Ruth Santana | Staff writer
Students have protested for BLM, LGBTQ+ rights, women’s reproductive rights and most recently, against the new FIU Interim President-designate Jeanette Nuñez. But now some students may be punished for speaking out against certain issues.
The fear of deportation is very real for many FIU students who fear for family and friends who don’t have documentation. That fear has now been extended to those with student visas.
Under the guise of anti-semitism, President Donald Trump plans to deport international students who participated in pro-Palestine protests. Many protesters oppose Israel’s use of extreme violence, which has led to a high death toll of Palestinians. During the war, the government had a history of bombing schools, hospitals and other safety zones, garnering international outrage.
Shedding light on a government’s extreme use of force on civilians during a war is not the same as supporting a terrorist group.
The order describes any college student who has participated in these protests as “pro-terrorists” and even urges college campuses to monitor their international students and report them to the government if they seem to be “Hamas sympathizers”—specifically zeroing on students that participated in protests last year.
Some universities have already instilled task forces, surveillance cameras and heightened discipline policies.
Trump even goes so far as threatening to cut funding to universities that allow “illegal protests”. He is already doing so to Columbia University, pulling $400 million in federal funding. The Department of Justice stated that they “failed to protect Jewish students and staff.”
It is unclear as to what “illegal protest” means and its vagueness leaves many universities unsure on how to combat the issue.
This is a big step toward limiting free speech and halting discussions about complicated topics that affect students on every college campus nationally. Protests are a peaceful way for students to express their beliefs, generate conversations and show the government where we stand on issues.
Marching through campus chanting “free Palestine”, setting up camps in the lawn and putting posters around the university shows how strongly students want to create change— it should be encouraged not punished.
As an international university, we pride ourselves on having a diverse student body that can speak out on injustices that happen nationally and internationally. To silence these discussions and peaceful demonstrations of solidarity with those who are under attack is despicable – and frankly un-American. Colleges have always been a hotspot for debates and protests so why should it be any different this time?
With a politician as our university president, it is unclear what her stance is on this subject, but as a right-leaning figure, it does worry me what measures might be put in place to carry out the executive order on campus.
Currently, 3,800 FIU students are here on visas. International students contribute significantly to universities by increasing revenue, diversifying the student body and improving their reputation.
Punishing people without due process, threatening the integrity of peaceful protesting and deporting those who are here legally could be the catalyst that leads to a dark future.
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The opinions presented on this page do not represent the views of the PantherNOW Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect the perspectives of contributing writers and/or university community members.
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