Daniel H. Pollitt, professor emeritus in the UNC School of Law, delivers a speech as the guest lecturer at Monday's "Strangers in our Midst" lecure in Wilson Library. "We are a nation of immigrants," Pollitt said to the attendees of the lecture, which focused on access to higher education for all students.
UNC faculty and students used a lecture Monday night as an opportunity to highlight the role that universities can play in shaping immigrant policy.
The evolution of U.S. policy and the role it has historically played in a nation of immigrants was outlined by UNC law Professor emeritus Daniel Pollitt in a lecture for about 40 audience members in Wilson Library.
“They laid the tracks. … They gave richness and color to the music and arts,” he said. “We wanted them, we needed them.”
Pollitt’s lecture, titled “Strangers in our Midst,” was organized to bring attention to the historical foundation of current sentiments toward immigrants in the U.S.
“Universities need to take the initiative in the move towards more student diversity,” said Student Body President J.J. Raynor, who introduced Pollitt.
With one of the fastest growing Latino populations in the country, immigration policy is a hot topic in North Carolina.
The N.C. Community College System placed a moratorium Aug. 15 on admitting illegal immigrants, a move some UNC students protested.
“We’ll regret this period, or at least our children will,” Pollitt said, of what he perceives as the current growth in anti-immigrant sentiment.
Pollitt, a constitutional lawyer, has been involved in various stages of the civil rights movement.
He began his chronological recounting of the evolution of immigrant policy with the settlement of the American policies.
At that time, the “land of opportunity” needed immigrants for its expansion and progress, Pollitt said.
As he moved through the years, he mentioned the targeting of the French, Irish, Chinese, Germans, Russians and Japanese at various points in American history.
The historical recounting reminded the audience that anti-immigrant sentiment is not a new social phenomenon.
“The challenges to immigration are not new,” said graduate student Holly Worthen. “The inclusion and exclusion of a people have a historical basis.”
The event was sponsored by the Latino/a Studies minor, the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, Chispa, La Unidad Latina Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity Inc. and the UNC Institute for the Study of the Americas.
“Pollitt was the perfect person to speak at such an event, with such a vast knowledge of both history and the law,” said David Garcia, professor of music, who helped put the event together.
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