• Campus
    • Campus
    • Student Life
    • Administration
    • Faculty
    • Higher Education
  • City & County
    • City & County
    • Chapel Hill
    • Carrboro
    • Education
    • Public Safety
  • Politics
    • Politics
    • North Carolina
    • National
  • Sports
    • Sports
    • Football
    • Men's Basketball
    • Women's Basketball
    • Cross Country
    • Golf
    • Men's Soccer
    • Women's Soccer
    • Swimming and Diving
    • Men's Tennis
    • Women's Tennis
    • Field Hockey
    • Rowing
    • Volleyball
  • Culture
    • Culture
    • Arts & Entertainment
    • Food
  • Opinion
    • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Cartoons
    • Columns
    • Letters
    • Kvetching Board
  • Multimedia
    • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Galleries
    • Audio
  • About
    • About
    • Hiring
    • Board of Directors
    • Alumni
    • Corrections
    • Contact
    • Meet the editors
    • Policies & Bylaws
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Policies
    • Events Calendar
    • Celebrations
    • Obituaries
  • Donate
  • Story Collections

  • HeelsHousing
  • Offline Chapel Hill
  • Shop
  • Buy Photos
  • 1893 Brand Studio
  • Alumni
  • Events Calendar
  • Celebrations/Obits
    • Celebrations
    • Obituaries
  • Southern Neighbor
  • Newsletter
  • Classifieds
  • Campus
  • City & County
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Donate
  • HeelsHousing
  • Search
The Daily Tar Heel

Serving the students and the University community since 1893.

The Daily Tar Heel
    • Campus
      • Campus
      • Student Life
      • Administration
      • Faculty
      • Higher Education
    • City & County
      • City & County
      • Chapel Hill
      • Carrboro
      • Education
      • Public Safety
    • Politics
      • Politics
      • North Carolina
      • National
    • Sports
      • Sports
      • Football
      • Men's Basketball
      • Women's Basketball
      • Cross Country
      • Golf
      • Men's Soccer
      • Women's Soccer
      • Swimming and Diving
      • Men's Tennis
      • Women's Tennis
      • Field Hockey
      • Rowing
      • Volleyball
    • Culture
      • Culture
      • Arts & Entertainment
      • Food
    • Opinion
      • Opinion
      • Editorials
      • Cartoons
      • Columns
      • Letters
      • Kvetching Board
    • Multimedia
      • Multimedia
      • Video
      • Galleries
      • Audio
    • About
      • About
      • Hiring
      • Board of Directors
      • Alumni
      • Corrections
      • Contact
      • Meet the editors
      • Policies & Bylaws
    • Advertise
      • Advertise
      • Policies
      • Events Calendar
      • Celebrations
      • Obituaries
    • Donate
    • Story Collections

    • HeelsHousing
    • Offline Chapel Hill
    • Shop
    • Buy Photos
    • 1893 Brand Studio
    • Alumni
    • Events Calendar
    • Celebrations/Obits
      • Celebrations
      • Obituaries
    • Southern Neighbor
    • Newsletter
    • Classifieds
  • In the News
  • The OC Report
  • Men's basketball
  • Football
  • Crime and public safety
  • Business

11/17/2016, 11:05pm

More than 2,000 sign petition to protect undocumented students at UNC

Share

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Mail
  • Print
BY Paige Nehls

For many people on campus, the email sent out by Chancellor Carol Folt on Wednesday that reaffirmed the University’s non-discrimination policy was not enough to assuage their fears that have arisen since the election ended.

The day before the email was sent, 63 faculty and students met to discuss ways to protect undocumented students. The result of the meeting was a petition calling for the protection of undocumented students that has been signed by over 2,000 people.

“Ideally, I would like the University to be a safe place for undocumented students, for minorities of all types, for LGBTQ, for Muslims, for all those that are feeling vulnerable, fragile and scared,” Julia Mack, a Spanish professor, said.

The petition asks that UNC reaffirm its non-discrimination policy, protect undocumented students’ privacy, refuse to comply with agencies deporting students, train people to be more inclusive of undocumented students and declare UNC a sanctuary university.

Mack said the results of the election put her in a position she had never been in before — she felt the need to address politics in her classes.


Editors Picks

A decade of activism: How social justice movements have continued at UNC in the 2010s


Bars became a safe place during a decade of change for the N.C. LGBTQ+ community


After a decade of tuition increases, the General Assembly wrestles with affordability



“The distress, the anguish, the lack of energy, the difficulty in simply communicating — people who started talking and couldn’t finish a sentence before starting to cry, students who wanted to go home to protect their families — it was intolerable, you couldn’t, it was not business as usual,” Mack said.

Alejandra Marquez, a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in the department of romance studies who signed the petition, said while she thinks the email was a great start for opening up important conversations, she believes the University should do more to address the issues facing undocumented students specifically.

“The priority is making undocumented students feel safe and cared for,” Marquez said.

Joshua Wassink, a first-year Ph.D candidate in sociology, said he hopes the petition will influence decision makers in the community and contribute to an ongoing discussion of the issue.

“It doesn’t affect me in an immediate sense, but it does affect me as an American as far as how America chooses to treat immigrants and how we interact with other countries,” Wassink said.

Julie Byerley, vice dean of education and chief education officer for the UNC School of Medicine, said she feels the University has a responsibility to address the community’s concerns.

“Unfortunately, we are not going to have a quick fix to this situation. This situation of tension and unrest is one we’re going to need to struggle with as individuals and collectively as a community and work together to listen and hear each other.”

university@dailytarheel.com


Next up in Student Life

  • Student Government hosts workshop featuring professional lobbyists and state senator

  • 'It’s totally surreal': UNC's fourth astronaut graduate recalls her path to NASA

  • From holiday gifts to clothing lines: How UNC students use BeAM makerspaces

  • SPONSORED Takeout Central's delivery heroes serve local Tar Heels, battle corporate foes


Next up in Campus

  • The 2010s: the decade that changed everything

  • The athletic-academic scandal: How an NCAA investigation impacted the University

  • On the steps of South Building: The decade according to UNC's chancellors


Next up in UNC-Chapel Hill

  • How 10 years of crime and public safety incidents affected the Chapel Hill community

  • North Carolina Museum of History exhibit celebrates 200 years of the NC Supreme Court

  • This UNC grad and former vegetarian created a pork company focused on sustainability


The Daily Tar Heel welcomes thoughtful discussion on all of our stories, but please keep comments civil and on-topic.

Latest Print Edition

Print Edition Print Archive

Decade in Review

Special Print Edition

Start the Presses!

Thank you for reading! You are someone who appreciates independent student journalism, support that work with your tax-deductible donation today!

Donate Now!
    • Front Page
    • Campus
    • City & County
    • Politics
    • Sports
    • Culture
    • Opinion
    • Donate
    • HeelsHousing
Daily Tar Heel To Homepage
109 E. Franklin St. Suite 210, Chapel Hill, NC 27514
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Shop
  • Buy Photos
  • 1893 Brand Studio
  • Alumni
  • Events Calendar
  • Celebrations/Obituaries
  • Southern Neighbor
  • Offline Chapel Hill
  • Newsletter
  • RSS
  • Classifieds

All Rights Reserved

© Copyright 2019 The Daily Tar Heel

Powered by Solutions by The State News.

A Century of Champions

The perfect gift for the UNC fan in your life. Celebrate UNC basketball's years of success with "A Century of Champions," a keepsake poster from The Daily Tar Heel and 1893 Brand Studio.

Buy Now