Carrying handmade signs and a banner, a group of University of Connecticut students rallied at UConn’s annual board of trustees meeting on Wednesday to call for change in the administration’s approach to managing the orders of the Trump administration.
The signs featured slogans like “Hands Off Huskies” and “Resist Fascism Protect Students.” But it wasn’t until Undergraduate Student Government President Andy Zhang took the stand when the group unfurled a large banner with the words “DEFEND OUR STUDENTS” painted on.
The rally arrived in the wake of protests at Ivy League schools Yale, Harvard and Columbia, as well as the revoking of the visas of 13 UConn students. The rally is also in tandem with a change.org petition posted by sixth-semester law student Colin Rosadino.
“This week, members of the UConn community rallied together to defend our students, bringing together some of the legal resources necessary to protect those on our campus and across the state targeted with illegal visa and SEVIS revocations,” the petition said. “In signing this petition, we commit to defend our fellow huskies and to join students and faculty in demonstrations against the continued illegal incursions by the federal government within our community.”
The rally also took place a week after USG signed a resolution calling for UConn to provide further protection for students against the Trump administration. The resolution requested that the university ban the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from private spaces on campus, refuse to negotiate or settle on Trump administration policy changes and create a “Husky Defense Fund” to support students and faculty impacted by grant cuts, federal funding cuts or monetary legal needs.
The resolution was authored by Zhang and sponsored by individuals including USG Vice President Haritha Subramanian, Chief Diversity Officer Phoenix Harper, Comptroller William Lipinski and former USG President Lorien Touponse. Subramanian and Touponse attended the rally with Zhang on Wednesday.
The board of trustees meeting began at 9 a.m. in the North Reading Room of Wilbur Cross. During the public participation portion of the meeting, Zhang took the stand and reiterated the changes that the resolution proposed and also asked for the university to be prepared to defend its students.
“The threat is not moving. It is here,” said Zhang. “Collective action, not isolation, is what will keep us safe.”
The public participation portion of the meeting closed after Zhang finished speaking, but not before Board of Trustees Chairman Daniel Toscano commented on Zhang’s statement.
“We have to comply with state and federal law,” said Toscano, but added that the university will rely on school values as a guide on how to support students.
The meeting moved on to the next items on the agenda, and the students rallying left the room. Outside, Rosadino thanked the attending students and urged them to continue to make their voices known, such as attending Board of Trustees meetings and sending emails.
“I think it was really good to see some energy on campus around this issue,” said Rosadino in an interview. “There hasn’t been a lot said by anyone.”
Rosadino also mentioned a letter circulating around U.S. colleges and universities, which expresses the disapproval of schools about Trump’s interference in the education system. Rosadino said UConn did not sign the letter, although he does not know if the university was asked to.
“Meanwhile, you have 13 students on this campus that have already been directly impacted,” said Rosadino. “That had their visa and SEVIS status illegally revoked. And I know, like, there are probably people working behind the scenes, trying to help in ways they can. But the clarity needed to call out what’s happening, to say that there’s a community here to defend those students, to protect them. That hasn’t happened. And that’s horrifying.”
Rosadino then went on to describe the worry a student might face if their visa is revoked, especially if the student doesn’t know what they can do about it. He asked that the university provide more assistance for those students.
“And to call out directly, like what this is, it’s not like an isolated attack on some Ivy League schools,” said Rosadino. “Or a few, like, independent migrants. It is an attack on higher education, institutions of democracy, freedom. All of that needs to be clearly articulated by people in power here.”
Subramanian, who also attended the rally, is a sixth-semester student majoring in political science, music and women’s and reproductive health, with a minor in biology. She had similar thoughts on the university’s lack of action in terms of executive changes in government.
“I am a huge supporter of [the rally],” said Subramanian. “It really means a lot to see so many students coming here, being a part of this organizing effort to bring it up to admin to get them to act. Because it is truly embarrassing and incredibly sad that we literally have threats to higher education and this school is next to nothing about it.”
Subramanian noted that while she understands UConn can’t just ignore executive orders, she believes the university doesn’t need to just accept them. She said the university could be taking more steps to show support to students, to try and ban ICE from campus and to exploit loopholes in executive orders.
“This is a time for more than just sympathy,” said Subramanian. “This is time for action.”
Subramanian urged interested individuals to email her or Zhang at vicepresident@usg.uconn.edu or president@usg.uconn.edu, and said they could provide resources for students.
“You can be a school like Columbia, you know, have those threats be placed on you and kind of just cower under in fear,” said Subramanian. “Or you can be like Harvard and fight back. And that’s what we have to do, because threats start there, but they will come to us, and they will not stop.”
Zhang, a sixth-semester student majoring in economics and environmental sciences, noted that USG is working in conjunction with rallies so people can see student support for the effort.
“It’s really important to know that there’s widespread student support,” said Zhang. “And that students across a variety of disciplines are really supportive of this. And that, they want to see this happen.”
Zhang also urged interested parties to email him, especially if they have ideas on how UConn can support students or how the university can proceed.
Thank you for shining a brighter light on this issue. I was just reading the AAC&U letter yesterday and was stunned to see that UConn remains conspicuously absent.
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