To the Temple University Community,
Temple University was built upon the foundation of excellence, affordability, and accessibility, as founder Dr. Russell Conwell intended. In the spirit of these values, it is essential that our university consistently create inclusive and accessible pathways for all students.
Yesterday, President Donald Trump rescinded support for the policy known as DACA, (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). Not only does it have the potential to upend the lives of 800,000 people across our nation–it also hits home, directly inhibiting current and future students from having access to Temple University.
During times such as this, we must stand in solidarity to relentlessly combat intolerance, injustice, and ignorance. It is imperative that we respect these students’ existence and dignity as human beings. To marginalize, uproot, and disrupt the lives of these students is to disregard the value that their presence, experience, and culture bring to our campus. At our own institution, it is not enough to simply appreciate diversity; we must also consistently fight for accessibility and inclusion of all students, including the dreamers, immigrants, documented, and undocumented students within our campus community.
We urge the members of our campus community–including students, faculty, staff, and community members–to call on members of Congress and other elected officials to maintain and uphold DACA protections in an effort to safeguard the many individuals supported by this policy.
As representatives of the Temple University community, we will continue to elevate the voices and concerns of those directly impacted by this decision. However, we can not do this alone. It is more important now than ever that we stand in solidarity.
This Friday, September 8th, in the Howard Gittis Student Center, Room 200C from 3:00pm-4:45pm, we will be holding a Town Hall event to discuss the implications of this decision and brainstorm necessary action steps moving forward. All are welcome to attend.
In Solidarity,
Tyrell Mann-Barnes
President, Temple Student Government
Steve Newman
President, Temple Association of University Professionals (AFT #4531)