Public support for “sanctuary campuses” has grown recently. Following a petition requesting classification as a sanctuary campus from the student body, Emory President Claire Sterk announced the administration was reviewing options. Sanctuary campuses serve a similar function to sanctuary cities in that they describe universities or colleges that adopt policies to protect undocumented immigrant students. These schools have faced opposition coming mainly from Rep. Earl Ehrhart, R-Powder Springs. He has indicated that schools which opt for sanctuary status could potentially be punished via removal of state funding. The list of sanctuary campuses may soon get longer. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is threatened with the upcoming inauguration of Donald Trump as president. The law serves as the basis for which a great number of undocumented immigrants attend colleges like Armstrong State. If DACA is repealed, Armstrong’s undocumented students could be in danger of deportation. The Technique opposes this and stands with Armstrong State in attempts to protect its students from such a possibility. A status (“illegal immigrant”) that a young person often has no control over does not affect their merit or ability to succeed at college, and therefore should not be a reason to remove them. We also feel that all DACA students should be able to apply to whichever schools they desire to. Currently, they are barred from admission from the top five most selective public universities in Georgia, including Tech. This should not be the case. We understand that Tech as an institute may not be able to support such a change due to potential funding loss, but individual students can make a difference. Write to local legislators, take part in a protest and make your voices heard.
Threats to sanctuary campuses
