Writer’s note: This piece is an open letter signed by members of the Stanford Faculty. Faculty wishing to add their names to the letter may do so here.
We write on two matters of immediate concern: the situation of undocumented students, and of community members now subject to the so-called “Muslim Ban.” Both these groups are now severely affected by measures that tear at the fabric of our community and run counter to our core principles. They also bespeak a callous disregard for the Constitution and international law.
We commend the Stanford administration for its swift response to President Trump’s remarks during the presidential campaign and since taking office, its commitment to defend DACA, and its declaration of support for these students. We call on the University to issue a more substantial statement that recognizes the danger many community members face at this moment, enumerates positive actions it will take with that recognition in mind, and also elaborates more fully how these actions are consistent with specific values to which Stanford is and has always been deeply committed.
Stanford’s statement of Nov. 19 contains many good things. It states that: “Stanford will continue to provide services and support to our students without regard to their immigration status. The university supports the ability of undocumented students to continue their studies at Stanford and earn a degree.”
It also says that: “The university does not act as an immigration enforcement agency. It does not collect or share information about whether students are undocumented (nor does it disclose the ethnicity or religion of individual students). And it would not provide information to law enforcement authorities about the immigration status of individuals except in specific instances in which it is legally required.”
This language assures us that Stanford will continue to act as it has done in the past. However, at this urgent and alarming moment, we call on the University to acknowledge the new historical situation that faces us, and the pressing need to be more assertive under these circumstances.
Exemplary is a statement made by Fr. Paul Fitzgerald, S.J., President of the University of San Francisco, during an interview with CNN: “We will use every legal means to protect [undocumented students].”
We do not think we are simply wordsmithing by asking that Stanford adopt a similarly direct tone; on the contrary, we believe that such a tone signals to students and others that we acknowledge the severity of the problem.
It is, of course, not just a matter of words but also of actions. Columbia University has put in place specific measures to address likely contingencies, again pledging to serve all students as usual, but also stating in clear terms how the University will respond to potential action by the new presidential administration:
“If the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) policy is terminated or substantially curtailed and students with DACA status lose the right to work, the University pledges to expand the financial aid and other support we make available to undocumented students, regardless of their immigration status. It is of the utmost importance that federal policies and laws do not derail the education of students whose enrollment at Columbia and other colleges or universities is made possible by DACA…
“To provide additional support, the Office of University Life is hosting a series of small-group, private information sessions specifically for undocumented students in our community, including DACA recipients, to offer support and guidance regarding possible changes in the law. Affected students can contact the Office directly for more information. Separately, our International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO) is scheduling information sessions and is prepared to provide assistance via its telephone helplines to any of our international students with questions or concerns.”
Likewise, the University of California issued a statement noting that it would “vigorously protect the privacy and civil rights of the undocumented members of the UC community,” and that, among other things, “The University will not cooperate with any federal effort to create a registry of individuals based on any protected characteristics such as religion, national origin, race or sexual orientation,” and that it will undertake actions that again indicate the breadth and detail of UC’s concern: “UC medical centers will treat all patients without regard to race, religion, national origin, citizenship or other protected characteristics and will vigorously enforce nondiscrimination and privacy laws and policies.”
We hope Stanford can issue a statement that advances its initial statement in the manners suggested. It is critical to acknowledge the depth, uniqueness and urgency of the situation, and Stanford’s commitment to act in ways that acknowledge this.
We are grateful for your swift response to the new executive order banning travel to and from certain designated countries. We especially applaud your offer of counseling and advising to community members most affected by this terrible measure. We also recognize, as you point out in your response to the recent executive actions, that “national security and counterterrorism considerations are of course vital to effective immigration policy. But the current situation is causing deeply regrettable alarm and uncertainty for many people who are part of the academic community here in the United States.”
We hasten to add that this ban is a clear violation of the First Amendment’s establishment clause. To single out people for protection and/or exclusion based on religion is not only a breach of the values that are central to our University’s mission; it is also unconstitutional. To comply with or remain silent on this policy is to imply consent, and such implied consent is something for which history will judge us harshly. The possible illegality of this measure has prompted a federal court judge to issue a stay.
Again, Columbia University’s President Lee Bollinger issued a strong statement in acknowledgment of this fact; his letter reads in part:
“As I have said on many occasions, it is critically important that the University, as such, not take stands on ideological or political issues. Yet it is also true that the University, as an institution in the society, must step forward to object when policies and state action conflict with its fundamental values, and especially when they bespeak purposes and a mentality that are at odds with our basic mission.”
We ask Stanford to join Columbia and other universities in making clear its moral outrage over these recent actions on the part of Donald Trump’s administration, and to offer specific actions in response. We urge the University to be more precise about how these measures violate specific core values of our academic community — for instance, the right to education, academic freedom, equal treatment under the law, our sense that our educational mission depends on each of our members having equal access to education and freedom from harassment or threat.
Only by being more precise, thorough, and more assertive will the full force of Stanford’s commitment to these and other values in these very troubling times be felt. We specifically call on Stanford to bring to bear its vast financial, intellectual and human resources to protect members of our community who are threatened by the president’s actions. We make these calls as collaborators in this effort. Indeed, as members of the Stanford community, we are ready and willing to take action to ensure that Stanford vigorously supports, practices and defends inclusiveness.
Stanford rightfully prides itself for its openness to the world, its participation in a global community and our commitment to educate global citizens. We must do everything possible to defend its character against measures that act precisely against that vision and to issue a strong rebuke to these heinous and cruel acts.
We, as members of the Stanford faculty, wish to go on record as expressing, in the strongest terms possible, our unwavering determination to protect our students and the most vulnerable members of our community. We wish to express our condemnation of these measures and our absolute commitment to offering protection, aid and moral support to those most immediately affected by them. We also express our commitment to continue to speak out against these and any other measures or actions undertaken by the Trump administration that are similarly bigoted, hateful and cruel.
Tomás Jiménez, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology
David Palumbo-Liu, Louise Hewlett Nixon Professor, Department of Comparative Literature
Jonathan Gienapp, Assistant Professor, Department of History
Melanie Morten, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics
Matthew H. Sommer, Professor, Department of History
Ana Raquel Minian, Assistant Professor, Department of History
Vincent Barletta, Associate Professor, Division of Language, Cultures, and Literature
Allyson Hobbs, Associate Professor, Department of History
Estelle B. Freedman, Robinson Professor, Department of History
Jun Uchida, Associate Professor, Department of History and Director of the Center for East Asian Studies
Steven Zipperstein, Koshland Professor, Department of History
Priya Satia, Associate Professor, Department of History
Jose David Saldivar, Leon Sloss, Jr. Professor, Department of Comparative Literature
Indra Levy, Associate Professor, East Asian Languages & Cultures, Comparative Literature
Gregory Deierlein, Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Jack Baker, Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Ramon Martinez, Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Education
Laura Stokes, Associate Professor, Department of History
Richard White, Margaret Byrne Professor of American History, Department of History
Pascaline Dupas, Associate Professor, Department of Economics
Mohammad Akbarpour, Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Business
B. Douglas Bernheim, Edward Ames Edmonds Professor and Chair, Department of Economics
Liran Einav, Professor, Department of Economics
Paula M. L. Moya, Professor, Department of English
Ramón Saldívar, Hoagland Family Professor of Humanities and Sciences, Department of English
Mohsen Bayati, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Business
Richard Roberts, Frances and Charles Field Professor, Department of History
Elaine Treharne, Roberta Bowman Denning Professor of Humanities, Department of English
Claire Jarvis, Assistant Professor, Department of English
Michaela Bronstein, Assistant Professor, Department of English
David D. Laitin, Professor, Department of Political Science
Jeffrey Hancock, Professor, Department of Communication
Matthew Snipp, Professor, Department of Sociology
Rush Rehm, Professor, Departments of Classics and Theater and Performance Studies
Nancy Ruttenburg, William Robertson Coe Professor of American Literature, Department of English
Jeanne Tsai, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology
David B. Grusky, Professor, Department of Sociology
Rishee Jain, Assistant Professor, School of Engineering
Gabriella Safran, Professor, Slavic Languages and Literatures
Michelle Jackson, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology
Shelley Fisher Fishkin, Joseph S. Atha Professor of Humanities Department of English
Mark Andrew Algee- Hewit, Assistant Professor, Department of English
Stephen Monismith, Obayashi Professor, School of Engineering
Amit Seru, Professor of Finance, Graduate School of Business
Jody Maxmin, Associate Professor, Departments of Art History & Classics
Nicolas Lambert, Assistant Professor of Economics, Graduate School of Business
Marci Kwon, Assistant Professor, Department of Art & Art History
Guadalupe Valdés, Bonnie Katz Tenenbaum Professor, Graduate School of Education
Amin Saberi, Associate Professor, Department of Management Science and Engineering
Terry Berlier, Associate Professor, Department of Art & Art History
Todd Davies, Lecturer, Symbolic Systems Program
Jamie Meltzer, Associate Professor, Department of Art & Art History
Paul Milgrom, Ely Professor, Department of Economics
Amado Padilla, Professor, Graduate School of Education
Michelle Wilde Anderson, Professor of Law, Law School
Darrell Duffie, Professor, Graduate School of Business
Sarah Soule, Professor, Graduate School of Business
Joan Petersilia, Professor, Law School
Tobias Wolff, Woods Professor Emeritus, Department of English
Anthony L. Antonio, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Education
Matthew Jackson, Professor, Department of Economics
Srdan Keca, Assistant Professor, Department of Art & Art History
Jennifer DeVere Brody, Professor, Department of Theater & Performance Studies
Nancy J. Troy, Victoria and Roger Sant Professor in Art, Department of Art & Art History
Joel Beinin, Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History, Department of History
Paul Robinson, Professor Emeritus, Department of History
Eric Roberts, Professor Emeritus, Department of Computer Science
Kenneth Fields, Professor, English Department
Richard P. Martin, Antony and Isabelle Raubitschek Professor, Department of Classics
Hazel Rose Markus, Davis-Brack Professor in Behavioral Sciences, Department of Psychology
David Lobell, Associate Professor, School of Earth Energy and Environmental Sciences
Shane Denson, Assistant Professor, Department of Art & Art History
Cecilia L. Ridgeway, Lucie Stern Professor, Department of Sociology
Chang-rae Lee, Woods Professor, Department of English
Elizabeth S. Egan, Assistant Professor; Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine
Fiona Griffiths, Professor, Department of History
Usha Iyer, Assistant Professor, Department of Art and Art History
Dafna Zur, Assistant Professor, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures
Toussaint Nothias, Lecturer, Center for African Studies
Kathleen Kelly Janus, Lecturer, Stanford Program on Social Entrepreneurship
Charles I. Jones, STANCO 25 Professor of Economics, Graduate School of Business
J.P. Daughton, Associate Professor, Department of History
Jeremy Freese, Professor, Department of Sociology
Thomas S. Mullaney, Associate Professor, Department of History
Fred Turner, Harry and Norman Chandler Professor, Department of Communication
David Katzenstein, Professor, School of Medicine
Robb Willer, Professor, Department of Sociology
Pamela M. Lee, Osgood Hooker Professor, Department of Art and Art History
Mikael Wolfe, Assistant Professor, Department of History
Thomas K Seligman, Freidenrich Director Emeritus, Cantor Arts Center
Sianne Ngai, Professor, Department of English
Haiyan Lee, Professor, EALC; DLCL
Alexander Key, Assistant Professor, Department of Comparative Literature
Krish Seetah, Anthropology
Ari Y. Kelman, Jim Joseph Professor of Education and Jewish Studies, Graduate School of Education
Leonard Ortolano, Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Clayborne Carson, Martin Luther King Jr. Centennial Professor, Department of History
C. Lanier Benkard, Gregor G. Peterson Professor of Economics, Graduate School of Business
Susan Olzak, Professor Emerita, Department of Sociology
James Reichert, Associate Professor, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures
James Ferguson, Susan S. and William H. Hindle Professor, Department of Anthropology
Thomas Blom, Hansen Reliance Dhirubhai Ambani Professor, Department of Anthropology
Sharika Thiranagama, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology
John Willinsky, Professor, Graduate School of Education
Yoshiko Matsumoto, Yamato Ichihashi Professor of Japanese History and Civilization, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures
Alexandria Boehm, Professor, CEE/SOE
Angela Garcia, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology
Nancy Kollmann, William H. Bonsall Professor, Department of History
Desiree LaBeaud, Associate professor, School of Medicine
Gabriel Weintraub, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Business
Terry Karl, Professor (Emeritus), Department of Political Science
Enrique Chagoya, Professor, Department of Art and Art History
Doug McAdam, Ray Lyman Wilbur Professor, Department of Sociology
Karla Oeler, Associate Professor, Art & Art History
Adeyinka Fashokun, Lecturer, Stanford Language Center
Mark Edward Lewis, Professor, Department of History
Takeo Hoshi, Senior Fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute
Yinyu Ye, Professor, Management Sciences and Engineering
Corey D. Fields, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology
Jean Ma, Associate Professor, Art & Art History
Miyako Inoue, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology
Jenna Davis, Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Shirin Sinnar, Associate Professor, Stanford Law School
James Fearon, Professor, Department of Political Science
Roland Greene, Professor, Departments of English and Comparative Literature
Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu, Lecturer, Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity
Peggy Phelan, Professor, Departments of English and Theater and Performance Studies
Sylvia Yanagisako, Edward Clark Crossett Professor of Humanistic Studies, Department of Anthropology
Peter Stansky, Professor Emeritus, Department of History
Richard B. Dasher, Adjunct Professor, Departments of Electrical Engineering
Daniel Sneider, Associate Director for Research, Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center
Vicky Fouka, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science
Paulla Ebron, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology
David Warren Beach, Professor (Teaching), Department of Mechanical Engineering
Scott Bukatman, Professor, Department of Film and Media Studies
Brian Blackburn. Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Medicine
Kuang Xu, Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Business
Ramzi Salti, Lecturer, Stanford Language Center
Erin MacDonald, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Bernard Roth, Professor; Mechanical Engineering
Allison Okamura, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering (School of Engineering)
Jindong Cai, Associate Professor (Performance), Center for East Asian Studies
Jessica Riskin, Professor, Department of History
Bruce B. Lusignan, Associate Professor Emeritus, School of Engineering
Jaroslaw Kapuscinski, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Music
Bryan J. Wolf, Jones Professor Emeritus, Department of Art and Art History
William Burnett, Adjunct Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Marie Huber, Assistant Professor, Department of Comparative Literature
Yumi Moon, Associate Professor, Department of History
Cristobal Young, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology
Simon Klemperer, Professor, Department of Geophysics
Cheryl Koopman, Professor (Research) Emerita, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Dan Iancu, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Business
Ivan Lupić, Assistant Professor Simon Klemperer English
Tanya Marie Luhrmann, Watkins University Professor, Department of Anthropology
Barbara Voss, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology
Yonatan Gur, Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Business
Albert Camarillo, Professor Emeritus, Department of History
Gavin Jones, Professor, Department of English
Chris Chafe, Professor, Department of Music
Sharad Goel, Assistant Professor, Management Science and Engineering
Joel Samoff, Adjunct Professor, Humanities and Sciences
J Edward Carryer, Adjunct Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Shelley Correll, Director, Clayman Institute; Professor, Department of Sociology
Philip Pizzo, MD Professor, Department of Pediatrics
Gi-Wook Shin, Professor & Senior Fellow; Department of Sociology and the Freeman Spogli Institute
Perry L. McCarty, Professor Emeritus, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Johan Ugander, Assistant Professor, Department of Management Science & Engineering
Michael Kahan, Acting Director and Senior Lecturer, Program on Urban Studies Department of Sociology
Michele Dauber, Frederick I. Richman Professor, School of Law
Margaret Cohen, Andrew B. Hammond Professor, Divisions of Languages, Cultures, and Languages and English
Jeremy M Weinstein, Professor, Department of Political Science
Laura Wittman, Associate Professor, Divisions of Languages, Cultures, and Languages
Gordon H. Chang, Olive Palmer Professor in the Humanities, Department of History