A Dartmouth College student urged the school to “put its money where its mouth is” for illegal immigrant students in a Thursday op-ed.
Jessica Cantos, a Dartmouth senior, argued that the administration must use financial aid to support illegal immigrant students, “transparently” cover the legal costs for illegal immigrant students and their families, and refuse to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a column for The Dartmouth, one of the school’s student papers.
Dartmouth’s “Office of Financial Aid must replace the student contribution of current DACA recipients with financial aid,” says Cantos, regarding students given deportation notices. “Furthermore, the President’s Office and the Financial Planning and Budget Office must transparently provide legal fees for students and family members who are under threat of deportation.”
But the student also wants a more physical pro-illegal immigrant stance from the college.
“No matter what, Safety and Security as well as Hanover Police must refuse to comply without question, in any shape or form, with the demands of federal authorities like U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including detainment requests,” explains Cantos. “If the college administration is to put its money where its mouth is, they must make this campus a sanctuary campus by meeting these demands to truly support all students.”
Hanover Police Department covers the town of Hanover, N.H., where Dartmouth College is located. The department is not under the authority of Dartmouth.
Lambasting the school’s “legacy of colonialism,” Cantos urges her fellow students not to participate in Dartmouth’s Friday homecoming tradition, which involves students running around a bonfire. The ceremony dates back to 1895, but the tradition of bonfires is long steeped in the College’s history. Alumni return to watch the incoming freshman class run laps around the bonfire, making Cantos call to protest directed at Dartmouth’s financial supporters.
Cantos’ activism surpasses the pages of The Dartmouth. The student is a member of the school’s Coalition for Immigration Reform, Equality, and DREAMers (Dartmouth CoFIRED), which aims to “support and guide students whose immigration status deprived them of equal opportunities and access to higher education and other human rights,” as well as “to advocate for equal representation of undocumented immigrants in higher education and administration.”
Dartmouth College declined to comment to The Daily Caller News Foundation. Cantos and Dartmouth CoFIRED did not respond to requests for comment in time for press.
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