Over a thousand students walk-out against Trump and call for a sanctuary campus

Over a thousand Rutgers students gathered at Vorhees Mall on Wednesday to stage a walk-out against President-elect Donald Trump’s presidency and calling for Rutgers to become a sanctuary campus – “a place free from the fear of deportation, where US Immigration and Customs Enforcement is not welcome,” according to the Facebook event. 

The demonstration started around 3 p.m. on College Avenue, proceeded down George street and ended on Douglass after approximately two miles.

Brissa Strano, one of the organizers of the protest got involved after seeing the smaller protest on Friday, along with being upset by the election results. “I was angry by the fact that this country elected a man whose entire political platform was based on bigotry,” she said. “I’d like everyone to know that this isn’t the end of the fight against Trump. It’s only the beginning; we must keep fighting. We have to keep our passion alive and not learn to be okay with his and his supporters’ hatred.”

Many students hoped to send a unifying message through the demonstrations. Elijah Reiss, one of the enthusiastic demonstrators said, “No matter what we happens, we are not going to stand for ridiculous and harmful policies for American people. There’s a whole misconception that undocumented immigrants are ruining society, taking our jobs and raping our women and this is completely false. The reason I believe the anti-immigrant policies is racist is because we don’t see the same immigration enforcement on people coming from Canada. It’s only focused on Mexico, Latin America, Islamic and Arab countries.”

A handful of Trump supporters also attended the walk-out, making themselves known pro-Trump t-shirts, banners and ‘Make America Great Again’ hats. For the most part they were peacefully protesting, shouting their own chants and demanding the legalization of marijuana.

“We are not here to accomplish anything. All we are doing is letting our presence [be] known. We are no longer going to be treated as second class citizens at the universities,” said Trump supporter, Brandon Riso. “Nobody should be allowed here to come illegally. No other countries accept illegal immigrants so it doesn’t really make sense that we are the only exception. Donald Trump cares about the American people like nobody else.”

President Robert Barchi made a statement the day before about embracing political diversity in addition to celebrating all other forms of diversity.  In an email addressed to the student body, he wrote, “Rutgers University stands together with all our students. No matter your political view, ethnicity, religious beliefs, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, or nationality, you are first and foremost a Rutgers student, and you are owed our respect, our support, and our best efforts to keep you safe and secure as you express your opinions and pursue your studies.”

The Rutgers police escorted the crowd throughout the protests and gave them safe passage for the demonstrations.