After getting an email about Cornell’s sanctuary movement, I was excited to hear that the university would be protecting its undocumented students. I have seen other schools doing this as well after scrolling through my facebook newsfeed. I honestly didn’t think too much of the policy until I had the table talk with Esmerelda. I learned that the term “support and defend” means something completely different. It does not necessarily imply that Cornell will withhold any information about their students if they are asked to give it up. I felt a bit betrayed that Cornell would go back on their word or sound as if they’re doing undocumented students a service, because they certainly weren’t. However, I wasn’t so surprised to learn that this would happen. I think most students on campus are under the false illusion that Cornell is protecting its students, but in reality, that can’t be further from the truth. Apparently, there is a petition going around on campus that demands the university should provide more protection for its students. Although I admire the efforts people make to benefit their peers, I am not sure this would have any effect on how Cornell will deal with its policy. Overall, I hope that more people would be aware of this issue on campus and that we will not have to deal with this problem in the future.

Earlier this semester, interim president Hunter Rawlings claimed Cornell as a “sancutary campus.” Due to the current climate with immigration rights and undocumented students, many students on campus felt at ease when this message came out because it seemed to ensure the safety of their friends. I too was very happy with this declaration. However, after this table talk, I learned that “sancutary” means different things across different campuses. Prior to attending this table talk, I thought sancutary meant that the campus would protect the identity of all undocumented students and not allow any immigration officers on campus to question students. To my surprise, Esmeralda told us that Cornell would comply with any petition submitted by an official and release the name of the student in question. Upon learning this, I felt as if I had been led to believe that Cornell would protect the identities of undocumented students. This just shows that as students, we have to read between the lines and do our own research to uncover the truth of these matters. One statement that resonated with me at this table talk was when Esmeralda urged us all to “stay vigilant.” This is very important because actual lives are at stake. It is important that we are involved in conversations among students and faculty. Cornell students must stand in solidarity with our fellow students and let them know that we support them wholeheartedly. It is easy to get comfortable with issues which do not pertain to us however, the poet Martin Niemoeller said it best:

“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

In last week’s table talk, I had a chance to talk to Esmeralda and other Rose Scholars about the sanctuary movement, what it means, and whether or not Cornell is a part of it. It was very eyeopening and I learned a lot. While I’m not new to activism around campus, or the reason behind trying to make Cornell a sanctuary campus, I am surprised that there is so called “sub text” behind the email that Cornell sent out. At the end of the day, it seems, Cornell is just an institution and they will say what they need to say to appease the student population (“we will support undocumented students”), but when push comes to shove, it’s questionable whether or not they will actually protect undocumented students. It also is questionable what their “support” means–financially, physically (as in provide shelter if necessary), or is it just “in spirit” (we will be there for you! But we won’t actually.)

After doing a brief internet search, I learned that some activists and students consider sanctuary campuses any campus that allows for open conversations surrounding identity without the fear of xenophobia. Other students consider sanctuary campuses as campuses that have resources for undocumented students. And still others believe that sanctuary campuses are campuses who will protect undocumented students at any cost.

I think moving forward we, as students, activists, and a campus–should more clearly define the word “sanctuary” and “sanctuary campuses.” In order to make an impact, I think it’s important to realize what it is exactly that we want. If we don’t, it is then very easy for the University to stand on the blurred lines of their “support.”

During Monday dinner I joined Esmeralda and my other fellow scholars for a discussion on current Sanctuary Movement. A little background, Sanctuary movement is a political campaign started during 1980s aiming to protect American refugees and preserve human rights. Interestingly, I learned from Esmeralda that Ithaca was one of the active cities that participated in the movement even then and was called a “Sanctuary City”. Through the time, Sanctuary movement gradually adapt to the surrounding political and social environment. The Sanctuary Movement that Esmeralda wanted to discuss with us is the Cornell campus movement that protects undocumented students from being discriminated and losing privacy.

Esmeralda told us that she was involved in drafting the petition document to the school, demanding for more protection for undocumented students as this moment. I was surprised to learn that the university may be open for the federal government to gather private information from undocumented students should they ask for it. Although I am not familiar with that student group, as an international student, I kind of relate to the difficult situation some other student groups are facing. And I truly hope that we would be discriminated. But at the same time, I am not yet strong enough to impact those decisions or the officials. The best thing I can do now is to work hard, and as Esmeralda told me, “stay vigilant”. And one day I can succeed at what I do, I can do better good for my groups of people.

Prior to the Table Talk on Feb. 13, I had very little knowledge about the sanctuary movement, specifically at Cornell and in Ithaca. What I learned, however, was both inspiring and upsetting. I found out that Ithaca was declared a sanctuary city a while back, which I never knew and feel like should be known. While this seems promising, the question moving forward is what exactly is a sanctuary city and how does the area implement what it says in writing.

Now, this leads me the movement on campus. While President Rawlings has said that the University will ‘support and defend’ undocumented students, I found out that within the fine print of the email sent out to all of campus, the ‘supporting and defending’ is not what one would expect when hearing those words, as there are a lot of contingencies upon the extent to which Cornell will protect undocumented students. This was incredibly sad to learn, but at the same time, only increases the urgency for students and residents of Ithaca to learn more about the movement, what’s actually occurring, and what their rights are.

We discussed that one of the most important factors to creating a successful movement is getting people to mobilize. This is particularly difficult in this context, as this situation involves finding individuals who can be trusted to know private information about students who are potentially in danger. Personally, I believe the best way to get more students involved and aware is by promoting related events and spreading awareness by word of mouth in the hopes of capturing and garnering recognition for this topic on campus so that if an incident were to occur where individuals would be needed to protest/stand against something or someone, there would be enough awareness  on campus that individuals would want to do participate.