Suffolk University’s annual Undocu Week is a series of events and trainings raising awareness and support for immigrant and undocumented students and community members.
From Oct. 28-31, the Immigrant Justice Clinic, Immigrant Law Associate, Counseling Health and Wellness Center and Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion partnered to put together four events focused on this community.
Jadyn Oppong, a senior biology major and Suffolk peer health educator will be presenting during the Undocu-ally training event.
“You don’t really hear this topic when you say diversity, [you think of] race, sex, gender, all that stuff, but there’s so many other things that factor into your intersectionality, and it just makes them human,” Oppong said.
On Monday, the programs started with an event called “Undocu-Joy: Flipping the Narrative.” During this program they shared resources and stories in the Sawyer Building lobby.
The next day was specifically for faculty and staff at Suffolk. Headed by Suffolk’s Immigrant Justice Clinic, there was an undocu-ally training in which Law students and undergraduate SUPERs came together to educate members of the Suffolk community on how to support undocumented students.
Wednesday’s event will be geared towards all members of the Suffolk community, including students. From 5-7 p.m. on the fifth floor of Sargent Hall, there is an event called “Project 2025: Implications for Immigrant Communities.” This event will be an opportunity for people to learn more about Project 2025 – a plan for what the future of the United States could look like under conservative leadership.
Finally, on Thursday, the organizations are collaborating on a social media campaign they’re calling “I Stand with Immigrants.” During the different events throughout the week, shirts will be distributed. On Thursday, people are encouraged to wear these shirts and send them to the social media campaign.
“The idea is to try to raise some awareness that there may be undocumented students present because that’s obviously not something people are advertising and nor should they, but that everyone should keep in mind,” said Ragini Shah, a clinical professor of law and director of the Immigrant Justice Clinic.
The Immigrant Justice Clinic will educate the Suffolk community through the ally training directed at Suffolk staff and faculty. Two Suffolk Law students, Vanessa Mondre and Brian Cummings, will be leading the conversation.
“Faculty and staff have a different level of power, which comes with a different level of responsibility,” said Cummings.
The ally training is meant to give faculty and staff the resources to know how to support students who may come to them and tell them they are undocumented. In some cases this may be because a class requires an internship and undocumented students are unable to meet that requirement, or for people working in the financial aid office encountering students who don’t have access to financial aid and need other ways to subsidize tuition.
“We obviously don’t want people to think that they have to proactively address it and ask people about what their status is or something like that,” said Mondre. “But we want to just educate them, talk about alternatives, like, what can you say? And what if somebody comes to you and tells you about it and just really create more support on campus.”
“I’d love for anyone who hasn’t come already to come. It’s not something where we are trying to make people feel bad, it’s really designed to be a resource and a way for people to get information and figure out how they can be the best Suffolk employee that they can be,” said Shah.
Suffolk is home to students from all different backgrounds, cultures and countries. Events like Undocu Week are ways to make the environment on campus a more inclusive space for everyone, said Oppong.
“It’s really important to honor these identities that people have, and to honor the journeys that people have been on, and to have an open mind when you’re dealing with everybody.”
