Before I begin, let me say that I deserve no pedestal from which to speak.  Since day one I have said that as a privileged white male I would never be any kind of legitimate leader, mover, or shaker, in this movement.  I have only tried through my own actions and words to depict what unifies the millions of marchers and sympathizers in a movement that looks increasingly piecemeal and void of any direction.  If anything, the trip I took was a desperate attempt at making up for my lack of contributions before, and I really don't want to say the same thing from the MDC.  This is why, since day one, I have admired the work of the IOP Immigration Policy Group, as it's members took on the issue before it was big, and have worked tirelessly to put out something for concrete change, and I will support whatever it comes up with as an avenue for students to make a difference.  It is exceptional that the MDC and the policy group have a great many overlapping members, and I hope with all my heart that my admiration can extend to include the both of them.

As of now, a total of 77 undergrads, 9 grad students, and 1 faculty member have signed a pledge to walk out on May 1st, signing this statement.

I pledge to join the rally in Harvard Square, leaving class and other activities, on MONDAY, MAY 1st, 2006 at 1 P.M. in protest of the anti-immigration legislation that is currently under review by US lawmakers.

HR4437 is a bill calling for the deportation of all illegal immigrants living in the United States; that all citizens found hosting or financially aiding those not of citizenship status be charged as felons and serve jail time; that those legally born in the U.S. whose parents came over illegally have their licenses revoked and their civil rights at risk; and for the aggressive militarization of the US-Mexico border in the name Homeland Security.

I do not support any of these measures and in solidarity with thousands of immigrants and immigrant supporters worldwide, I am showing my support by walking out of class and business as usual on MAY 1st AT 1PM. I support immigrants' civil rights and humanitarian legislation that respects the full dignity and rights of immigrants.

Let me first say that I hate HR4437, and I don't hate very many things.  It was its passage that made me decide it was time to do something.  That being said, it doesn't sit well with me that the heart of this walk-out is in opposition to something.  If I oppose something, I'm generally of the view that I should have in mind a viable alternative, which in this case is a one sentence "I support immigrants' civil rights and humanitarian legislation that respects the full dignity and rights of immigrants".  This would make complete sense to voice opposition if students decided to make this pledge all the way back in December when this bill was passed, but I didn't see any uproar, any call for a walkout.  Right now there is no chance that HR4437 is going to pass, so why is it productive to call for a walk-out in opposition of this measure?  If I were serious about opposing something, I would choose the recent Georgia Immigration Bill that was passed, just signed today by the governor.  Opposition can be good, and if its the MDC's central tennet than I want that opposition to be good.

Another page on the MDC's website provides further elaboration on what the coalition supports and opposes

As a coalition we...
-Oppose any legislation which attempts to criminalize undocumented migrants and those that support them
-Support equal access to education for all those living in the United States, regardless of immigration status
-Support workers rights for all those working in the United States, regardless of immigration status
-Oppose the militarization of the U.S. Border
-Support Amnesty of undocumented immigrants or at least a path to citizenship

I have already discussed my problems with opposition to HR4437 to which those two bullet points refer, so let's get down to what the MDC supports, support is good.  The last bullet point is basically a unifying call for the entire "pro-immigrant" movement.  I will reiterate my opinion and the premise of all I write in this blog by saying that we have to expand our thinking beyond the border if we really want to get to the root of the problem, but I don't mind that it's not included, it's my opinion, known well enough to intelligently reject.

Let's analyze the two other bullet points that the MDC is coming out in support of though, which amounts to two calls, support for workers rights, and support for equal access to education, basically undocumented immigrant access to education.  I have a huge problem with these being basically the only two substantive things that the MDC is presenting, not because of what they are, but because of where their coming from.

The Student Labor Action Movement (SLAM), a major player in the MDC, decided two weeks ago to drop, or at least put on hold, an attempt to end an exclusive Harvard University contract with the Coca-Cola company.  Putting aside the fact that they picked this up two weeks ago, I'm uncomfortable with the fact that workers rights is one of two substantive statements.

The other substantive statement, I could pinpoint to a key player in a similar fashion, but it would be incorrect to do it that way.  It stems more from a feeling that during the April 10th rally, the voices of students weren't represented.  Conceptually I'm okay with that I guess, but my personal opinion is that it's a lot of what's wrong with this movement.  We shouldn't be marching because we're students, we should be marching because we're humans, and I feel like everyone looking out for their own interests is what's pulling this movement in every direction and getting us nowhere.  That finally leads me to the first statement of support: "I support immigrants' civil rights and humanitarian legislation that respects the full dignity and rights of immigrants".  I want someone to tell me how everything I've discussed above helps anyone ouside the borders of the U.S. where in my opinion, the most suffering is occuring.

I am not saying that this "walk out" was hijacked by a few individuals, if anything, I expect it to be enormously succesful and supported by a great many.  My problem is that it seems like the only thing that people agree upon is that we want to make noise, which is fine and dandy, but I don't see any change coming of it.  The statements of significance have been unduly influenced by the organizers, but that is because not enough people contributed to the debate on those statements, which is attributable both to the organizers lack of reaching out, and the apathy or at least the conformity of the students involved.  All of the people that are out there, all of the flyers that are put up, all of the noise that is made, isn't worth anything if we aren't contributing to change.

I renew my call to use Student Orange as a forum to further hash out these statements so that we can better make change.  Attempts to do so have failed multiple times already.  Anyone at Harvard that subscribes is automatically a contributor and I encourage everyone to comment on what it is that they will be marching for on May 1st.