Thirty-one Harvard professors were arrested for blocking traffic during a protest over Donald Trumps’s decision to repeal DACA.
The Harvard professors were arrested last Thursday during a protest over Donald Trump’s decision to repeal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a program that gave legal protections to some young illegal immigrants.
According to the Harvard Crimson, Harvard faculty decided to protest outside of Johnson Gate right next to campus. Cambridge, Massachusetts police officers warned protesters that they would be arrested if they engaged in acts of civil disobedience, such as blocking traffic.
African and African-American Studies professor Walter Johnson, who was one of the faculty members arrested, told the Harvard Crimson: “It seemed like it was time for us to jump off, and to try to both stand firmly with our students, to stand for justice and decency in the face of an unjust law, and to try and kick off a conversation about resistance between campuses in Boston and among faculty,” Johnson said.
Kirsten A. Weld, a History professor who was also arrested, claimed that she participated in the protests because “It’s not business as usual because the Trump administration is targeting our students.”
Prior to the protests, Harvard University President Drew Faust reportedly published a statement that argued that Trump’s decision on DACA “recognizes neither justice nor mercy.”
“Harvard has long advocated in Washington, DC, for these vulnerable students, and we will continue to work tirelessly at the federal level to advance our arguments, “ she allegedly wrote, according to Campus Reform. “As a university community dedicated to inclusion and to the promise of creative minds, and as a nation founded on the ideals of equality and opportunity, it is our responsibility to defend their ability to develop and share their talents in their home communities, in our country, and with the world.”
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