Penn President Amy Gutmann broke her silence on President Donald Trump Monday evening, calling his executive order on immigration “injurious to our work and inimical to our values.” Gutmann’s speech came during a Faculty Senate protest on College Green over Trump’s controversial order, which temporarily banned immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries.
Gutmann’s speech was the first time that she has publicly mentioned President Donald Trump by name since the start of his presidential campaign.
“We will do everything in our power, speak to every friend and ally, and leave no stone unturned in our efforts to urge President Trump to change course and rectify the horrible damage this Order has caused,” Gutmann said.
She also spoke about her own immigrant family background. Gutmann cited her father, who was a Jewish immigrant who fled Nazi Germany.
Chair of the Faculty Senate Laura Perna, one of the event organizers, also gave a short speech.
Students also chanted things such as “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here” and “Penn will not bend” during the protest.
Penn students who are directly affected by the executive order also spoke out against Trump’s immigration ban.
Nariman Jahani, a postdoctoral researcher in radiology at Penn, said that the executive order separates him from his family. As an Iranian national, he cannot leave the country and his family cannot come visit.
“I’m stuck here,” Jahani said. “And it will affect a lot in my life.”
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