EUGENE, Ore. — University of Oregon students gathered on Monday on campus to protest federal immigration enforcement actions and how the university reacts to them.
Students and community members gathered at the administration building, pushing for change amid tensions between federal agents and undocumented immigrants.
One freshman student at the protest, who has two immigrant parents, plans to become an immigration attorney.
KVAL -{ }Protesters urge UO to issue ICE campus alerts and create Latino cultural center safe space
She says she loves to see the support from her peers.
“It makes me feel good that there’s people here in Eugene that support the cause,” says UO student Yuliza Chavez. “I feel like I’m first generation, I’m also the oldest. I feel like with a lot of things in life, I felt like I was the one paving the path for myself so when I came to U of O I realized there was people here that supported the cause and that makes me feel really emotional and really supported.”
A variety of student union groups collaborated to nail down solutions they want to see implemented by the university.
“The demands of the campaign we’re launching today are, one, for UO to use their alert system to notify students, notify the campus community, if ICE comes on campus, on top of that we’re also asking them to ensure that they do actually build a Latino cultural system as a safe space for Hispanic students on campus,” said Issak Ordaz, co-chair, UO’s Young Democratic Socialists of America.
Not only were students in attendance but community members are supporting the younger generation’s call to action.
One protester, who didn’t want to give us his last name, says what’s happening here and now sets the stage for the future.
“I think that universities – especially centers for education, centers for learning – should offer that safety, that stability, for those students because they are going to be the ones to carry us into the next century,” said protester Robert O.
The protest was a part of a larger mission – under the “Day Without an Immigrant” movement – with community members abstaining from working and shopping.
We reached out to the university to get their response to the changes demanded by protesters on Monday, but but did not immediately see a response.
