them back to a designated spot and redeem a gift card," Pessoa, a sophomore, explained.
While the game was scheduled to run yesterday, it was cancelled after YCT received pressure from UT Austin's president and upset citizens around the nation, she said.
Pessoa explained that the game was insensitive to many undocumented students who live in fear of deportation.
"Obviously there are so many wrong things about this," she said. "There are undocumented students who go to that school, and I can't imagine how they must have felt - attacked and targeted - and how their families must have felt."
Daniela Salazar, who led the gathering along with Pessoa, elaborated on the problematic aspects of the "Catch the Illegal Immigrant" event. By making a game out of deportation, YCT trivialized the hardships of those living illegally in the United States, she said.
"Families are torn apart because they have relatives that were sent back to Mexico," Salazar, a sophomore, said.
Salazar also commented on the important difference between the phrases "illegal immigration" and "illegal immigrants."
"Their actions are illegal but humans are not illegal," she said. "Human beings are not illegal to be here on this planet."
Before opening the conversation to members of the crowd, Salazar thanked those present for their support.
"We're not only showing solidarity for the [UT Austin undocumented students] but for families across the nation who are fighting for their American dream here," she said.
Pessoa added that, while the event was cancelled, there was still reason to support the 400 undocumented students at UT Austin as well as the estimated 11 million undocumented citizens in the country.
Latino Center Director Rub?©n Stern spoke next about the importance of creating social movements for change. About a third of all undocumented peoples in the United States, he began, have been in the country for more than a decade.
"We're not talking about people who have just arrived," he said.
Stern mentioned Tufts' current campaign to raise $25 million for financial aid, saying that he hopes Tufts will take a stand for immigrant justice by reserving financial aid for undocumented students.
One aspect of the immigrant justice campaign, which Stern said helps to make it strong, is the fact that it is a multi-ethnic movement. He added that, historically, most social changed has stemmed from the work of activists, not politicians.
"People who know me, I am not optimistic by nature about a lot of these issues, but I think if you look around at this movement it's something to really be encouraged about," he said.
Students Ramiro Sarabia and Jessica Morales spoke next, sharing their personal connections to the UT Austin game.
Sarabia, who grew up in Texas, explained that he found out about the game from one of his close friends, an undocumented student, who attends UT Austin. Sarabia also spoke about his surprise when he found out the chairman of the YCT chapter, Lorenzo Garcia, was Mexican.
"That struck me as weird how somebody of my own heritage, my own descent, can have such an event," Sarabia, a freshman, said.
Morales, a freshman who is also from Texas, said she was grateful that Tufts students were speaking out against the game.
"I found it sick that they would play a game like this because I am also very closely related to a lot of undocumented people," she said.
Pessoa and Salazar next passed out small paper butterflies - a symbol, Salazar explained, of the naturalness of immigration and migration. Students wrote words of encouragement for undocumented immigrants on the butterflies and taped them to the banner before gathering for a picture. The photo, Pessoa said, will be sent to UT Austin to support the undocumented students there.
