YDSA Seeks to Melt ICE with Salty Protest
UMD students speak out in Ordean Court, urging people to get involved saying “the people united will never be defeated”. Photo by Finlee Matejcek
On Tuesday, Oct. 14, the Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) protested on UMD’s campus to bring attention to the recent overreach of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the cause of making UMD a sanctuary campus.
The protest went around campus, circling from the bus station, to the dorms and through the major hallways where the group chanted “ICE off campus" and “education not deportation". The event concluded with speeches in Ordean Court where protesters sought to be heard.
Mandara Romness, a member of the YDSA, said in regards to motivation behind the protest that "It's just hard to see not only students but staff and everyone involved in the community being terrified of being ripped away from their home, from their education, from their family… and it's awful, it's all about racism.”
Protesters came with signs in order to exercise their right to free speech. Photo by Finlee Matejcek
Many students and faculty are concerned about what they see as overreach on the part of ICE and about how that affects students who are not U.S. citizens.
“A lot of faculty and students, particularly those who are not U.S. citizens, are nervous seeing what’s happening with ICE, knowing that anybody can be abducted at any time,” said Dr. Scott Laderman, a history professor here at UMD.
A goal of the protest was to make UMD a sanctuary campus. What would this look like according to the YDSA? According to their literature on the subject — which was communicated through a zine passed around at the protest — this would mean three things: non-disclosure of student information, refusing to allow immigration authorities on campus without a warrant and preventing school officers from acting as immigration enforcement officials. It is unknown what the future holds on the matter of UMD becoming a sanctuary campus; the conversation is in its infancy, but the students of the YDSA have made themselves heard.