Editor’s note: The writers of this letter felt it was important to print the letter in both English and Spanish. Click here to view the Spanish letter.

Dear Editor,
We, the undersigned Marywood faculty and staff, would like to express our solidarity, support and appreciation of all those on our campus and in our community affected by the President’s recent decision to roll back DACA protections for the young people known as Dreamers. In line with our Core Values of Catholic identity, respect, empowerment, service and excellence, we pledge to ensure that our classrooms and offices remain a place of safety and support, fulfilling the noble goals of our University’s Mission to “live responsibly in an interdependent world.” Further, we pledge to refuse to offer aid and assistance to any efforts to harm, exploit or otherwise threaten the safety or freedom of our students whose lives have been affected by this cruel, unjust and inhumane decision. We urge our elected representatives to work together to formulate and legislate protections for this group, in the spirit of our nation’s most important goal: to protect the individual’s “unalienable right” to “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

As members of an academic community and citizens, we remember the celebrated words of Emma Lazarus speaking eloquently about our history as a nation of immigrants. They remind us about the places from which we came, the struggles each generation of immigrants endured and the hope which inspired millions to pursue their dreams of a better life in North America. Let us not give up on that hope.

“The New Colossus”
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Sincerely,
Shamshad Ahmed
Melinda Arcuri
Benjamin Babarsky
Annette Babcanec
Jennifer Barna
Edward Bilek
Helen Bittel
Amy Black
Christine Black
Jessica Bodzio
Carolyn Bonacci
Deborah Brassard
Wendy Brenzel
Amy Brostoski
Steven Brower
Christina Brundage
Sr. Kathleen Burns, IHM
Sr. Gail Cabral, IHM
Miguel Angel Calvo Salve
Estelle Campenni
Brooke Cannon
Kathleen Cantarella
Agnes Cardoni
Barbara Castanzo
Antonia Cerda-Bevan
Ann Cerminaro-Costanzi
Emily Coleman
Kimberly Coleman
Bill Conlogue
Liz Connery
Carolyn Cordaro
Riley Covaleski
Patrick J. Cowley
Meghan Cruciani
Barbara B. Decker
Renee DePietro
Bryan Dewey
Joshua Dobias
Joseph Donohue
Robert Doyle
Max H. Feldman
Annette Fisher
Marguerite Fuller
Sherry Frable
Sr. Margaret Gannon, IHM
Nancy A. Gibbons
Shannon Giedieviells
Christina C. Gigler
Allison Griffiths
Amy Grocki
Debbie Guy
Betsy Hartshorn
Rick Hoffenberg
Christa Irwin
Ellen Jagger
Sue Jenkins
Janet Kania
Cheryl Kashuba
Sarah Kenehan
Sr. Donna Marie Korba, IHM
Dina Kornish
Melinda Krokus
Robyn Krukovitz
Tina Lavelle
Peggy Leombruni
Courene M. Loftus
Sr. Catherine Luxner, IHM
Lloyd Lyter
Nancy Maloney
Renee Matillano
Barbara Mazurik
Kay McClintock
Elizabeth McGill
Edward McNichols
Ernest D. Mengoni
Stephanie Minkoff
Michael Mirabito
Beverly Mizanty
Marlene Moore
Barbara D. Moyer
Lucia Riggi Murray
Janet Muse-Burke
Ross Novak
Ann O’Brien
Edward O’Brien
Kate O’Connor
Joan M. Oliver
Mauri Olivetti
Onnie O’Neill
Kerimcan Ozcan
Amy Paciej-Woodruff
Michael Pasqualicchio
Mandy Pennington
Edward Petroski
Anthony Pusateri
Vijayac Angalli Ramachandra
Allison Ranieri-Horrocks
Alice Reyes
Lia Richards-Palmiter
Mary Roche
Mark Rodgers
Carly Rudzinski
Diane Russell
Sr. Frances Russell, IHM
Melissa Saddlemire
Erin Sadlack
Matthew Schaffer
Rebecca Sesky
Rosemary Shaver
Adam Shprintzen
Selina Shrestha
Sr. Marcia Sichol, SHCJ
Sr. Jane Snyder, IHM
Cheryl Sochoka
Sr. John Michele Southwick, IHM
Deirdre Spelman
Elizabeth Stires
Jamie Strong
Jim Sullivan
Carrie Toomey
Kielty Turner
Mary Ann Urso
Ruth Walsh
Tyler Ward
Deborah Wardach
Diane Webber
Amber Werner
Susan Wilkerson
Katie Williams
Stephanie Wise
Lindsey Wotanis
Frances Zauhar
Sr. Mary Ann Zimmer, ND
Christine C. Zwick