The student led, student read news organization at Georgia Southern University

The George-Anne Media Group

The student led, student read news organization at Georgia Southern University

The George-Anne Media Group

The student led, student read news organization at Georgia Southern University

The George-Anne Media Group

Students come together for solidarity rally

The+seminars+will+take+place+at+the+Biological+Sciences+building+in+room+1109.
The seminars will take place at the Biological Sciences building in room 1109.

Katherine Scheuering, Staff Writer

ralley
Student-made signs at the solidarity rally Wednesday, Feb 8. (Tanner Levi)

Wednesday, February 8, members of ASU Feminists United, Armstrong Gay-Straight Alliance, Savannah Undocumented Youth Alliance (SUYA), Armstrong NAACP, and Armstrong Go Green Club held a Student Solidarity Rally on the steps of the Student Union.

Diego Garcia, a member of SUYA shared stories about U.S. citizens who had been affected by the recent travel ban. Citizens who had been living in the U.S for years and were traveling visiting relatives or on business were unable to return to their homes, jobs, families, for days. Depending on the timing of their travel, some people had already landed in the U.S. and were turned away, deported to the country they had flown from. Garcia spoke about the mistrust and fear this administration has already instilled by implementing this ban. An act this generalized doesn’t effectively target terrorism. Garcia pointed out that the travel ban, which targets Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, does not apply to a quite a few other Muslim-majority countries. Specifically, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Azerbaijan; all countries that Donald Trump conducts business with. There doesn’t seem to be an explanation for why these nations were discluded. It is not for lack of threat or past conflict with the U.S., those who orchestrated the attacks on 9/11 came from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, UAE, and Egypt.

Liz Rhaney alumna member of Feminists United, spoke about solidarity and intersectionality, stressing the importance of groups coming together and putting collective power behind their goals. Rhaney spoke about her experience at the Women’s March in Washington, D.C. and passed around copies of Resist!, a special edition of the comics newspaper Smoke Signal, which contained poignant comics and art submitted by women across the country and printed for the March in Brooklyn, NY. She also passed out postcards to write to legislators, to ask them to oppose recent legislation to advance the Keystone XL pipeline and the Dakota Access Pipeline, defund women’s healthcare, or terminate the Environmental Protection Agency. Find the mailing address, phone number and email for your state legislators on openstates.org/find_your_legislator.

68 year old Philly Meyers sat in the gathered crowd and asked to speak. “Solidarity,” he said “is not just a word, it’s a way of life. Injury to one, is injury to all.”

This administration has made it clear that they are not interested in women’s rights, in minority, immigrant, or LGBTQ rights. They have made it clear that they have no interest in continuing environmental progress, that in fact they are committed to deterring it.

What is this “Great” they’re looking for? What version of America are we trying to bring back Again?

If it’s one where we’re ignorant to the effects of nonrenewable energy sources like gas and coal; where women don’t have safe, legal access to healthcare, contraceptives, and abortion; where we scapegoat, deport, and detain American citizens based on their nationality, then this administration would be better off funding a time machine.
Because that America is back in the 1950’s, and that is where it’s going to stay.

Too many people have fought too hard, for too long for civil rights and for environmental progress. We’re far from the end of those fights and we’re not going to stop now.

Come stand with us, speak with us:

ASU Feminists United- every other Wednesday 6pm, Gamble 118
Next meeting Wednesday February 15

Gay-Straight Alliance- Wednesdays 8pm, University Hall 156

Go Green Club- every other Friday 12pm, Solms 110
Next meeting Friday February 17

Armstrong NAACP

SUYA- to get involved contact their Facebook page, Savannah Undocumented Youth Alliance- La SUYA

Leave a Comment
More to Discover

Comments (0)

All The George-Anne Media Group Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *