{"id":35676,"date":"2017-11-13T15:17:02","date_gmt":"2017-11-13T20:17:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=35676"},"modified":"2017-12-07T09:45:25","modified_gmt":"2017-12-07T14:45:25","slug":"daca-campus-committee-hosts-outdoor-story-exhibit-continues-advocacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2017\/daca-campus-committee-hosts-outdoor-story-exhibit-continues-advocacy\/","title":{"rendered":"DACA campus committee hosts outdoor ‘story exhibit,’ continues advocacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the gray cold of early November on Thomas Plaza at Eastern Mennonite University, eleven chairs called attention to the plights of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States.<\/p>\n

The Nov. 8 \u201cStory Exhibition\u201d was a way to raise awareness on campus about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, and highlighted a current EMU student and an EMU alumnus, four students in the Harrisonburg community, and five others from around the nation.<\/p>\n

The exhibit was hosted by EMU\u2019s DACA Dialogue Planning Committee, which formed after the termination of the DACA program earlier this fall. Earlier in the semester, the committee held an informational gathering, hosted a chapel service<\/a>, and partnered with the Latino Student Alliance<\/a> for its banquet.<\/p>\n

Future events include a town hall meeting on campus and a DACA community march to U.S. Representative Bob Goodlatte\u2019s office in Harrisonburg, she added.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The Nov. 8 exhibit highlighted 11 stories of the undocumented in the United States.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“The committee envisions these events to foster an ongoing dialogue among administration, faculty, staff and students with the hope that our campus community can respond to these concerns with support and empathy,” said Anna Messer, a student in the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding accelerated masters program<\/a> and a Peace Fellowship and Latino Student Alliance representative.<\/p>\n

One of many \u2018lifelong journeys\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n

One of the EMU students featured in the exhibit was Keyri Lopez-Godoy, set to graduate this spring with a degree in elementary education. She was brought to the U.S. from El Salvador at age 8, and graduated from high school with so many college credits that she is earning her bachelor\u2019s degree in three years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am in the eyes of society one of the 800,000 [DACAmented students in the U.S.],\u201d the statement below her picture read, \u201cand in the eyes of God I am the daughter He loves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Listen to a podcast<\/a> of senior education major Keyri Lopez-Godoy talking about her experiences.<\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n

The first in her family to graduate from college, Lopez-Godoy credits many teachers, school staff and professors with encouraging her to succeed academically. When she looked at the exhibit, her own words and picture stationed alongside the ten others, she \u201cdidn\u2019t just see papers and chairs,\u201d she said: \u201cI saw lifelong journeys.\u201d<\/p>\n