On Oct. 9, the student-led organization URGE (Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity) held their weekly meeting to discuss immigration rights and the increase in border patrol and interior immigration enforcement following the passing of bills such as the “One Big Beautiful Bill” and the “Keep STEM talent act.” The meeting began at 7:30 p.m. and lasted until 8:30 p.m.
URGE is a national organization with several chapters across American universities, including Washburn. They discuss all matters relating to their acronym, advocating and highlighting different communities to ensure that their voices are heard. They also work to make wellness products free and accessible on campus, such as Plan B, condoms and menstrual products. URGE is partnered with HALO (Hispanic American Leadership Organization), which is an organization that helps promote and support the Hispanic community on campus.
The meeting began with an interactive icebreaker game that many students readily engaged in. It involved throwing a beach ball with questions on it before the meeting was relocated due to technical problems.
Once the meeting was relocated, it began with a presentation from Loud Light, discussing the importance of voting and voting registration, which smoothly segued into the next presentation. The presentation informed students about the history of immigration, along with the current legislation, knowing your rights and how to be an ally.
Covering things such as the timeline and history of immigration, which began in 1776 with the publication of “Common Sense” by Thomas Paine. URGE discussed that the book relates back to current legislation and issues, as ICE continues to operate despite the recent shutdown of the government.
URGE placed a heavy emphasis on knowing one’s rights in case students happen to find themselves in a situation with law enforcement or immigration enforcement; that is, the right to remain silent and speak with a lawyer.
The members spoke about how being an ally can be as simple as asking what one can do to help. Including people and having discussions about current events can help spread awareness on matters and can help students advocate for what they need. URGE also mentioned that students can use their privilege to advocate for those who may not be safe to do so as well. Paloma Martinez, junior anthropology and criminal justice major, spoke on personal motives to advocate for these rights.
“What inspires me the most is my ethnic identity. I am Mexican, so I am trying to help the Hispanic community, because I am privileged enough,” Martinez said. “My mom’s white, my dad’s Hispanic, so I definitely feel like I have the ability if something actually ever happens to me.”
Empowering voices from different communities is vital in creating a healthy and inclusive environment that URGE prioritizes in their mission. Parker Whaley, vice president of URGE, speaks on what inspires them to get involved with these matters.
“[It’s] the safety and advocacy part of it and making people feel like they belong and [the] things that affect them are important,” Whaley said. “It affects a lot of people in a really heavy way and if nobody talks about it, then those communities will feel like it’s not important and what’s happening to them doesn’t matter. And that’s the complete opposite of the truth.”
The event ended by opening up for discussion. Students were welcomed to ask questions or share thoughts and stories of their own. Protests were brought up as a good way to advocate for rights and students brought up the No King’s protest taking place on Oct.18 at the Kansas State Capitol. Students were eager to engage in this discussion to provide information regarding protests and other organizations. Red Black, junior political science major, spoke on why they chose to attend this event.
“This event in particular is a really important one. While we’re closing out Hispanic Heritage Month, we want to keep that on people’s minds,” Black said. “Also, immigration has been a really serious issue with the recent political situations, especially with Customs Enforcement going into cities and impersonating police officers. We want to make sure that people are above and beyond safe.”
URGE holds meetings weekly. Their next meeting will be on Oct. 23 from 7:30-8:30 p.m. in the Blair Room at the Living Learning Center. They will be discussing the history of menstrual products and making medieval hats for their costume contest.
The HALO organization will be holding their next meeting on Oct.16 from 6-7 p.m. in the Blair Room of the LLC, and they will be having a cultural trivia night.
Edited by Anson Appelhanz and Anushma Dahal
