Immigration protest showcases activism

On Monday afternoon, we were all forced to ask ourselves: where would we be without immigrants?

As students, professors and campus workers gathered outside the Shapell Lounge to listen to rallying cries and speeches, it became apparent that, contrary to popular belief, the Santa Clara community has ventured outside the bubble.

With impending immigration legislation coming to the Senate next week, May 1 was a day to send a strong message to Washington: that immigrants play a vital role in our society, and laws must be loosened.

Surprisingly, the Santa Clara community took part in a major way. On a day where hundreds of thousands of immigrants skipped work across the United States, the Santa Clara protest looked a bit different -- some classes were dismissed, scattered students and professors walked out and campus workers rallied. This Santa Clara protest may seem trivial in light of the nationwide effort, but, in our eyes, it was a healthy display of activism that has long been latent.

Over the course of this year, we have been pleasantly surprised by the increasing number of protests taking place on campus. Though we may never compare to Berkeley, we are taking a step in the right direction in living up to our mission statement of engaging in social justice.

Monday showed us all how valuable immigrants are to our society and, specifically, to the Santa Clara community.

And, as far as we can see, our community isn't letting immigration slide as a one-time charge.

On the contrary, Monday was just one of many displays in recent weeks to heighten campus awareness of this issue. As reported in the April 6 issue of The Santa Clara, University President Paul Locatelli, S.J., was one of several religious leaders to participate in an interfaith rally outside the Mission Church on March 14 to denounce the immigration legislation.

As the face of the university, Locatelli took an active role early and pointed us in the right direction, and students followed suit. Since March 14, there has been both a student-led protest and a prayer vigil.

This is an issue that will not be going away any time soon. Santa Clara has long been seen as apathetic, but with strong leadership and continued student involvement, we're breaking that trend.

Let's not let it fade.