Students and faculty hold signs. Photo by Seth Hoeksema.

“Say it once, say it twice, we will not put up with ICE!” students chanted in unison near the Burton St. entrance to campus. The protestors waved signs and cheered as cars honked in support. The protest at Calvin on April 9 mirrors events held in recent days in Grand Rapids and nationwide. 

More than 100 students gathered on Wednesday to express their discontent with recent changes to several federal policies. Speakers at the event shared their disappointment at the designation of English as the official language of the United States, the Trump administration’s efforts to end birthright citizenship and the recent federal push to limit diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies. 

Claire Pacer, a sophomore double majoring in psychology and social work, helped organize the protest. “We were ready to show the world that we cared about this and we wanted to show the world that Calvin cares as a whole,” Pacer said. Pacer and fellow organizer Seth Hoeksema, a junior studying social work and geology, were inspired to organize a protest on Calvin’s campus after participating in the Capitol Action Day event in Lansing, Michigan last month. 

Hoeksema told Chimes that people at the Capital Action Day event expressed shock that Calvin, a small private university, would have a social work program willing to engage with such polarizing issues. “That really kind of struck a bell with all of us who were there, who were social workers and caring about all these things,” Hoeksema said. He and Pacer left the Capitol Action Day with the need to show the campus community and the wider city that Calvin cared. “We were kind of appalled that they had that view of Calvin, and we wanted to make sure that changed,” Pacer said. 

Students, staff and faculty started gathering on Commons Lawn at 11:30 a.m. to make signs for the main event. Protesters were directed to use messaging that showed they were protesting in love, not anger. “If there is anger, it’s righteous anger,” Karis Schoon, a junior, said when describing the mood of the event.

Signs reflected a wide array of concerns, from general messaging — “I am upset” and “I’ve seen better cabinets at IKEA” — to specific policy concerns about DEI policies and immigration. Many signs used Bible verses, such as 1 John 3:17, to call for justice. 

Despite the laidback, community feel to most of the protest, there were at times a tone of unease. Hoeksema began the event by asking any international students present to leave due to concerns about their visa status if they were to be seen protesting. International students at dozens of universities around the country have had their visas revoked for participating in protests, while others have been deported for having previous speeding tickets or for no reason at all. 

The event organizers decided warning international students not to participate was a necessary step even on Calvin’s campus after consulting with the Center for Intercultural Student Development (CISD) on the matter. Reading that warning made Hoeksema feel “horrible.” “It sucks to have to tell people to leave and say like, ‘you’re not safe here.’”

Students were drawn to the protest for a variety of reasons. Junior Kate Eisnor, who read an anonymous faculty letter protesting the designation of English as the official language of the United States, was asked by friends to participate. However, she told Chimes she would have participated regardless, because she was excited about the “opportunity to join together as Calvin students and show the rest of Calvin and also the Grand Rapids community that there are a lot of people at Calvin who want to advocate for change and are not content with the way things are running.” 

Some students discovered the protest through posters hung around campus and the updates from student news emails. Other students, such as freshman Anya Garber, found the protest advertised on Instagram. Garber went to the protest because she was excited about the opportunity to do something in support of international students. She told Chimes she believes that “they should not feel unsafe here” and wanted to do something to make that belief heard.

Eisnor and Garber both reported that the protest was a positive experience. Eisnor felt that “it was very empowering to be able to voice my opinion in a very structured way and get support for that.” Because the event was organized in a safe manner with support from the Center for Student Engagement, Garber said that she “felt really grateful that I could have the experience of being safe and also protesting.” 

Both students learned from the event. Eisnor said the protest made her realize things about “DEI and different diversity — like intentional additions to diversity in Calvin’s curriculum and administration — how that’s really affecting people from different backgrounds and cultures,” Garber said the protest made her more aware of political issues because “everybody had a different poster, and I was learning about different reasons why they were there.” 

Pacer and Hoeksema were both impressed by the protest’s success. “I was just happy to be around people who were clearly passionate about the same things I was, and I think we showed the community that we care,” Pacer told Chimes. Both Hoeksema and Pacer are already making plans to organize other events before the end of this school year. They both emphasized that any students interested in participating can reach out to them via email.