BREAKING: Bucknell students hold ‘walk out for the locked out’
‘No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here’
Bucknell students and professors walked out of their classes and joined one another on the quad afternoon at 1pm to protest the President Trump’s Executive Orders on immigration.
The event, entitled “Walkout for the Locked Out” was shared on Facebook saying, “Bucknell students, faculty and staff and are going to walkout for those locked out by President Trump’s heinous executive order to ban Muslim immigrants.”
Despite the snow, hundreds of people gathered on the quad with signs and protest chants abound. Tamara Hijazi, a student from Palestine and an organizer of the walkout, shared her thoughts on the impact of the Orders with the crowd, saying “it is unbelievably painful to feel so helpless.”
Hijazi continued to say that while students were gathered for “immigrants and muslims today, we will be out here for everybody else tomorrow.”
Eddie Lopez, an assistant professor of art and art history, spoke to the crowd, addressing his journey to America as an immigrant. He expressed gratitude for those in attendance, saying:
“Thank you for coming out. These moments require solidarity. They require us to show compassion and empathy, something that unfortunately is missing the Whitehouse today.”
The walkout was followed by a number of “teach-ins,” covering topics from “Islam 101” to “Intersectional Feminism” and “Fascism 101,” during which professors volunteered their time to hold classes in public spaces addressing such issues. The crowd was directed to attended a teach-in of their choosing and to partake in a open, supportive dialogue.
This walkout was the second of its kind, as students walked out in solidarity following Trump’s election.
