President Sarah R. Bolton Releases Statement on DACA

WOOSTER, Ohio – Sarah R. Bolton, president of The College of Wooster, has released the following statement:
“Today’s announcement that the Trump administration plans to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy, winding it down over the next six months in order to allow time for Congress to pass legislation to replace it, creates new anxiety and uncertainty for the thousands of young people, including college students, who have applied for and received DACA status since the policy was announced in June 2012.
The presidents of the Five College of Ohio – Denison, Kenyon, Ohio Wesleyan, Oberlin, and Wooster – have sent a joint letter to Senators Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman, urging them to take legislative action to ensure the continuation of DACA’s provisions. Here is the full text of that letter:
For almost two centuries, Ohio liberal arts colleges have helped young people make a difference in our state and our nation, regardless of their country of origin.  Ohio and our institutions have been pioneers in extending educational opportunity for all, a reflection of America’s values of equality and enterprise.  We ask you now to stand with us to safeguard this path to higher education by maintaining the protections of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
DACA students – who have defied every obstacle in order to pursue education at our colleges and others around the state – are persistent, talented, and successful members of our academic communities.  They grew up in our country, excelled in its high schools, and now stand ready to contribute to our nation.  Cutting short their educations through threatened deportation denies them – and us – the promise of that future.
We urge you to uphold the provisions of DACA and take legislative action to move beyond executive order to a law ensuring its continuation.  A permanent path forward for these students, American in all but legal status, secures their education and the valuable role they play on our campuses today and in Ohio and the world tomorrow.
Liberal arts colleges are a uniquely American innovation, founded on the promise of open inquiry, critical discourse that looks beyond a single perspective, and a pursuit of knowledge that knows no color or border.   Keeping a seat in our classroom and a place in our nation’s communities for these talented young people is essential to these common values and to our common future.
Sincerely,
Adam Weinberg
President
Denison University
Sean Decatur
President
Kenyon College
Carmen Twillie Ambar
President
Oberlin College and Conservatory
Rock Jones
President
Ohio Wesleyan University
Sarah Bolton
President
The College of Wooster
International and immigrant students, staff and faculty are crucial members of The College of Wooster community.  They are part of who we are as a college, and we will continue to welcome and support them. We will also continue to advocate for policies at the state and national levels that support international and immigrant members of our community.”

Posted in Announcements on September 5, 2017.