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The Vanderbilt Hustler

The official student newspaper of Vanderbilt University.
Since 1888
The official student newspaper of Vanderbilt University

The Vanderbilt Hustler

The official student newspaper of Vanderbilt University.
The official student newspaper of Vanderbilt University

The Vanderbilt Hustler

The official student newspaper of Vanderbilt University.

Students demand Zeppos declare Vanderbilt a “Sanctuary Campus” for undocumented immigrants

Exactly one year after Hidden Dores led 200 students in a march to Kirkland Hall to deliver a letter including a list of demands relating to diversity and inclusion to Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos, another group of students marched to Kirkland again with a different set of demands. The group, organized mainly by representatives from the Divinity School, demands that Vanderbilt become a “Sanctuary Campus” in response to President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed immigration policies.

This group staged a walkout at 12:30 p.m. and marched through campus before entering Kirkland. Zeppos was not in his office, because he was meeting with Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, so the group presented their list of demands to him over the phone, and then staged a sit-in in Kirkland. The group left Kirkland around 4:30 p.m. Student organizers set a deadline for Friday at 2 p.m. If Zeppos hasn’t approve the demands at that time, they will host another sit-in. 

The list of demands declares support for those “scapegoated by Trump.” The letter says, “We will defend the Muslim, Black, Latinx, LGBTQ, undocumented, women, Jewish, and immigrant members of our community, and we will not let Trump or his white supremacist appointees separate us.”

AUDIO: PHONE CALL WITH CHANCELLOR ZEPPOS

The demonstration is part of a national movement organized by Movimiento Cosecha, an organization dedicated to building “Dignity, Respect, Permanent Protection for the immigrant community.” Students from around 80 schools across the country, including Stanford and NYU, protested with similar petitions today as part of the movement. While all of the students requested that their schools become a sanctuary campus, the definition of a Sanctuary Campus is not uniform–some students are asking for a general declaration of support, while others are asking for more, such as guarantees that schools won’t release students’ immigration statuses.

In relation to Trump’s immigration policies, the group made 5 demands to Chancellor Zeppos:

  1. Cut ties with all law enforcement agencies that collaborate with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP)
  2. Refuse law enforcement agencies who collaborate with ICE access to any Vanderbilt properties or information.
  3. Institute a policy prohibiting campus police from inquiring about immigration status, enforcing immigration laws, or participating with ICE/CBP in actions.
  4. Refuse to cooperate with any ‘registration’ system that seeks to target or surveil Muslims.
  5. Publicly declare Vanderbilt a Sanctuary Campus.

Junior Hamzah Raza, who participated in the march, says the group wants to protect students who are currently covered under an American immigration policy called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. DACA allows certain undocumented immigrants in the U.S. who entered the country before the age of 16 and before June 2007 to receive a renewable two-year work permit as well as exemption from deportation.

“Things such as Muslim registration and deporting our undocumented students is against our values as an institution and as a progressive movement.”

-Shawn Reilly

“Donald Trump said on Jan. 20, when he is inaugurated, he will get rid of DACA,” Raza said. “So what a lot of cities and college campuses are doing are making what’s called ‘Sanctuary Campuses’ and saying the students … are safe in case this were to happen, because they’re an integral part of our country.”

Senior Shawn Reilly, who participated in the protest, said that when the protesters read the list of demands to Zeppos over the phone, they urged him to accept them. Zeppos responded that he will review the demands and have a conversation with students about them.

“But to us, it is kind of black and white,” Reilly said. “Things such as Muslim registration and deporting our undocumented students is against our values as an institution and as a progressive movement.”

Students participating in the sit-in called the mayor’s office one after the other to deliver the message that the group was waiting outside Zeppos’ office, and would wait until he returned. 

AUDIO: SPEAKERS AT SIT-IN

“We basically told him, Megan Barry doesn’t go to school here, Megan Barry doesn’t pay tuition, your job as chancellor is to represent the interests of students, not to go around meeting with the mayor of Nashville, so when hundreds of students are occupying your office, it’s ridiculous that he’s not here,” Raza said.

In regard to how long the protesters will stay in Kirkland, Reilly responded, “We are waiting here until he says yes.”

Maddie Brown contributed to this report. This story will be updated as it develops. Video by Sophie Jeong of VTV News. 

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About the Contributor
Zoe Shancer, Author

Comments (21)

The Vanderbilt Hustler welcomes and encourages readers to engage with content and express opinions through the comment sections on our website and social media platforms. The Hustler reserves the right to remove comments that contain vulgarity, hate speech, personal attacks or that appear to be spam, commercial promotion or impersonation. The comment sections are moderated by our Editor-in-Chief, Rachael Perrotta, and our Social Media Director, Chloe Postlewaite. You can reach them at [email protected] and [email protected].
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[…] The call began with “we were wondering where you are Mr. Nicholas Zeppos.” This type of condescension and disrespect set the tone for the rest of the conversation. The Chancellor tried to apologize for being out of the office but was cut off by another protester. One of them asked, “Who is the meeting with,” and another confidently proclaimed “Chancellor Zeppos is meeting with Mayor Megan Barry right now,” as if this was some sort of despicable act. Another protester said “apparently Megan Barry is more important than your students.” […]

B
Bernie Ellis
7 years ago

(Third attempt to post a response)

Ad hominem, off-topic attacks from the safety of the Internet. How predictable. Feel free to post whatever you’d like. Maybe then my response(s)
will appear.

As for your “right or happy” comment, my family’s motto is apropos: “Lord, grant that I always be right for Thou knowest I am hard to turn.”

G
George
7 years ago
Reply to  Bernie Ellis

Bernie,

Judging by the other responses to this issue, you appear grossly out numbered. You gave up a lot -your weed farm, your job, your freedom, and will remain a convicted felon for the rest of your life. You lost your right to vote years ago and your sanctimonious retorts fall on deaf ears. You still have the right to remain silent but not the ability to do so. Your pathological need for affirmation must be frustrating. Sorry if I hurt your feelings.

B
Bernie Ellis
7 years ago
Reply to  George

What, no links? You are wrong on a host of things, most notably the fact that my right to vote was immediately restored after I completed the two year probation sentence (with no fine) that was imposed for my admission to having provided cannabis free of charge to cancer and AIDS patients from 1987 (when I helped start the TN AIDS program) until 2002. CNN did a nice profile on my story, as have three documentarians (so far). My story, though irrelevant to this discussion, is easy to find. The only thing curious to me is why you brought it up — it’s actually something I’m quite proud of — and why you waited a week to respond.

As for my lifelong felony record, stay tuned. It appears President Obama is about to weigh in on that. You’re welcome to attend the ceremony or watch it from your basement.

B
Bernie Ellis
7 years ago

There’s nothing in my life I’m ashamed of, particularly my providing cannabis free of charge to cancer and AIDS patients. So do as you wish. That can include looking me in the eye, something you modern day Rs aren’t good at. Here, I’ll beat you to the punch (here and when/if we ever meet). See you soon, I dearly hope.

http://www.nashvillescene.com/news/pith-in-the-wind/article/13031747/what-kind-of-buffoons-are-running-the-secretary-of-states-office-now

http://www.nashvillescene.com/news/pith-in-the-wind/article/13014648/marijuana-martyr

G
George Fischer
7 years ago

Bernie- It appears that you may have smoked too much of your home grown weed but then again most felons lash out at “the establishment.” Do you want me to post some embarrassing links? C’mon man. Chillax. Would you rather be right all the time or happy all the time. Can’t be both.

B
Bernie Ellis
7 years ago
Reply to  George Fischer

(Reposting this response as the first one got eaten, like our unverifiable votes.)

There is nothing in my life I’m ashamed of, particularly when it comes to providing cannabis to cancer and AIDS patients free of charge for fifteen years. So post whatever you’d like. Here, I’ll beat you to the punch, something I’m good at. Hopefully I can demonstrate if we ever meet face to face, though with your special kind of “bravery”, I doubt that will ever happen.

http://www.nashvillescene.com/news/pith-in-the-wind/article/13031747/what-kind-of-buffoons-are-running-the-secretary-of-states-office-now

http://www.nashvillescene.com/news/pith-in-the-wind/article/13014648/marijuana-martyr

B
Bernie Ellis
7 years ago

George, this is how uninformed and ridiculous you sound. Or is it complicit? Read the link below.

No one who loves what this country was founded on (the consent of the governed) should allow this coup. We MUST NOT consent.

And George, since I presume you were educated at Vandy too (though it sure doesn’t sound like it), try to stop spouting Faux Noos misinformation. A peer-reviewed published study several years ago concluded that Faux Noos viewers were less informed about current events than people who watch no TV news at all. You are proving that, with each and every post.

Read this. Learn something. Fight for the consent of the governed, while we still can. Anchor down.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10209335312953186&id=1034125180&ref=bookmarks

B
Bernie Ellis
7 years ago
Reply to  Bernie Ellis

Here’s the link to the Fairleigh Dickinson study referenced above. Unlike one of Vandy’s Poli Sci prof/provost/GOP-RICO shill’s research, this study has more than three degrees of freedom.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.businessinsider.com/study-watching-fox-news-makes-you-less-informed-than-watching-no-news-at-all-2012-5?client=safari

G
George Fischer
7 years ago

How ironic- Hillary’s camp and the liberal media were livid that Trump would not promise to accept the outcome of the election.
That’s because Hillary Rob ’em was awaiting her coronation. Here is the truth- many people who were polled were afraid to say they supported Trump so the polling was inaccurate (obviously). Also, according to interviews with the “reliable” pollsters, most exit polling stopped
at 3 p.m. on the day of the election. Guess they thought the millions who voted after work didn’t count. No one wins a political argument so I rest my case and hope that you and others recover and move on.

B
Bernie Ellis
7 years ago

George, the evidence for a stolen election is plentiful and continuing to grow. I could waste time, as you did, throwing meaningless insults in all directions but that will get us nowhere. What might get us free from the specter of a multiple felon (fraud, rape, election theft) in the White House is for the NSA and the FBI to continue their aggressive investigations that are currently underway and for everyone else who believes that Trump stole the White House to refuse to give their consent. That, and not unbridled capitalism, is the real American promise.

Since you appear so ignorant of the evidence, you and everyone else are welcome to visit my Facebook page where I am continuing to chronicle it as it surfaces. This remains an abiding interest of mine — saving our democratic republic — as my presence in nine election integrity documentaries attests. You might also learn something by watching my Martin Luther King Day keynote address at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (It’s on YouTube.) Not bad for a “domestic terrorist”, one of my favorite nicknames given to me by TN Secretary of State Tre Hargett, the main man behind our homegrown election fraud. Google our names together to see how that backfired on Tre. Probably cost him any further chance at higher office here.

BTW, I didn’t vote for Hillary, so in that sense I am not a sore loser. But I am mighty sore at the voter suppression and election fraud that is the GOP/RICO’s only real mandate. Would be embarrassed to be associated with that, but then I am not you.

Still Bernie Ellis
Don’t have a clue who you are, “George”

C
Concerned Graduate
7 years ago

These movements are analogous to voluntourism: It makes the participants feel good while doing little actual good (and in some cases harm) to the causes they claim to support. Poorly structured demands, such as encouraging a highly ranked university to aid/abet the violation of duly enacted laws does nothing but besmirch the strong academic reputation of the institution, detract from incoming class population, and hurt employment prospects of students. When one does not like the law, the legislature is the appropriate institution to petition for changes.

B
Bernie Ellis
7 years ago

Here’s my take.

Bernie Ellis, MA, MPH
Class of ’71

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10209294702897960&id=1034125180

G
George
7 years ago
Reply to  Bernie Ellis

Bernie- that’s a typical sore loser response. When the libs run out of ammunition they resort to ridiculous narratives. Trump won and Hillary lost. look up the 5 stages of grief. You are in the denial stage but I trust you will recover. You didn’t see mass hysteria when the Dalibama won. Get your thumb out your mouth, leave your safe space and accept the outcome. These campus uprisings are an exercise in futility and frankly laughable to the majority of the populace. You and I are about the same age. I got drafted for Vietnam and lost several buddies. Too bad they didn’t have safe spaces. My father landed on Omaha beach. Oops no safe spaces. Can’t wait for the students to leave their insulated Vanderbubble and get out in the real world. Bosses love whiners.

K
Kevin
7 years ago

College students acting like kids. Do you seriously think you can just avoid law enforcement … become a sanctuary? Apparently, none of you has had the experience of an illegal affecting your life. Also, you need a proofreader.

J
Jane
7 years ago

While I appreciate how passionate students are about social justice, it is absolutely appalling how some students conveniently place all blame on Chancellor Zeppos. The chancellor has always welcomed student protestors with open arms and a warm smile, and has implemented change at the macro level to address the concerns put before him. Meeting key people in Nashville such as Mayor Barry IS a part of his job, and unlike some students who have way too much time on their hands, Chancellor Zeppos can’t be expected to cancel prior commitments. He DID talk to the students over the phone, didn’t he? The student protestors are making sizable demands, and they can’t expect Chancellor Zeppos to agree to everything in less than a day! Activism is an important part of being a college student, and I am so proud to see my classmates engaging in important conversations on campus, but the way you’re treating a chancellor, who has always been so warm and receptive, in such a disrespectful way is shameful and unbecoming of a Vanderbilt student.

M
Margo McDonnell
7 years ago

Zeppos has been behind diversity endeavors for years; sitting in at his office is a kindergarten gesture. These are serious times. Far better to venture out of the Vandy comfort zone and go confront some actual state legislators downtown, where Trumpism is sickeningly powerful and real (and the press coverage considerably wider.) Or are you just playing at defiance?

M
Margo McDonnell
7 years ago

This is the coward’s way of demonstrating. Instead, go sit in at the State Legislature, where rot and bias and Trumpism are sickeningly real. Confront some actual legislators; talk to some actual press; get out of your comfort zone; be prepared for real-world consequences. The time for childish games is over: let’s get serious. Take actual risks for national stakes. Moaning to Zeppos is fun and safe, since he’s been pushing diversity for years. If you have the courage of your convictions, now’s the time.

J
John
7 years ago

While I agree with the majority of your demands I think the way you went about presenting them was completely inappropriate and childish. You needlessly berated a man who said he would take time to carefully consider your demands and the implications they would have on your university as a whole (for example I don’t believe that cutting ties with Metro police simply because they might cooperate with ICE could possibly be beneficial). As far as his meeting with the mayor goes, he was undoubtedly there as a representative of Vanderbilt attempting to (once again) better OUR school. If you wanted his undivded attention maybe you should have contacted him or his office first to inform him of your plans (like people in the real world do when they want to lodge a complaint). Had you done this, and not simply assumed that your protest was more important than anything else the chancellor of a top 15 university could be doing I’m sure he would have been happy to be present, as he was a year ago for the Hidden Dores march on Kirkland. It amazes me how self-centered and whiny some of my fellow students can be.

S
Steve
7 years ago

The leader of any college should follow the law. While I understand the student’s passion this is a simple matter – The chancellor needs to set an example and follow the law regardless of whether he or his students agree with it or not. One day these students will be in the real world where you don’t get to pick and choose which law you’ll follow and which one you’ll ignore.