On Wednesday, around 150 University of Oregon students gathered at the Erb Memorial Union amphitheater, calling for the administration to accept and protect undocumented immigrant students following President-elect Donald Trump’s election.

The rally was part of the nation-wide “sanctuary campus” protests, which have taken place in more than 40 universities, including Oregon State University, Lane Community College and Portland State University. Three students hosted the rally at the UO: Amy Schenk, from the United States Student Association, along with Bryce Keicher and Ayantu Megerssa, who are forming a group currently titled the UO Coalition for Political Action.

The students made four demands of the UO administration based on those made at other sanctuary campus protests. The students called for the university to refuse to share all voluntary information of its undocumented immigration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), refuse to grant access to ICE members to property owned by the university, and forbid campus police from recording a student’s immigration status or enforcing immigration laws. The students also demanded that the university increase its acceptance of undocumented students and provide them with financial aid.

Schenk, Keicher and Megerssa said that they will create further demands unique to the University of Oregon campus and will invite student groups on campus to pledge to them before they send them to administration, they said. 

As the rally was occurring, the UO Faculty Senate passed a resolution supporting a similar list of sanctuary campus initiatives, which have been sent to administration.

“I’m excited that there is faculty out there who are willing to create a safe space for students and they’re willing to work for that,” Schenk said.

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