“That review was prompted by media reports about visas being revoked for students at other universities around the country,” said the announcement. “GVSU has not been contacted by DHS about the reasons for the visa revocations.”

In the Trump administration’s recent crackdown on immigration, the federal government has prompted nearly 150 student visas to be revoked, often without any warning or notice to either the students or their universities. Just this week, Central Michigan University and the University of Michigan discovered the visas of several current and former students had suddenly been revoked by DHS. This forces students to either reapply for a visa or flee the country, which one University of Michigan student already has. GVSU now joins the growing list of affected institutions. 

Padnos International Center has contacted the two students in an effort to “offer care and appropriate support,” but the University has not shared any further details. Students and families with questions were pointed toward International Student Services. 

GVSU enrolls over 600 international students per semester from over 60 different countries, making up 2.8% of the student body. While the announcement iterated international students’ place in the campus community, additional student visas may now be under threat in the face of the current administration. 

“International students have been part of GVSU’s campus community since 1963,” the same statement read. “They are welcome here and contribute much to the vitality of our campus.”

This is a developing story, and will continue to be monitored by the Lanthorn.

On Tuesday, Jan. 21, Trump revoked standing policies that had limited where and how Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can carry out arrests. Since Trump’s action allows ICE to enter schools and churches, the policy’s revocation has spurred many concerns among staff at GVSU.

Trump’s removal of safeguards for ICE operations led several faculty members to reach out to the University for guidance. 

GVSU professors within the Philosophy and History Departments sent messages of concern to various University figures, including Grand Valley Police Chief Brandon DeHaan, Acting Provost Jennifer Drake and the Director of People, Equity and Culture, Robert Shorty. The University’s answer was the same across the board– concerned parties should reach out to the Office of General Counsel or GVPD, and follow Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) guidelines.

“I was wanting something (communication) a little bit more forceful (from the University) when the Trump administration took over,” said Mike Huner, a GVSU history professor that reached out to Drake.

Neither DeHaan nor Shorty responded to the Lanthorn’s request for comment on the subject.

Under FERPA, no professor is legally allowed to disclose information about a student without written consent, which would apply to ICE agents in the classroom. Should the situation arise, professors are advised to direct any in-classroom conflict with ICE to the Office of General Counsel for their expertise with legal issues. The Office of General Counsel was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.

Huner credits Drake for her response, but persists that GVSU should do more to respond to immigration-related concerns.

“I would appreciate if a more generalized statement from the upper administration speaking to those matters (ICE presence) would be circulated,” Huner said.

Huner considers Grand Rapids Public Schools’ response to recent federal policy effective. The school district issued a detailed guideline in January advising teachers how to respond if ICE comes into their schools. 

Huner recommends those with immigration concerns attend a Know Your Rights presentation, which provides information on immigration law to students and faculty. The University’s Inclusion and Equity Institute will be holding a presentation on Friday, Feb. 28.

Campus response to ICE presence has also been a topic of conversation within both GVSU Housing and Residence Life and the University’s Tutoring and Reading Center. Faculty and staff received the same, aforementioned guidelines– to contact the Office of General Counsel if a situation with ICE should arise on campus.

“My chief concern will first and foremost always just be the safety of our students,” said Keigh-Cee Bell, director of Tutoring and Supplemental Instruction at the Tutoring and Reading Center. “I want the Tutoring and Reading Center, and all of our tutoring centers, to be a safe and healthy learning environment for everybody.”

On Feb. 3, the University launched a webpage to share information and guidelines related to any changes connected with federal policy actions. This page posted the same guidelines sent to faculty and staff. Beyond the brief message, no further guidelines or protocols have been shared by GVSU.

It seems faculty and staff concerns spread past immigration policy and response. Many faculty members feel there is not enough communication from the University regarding a number of the Trump administration’s actions.

“If you ask around, it’s not just this (ICE-related policy),” stated a GVSU professor, who asked to remain anonymous due to the issue’s sensitivity. “It’s other issues concerning executive actions coming from (President Trump). If you ask around, you’ll find concerns from other faculty about why there isn’t more forceful statements coming from the upper administration of the University.”

As fears over federal immigration policies rise, many residents of Grand Rapids hope the city will put new policies in place to protect the undocumented immigrant population. By declaring itself a sanctuary city similar to Chicago or New York, Grand Rapids would take efforts to restrict the city’s cooperation with federal immigration authorities and enact further policies that protect undocumented immigrants. Despite residents’ activism efforts, Grand Rapids city officials have not yet made any formative action towards establishing the city as a sanctuary.

At the commission meeting, Grand Rapids Mayor David LaGrand said in his opening statement that declaring Grand Rapids to be a sanctuary city would be a purely “rhetorical statement” with no basis in federal law.

“That’s sort of a term that the media came up with, it’s not a term that really has any legal status,” LaGrand said. “The question for this commission is what can we do to honor, respect and support members of our community. We are not the federal government, so there are things that we cannot do.”

LaGrand and other commission officials called out the importance of supporting the community in ways that don’t give a false pretense of protection. LaGrand said city leaders will uphold their obligation to support members of the community, but that city government cannot override federal actions. Despite protections for undocumented immigrants, ICE would still be able to detain residents in certain capacities.

“We have an obligation to speak out on this issue in moral terms and do everything in our power to respect, honor and support the members of our community,” LaGrand said. “The danger of holding out some media term like ‘sanctuary city’ is that people may think that somehow, that (sanctuary city) gives them protection they don’t have.”

Grand Rapids Chief of Police Eric Winstrom sympathized with the commissioners over promises of protection. Winstrom previously served as a police officer in Chicago, a city that has been a recent target of immigration raids despite its sanctuary status. He reiterated that claiming sanctuary status could be seen as a challenge to the federal government, saying “there’s the risk that you take of painting a target on yourself.”

“It’s a misnomer, because in reality, we (could) call ourselves a sanctuary city but if ICE shows up tomorrow and wants to start deporting people legally, they can do so,” Winstrom said. “We don’t want to lie to people and say, ‘Come to Grand Rapids, it’s safe here.’”

The commission cited previous policies that serve to protect undocumented immigrants in Grand Rapids. The 2017 Equal Service Policy ensures due process and equal protection for the people of Grand Rapids regardless of immigration status, and prevents non-police public servants from inquiring about a person’s documentation status.

The commission also referenced a 2018 incident in which a Marine veteran was wrongfully turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by the Grand Rapids Police Department (GRPD) following a misdemeanor trespassing charge. The incident resulted in a $190,000 payout from the City and led to a similar policy change within the GRPD, which ensured that officers cannot make deportation threats or inquire about a person’s immigration status. The policy established GRPD would no longer perform immigration holds without a warrant.

“We are a city that is focused on safety and not status,” said City Manager Mark Washington. “We are not committing our resources to do things that are not in the highest priority of the city of Grand Rapids.”

Regardless of the commissioners’ seeming dismissal of the issue, nearly one hundred people still argued a change of heart during the meeting’s public comment section. Community comments lasted over three hours, with only two people advocating against sanctuary status. Many expressed that a declaration of sanctuary status was the least the City could do.

“(Establishing sanctuary status) is low hanging fruit,” said GR Rapid Response to ICE organizer Jeff Smith. “It’s a declaration, but it would certainly mean a lot to the affected community that they know the city where they live supports them.”

Several speakers urged the commissioners to stand up to federal immigration policies, including members of Grand Valley State University. GVSU Sociology Professor Joel Stillerman spoke from his standpoint as both a citizen and an educator that Grand Rapids should follow suit of cities with similar policies.

“The mayor and the city council should demonstrate courage and take the action that other cities have taken, rather than paving the way for federal authorities to rip families apart and remove people who are contributing to the community,” Stillerman said. “It’s not a rhetorical gesture, it’s policy.”

The commissioners closed the meeting by promising to look further into their funding and policies, but fell short of making any decision. Many community members left feeling their concerns hadn’t been taken seriously.

“I feel (dismissed),” said Gema Lowe, an organizer with Movimiento Cosecha. “Even after all this empathy in their words, (the commissioners) don’t put them (their words into) action. They just like not mentioning that they were afraid of losing funding, and so they put money over people.”

Trump halted immigration asylum until further notice, shutting down the CBP One app, which allowed immigrants to submit information and organize travel through customs and border control virtually, as well as canceling thousands of appointments and flights that were already scheduled for refugees. However, Trump’s order to end birthright citizenship has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge. 

These orders have major implications for undocumented immigrants in the United States, as well as those seeking asylum from the persecution they may face in their home countries. The growing concerns spurred an active response from Kent and Ottawa County residents.

During Trump’s inauguration, more than 100 activists marched through Grand Rapids in protest of Trump’s immigration orders. The protest was organized by two local immigration advocacy groups, Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response. 

One member of Movimiento Cosecha, Lester Dominguez, is a student at Grand Valley State University and the son of Mexican immigrants. Dominguez has volunteered with the group since 2020, helping to interpret and translate court testimonies while advocating to instate driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants. 

“I try to help them share their stories as much as they can because I know sometimes politicians will only read a story of certain facts and base their decisions off of those things,” Dominguez said. “There’s not much empathy or compassion, so I try to open people’s perspective so that they’re more humanistic when they vote on certain laws.” 

Dominguez said he’s already noticed heightened anxiety among the Latinx community, as many are especially concerned about the temporary asylum halt.

“There’s people that are literally escaping death, and you’re (the Trump administration) playing with their lives,” Dominguez said. “People say, ‘Well, it’s not our priority. It’s not something that we should do.’ It doesn’t hurt to be empathetic and care about others. If we’re helping someone to continue to live their lives by offering them asylum, I think we should continue doing that.”

Another group organizing protests, GR Rapid Response, hosts meetings that provide information and training for how to interact with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Dominguez noted recent concerns, and remembers the same worry from his childhood growing up in a Latinx neighborhood.

“I learned what to do if ICE came knocking on my door before I learned my times tables,” Dominguez said. 

Jeff Smith, a local activist and a trainer with GR Rapid Response, voiced concern over the impact these orders may have on the agricultural sector and economy of West Michigan.

“The consequences will be tremendous,” Smith said. “After Florida and California, West Michigan has the highest concentration of migrant workers in the country. If (the Trump administration) starts deporting all those people, then who’s going to do that work? How’s that going to impact the economy? How’s that going to impact farmers? How’s that going to impact the cost of food?”

Smith said the precedent of Trump’s immigration orders, as well as recent initiatives such as the Laken Riley Act, will do nothing but heighten fear and drag the agricultural economy. 

“The levels of fear are going to be increased, levels of trauma are going to be increased and then there’s going to be ongoing consequences to the rest of society,” Smith said.

Dominguez is one of many GVSU students who are interested in how the University will respond to Trump’s actions. Assistant Vice President of University Communications Chris Knape said the University will continue to pursue an inclusive environment for all students where “free expression is encouraged and supported.” 

 “GVSU is committed to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all students, regardless of their immigration status,” Knape said. “We are listening to students, faculty and staff concerns, and we are also learning about the new (presidential) administration’s policies alongside them.”

In a similar message, the University’s Vice President for People, Equity and Culture, Robert Shorty, addressed the campus community in a statement released on behalf of GVSU’s General Counsel. 

“We understand that these executive actions may cause concern and uncertainty, and we want to assure you that we are closely monitoring developments and will take appropriate actions to comply with applicable law,” Shorty said.

Grand Rapids Public Schools has taken protective initiatives among faculty and staff, calling for vigilance of ICE presence on school property. Dominguez hopes GVSU will take similar measures to protect the immigrant student body.

“If (GVSU) were to comply with ICE, send them information and remove those students, I’d be disheartened because those are our future politicians, future doctors, future lawyers (and) future engineers,” Dominguez said. “Just because you weren’t born in this country doesn’t mean you’re less than somebody else. I would hope that (GVSU) would stand firm and support (immigrant students).”

GR Rapid Response and Movimiento Cosecha will present an argument on Tuesday, Jan. 28 to the Grand Rapids City Commission requesting to become a sanctuary city similar to Chicago. This would limit Grand Rapids’ cooperation with ICE. Notably, Grand Rapids Chief of Police Eric Winstrom stated last week that GRPD “is not in the business of immigration enforcement, period.” However, a memo from the Department of Justice (DOJ) stated that local officials could face federal investigation for non-compliance.

Sanctuary status would help to address turmoil within city organizations caused by the executive action against immigration. As the Trump administration looks to challenge the expanse of immigration policy and initiatives across the country, the West Michigan community anxiously awaits the trickle-down effects.

On Jan. 25, the Common Ground Initiative hosted a Bipartisan Policy Panel on immigration in the United States at the Loosemore Auditorium in the DeVos Center on the Pew Campus. The event featured Aaron Reichlin-Melnick of the American Immigration Council, Theresa Cardinal Brown of the Bipartisan Policy Center and David Bier of the Cato Institute. The panel centered around analyzing issues within the U.S. immigration system and exploring possible solutions from multiple political perspectives. 

Megan Rydecki, Director of the Hauenstein Center and GVSU alumna, moderated the event. Before the panelists were introduced, Iris Kokalari, a Cook Leadership Academy Fellow Candidate, gave an introductory speech. 

“No policy debate is as deeply entwined with the concept of citizenship as that of immigration policy,” according to the event description. “How do we choose who can become an American, and what should their path to citizenship look like? What expectations should we have of immigrants, and what expectations should they have of us?” 

The panelists’ discussion presented several different issues within the current immigration system and emphasized that it’s simply outdated. Panelists said that because the immigration system was created decades ago and no longer fits the current American landscape.

“The question we should be asking is ‘what kind of system should we have?’” Brown said.

Additionally, the panelists address how only a small number of refugees and immigrants are actually allowed to enter the United States. As a result, there are significant backlogs in processing hopeful immigrants that can last for years. This situation can lead people to feel they have no option but to try to enter the country illegally.

“I believe the biggest takeaway is that the immigration system is broken and is failing everyone involved, native-born Americans and immigrants alike,” said Kahler Sweeny, Common Ground Initiative Program Manager. “Neither progressives or conservatives seem to be happy with the status quo, but our polarized society cannot seem to find agreement on what needs to change.” 

Several possible solutions were introduced by the three panelists. One such solution was the creation of a “Migration Office,” since current immigration policy is split amongst several different areas within the U.S. government. Another suggestion included advocating for citizens to participate in local governments and push for politicians they feel can enact change through governmental offices.

The panel addressed that immigrants have many different countries of origin. For instance, while many immigrants may be originally from Mexican decent, they are not the only group of people immigrating to the U.S. in large numbers. Brown informed the audience that people from many different countries, including Africa, India, Venezuela and China, are present at the border, seeking better opportunities or a safer community in the states. 

All three panelists were in agreement that immigration is economically beneficial for the U.S. and for the state of Michigan. According to American Immigration Council research, eight percent of Michigan’s labor force is made up of immigrants. As consumers, entrepreneurs and taxpayers, immigrants contribute billions of dollars to Michigan’s local economy. 

“Something that also stuck with me was that even though they were talking about stats, the moderator emphasized that ‘we are talking about people, not policies,’ which I feel is important to remember as anyone converses about immigration and the policies surrounding them,” said GVSU student Paige Sanders.

By making the event bipartisan, the hosts hoped to depolarize the tension between Republicans and Democrats concerning immigration policy and citizenship. Historically, Democrats have called for a system reform that would improve the treatment of immigrants and grant them more opportunities while still maintaining a secure border. Republicans, on the other hand, tend to lean toward stricter regulation and increased deportation, as well as strong border security. The aim of the Bipartisan Panel was to combine the best ideas from both parties to find practical and unbiased solutions.

“We encourage a bipartisan approach because whether we are happy about it or not, politics will always necessitate that we face challenges and solve issues alongside those who think differently than we do,” Sweeny said.

Grand Valley State University held its first-ever Sex Ed Week series of events last week. The event was a joint collaboration between the Recreation and Wellness (RecWell) Department, the Center for Women and Gender Equity (CWGE) and the Ottawa County Department of Public Health.

As universities around the country have adopted an increased focus on sexual-health education in recent years, Sex Ed Week is the culmination of smaller events that were once GVSU’s sex ed programming. As inspiration for the weeklong series of 13 events, the planning committee looked at programs at other universities to see what they were doing differently.

“I went to a conference down in New Orleans and Tulane University has an entire sex ed week,” said Student Health Promotions Coordinator Katie Jourdan. “We met with their peer educators and I was like, you know what, we could do that.”

To further explore Laker Life Editor Jacob DeWeerd’s coverage of Sex Ed Week, visit this link. 

GV Rocket League team wins match against Davenport at LEC grand opening

On Jan. 18, the Grand Valley State University Esports team hosted the grand opening event for the Laker Esports Center (LEC).

President Philomena Mantella attended and made remarks to commemorate the opening of the LEC. The event concluded with a Rocket League match against Davenport. The teams played a seven-game series and GVSU got to celebrate its first esports victory after a game-winning goal in overtime of game seven.

Esports, which is highly competitive computer gaming, is growing rapidly on college campuses everywhere. Players from teams all over the the world, compete against each other in both online and in-person matches. Esports games played at GVSU include Rainbow Six Siege, Rocket League, Overwatch and more.

To dive deeper into Steven Lawrence’s coverage of the Rocket League team, visit this link. 

GV faculty and students deliberate over college affordability and rising costs

The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and Grand Valley State University’s Diversity Affairs Committee of the Student Senate held a virtual discussion focused on college affordability on Feb. 28. Students, staff and faculty came together to discuss the rising costs of college and learn about the factors impacting students’ tuition bills.

This event brought together students and faculty who share concerns about the affordability and accessibility of college. Students were encouraged to ask any questions that faculty could help answer, which led to discussion of solutions and help that are readily available for GVSU students.

To read more of Clémence Daniere’s coverage of college affordability, click here.

Office of Multicultural Affairs hosts discussion on disparities in missing Black women

On Feb. 8, the Black History Month series of events hosted by the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) and the Center for Women and Gender Equity (CWGE) held a virtual event titled “Who is Worthy?: The Invisibility of Black Women.” This presentation discussed the disparities in the number of missing Black women and potential solutions for a nationwide problem.

OMA Assistant Director Juanita Davis began the event by introducing the panelists. First introduced were the CWGE’s Violence Prevention Educator Tiarrah Judkins and Violence Prevention and Education Coordinator Leah Short. Other panelists included students Laresha Lee, Selena Cade and Nieya Thompson, who’re all interns in various roles at the center.

The first facts shared as part of the presentation were various alarming statistics about missing Black women from recent years. In 2020, nearly 100,000 Black women went missing.

To further explore Melia Williams’ coverage of the “Who is Worth?” event, click here. 

GV alum and current NYU librarian working to preserve the dynamic web

As the internet has expanded and evolved over the last several decades, websites used by billions of people around the world have become more sophisticated, but also more difficult to save. Dynamic websites, like as those that hold data from journalism projects like COVID-19 maps, are impossible to preserve using conventional tools like The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.

To combat this issue, Grand Valley State University alum and current New York University Librarian for Journalism, Media, Culture and Communication, Katy Boss, is working with a team dedicated to preserving the dynamic web.

Boss, along with co-principal investigator Vicky Rampin and lead developers Remi Rampin and Ilya Kreymer, is developing a tool called ReproZip-Web that preserves dynamic web apps and websites. ReproZip-Web is an open-source program that bundles together all the files necessary to run dynamic web apps and saves them as a downloadable .rpz file.

To read more about Laker Life Editor Jacob DeWeerd’s examination of Boss’ web preservation efforts, click here. 

The bias behind student evaluations

Contrary to many popular assumptions among students, taking the time to fill out your end-of-the-semester faculty evaluations does have a tangible effect on your professors. Far from being ignored, student evaluations can cross the desks of a faculty member’s colleagues, their department head, even the dean of their college.

“Different units, departments and colleges may have different practices,” said Ed Aboufadel, Grand Valley State University’s Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs. “But ultimately, the evaluation of faculty involves student evals, and faculty evaluates faculty. So, colleagues have to have access to your student evaluations— they become a part of your tenure portfolio and contract renewals.”

To further explore Ysabela Golden’s coverage of student evaluations, visit this link. 

GVSU speaker explores loss, public health and immigration

On Thursday Oct. 7 the Office of Multicultural Affairs invited Dr. William D. Lopez to speak on campus in collaboration with their events for Hispanic Heritage Month. Lopez spoke on the importance of talking about deportation not only in the aspect of the people deported but also realizing how it impacts the people left behind.

Lopez works at the University of Michigan as a Clinical Assistant Professor in the school of public health. He often teaches about immigration and policing, viewing how that impacts people of color.

He wrote his first book last year, “Separated: Family and Community in the Aftermath of an Immigration Raid,” his presentation reflected back on his book and the people he interviewed in order to write it. The book features the stories of families impacted by the loss of their husbands and fathers, men who were taken away from their families by ICE. He interviewed those who were left behind after a raid in Ann Arbor in 2013.

To further explore former Laker Life Editor Sabrina Edwards’ coverage of Lopez’s talk, visit this link. 

For the second straight year, Grand Valley State University’s Office of Multicultural Affairs hosted UndocuWeek, a weeklong series of events focused on advocacy and allyship for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and undocumented immigrants. This year’s UndocuWeek included four different events that culminated in a solidarity walk across campus.

DACA is an immigration policy that allows undocumented immigrants that arrived in the United States as children to receive a renewable two-year deferment from being deported. The policy was passed by the Obama administration in 2012 and expanded in 2014.

GVSU, which is home to many DACA and undocumented students, doesn’t require proof of citizenship during the admission application process. On the GVSU Resources for DACA and Undocumented Students website, quotes from both of the last two University presidents reaffirm that policy.

“We have a culture at Grand Valley that is committed to supporting our students; all our students,” said President Philomena Mantella. “We encourage those who are qualified and prepared to tackle a rigorous education, to apply to become a Grand Valley State University Laker. You will be welcome.”

It’s in that spirit that UndocuWeek is held. The purpose of the event is to educate students about their undocumented peers and to highlight the many issues they face while living and attending college in the U.S. Thalia Guerra-Flores, Assistant Director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs, said the event is also a way to showcase the resources GVSU offers to DACA and undocumented students.

“To me, it is important to show that our campus offers services and support to our DACA and undocumented students,” Guerra-Flores said. “We are one of the very few college campuses that outwardly has a dedicated website for DACA and undocumented students, a campus advocate, UndocuALLY trainings and a week-long event.”

An UndocuALLY training session with Guerra-Flores is one of the four events that make up UndocuWeek. UndocuALLY is a nationwide program and these trainings are given at universities all across the country. The program’s goal is to identify and support allies of undocumented students and those who advocate solutions to undocumented issues.

“It is a presentation that was created by our former graduate student Estefany Paniagua-Pardo before I came to the institution,” Guerra-Flores said. “The presentation goes over some of the history of DACA and what you can do as a community member to be an ally to this population.”

UndocuWeek also includes a showing of the documentary “The Unafraid,” which follows three DACA students living in Georgia, a state that has banned undocumented and DACA students from receiving in-state tuition rates at public universities. Despite the film being four years old, its content is still relevant as today’s DACA students face the same issues.

“We wanted the campus community to learn about the experiences of DACA students in higher education,” Guerra-Flores said. “The state of DACA remains the same. Advocates are still seeking a permanent solution for a pathway to citizenship through the American Dream and Promise Act and the Farm Workforce Modernization Act.”

GVSU alum Veronica Beltran, who is the Legal Director for the Southwest Detroit Immigrant and Refugee Center, gave a virtual presentation titled “Immigration 101”. The presentation covered legal issues faced by immigrants as well as helpful immigration resources.

Beltran spoke about what students can do to help their undocumented and DACA classmates.

“If someone has disclosed their status to you personally, ask them what you can do to help,” Beltran said. “What would be supportive, outside of having a personal relationship with someone, would be creating a mobilized effort or doing something like a fundraiser for renewal fees.”

DACA and undocumented students face many barriers of entry when it comes to enrolling in college, many of which are exacerbated in southern states. Alabama and South Carolina go so far as to prohibit undocumented students from enrolling at any public postsecondary-education institution.

Other restrictions, like being unable to get driver’s licenses and apply for FAFSA, make attending college extremely difficult even for students that are allowed to attend public universities.

“I think the biggest thing for me, that I hope students understand, is the resiliency that undocumented students have, and the hard work and dedication they have,” Paniagua-Pardo said. “They’re putting in work to overcome all those issues and to still show up day after day to class and to succeed in higher education and get a degree at the end of it.”

UndocuWeek concluded with a solidarity walk through the Allendale campus. Members of the Office of Multicultural Affairs joined students and others from the community to show their support for DACA and undocumented students.

“It’ll show our students the actual support of the people and we can all group together and combine as a community,” Paniagua-Pardo said. “So, I think it’ll be really good for our students to know that regardless of what they may be going through, regardless of their life or home situation, that there is a group of people that are willing to learn about what it means to be undocumented or DACA.”

More information about UndocuWeek and other ways to get involved with Multicultural Affairs events can be found at www.gvsu.edu/oma.

Prior to the debate, some changes were made to the rules, like organizers announcing they would be utilizing a mute button to discourage any major interruptions during the course of the night. Following President Trump’s refusal to partake in a virtual debate, it was ultimately canceled. For the final debate, both candidates had agreed to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test prior to debate night.

Moderated by NBC’s Kirsten Welker, the final debate began with her calling for civility between the incumbent president and former vice president. Aiming to keep things under control throughout the night, the mute button was used a handful of times, although this time around, the candidates came into the debate prepared for a more recognizable debate format with far less chaos.

The topics up for discussion during the night focused on six major issues including the COVID-19 pandemic, American families and healthcare, race in America, climate change, national security and leadership.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a major highlight of the debate, and discussion focused mainly on the Trump administration’s response to it thus far. Biden immediately went on the attack, stating that the president’s administration has failed to act in many areas to help Americans to survive.

“Twenty-two hundred thousand Americans dead,” Biden said. “Anybody who is responsible for that many deaths should not remain president of United States of America.”

In response, Trump countered with the argument that the administration is already ahead on vaccine research and that a safe vaccine will be available “very quickly.” Despite his display of confidence, regulators at the Food and Drug Administration have expressed that they are still at least a month away from even considering an emergency authorization for a COVID-19 vaccine. Pfizer, one of a number of pharmaceutical companies with vaccines in late-stage clinical trials, has predicted imminent readouts of its clinical trial data, but said recently that it would not apply for emergency authorization of its vaccine before the third week of November.

The president also questioned many of the solutions that experts have proposed like plexiglass dividers, mask wearing and social distancing. He cited New York as an example of leadership failure during the COVID-19 pandemic, calling it a “dying ghost town” as a result of many of the shutdowns the pandemic has forced on business owners. Biden vehemently disagreed, stating that government officials in the state should not be forced to make the choice between protecting the economy and protecting its citizens from the virus.

Later into the evening, the subject of taxes came into play. Biden came out swinging, attacking the president over his tax payments, specifically the fact that Trump paid only $750 in federal income taxes the year he won the presidency. In his first year in the White House, he paid another $750. According to the New York Times report, he had paid no income taxes at all in 10 of the previous 15 years, in large part because he reported losing much more money than he made.

In response to the attacks, Trump again touted his promise to release his records once his tax audit was complete. However, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has confirmed that individuals are free to share their own tax information, and nothing prevents a taxpayer from releasing their own tax returns, even during an audit.

A major point of contention during the night was the moment president Trump brought up Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden, accusing Biden and his son of taking money from foreign governments over the years. In response, Biden argued that focusing on his son’s dealings and completely ignoring Trump’s tax corruption was backward.

“I have not taken a penny from any foreign source in my life,” Biden said. “China is building a new road to a golf course you have overseas, so what’s going on? Release your tax return or stop talking about corruption.”

On the subject of healthcare, both candidates had plenty to say. Biden opened with his pitch to improve and adjust the already existing Affordable Care Act (ACA) plan, known as “Obamacare,” stating that if the Supreme Court overturned the ACA, he would work to pass and institute a new Obamacare-esque plan with a public option, renaming his plan “Bidencare.”

Trump quickly touted his distaste for the plan, likening it to socialized medicine. Trump also attacked Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi for standing in the way of a new COVID-19 relief bill.

“He wants socialized medicine,” Trump said, “Bernie Sanders wants it. The Democrats want it. What I would like to do is a much better health care (system) – much better – and we’ll always protect people with pre-existing (conditions).”

When the matter of immigration arose, Biden immediately went on the attack, berating Trump for his family separation policy at the Mexico-United States border. Biden highlighted a striking new report that stated that the United States government is currently struggling to care for the parents of more than 500 migrant children who are currently being held in detention centers. In response to the accusation, Trump simply responded that his administration was “working on it,” but refuted by making a claim that the cages at the border were made under the Obama administration.

According to the Detention Watch Network, the average daily population of detained immigrants has increased from approximately 5,000 in 1994, to 19,000 in 2001, and to over 50,000 in 2019. After three decades of expansion, the detention system now captures and holds as many as 500,000 immigrants each year. According to Freedom for Immigrants and federal government data from April 2019, Texas (14,481), Louisiana (4,415), Arizona (4,405), California (4,353), and Georgia (3,719), are the top five states with the largest number of people in U.S. immigration detention per day.

Moving on to the topic of race in America and criminal justice reform, the candidates accused one another of being overly harsh on crime. The president, who has campaigned on his allegiance to the police, played up his commutations and signing of a criminal justice reform law while slamming Biden for pushing the 1994 crime bill.

Biden quickly fired back, highlighting the racist and inflammatory remarks Trump has made about the Black community and other minorities, specifically bringing up Trump’s purchasing of a full-page ad in the New York Times to condemn the Central Park Five, who were falsely accused of the aggravated assault and rape of a white female jogger during a series of reported attacks in Manhattan’s Central Park on April 19, 1989.

During the conversation on race, Welker highlighted the experience that Black families have regularly, but that is almost never brought up on a national debate stage: “The Talk,” or the conversation that Black parents must have with their children telling them how to behave to survive racial profiling from police. In his response, Biden mentioned his daughter, a social worker, and the fact that he never once had to discuss those things with her, but that Black parents are forced to do so because of a justice system that is engrained with racism.

President Trump responded with his common claim that he has done more for Black people than any president in American history, “with the exception of Abraham Lincoln, possible exception.” A 2017 study that assessed modern presidents based on the analysis of editorials published in Black newspapers ranked former president Lyndon B. Johnson at the top. Trump would place in the bottom third, the study’s co-author told The New York Times.

The night concluded with statements from both candidates aiming to distance themselves from each other. Biden painted his opponent as a crook and a con man, and Trump branded the challenger as a “typical politician.”

Overall, during the debate, President Trump made 123 attacks and had 24 interruptions, while Biden made 89 attacks and had 25 interruptions.

With absentee voting numbers in record highs due to the pandemic, more than 54 million Americans have already cast their ballots. With polls showing Biden leading by double digits in some states, both Trump and Biden’s teams are under even more pressure from them to highlight polls that make them look good and focus on their successes and goals for the future administration.