Protesters gather in Cambridge to demand Harvard University protect international students
Harvard University students and faculty
By Paul Burton
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CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (WBZ) — Harvard University students and faculty, along with Cambridge residents and city leaders, came together to speak out and to stand up against President Donald Trump and his administration. As many as 300 people attended the Stand Up Harvard protest on the Cambridge Common Saturday afternoon.
Trump administration revoked student visas The Trump administration has been deporting international students from schools across the country, claiming many of the students had been participating in campus protests.
Organizers say that so far this month, 12 Harvard affiliates — including seven current students — have had their student visas revoked. Sparking this call for action.
Leo Gerdén is an international student from Sweden.
“Standing here today comes at a great personal risk for all of us. We want the university with an endowment of $50 billion and the best law school in the world to offer all of us full representation. Because when ICE agents show up at our doors, Harvard should have our backs,” he said.
“Standing up for our values comes at a cost for our future. But I didn’t travel 5,000 miles all the way from Pakistan just to be afraid of walking five feet out of my dorm,” said Abdullah Shahid Sial, a Harvard International Student from Pakistan.
Harvard vows to protect community Harvard University released a statement saying, “We resolve to take the measures that will move Harvard and its vital mission forward while protecting our community and its academic freedom.”
Cambridge City Councilor Patty Nolan is a Harvard graduate. She said that whatever the university decides will have repercussions for the city.
“I’m an alum. There’s thousands of alums who have signed petitions saying ‘Harvard, stand up, follow the rule of law,'” Nolan said.
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