by The Cowl Editor on February 10, 2017
News
by Sarah Gianni ’18
News Staff
At Providence College, students, faculty, and administrators have been working diligently to protect community members who may be affected by new legislation on immigration.
The Providence Immigrant Rights Coalition (PIRC), strives to enhance the acceptance of the immigrant population at PC. The group—which was officially recognized as an on-campus club last semester— challenges derogatory, anti-immigrant discourse.
Its overarching goal is to educate the campus on current and past immigration systems and policies, while raising awareness of the injustices that impact undocumented students and their families.
Sarah Trayers ’17, the president and co-founder of the coalition stated, “Since our founding in fall 2015, PIRC has been most successful in hosting campus-wide events that raise awareness of the injustices embedded in the U.S. immigration system, challenging anti-immigrant discourses both on and off campus, and demanding institutional change from the PC administration regarding its inclusion of immigrant students.”
Along with fellow co-founder Vania Pereira ’17, PIRC has worked in the wake of President Trump’s executive orders to stand in solidarity with those affected.
“After Trump was elected, PIRC got together to draft a list of initiatives which was brought forward to administrators in late December,” said Trayers.