A forum for community education and awareness focusing on U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement drew approximately 125 Alfred University students, faculty, and staff members, in addition to community members, last week at Herrick Library.
The ICE Teach-In was held in the library’s Bookend Lounge and featured faculty speakers as well as representatives of community organizations such as Alianza Agricola, based in Geneseo, NY. “Know Your Rights” red cards – in nine languages – detailing Constitutional protections were available.
Alfred University faculty librarians Rai Yiannakos and Maria Planansky worked together to organize the event in response to daily media reports of ICE activity in U.S. cities, particularly Minneapolis, MN. According to Planansky, planning for the event began in the immediate aftermath of the shooting death of Renée Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on Jan. 7.
“Clearly, there’s a real desire and need for information to get into the hands of students,” said Planansky this week. “There’s got to be more.”
“Students have been thinking about it,” Yiannakos added. “The event was an important acknowledgement of the fear in the campus community. People are asking us questions about issues such as immigrant rights, so we saw an informational need and recognized we were in a unique position as librarians to fill that need.”
Faculty members and volunteers who spoke at the event included:
Assistant Professor of Sociology Meredith Field
Chief Inclusivity Officer Angie Taylor
Community organizer Andrea Salinas, Allianza Agricola
Assistant Professor of Developmental Psychology Michelle Tichy
Associate Professor Psychology Beth Johnson
Professor of School Psychology Rafael Outland
Speakers shared their perspectives as scholars, researchers, and community members, with issues ranging from the psychological effect on children of seeing classmates taken by ICE to a history on activism in Allegany County. Speakers also offered advice regarding personal mental health and the impact on mental health of viewing traumatic scenes on social media and in the news.
