The Student Governing Association met as a sea of purple Thursday night to introduce resolutions in support of students affected by the repeal of DACA and the white nationalist posters that surfaced on campus Wednesday morning.
Ryan Kelly, student senator and sophomore in civil engineering and communication studies, introduced the resolution regarding the white nationalist posters that appeared on campus.
“In addition to denouncing all the hateful speech that we saw, like in the form of the ‘alt-right,’ we also denounce any intimidation or any tactics that inhibit academic success,” Kelly said.
The resolution begins by aligning the senate in agreement with the First Amendment and the university’s stance on freedom of speech, but ends with a condemnation of “hateful, intimidating rhetoric” that “leads to an uncomfortable environment for students at Kansas State University who already feel their voices and perspectives are not adequately represented.”
The resolution was referred to the senate executive committee.
The senate was also addressed by: Savannah Rattanavong, president of the Asian American Student Union and senior in mass communications; Madeline Ames, president of the KSU Young Democrats and sophomore in political science; and Jon Cole, executive board member for Cats for Inclusion and senior in mechanical engineering.
“As much as we want to uplift this message of a K-State family, we really need to be better in showing that we are united against this sort of hatred, this sort of ignorance, these people trying to divide us,” Rattanavong said.
Another resolution regarding DACA recommends “congressional legislation to establish permanent protections” for those that could be negatively affected once protections are removed.
Stephen Kucera, student support director and graduate student in accounting, drafted the initial DACA resolution. He believes that legislation to establish permanent protections could feasibly be passed by Congress.
“I think that there is a lot of popular sentiment in the country right now that we need to not have the DACA protections be determined by each and every president, or depending upon which side of the bed somebody happens to wake up on on a particular day,” Kucera said. “We need something that requires a significant legislative endeavor to overturn.”
In addition to the resolution, Mary Abounabhan, director of the multicultural affairs committee and senior in business management, addressed the senate to suggest students write letters to senators.
“This is an opportunity for students to share personal stories, to tell our senators how they feel,” Abounabhan said. “It would be an opportunity to stand united in support of DACA students affected by the situation.”
The resolution was referred to the governmental relations committee.
The senate’s meeting also preceded a rally for solidarity in Bosco Plaza. The rally is a response to the white nationalist posters that appeared on campus.
