USG votes to make USC a ‘sanctuary campus’
Senator Sabrina Enriquez also announced her resignation
In an 11-1 vote, the Undergraduate Student Government voted tonight to make USC a sanctuary campus for undocumented students. The only vote against the measure came from Senator Leena Danpour via an absentee vote.
The resolution, introduced by Senator Kate Oh and Senator and Speaker Pro Tempore Paul Samaha, comes on the heels of an online petition to make USC a sanctuary campus with over 5,000 signatures. Mayor Eric Garcetti has already announced that Los Angeles is sanctuary city.
The protected students will still pay tuition. As USG’s formal jurisdiction does not extend past their budget allocation, it is not yet known what actions the university’s administration will take to protect undocumented students per USG’s recommendation.
At the end of the meeting, Sen. Sabrina Enriquez announced that it would be her last. An anonymous source confirmed that her decision was made earlier this month, shortly after Election Day.
Enriquez has been an active leader over her term and a half in the Senate. The math major was elected for the 2015-16 term as a Residential Senator, co-authoring last year’s $100 million Campus Climate Resolution and creating a resource guide for the university’s undocumented students. She also spearheaded the “I, too, am USC” social media campaign and co-founded the African-diaspora oriented Awujo House as an assistant director of Communications and Public Relations. Most recently, she has been organizing the creation of the Middle East North African South Asian Student Assembly.
USG rules say that the person who received the next highest number of votes will be offered her vacated spot. If that person declines, then it will be offered to the following, and onward.