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by Abigail Mihaly | 7/30/20 2:00am

As some undergraduates prepare to return to the Upper Valley in September, the College has compiled a committee of students to help administrators understand student concerns.

Students have expressed frustration over the lack of student representation in College decision-making since COVID-19 first threatened in-person learning. For example, the Dartmouth Student Union a newly formed student advocacy group has called for students to have a seat at the table since mid-March.

Nearly two terms later, the Dean of the College Student Advisory Board, a group of 12 student leaders from organizations across campus nominated by College staff, will help Dean of the College Kathryn Lively and other administrators balance safety with social life as students officially return for the first time since March.

Since the big decisions have been made and most of these logistical challenges have happened, Lively said, now is the time to invite more people into the conversation.

Board member Miles Battle 21 said he feels it's an opportunity to tell administrators what students are seeing on the ground and hearing discussed among friends.

Student Advisory Board gets started

On Monday, the board had its second meeting. Members of the group said theyre still in the introduction and priority-setting phases, but Lively hopes they can soon dive into what she calls cultural messaging figuring out how to ensure that students on campus during the fall term dont tank the ship by violating protocol.

Lively said that two years ago, when Hanover issued restrictions on the Homecoming bonfire, student leaders from undergraduate advisors to the football team were highly influential in making sure students adhered to the new norms. Bonfires have been successful since, with no attempts by students to touch the fire.

Two years later, COVID-19 presents the same issues ensuring that students follow College and town safety regulations.

The board members were nominated by Student Affairs staff associate deans, graduate deans and directors and then handpicked by Lively and associate dean for student life Eric Ramsey, Lively explained. They aimed to find student leaders who had a wide swath of interests across organizations. She also said her staff sought students with experience working with administration or other school officials, who understand institutional constraints and are well-networked.

Members of the committee include representatives from Palaeopitus, Student Assembly, the Student and Presidential Committee on Sexual Assault and the Greek Leadership Council.

Lively, who is not the final decision-maker on COVID-19 policies, will cull information from the meetings and bring it forward to Provost Joseph Helble and other administrators, she said. She added that her job is to represent the student perspective to the senior administrators, and to run Student Affairs.

Students on the board will also discuss social life during the pandemic, Lively said.

Me and my staff, we could come up with all kinds of social events, but theyre going to be so much better if students do them, Lively said.

Down the line, she said theyll discuss budgetary changes due to COVID-19. In addition to the student board, Lively said a new faculty committee on priorities is also working with academic deans to deal with the Colleges coronavirus budget fallout.

Abigail Johnson 23, a member of the board, said that the group is focused on what the fall is going to look like from social distancing guidelines to which campus facilities will be open and who will have access to them.

Johnson, the secretary of the Dartmouth Outing Club as well as a member of the club cycling team and Glee Club, also said the group will look at Dartmouths response to the Black Lives Matter movement and discuss how to build a more anti-racist campus. Battle noted that the group is racially diverse.

Battle explained that the meetings are dual-ledby both students and Lively.

Lively said she will give students insight into how decisions are made and what the stakes and challenges are, and then students can share suggestions and concerns.

A late answer to a call for student voices

In a letter to administrators and the student body in March, members of the Dartmouth Student Union called for the formation of a student liaison committee. They wanted a group of students to sit on the COVID-19 task force, DSU co-founder Olivia Audsley 21 said.

That was our biggest goal, so that student groups don't have to be just reacting to College policy during the pandemic; they can be actively a part of shaping it, she said.

Audsley said Lively was not interested in a student committee at the time.

When it comes to major decisions like whether or not a term will be taught online, Lively said, Students cant make those decisions.

She said everyone, including students, are more focused on what they want in the current moment rather than the big picture.

Its an institution. It's the second biggest employer in the Upper Valley. We have relationships with the town that we have to maintain. We have to keep in mind that there is one hospital for the entire region. We have to keep in mind that there are [several] nursing homes in the Upper Valley, Lively said.

Audsley said the board is a step in the right direction, but that it isnt as high up in the decision-making process as DSU had originally hoped for.

Lively has continued to meet regularly with student groups from Palaeopitus and Student Assembly to international student groups and the Dartmouth Student Union throughout the last few months. She said its her job to listen to and advocate for students.

Over the summer, though, many of these groups have changed leadership, so Lively said she has been having table-setting meetings, exchanging introductions and priorities.

Students can also voice their frustrations through their elected Student Assembly members. Student Assembly compiles lists of questions to consolidate and send to the administration. Following the footsteps of previous Student Assembly administrations, current Student Assembly president Cait McGovern 21 and vice president Jonathan Briffault 21 have collected questions through an online form twice in response to the 2020-2021 academic year plan, and for questions regarding the shipping and storing process.

Students call for communication, transparency

When it comes to the new board, some students are critical of the way it was assembled.

Audsley said the board is made up of students representing organizations who already get a decent amount of airtime with the administration.

She said organizations like Palaeopitus and Student Assembly, who have members on the committee, already have routine meetings with Lively. Meanwhile, voices from student activist circles, like members of Divest Dartmouth, the Coalition for Immigration Reform and Equality at Dartmouth or Sunrise Dartmouth, are missing.

Co-moderator of Palaeopitus Marina Cepeda 21 said its difficult to believe the board will be able to represent the full student body when members were chosen by nomination rather than through an election.

I am a part of [Palaeopitus], and I am in circles of privilege where I do have that direct pipeline, Cepeda said, but I don't think it should be up to one person which student is worthy enough to speak to [the] administration.

Battle, who is on the football team and a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, the Greek Life Council, Shabazz, the Afro-American Society and Palaeopitus, said Lively has emphasized that the students on the board are there to provide another set of student voices, not to represent the entire student body.

Dean Lively has made it very evident that her goal isn't for us to represent everybody else, but more so represent ourselves, he said.

Ian Scott 24, who is already working with the Dartmouth Student Union, said he hopes the administration will be more transparent about decision-making going forward.

He said his class is really in search of guidance, because there is not going to be a single, all-clarifying message, and it is really overwhelming to take in all this information.

One concrete step hed like to see? A transcript or meeting notes from the new board.

Audsley seconds his request. I hope it's not a closed door thing, she said.

Lively said she is currently in the midst of a negotiation with students on the board about what can and cant be shared.

McGovern said that Cornell University has been a model in transparency, releasing detailed reports from their COVID-19 committees.

Weve been very clear with the College that the decision-making process needs to be explained clearly to students, McGovern said. I hope that for decisions moving forward this information will be given to students to help us understand the logic behind certain decisions.

Read more:
New Student Advisory Board to consult on COVID-19 decisions - The Dartmouth

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) - Thursday, a local group dubbed Dreamers in Action, organized a Permanent Protection for All Rally on the west side of South Bend.

The purpose was to fight for immigration reform.

"Undocumented people are realizing that our lives are still disposable for the government," said DACA recipient Dara Marquez.

A week ago, the Supreme Court blocked the Trump Administration's attempt to end DACA, but organizers of the rally said this is still not enough, adding they believe people here locally should fight for the protection of all undocumented individuals.

"My tradition in the Roman Catholic Church always preaches the importance of human dignity, and we all have the same dignity," said a local priest.

Speakers also demanded a push for more legislation, even asking the crowd to call lawmakers.

"Many of you have heard me say that advocacy is not a sideline sport. You can't just cheer this on from the sidelines. It's time for all of us to raise our hands and say put me in coach," said Executive Director of La Casa De Amistad Sam Centellas.

Marquez and Juan Constantino are both DACA recipients.

They came to the United States at a young age and said they do not take any of it for granted.

"I want to continue to make an impact here in the South Bend area, the South Bend, Elkhart region, whatever that looks like. I'd like to maybe become the executive director of a non profit," Constantino said.

"There is no fear when the community not only stands behind you, but beside you, and also for all undocumented immigrants who are raising their voice. We are uplifting our own power," Marquez said.

See the original post:
Immigration reform rally held in South Bend - WNDU-TV

The immigration system in this country has been problematic for decades, marred by outdated laws that do not properly address the changing demands of immigration and inconsistent enforcement that, under Trump, has often been inhumane.

National View editorials are fact-based conclusions and opinions written by the editorial board of a newspaper or wire service that the Daily News publishes content from. News reporters are not involved or consulted.

As leader of one of the most confused, inconsistent and impulsive administrations in American history, President Donald Trump has at least managed to be consistent in one area: his drive to reduce immigration to as thin a trickle as he can. Last week, he took yet more steps to limit access to the U.S. by people fearing for their safety in their own countries - and once again moved against our history as a nation of refuge, while also seeming to defy U.S. and international laws protecting the rights of the desperate to seek asylum from persecution in their home countries.

The most recent steps come in 161 pages of proposed changes in rules covering a wide swath of asylum law, including potentially barring relief to anyone who has passed through two countries before reaching the U.S. or who spent 14 days or more in one other country prior to arriving here. The administration also wants to bar asylum to anyone who has failed to timely pay taxes due the U.S. government or who has been unlawfully present in the U.S. for a year or more.

It wants immigration judges to weigh someone's illegal presence in the U.S. against them even though federal law specifically says people can seek asylum by crossing any part of the border and asking for it. And in addition to making fewer people eligible for asylum, it would give officers more power to deny initial asylum claims preemptively, with no need of a court hearing. That would shift an important determination about asylum eligibility from immigration courts to the front-line screeners and is likely a violation of the due-process guarantees that protect everyone in this country, citizen or not.

And on the changes go. The unifying theme here is that Trump, who effectively closed off cross-border access to the U.S. in March as a defense against the spreading coronavirus (too little, too late), wants to permanently limit asylum. Beyond the inherent inhumanity of closing our ears to people asking for protection, the administration is unilaterally undoing decades of U.S. asylum law. Whether Trump has that authority is a matter for the courts, where his lawyers have been spending an awful lot of time defending cockamamie and outrageous moves by the would-be emperor.

The immigration system in this country has been problematic for decades, marred by outdated laws that do not properly address the changing demands of immigration and inconsistent enforcement that, under Trump, has often been inhumane.

The proper fix here is comprehensive immigration reform. That Congress - well before Trump - has failed to enact such reform is a testament to its general dysfunction. Trump has, incongruously enough, displayed how badly the system needs reforming, but he's also shown no interest in teaming with Congress to do it. As we have made clear, this president needs to be ousted. We can only hope that the next administration not only undoes these horrific policies and regulations, but also works with Congress to get the progress on immigration reform that the nation for decades has been clamoring for.

Los Angeles Times

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National View: The proper fix is comprehensive immigration reform - Milford Daily News

An estimated crowd of 300 people gathered in Downtown Long Beach Saturday afternoon calling on the government to release children from ICE detention centers and for reforms in law enforcement. Miles away in Belmont Shore, dozens of people prepared their vehicles for a caravan protest through the city.

The two demonstrations converged at one point hours later in Downtown on Ocean Boulevard.

The peaceful gatherings follow three weeks of local protests over the death of George Floyd. A Minneapolis police officer has been charged with murder after he was shown with his knee on Floyds neck for several minutes.

The first demonstration, dubbed a unity march by organizers, near Ocean Boulevard and Magnolia Avenue included Aztec dancers and dozens of people holding signs calling on the government to free the children.

Many organizations came together to conduct Saturdays protest. Members of the groups announced that they were involved in protests that took place in Boyle Heights on Friday. A protester, identified as 25-year-old Jo-jo, spoke about his experiences in an ICE detention center when he were 4 years old.

We gather, protesting for change for children being separated from their parents, Jo-jo said. We will be your voice.

The gathering also follows this weeks significant ruling by the Supreme Court, which rejected President Donald Trumps appeal to dismantle the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program. The program has allowed about 700,000 immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children to stay.

The car caravan, organized by Caravan 4 Justice, led about 100 cars on different routes throughout the city. Protesters prepared for the protest by making and taping signs onto their cars. Organizers also had voter registration available. Organizer Tia Turner said her organization is trying to create a model in Long Beach to turn the enthusiasm for the protests into change.

We cant just scream and shout forever, Turner said. So were trying to educate people and open up eyes to find those people to strategically make that change. Now that we actually have momentum and our voices are being heard, we need to keep that momentum going.

Turner noted that the COVID-19 pandemic had a lot to do with spurring on the widespread protests.

Protester Sheryl Adams also noted a difference in the protests this year. Her brother, Todd Grayson, was killed by Carson Sheriffs deputies in 1990 at the age of 26. Since then, Adams said she re-lives her brothers death every time she learns of a police officer killing someone. Shes seen the police shootings in recent years and said, I relive it every time.

But this is the first time shes seen so many people get behind the Black Lives Matter movement.

Its really refreshing to see so many people from so many racesI see more white people out here than Black people and thats hurtful, if you want to be honest, Adams said. But Im just so happy to have the supportwhoever wants to give it, whoever wants to see a change.

The caravan protest ended at City Hall, where protesters planned to have more speakers talk and post their protest signs at the Long Beach sign.

Go here to see the original:
Protests converge; hundreds gather in Downtown calling for police, immigration reform - Long Beach Post

Last Monday opened the beginning of a tense week for many U.S. immigrants. Then, relief: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday to uphold the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects over 600,000 people in the country from deportation.

Host Frank Stasio talks about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and the upcoming presidential election with Laura Garduo Garcia, community organizer for Siembra NC, and Geraldo Cadava, assistant professor of history at Northwestern University.

In 2017 President Donald Trump announced his administration would rescind the DACA program, but the court ruled that his process in doing so violated federal law. The future of the program remains uncertain, and its fate may depend on who holds presidential office.

Host Frank Stasio talks with Laura Garduo Garcia, a DACA recipient and a community organizer with the immigrant rights group Siembra NC, about her reactions to the Supreme Court decision and the uncertain future of the program.

Stasio also speaks to Geraldo Cadava, an associate professor of history at Northwestern University, about the reactions of more conservative Latino voters and the implications for the November election. Some Latino voters have stayed with Republican candidates over the years despite anti-immigrant policies, but a growing young Latino electorate could sway Novembers election toward the Democratic candidate.

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Immigration Reform Could Play A Big Role In November. What Else Are Latino Voters Watching? - WUNC