University students all over the nation have been protesting for change since the Trump administration revoked a number of protective policies and made severe fund cuts. Many students have been organizing protests on their school campus, mainly to raise awareness for the rights of their international students. Local student protests are being held to stand up for other actions the government is taking that affect the university’s community.
Claritssa Vargas, a senior at the University of North Georgia and public relations major, is an advocate for university protests. Vargas has attended multiple meetings regarding mass deportations, ICE raids and Palestine awareness in Atlanta and the University of Georgia.
“It’s mainly to speak up for my community and to show other people. I feel like a lot of latinos and hispanics, especially the older generations, they’re afraid to speak out,” Vargas stated. “So I think it’s important that if we’re not standing up for ourselves, we’re standing up for our parents, our family, or the older generations.”
On top of advocating protests, Vargas is an active member of PSL and Latino Student Association at the Gainesville campus. She is currently working on a documentary of Latino and Hispanic community experiences to raise awareness on social media.
“I think it’s important that people go out and show up so they know that we’re not going to stay quiet and we have to speak up against things that we’re not okay with.” – Claritssa Vargas, UNG senior public relations major
Larger universities have also been experiencing the same level of protests, if not more. On April 17, students and professors at Harvard University protested across U.S. campuses against President Trump’s funding cuts and expulsion of international students.
The wealthy university is currently facing a lawsuit with the President after he froze more than $2 billion in grant money for the college. Osamudia James, a law professor at the University of North Carolina, spoke to CNN on Monday saying, “The fight is bigger than just, oh, how much money does Harvard have? Or how long it can last, or whether it should be getting these grants. What is at stake here is whether an administration can just do whatever it wants to do and punish entities that they perceive as a threat.”
Since Harvard’s suit hearing against the Trump administration at the Boston Court last week, the White House has further threatened to rescind Harvard’s tax-exempt status and its ability to host foreign students.
Even as students and professors are speaking out, expulsion of international students at the University is still taking place.
However, change is attempting to take place as confidence continues to rise. Harvard is battling to keep certain DEI policies in place in spite of the government. Students are raising awareness for the rights of foreign students that have been recently upheld, and international professors are fighting for their jobs.
On local campuses such as UNG, UGA and Georgia State University, Vargas further said that she has been noticing changes in regards to these issues being protested. Others are more willing to help bring awareness to these societal issues and members of her community are gaining more confidence to speak out.
