Approximately 30 people gathered outside of the Administration Building to protest for Stony Brook University to protect their international workers and students from the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Monday, Feb. 10 at 12:45 p.m.
The protest opened with various chants, such as “Stealing jobs, don’t believe you, don’t bite the hand that feeds you” and “One struggle, one fight, migrant justice, workers’ rights.”
The chanting continued for five minutes until Kevin Maybody, a junior majoring in chemistry, gave the first speech. He reminded those in attendance that the true power relies on members of the working and middle classes, not the elites.
“We are presenting demands today. We expect the University to not give a s***. They’ll send an email that is equivocal but it says nothing,” Maybody said. “We have no power because they do not respect us. But, there’s a lot of people in the same boat as us [and that number will only continue to grow in the future].”
Afterward, Sumaq Killari, a senior double majoring in journalism and Spanish language and literature, delivered a speech sharing her personal thoughts on what it’s like to be an immigrant living in the U.S.
“I didn’t want to leave behind everything that mattered to me: my home, my family, my friends, my culture, my people. I didn’t want to come to a place where I felt like an outsider, where I could never feel at home,” Killari said. “Am I the immigrant you fear? Are we the immigrants you fear?”
For the next 20 minutes, demonstrators took turns giving speeches about the importance of their protest.
Kaya Turan, a fifth-year Ph.D. student studying art history and criticism and the president of the Graduate Student Employees Union (GSEU), said that it is important for the University to protect members of their community from “the very serious threats posed by [President Donald] Trump[‘s] administration.”
The one counter-protester present, Samuel Shpak, a junior majoring in history, stood far away from the main group with an American flag draped over his body. During the protest, he shouted statements like “You guys will get deported!”, “Increase the raids!” and “I love ICE!”
“I want to make it clear: I’m actually very pro-legal immigration,” Shpak said. “I support legal immigration, but I do not support illegal immigration. I believe that we’re a country of law and order. I believe that if you want to come to this country, go through the process of law and order. If we don’t have law and order, are we a nation or not?”
At 1:10 p.m., gatherers then marched into the Administration Building to hand-deliver a letter to Interim President Richard L. McCormick. After making their way to the third floor, the demonstrators stood outside McCormick’s office and read aloud their letter.
Turan and Adam French, a junior double majoring in mathematics and environmental design, policy and planning, took turns reading their concerns and demands out loud.
“Stony Brook University students, faculty, staff, we demand that SBU and all of SUNY take actions to affirm their commitments in supporting undocumented, international and non-citizen students and staff,” French said. “It is more critical than ever to protect their most vulnerable community members, which is why we join students and faculty across SUNY campuses to call upon SUNY leadership and our campus administration to take action in accordance with the resolution ‘Affirmation of support of undocumented students,’ which was adopted by the SUNY Board of Trustees in January 2017.”
The demonstrators’ demands included McCormick sending out a University-wide email declaring the campus a sanctuary from ICE and other immigration agencies, as well as the University providing notice, electronically or via mail, within a 24-hour period when it has disclosed personal information of its community members to law enforcement. Demonstrators also demanded that the University provide “Know Your Rights” training and pamphlets to all students, faculty and staff, as well as advertise and expand immigration-related University services, such as the establishment of an emergency legal defense fund.
The letter was signed by the following organizations: GSEU, College Socialists (soon to be called Stony Brook Socialists), Global Voices, Disability Alliance, Latin American Student Organization, Native American and Indigenous Student Organization, Peace Action at SBU and Black Student Union.
The protesters then delivered their letter to McCormick’s office and quietly left the Administration Building. Once outside, the group started chanting again.
After the protest, Turan said their demands were only the beginning.
“This is the beginning of the campaign. This is our first act of collective voicing, making our demands heard,” Turan said. “I can say [that] as a union leader, the University never makes changes or responds on their own or easily. But we can push them to make changes, if we come together with our community and we don’t give up.”
Stony Brook University officials wrote to The Statesman that they are “in the process of developing guidance for campus facilities as it relates to federal immigration enforcement, and expect full guidance from the SUNY system in the coming weeks.”
