On Thursday, Jan. 29, Swatties spotted posters around campus calling for a class strike the following morning and inviting students to a teach-in in the Kemp Family Commons. Like many other demonstrations nationwide last Friday, the teach-in was held in protest of recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Minnesota.
Anti-ICE sentiments have flared following the agency’s killing of two U.S. citizens attempting to intervene during the raids, as well as the deaths of several immigrants in federal detainment centers. Shortly after the teach-in at Swarthmore on Friday, hundreds of people demonstrated in the streets of Philadelphia, demanding the abolition of ICE.
At 11 a.m. on Jan. 30, around 90 students attended the teach-in, many wearing green — the “color of anti-freeze”— as the posters had requested. Their posters featured the words “F*CK ICE” and included a QR code linking to a template for an absence notification letter. The event was organized and hosted by a newly formed student group with four current members, the “Swarthmore Resilience Committee.” After briefly introducing themselves, their group, and the background of the national shutdown, the organizers divided the room into discussion groups. Students then shared resources, personal reflections, and information about the recent incidents and the current state of immigration enforcement in the U.S.
Near the end of the teach-in, the organizers invited the students to take a moment to honor the victims of ICE’s operations.
The organizers — Kiara Dresp Pedra ’27, Jonas Barr ’27, Ary Henry ’28, and Kya Boldizsar ’28 — started the Swarthmore Resilience Committee two days before the teach-in. The group was formed following a casual discussion on Sunday after they watched the film “Rabbit-Proof Fence” for their gender, sexuality, and social change class.
“After that screening, we engaged in a discussion about the film and the social injustices that we saw in the movie, drawing parallels to immigration policies in the U.S. today. We felt compelled to take action, and on Tuesday night, one of us heard about the national shutdown that was being organized for that coming Friday,” Dresp Pedra, Barr, Henry, and Boldizsar wrote to The Phoenix in an interview over email. They emphasized that organizing efforts they saw across the country gave them the necessary confidence to participate in the movement as Swarthmore students.
With less than 48 hours to prepare for a campus-wide event, the group decided to host a teach-in to provide space for students to exchange their experiences and resources with each other and share information about victims of ICE violence.
“Many students on campus brought a wide variety of experiences and knowledge relating to the subject,” they noted. “It was a learning experience for us as much as it was for those who showed up.”
When asked about the impact they were looking to achieve through the teach-in, the student group emphasized the importance of building a community of open-mindedness and dialogue.
“If there is any impact that we would hope our work will achieve, it’s to spark a recognition of the power that exists within everyone to spark change. We hope that cynicism and nihilism can be tempered by a bit of hope and optimism to not accept the constant injustices that we face, witness, or even contribute to.”
