My daughter is a teaching assistant at the University of Arizona. Today, the president of the university, Robert N. Shelton, sent a memo to all employees about how the university is affected by the law. He revealed that the SB1070 law is already hurting the university. More below the fold.
President Shelton notes that the campus attracts students from every part of the world and therefore must do everything possible to protect them from any adverse consequences of the law:
Foreign students who have come to study at American universities are responsible for huge portions of the gains this nation has made in technology, medicine, materials, and so many other academic areas critical to our nation’s defense and economic prosperity. We must do everything possible to ensure that these students continue to feel welcomed and respected, despite the unmistakably negative message that this bill sends to many of them.
He indicates that the campus police department will not engage in racial profiling:
UAPD, which is one of the finest police operations anywhere, will be receiving extensive training on the specifications of the new law. I have total confidence that they will abide by the letter of the law, which includes a provision that individuals may not be stopped solely on the basis of race, color or national origin.
Most interesting of all is President Shelton's comment on the negative impact of the law:
We have already begun to feel an impact from SB1070. The families of a number of out-of-state students (to date all of them honors students) have told us that they are changing their plans and will be sending their children to universities in other states. This should sadden anyone who cares about attracting the best and brightest students to Arizona.
He adds that the law is causing a lot of anxiety among members of the campus community, who worry that they or people close to them will be detained.
He closes by noting that the Arizona Board of Regents will be meeting in Phoenix later this week. He hints that something may come from this meeting and promises to report on it.
It's heartening to find people of good will speaking out against this outrageous law.