Activists at #SanctuaryCampus sit-in issue list of demands for change at Vanderbilt

Students gathered on the second floor of Kirkland Hall in protest

Students gathered on the second floor of Kirkland Hall today to demand Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos declare Vanderbilt a sanctuary campus. Students are still occupying the Chancellor’s office at this time.

A march led by members of #VUDivinity began around 12:30pm, with over 200 students participating in the walk to Kirkland. The sit in began after the group arrived around 1pm.

A member of the sit in printed fliers with a message for all students. Under the title that says “#SanctuaryCampus,” the text reads:

“We support our friends, co-workers and neighbors who have been attacked and scapegoated by Trump. We will defend the Muslim, Black, Latinx, LGBTQ, undocumented, women, Jewish, and immigrant members of our community, and we will not let Trump or his white supremacist appointees separate us.

“We join students and workers on dozens of college campuses across the country who are declaring walkouts to demand that our universities become #SanctuaryCampuses.”

Activists then issued a list of demands they’re asking Vanderbilt – specifically Chancellor Zeppos – to address:

“We specifically demand that Vanderbilt University immediately:

  1. Cut ties with all law enforcement agencies that collaborate with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP)
  2. Refuse law enforcement agencies who collaborate with ICE access to any Vanderbilt properties or information.
  3. Institute a policy prohibiting campus police from inquiring about immigration status, enforcing immigration laws, or participating with ICE/CBP in actions.
  4. Refuse to cooperate with any ‘registration’ system that seeks to target or surveil Muslims
  5. Publicly declare Vanderbilt a Sanctuary Campus.”

Tweets and photos from the sit in are below.

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