FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Press Contact: John F. Stephens, asamedia@theasa.net

As an organization dedicated to the support and advancement of scholars, students, and teachers, the American Studies Association strongly endorses the measures across educational institutions at all levels that are designed to offer institutional support to all those whose ability to continue their educations will be severely hindered by the enactment of the exclusionary policies on immigration and religious affiliation promised by a Trump administration. Whether by offering refuge for students facing deportation or detainment, or by providing services and resources necessary to continuing their education despite arrest, imprisonment, or deportation, or through the protection of student data as well as other means, campuses across the country have committed to acting on behalf of the groups to be made most vulnerable. Under the rubric of “sanctuary campus” and otherwise, individuals and institutions have expressed their willingness to act on behalf of students despite the risks involved in civil disobedience, a commitment that resonates with and pulls forward the importance of civil disobedience to the history and formation of the U.S. nation since its founding. We recognize, too, the exacerbation of vulnerability for women, for lesbian, gay, and transgender people, for indigenous and native people, and for People of Color among all too many others, that will likewise require continuing and intensified efforts to address. In accordance with our long held principles of academic freedom and orientation toward the public good, the ASA is likewise dedicated to providing resources and support regardless of immigration status, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, or any other category of socio-political identity, to those who teach and learn in and outside of formal educational institutions. We encourage individuals and institutions with similar values to adopt, proactively, similarly supportive measures.

Executive Committee of the American Studies Association

• President: Robert Warrior, University of Kansas
• President-elect: Kandice Chuh, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York
• Immediate Past President: David Roediger, University of Kansas
• Councilor: Jodi Byrd, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
• Councilor: Christina Hanhardt, University of Maryland, College Park
• Councilor: Sharon Holland, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill