ND Faculty Senate passes resolution supporting undocumented students

Back in November, ABC 57 showed you protests being held by students on Notre Dame’s campus after the results of the 2016 presidential election came in.

Now, those groups who were rallying together are getting more support. A resolution was passed by Notre Dame’s Faculty Senate listing their support for those students. ABC 57.com’s Andrea Alvarez spoke with a graduate student there who says this resolution is one thing they were hoping for and it came in the nick of time.

“I think fear and concern about the future became a reality for a lot of people that didn’t think would be a reality,” said Leo Guardado, a Doctoral Candidate in Theology and Peace Studies at Notre Dame.

The Notre Dame Faculty Senate had a meeting on campus Tuesday night to consider the possibility of the university becoming a sanctuary campus for undocumented students.

“A resolution shows the support that the faculty has for undocumented students at Notre Dame and DACA students as well who have some legal status,” said Guardado.

“Back in November, we had a petition that garnered about 4500 or so signatures from staff, faculty, students, alumni, and from across the country who said ‘we support undocumented students at Notre Dame,” said Guardado.

Soon after, the undergraduate student body passed a resolution in support of Notre Dame becoming a Sanctuary Campus.

Now, the Faculty Senate voted and overwhelmingly passed a resolution saying ‘yes, you are safe here should anything happen’.

“The administration has been very supportive on this issue, Father Jenkins has been very bold in saying ‘We are all Notre Dame or none of us are Notre Dame’,” said Guardado.

So what exactly does this resolution mean?

“It’s that we would make sure that they remain Notre Dame students and that future generations of undocumented students can come to a place like Notre Dame, have a full education, and belong as members of the community,” said Guardado.

The resolution is a document listing the faculty’s support for undocumented and DACA students. Guardado says it finally answers some of those lingering questions.

“Should a future government try to come onto campus and drag our undocumented students out, are we going to stand up and not let that happen? Hopefully none of this comes to be. But are we going to be prepared if some of our students feel threatened or persecuted,” said Guardado.

That answer, yes.

“It’s really a statement of support. One more loud voice, I would say, that has been added to the undergraduate student voice,” said Guardado.