Braving frigid February temperatures, UW-Madison students rallied Friday morning against President Donald Trump’s immigration ban.
Chants of “stand up, fight back” and “no ban, no wall,” echoed across Bascom Hill as a passionate group of about 100 students protested in support of refugees and immigrants affected by Trump’s recent executive order.
The rally, organized by UW-Madison law students, officially began at 11 a.m. at the top of Bascom Hill, but many protesters gathered in the Law Building beforehand to make signs.
Skye Parr, a law student who held a sign reading “All Lives Matter, where you at?” said she hoped the protest would show UW-Madison is an “inclusive environment that promotes solidarity.”
“It’s honestly a showing of support of people from all backgrounds, ethnicities, religions and walks of life,” Parr said.
Students who marched from the Law Building to the top of the hill were joined by a group of Jewish students, who said they were “inspired by the initiative of [the] Law School students.”
“One of the most fundamental Jewish values is supporting the most vulnerable among us,” the organizers wrote on their facebook page. “The UW-Madison Jewish community stands with refugees worldwide.”
Dan Schneider, who organized the law student rally, addressed the crowd from the steps of Bascom Hall and introduced student speakers, a number of whom are Muslim.
“In the darkest of times like these, we can all rest a little easier knowing there’s a community standing with us,” Schneider said. “Because the people whose stories you’re going to hear today are the reason we’re here today.”
One of those stories belonged to Zahiah Hammad, an undergraduate who was born in Milwaukee to immigrant parents. She said she is “unapologetically Muslim, originally Palestinian, and as American as every other person born here.”
“The America we live in today has been overpowered by a man who doesn’t believe in my right to exist because of the scarf I choose to wear, the beliefs I choose to follow and the life I choose to live,” Hammad said.
After a number of other students, as well as a representative from the American Civil Liberties Union, had spoken, Schneider turned over the mic to members of the audience who felt compelled to speak.
The first to do so was Alex Steiner, a UW-Madison senior who recited a prayer her interfaith congregation had been saying since she was a child.
“Give to us understanding that puts an end to strife, mercy that quenches hatred, and forgiveness that overcomes vengeance,” Steiner said. “Empower all people to live in your law of love. Amen.”
When there were no speakers left, Schneider read Emma Lazarus’ poem “The New Colossus,” which appears on the Statue of Liberty and ends with the line “I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”
“This ban is a broken promise,” Schneider said after finishing the poem. “And we’re going to make sure this light stays lit.”
