Mizzou students gather, show support for international students
A few hundred students gathered Wednesday at Speakers Circle on the Mizzou campus, showing their support for international students studying at the university.
The demonstration comes days after President Donald Trump issued an executive order suspending new-refugee admissions and blocking travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries. Trump also tweeted Wednesday morning saying, “Everybody is arguing whether or not it is a ban. Call it what you want, it is about keeping bad people (with bad intentions) out of (the) country!”
Supporters in attendance included professors, students and small children. Many held signs showing support for their international colleagues. Some of the signs read “Muslim students are welcome here,” “this is not freedom, it is fear,” and “Mizzou stands with you.”
One professor who spoke said he is from Iran and has been living and working in the United States for about six years. He said there are about 5,000 Iranian students doing research at universities across the United States.
According to the Institute of International Education, there were more than 1 million international students in the United States during the 2015 – 2016 school year. A little more than 17,000, or 1.7 percent, were from countries affected by the order.
ABC 17 News spoke with one student from Indonesia who said the University of Missouri has been a welcoming place for her and other international students. She also said as a Muslim, she felt it was important to attend the demonstration because she thinks her religion is often thought to be unkind when she said it is a religion of peace.
After the gathering at Speakers Circle, the MU Graduate Professional Council held a “call-Congress” event at the student union. Participants are calling their congress representatives and asking to override Trump’s executive order on travel.
ABC 17 News spoke with two students who said as white females, they said they would be calling their lawmakers because they felt it was their responsibility to stand up for others who have not grown up with the same privileges as them.
“This is not OK,” Remy Hellstern said. “Borders are imaginary lines we’ve drawn in the sand to block people. If we have refugees who need help and are in crisis, they should be welcome in our country.”
On Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer spoke with reporters about the executive order.
“The president’s number one goal has always been to focus on the safety of America, not the religion,” Spicer said. “He understands it is not a religion problem but a radicalization problem.”
