Top education official warns against declaring the U. a
by Tim Vandenack ksl · KSL.comKEY TAKEAWAYS
- A top education official says it would be "impermissible" for the University of Utah to declare itself a sanctuary campus for immigrant students.
- Students pressing for the designation say they will nevertheless continue to advocate for immigrant support.
- Utah System of Higher Education head Geoff Landward said becoming a sanctuary campus would violate it's Institutional Neutrality and Speech Guidance.
SALT LAKE CITY — University of Utah officials may not declare the institution a sanctuary for immigrants because it would run afoul of neutrality guidelines the state's higher education institutions are supposed to abide by, a top state education official says.
But that's not stopping the students at the university from pressing for change to support immigrant students, including a declaration deeming the U. a "sanctuary" campus. The efforts date back to at least last spring and are meant as a counterpoint to heightened efforts by federal officials to crack down on illegal immigration.
In a Sept. 30 letter to University of Utah President Taylor Randall, Geoff Landward, commissioner of the Utah System of Higher Education, addressed the issue, as requested by U. leaders. The agency helps oversee the state's system of public universities and technical colleges.
"The designation of an institution as a sanctuary campus is inherently political, and an institution that takes this action would be viewed as endorsing a particular position in an ongoing political and policy debate," Landward wrote. That would violate the system's Institutional Neutrality and Speech Guidance, the framework that serves as guidance at an institutional level on such issues for Utah's colleges and universities, thus making it "impermissible" for the U. to take such action.
The Associated Students of the University of Utah Assembly and Senate approved resolutions of support for a measure outlining an array of actions proponents would like to see U. leaders take on behalf of immigrant students, including a declaration making the university a "sanctuary" campus. ASUU Student Body President Erica Stringham offered a presentation to the University of Utah Board of Trustees on Joint Resolution 10 last August and the board briefly took the matter up at its meeting last week.
Katie Eccles, chairwoman of the board, summed up Landward's letter and the trustees took no additional action. Eccles, though, emphasized the trustees' commitment to the well-being of students.
"I want to restate that we, as trustees, all care deeply about the success and the safety of every university student," she said. "I'm confident that our university leaders are doing everything that they can within the bounds of the law to ensure our community members have the best possible experience on this campus."
Meanwhile, leaders of a student group that has been pushing for the sanctuary campus designation, MEChA de U of U, said they remain committed to the cause. MEChA is a student advocacy group for Latino, immigrant and other students.
"MEChA de UofU remains steadfast in our commitment to immigrant students on campus," the group said in a statement. "We are closely working with the administration to implement the demands included in JR10."
Beyond the sanctuary campus designation, JR10 calls for increased efforts to educate immigrant students about their rights and a commitment from university police that officers won't be tapped to aid with enforcement of immigration laws, among other things.
The MEChA statement also took a jab at Randall, the university president, for entering into a memorandum of understanding with Ariel University in Israel, calling the institution an "Israeli settler university" and saying the accord violates international law. "By affirmatively supporting Israeli settlements amid Israel's genocide in Gaza, the university has taken a position on a political and social controversy in violation of its own policy," MEChA said.
The ostensible aim of becoming a sanctuary campus would be to signal support for immigrant students, particularly those in the country illegally. In his letter, though, Landward questioned the extent of the impact of the immigration crackdown at the U.
"Although we acknowledge the described impact immigration policies have on some UofU students, there is no indication that immigration enforcement by the federal government on the UofU's campus is impeding the UofU's mission or functioning, its role or its values of free expression and inquiry," he wrote.
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