In Light of Recent Events

[Elena Alberti]

Fellow Members of the MIT Student Body:


As most of you have heard, President Trump passed an executive order restricting entry to the United States by people of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, and Yemen. This executive order directly affected members of our community. Members of the MIT student body who are your friends, your peers, and your classmates.


There was an update released yesterday that there was a temporary order that restrains the government from enforcing the Executive Order to detain or remove holders of a valid visa or green card who travel from the seven countries to the US through Logan Airport. This order is in effect for the next 6 days.


While MIT is fighting for its students and will continue to advocate for the student body, there are ways for the student population to advocate for itself and it already has. Yesterday, there was strong student and faculty support at the rally in Copley Square. This event is far from the last time that students will be able to advocate for their values.


If you would like to have your voice heard, here are a few options:

  1.  The UA and GSC will be hosting a joint phonebank on February 6th from 12 to 4 pm. More details will follow.

  2.  Participate in the IAP class Activism, Organizing, and Social Movements. The sole purpose of this class is to have a place to grow together and think on how we can act in this challenging time, while building community among activism/organizing interested people at MIT. This class will be taking place from 5 to 7 pm for the rest of the week. Please refer to this link<https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsites.google.com%2Fview%2Fiap2017-activism-training&h=ATNN96NjwSuzz0VG7vtDMhvyEQiEueVvPxb_IWDZdR7fOx2SFIeNQAbSxQ_9BFye6WhR1fOFL1hhA_SDheQp_62IUws7A-k4s7LLLN9u4hRbbQ-RY2-pQpo_dF3kn4aRv2YvXhoR> for more information.

  3.  Call/write representatives on your own.


While advocating for your values, please be cautious about using any of the names of the students who were affected without their consent. Not all affected persons may want their names to be made public.


If you are directly affected by the executive order, I strongly advise that you contact David Elwell, Associate Dean and Director of the International Students Office<http://web.mit.edu/iso/>, or Penny Rosser, Director of the International Scholars Office<http://web.mit.edu/scholars/>. Further, if you need to speak to someone, you should feel free to contact MIT Medical (617-253-4481) and Student Support Services (617-253-4861).


I will continue to send out updates about ways to help on campus.


Best,

Elena Alberti

UA Public Affairs Chair
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