Campus rally shows support for international students at Murray State University

MURRAY — Campus groups and local organizations rallied at Murray State University Tuesday to show support for international students almost a week after a Murray student’s visa was revoked.

More than 50 members of United Campus Workers of Kentucky, West KY NOW, Murray State Alliance and the Murray State University College Democrats participated in the event.

Brian Bourke, a professor and coordinator in the Higher Education and Student Affairs master’s program at Murray and a member of United Campus Workers, said he hopes the university community realizes the potential dangers that international students are facing under the Trump administration. 

“During the rally, I did hear some people who stopped by the table expressing shock and dismay that a member of our community had their visa revoked,” Bourke said. “It also demonstrates that Murray State is part of a broader world of higher education in the United States, and that the bad things don’t only happen at the bigger name institutions we tend to hear about in the news.”

Murray State University College Democrats wrote an open letter last week calling on the university administration “to make public statements about their commitment to the safety of all members of the MSU community.” 

Katelyn Gardner, a junior and secretary of the campus Democrats, said, “International students and workers provide so much good to our university, and they deserve to be advocated for. It’s up to us to provide our support and call on university officials to commit publicly to offer their support as well.”

She said it’s important for organizations to advocate for international students because the political climate can make it risky for the students to advocate for themselves. 

“With both the letter and the rally, we hope that university administration will take more responsibility for student and staff safety and wellbeing,” Gardner said. “We hope for more information and guidelines to be given to students and staff so that they have a better understanding of their rights, and they feel safer and better supported at a school that they worked incredibly hard to be at.”

Student Government Association President Ali Khatib, a Palestinian-American, told the rally that international students are being punished for voicing their opinions, including opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza. “I really think we’re in for some scary times, and I hope that more and more people can be aware of what’s going on.”

Inside Higher Ed reports that more than 1,500 students from nearly 250 colleges have had their visas revoked by the Trump administration, but their identities and why they’ve been targeted are still largely unknown.

Earlier this month, the University of Kentucky reported a “small number” of graduate students had their visas revoked by the Department of Homeland Security. Officials from private Campbellsville University told Inside Higher Ed that some of its international students had their visas revoked but declined to say how many.