At the LOVE statue near College Green at noon today, Penn students, faculty and staff came together in solidarity with those who have been affected by President and 1968 Wharton graduate Donald Trump’s recent executive orders targeting immigrants and undocumented students.
The interfaith gathering was organized by the Vice Provost of University Life, the Spiritual & Religious Life Center and PRISM — a student interfaith organization on campus.
Holding white flowers handed out during the gathering, participants stood silently while speakers stepped up to the microphone one by one to share their messages of support. Among the speakers were representatives from VPUL, SPARC, PRISM and chaplains of various religious groups.
A common thread in every speech was the message of solidarity and showing love and support to those affected.
“As the joining force for people of all religions, we know now more than ever that it is absolutely crucial for students of every faith and from every background to come together to show support for each other and stand against religious inequities,” College junior Alexa Mund, co-chair of PRISM, said.
College junior and School of Social Policy & Practice submatriculant Nayab Khan, also a co-chair of PRISM, urged students to reach out to their peers of different religious groups and talk to one another.
“Form relationships and friendships that make our campus as strong and unique as it is,” Khan said. “We feel so privileged to represent such a religiously diverse campus and we look forward to continue to spread interfaith dialogue and love.”
Rabbi Joshua Bolton, director of the Jewish Renaissance Project at Hillel, said that the Penn community must not stay silent when those of other groups are suffering.
“We iterate our solidarity with the homeless, the stateless ... for those seeking asylum and those seeking refuge,” Bolton said. “We re-state our commitment to the bodies and hearts and souls of those who suffered because of systems of social and political indifference.”
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