IIIIE0HES0fllf,FEBRUM8,2fll71 PUGEia EDITORIALS: Staff editorials are written by ttie editorial board and Intended to represent the stance of.the EftN staff, who have an opportifflity to offer feedback on each topic. Staff editorials and other opinions content are separate from news coverage. COLUMNS: Columns are written by ENH staff members and represent their informed opinions. Columns and other opinions content are separate from news coverage. I I ® STAFF EDITORIAL Student organizations must continue political engagement HOW WE SEE IT Elon University’s student-run political organizations must continue to host student debates and events even after the presidential election. In the weeks leading up to last fall’s presidential election, Elon University’s campus was filled with political activism by and for stjic^nts. Elon Political Forum held a bi-par tisan debate featuring students from different political organizations across campus. Students gathered to watch and discuss the presidential debates in Moseley Center. Posters hung on bulletin boards, and almost every week there was a new debate or event being held to discuss the election. Elon’s student-run political or ganizations such as College Dem ocrats, College Republicans, Elon Political Forum and other political groups on campus must continue hosting student debates, speakers and events to encourage students to remain politically active. Last semester it seemed as though there was a different politi cal debate, rally or event on campus every week. This excitement and willingness to engage in difficult political discussions should be pres ent year-round. Since th^electio^, it seems^hese political organizations have lost their momentum. Students are still sharing posts on Facebook and attending marches, but politically charged conversations and involve ment from organizations on campus have been less frequent. The Pendulum reached out to several of these organizations, and it was difficult to find out about events being planned for the spring. So far in 2017, they have not adver tised any events like the ones they advertised in the fall. Faculty and staff have responded to the situation through “Refusing to Wait: Intellectual and Practical Resources in Troubling Times,” a one-credit, pass/fail class designed specifically around practical action following the election. Students across campus have also responded individually, gathering in groups to attend local marches or call their senators, but student-run political organizations have been relatively quiet. These organizations must con tinue to facilitate conversations and political activism to maintain a cul ture of political awareness after the election. Now more than ever, they need to foster room and space for student-led conversations to discuss disagreement across partisan lines. It is early in the semester, so it is understandable why these groups have not held anything yet — but there is no time to waste. We en courage all students across campus to maintain the momentum they had in the fall. President Donald Trump’s first 10 days in office were filled with actions, orders and events that deserved and required further conversation between and among students. These conversations should be held in an intellectual setting with political organizations, but these groups have remained silent during these events. It’s important to tackle what these actions mean not only for the humans affected by them, but also for the parties that may have supported them. For students who are contem plating their political identities under the Trump administration, events hosted by student partisan groups can be beneficial in shap ing more nuanced conversations around these issues. Though there is no longer a need to debate about presidential candi dates, students can still tackle issues facing the Trump administration. College Republicans can hold discussions on Trump’s executive orders or bring speakers to cam pus to talk about the influence of Trump’s first 100 days in office. College Democrats can organize rallies and events protesting these executive orders or hold events to discuss what Elon students can do to protest. Now is the time to promote political awareness and activism. We witnessed so much of this in the fall, but it cannot stop there. What may prevent an attack also prevents reunion They say it’s not a Muslim ban. They say it’s a safety concern. They say this is all a preventive measure. But while this executive order may help prevent an attack, it is also preventing my family from coming to the United States. When I was young, I always wondered why my family in Hong Kong never came to visit us. I figured it was a long flight to take and that logistically, it just didn’t make sense. When I got a bit older, I asked my mom why her side of the fam ily never came to visit. She told me, “They do not want to come. They hate Americans.” I didn’t understand what that meant. I was an American. I am an American. And that is always something I have taken a lot of pride in. That is, at m least, until recently. In 2015, my cousin made the poorly timed decision to go to Eu rope. Around the time of the Paris attacks, he got caught in the wrong place, with a last name tied to the Islamic faith. He was stopped in London and badgered with hours of questioning. He was unemployed at the time, and that apparently made him a person of suspicion. After hours of exhaustive questioning, they eventually let him go. Suffice to say, this did not make him want to travel again. When talking to my uncle, he spoke — reluctantly — about his issues with US. travel. With IF IT WAS SO HARD FOR MY FAMILY TO GETTO THE U.S, UNDER OBAMA’S LEADERSHIP, I AM TERRIFIED TO THINK WHATTHEY WOULD HAVE TO GO THROUGH IN ORDER TO VISIT NOW, UNDER OUR NEW PRESIDENT. his name, Mohammed Khan, he is a man that cannot avoid a “random” search. Though he was angry when his son got stopped in London, he was not surprised and said that is the norm when traveling to the United States. It is important to remember that these conversations all took place before this new travel ban. Hours of questioning to individuals with Islam- ic-sounding names has been the model since 9/11. This isn’t new. Since the attacks in 2001, my family has not even attempted to travel to the United States. From stories they have heard to the knowledge of what will likely transpire if they try to get here, it is too much for them to even think about coming. If it was so hard for them to get to the United States un der Obama’s leadership, I am terrified to think of what they would have to go through in order to visit now, under our new president. With extreme measures being put in place to keep certain indi viduals out of the country, I fear my family will simply give up on traveling here. As someone who was at the Boston Marathon when the bombs went off, and experienced that firsthand, I understand the need for national security mea sures to be taken. But the fact that these ex tremes have made it so hard to travel that my family refuses to come see us? That breaks my heart. I hope, more than anything, that one day the fear of what could happen will dissipate, and that the extremes will become less so, but that is becoming less and less realistic.