UMD students protest on behalf of immigration
By Olivia Krenz
Over 100 students gathered at the University of Minnesota Duluth Wednesday afternoon in protest of President Donald Trump’s recent executive order barring immigration from several Muslim-majority nations.
The protest began around noon in Kirby Student Center with speeches from primary planners Hodan Jibrell, Fardousa Abdinoor and Akquaa Courage Aloh.
Protesters marched through the campus halls, reciting chants such as “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here,” and “we will not back down.”
The crowd then made their way to the bus depot where more speeches by the event’s primary planners were delivered. “You too should make it your problem.” Aloh said, stressing the need of the community to be aware of all injustices. “Until change happens, we will not back down.”
“We are all immigrants here,” Azrin Awal said, while presenting her first green card and passport from a window ledge above the depot.
The crowd then marched towards Labovitz School of Business and Economics before heading back towards Kirby Student Center. The large crowd of students had to walk on sides of the hall to leave room in the middle for those walking to class.
The protests subsided following chants of the chorus to Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright,” led by Student Association Representative to the Board of Regents, Mike Kenyanya.
“These are the kind of things you read about in history class,” Kenyanya said. “People speaking up and standing in solidarity.”
Jibrell said she was inspired by other protests happening on campuses throughout the nation.
“We just thought, why isn’t our school doing something?” Jibrell said.
Jibrell also said she was surprised by the turnout of well over 100 students, which was much higher than the 50 she initially expected.
“This experience is about education, and raising awareness,” Jibrell said. “We’re doing this to say ‘we don’t stand by this’ but that we do stand by our students affected by this.”
Wesley Osumo, a sophomore at the University of Minnesota Duluth, joins multiple protesters near the bus hub on campus this afternoon.
