SEMO’s College Democrats hosted a campus-wide protest on Friday evening (May 2nd), aiming to spread awareness about the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and demanding protection for the students facing their student visas being revoked.
On Thursday, Apr. 17, it was announced that eight international students and 16 recent graduates had their SEVIS records terminated due to minor violations, putting them at risk for deportation and loss of legal status.
Dozens of students and community members gathered at the Academic Terraces at 5 p.m., where they heard from multiple student speakers, before taking their march to downtown Cape for the “Defend Our Students” protest Fri. May 2.
The protest started with a speech from sophomore musical theatre major Parker Cobden, who led the march. Cobden stated that as Americans, they have the right to assemble and protest for the affected students.
“We can do something, we as Americans, or people currently living in America. We have a constitutional right to freedom of speech and a right to peaceful assembly. We have a duty as Americans to exercise those rights in this situation,” Cobden said in his speech.
In addition to Cobden’s message, attendees also heard from a few different student voices, including sophomore acting major Anne Helmer-Larsen. As a student here from Norway, Larsen talked about her experience.
“It’s quite awful to watch my friends being scared of, ‘am I going to be able to finish my degree here? Am I going to be sent back to my home country, where I don’t have the same opportunities as I have here?’ A lot of people have worked really hard to be here, and their families have worked really hard for them to be here,” Larsen said.
Senior microbiology major Teal Barkheimer also spoke before the march, speaking about how students need to be loud about what is going on.
“Often we are paralyzed, feeling like there is nothing we can do to change what has happened. However, that is not true. We have gathered today because we refuse to be silenced to resist our current administration. We need to keep fighting. We need to be loud and we need to get organized,” Barkheimer said.
Also in attendance was Chairperson for the Cape Girardeau County Democrats, Andy Leighton.
One of the protestors who participated in the “Defend Our Students” march was junior historic preservation major Bailee Porteous. Porteous talked about how important it is for students to get together and stand up for those who can’t themselves.
“It’s important for students to protest because we have the right, we are constitutionally given the right to protest and have our free speech, and we need to stand up for the things that we believe in. We need to stand up for the students around us who cannot stand up for themselves without the fear of deportation. We need to be here for the students who cannot be here for themselves,” Porteous said.
After the speeches, the group marched down Pacific to Broadway, and continued down to the Riverwalk and back, ending back at the Terraces.
The Southeast Arrow, a student-run news partner with KRCU Public Radio, originally published this story.
