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Students rally against immigration legislature
MEGHAN HURLEY STAFF WRITER
MLH722@CABRINI EDU
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Over 70 students and faculty from five different local colleges stood together as “Students in Solidarity for Just Immigration Reform.” The event took place Feb. 17 in the Grace Hall atrium underneath the mural of immigrants that was made for Cabrini Day last year.
Students from Villanova University, Rosemont College, St. Joseph’s University, Immaculata University and Cabrini College, all a part of the Greater Philadelphia Higher Education
Peace and Justice Consortium, joined to express their need for comprehensive immigration reform by gathering letters to be delivered to Senator Arlen Specter. Over 650 letters were c ollected to be delivered to Specter’s office.
Cabrini graduate student Jennifer Ayoub, one of the about 15 Cabrini students in attendance, said, “Today was an effective way to gather students to show others the steps to make a difference.”
Cabrini submitted approximately 200 letters that were signed by students, faculty and
DAN SQUIRE/ASST PHOTO EDITOR
The above crosses were displayed to symbolize the 500 people who have lost their lives tr ying to cross the border. staff. They also included around 18 handwritten letters from students expressing their opposition to criminalizing undocumented immigrants, citing personal experiences and feelings toward the issue.
These students are promoting comprehensive immigration reform that will create a system that acknowledges the country’s need for immigrant labor and allow more workers to enter with temporary legal status.
Earl Aguilera, a sophomore at
St. Joe’s University, presented 120 letters from his school. “Immigrants are human beings, and we can’t just file them away as criminals,” Aguilera said. Also, as part of the rally, Villanova and Immaculata students brought wooden crosses to be displayed. Carrie Leone, a senior French language and literature major from Villanova, said that they “brought the crosses to represent the over 500 people who
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