Denison reacts to refugee ban executive order

Every American seems to be holding a sign these days.

Whether the sign supports the cur- rent government or is protesting its decisions, there is a lot for people to talk about.

Recently, the discussion has been shifted toward an executive order that President Trump signed.

This order, which many refer to as the “Muslim Ban”, has sent shock- waves throughout the country.

This order prevents citizens from other countries from entering the United States for 90 days, and shuts down the refugee system in America for 120 days.

However, the citizens barred from coming into this country are only those of a specific area that also have Islam as the most practiced religion.

These countries are Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen.

President Trump has his own beliefs when it comes to this subject, but many people across the world are appalled at this executive order.

Denison students have often been very vocal about how they feel about the state of the government.

“Obviously I don’t love the idea of not allowing all people to come and love America as much as all Americans do, but I understand the fear that many people are having with radical Islam entering into our country,” said Patrick Mullinger ‘20, communication major.

“I recently saw a quote from Malika Obama saying, ‘We don’t lock our doors before bed because we hate people outside. We lock them because we love the people on the inside’ and to me safety for our fellow countrymen is paramount. I don’t like exclusion by any means but I understand why it was done.”

Some people see why President Trump signed this executive order, but others feel this is a stab at the core values of America.

“I just think it’s really unfair to put a blanket generalization over an extremely large group of people over the incidences of a few. A full ban creates frustration and confusion, and generates more issues as those directly affected by this literally saw all of their rights stripped away from them, because they are from the same place and look the same as IsIs fighters. Denying rights based on appearance and religion sounds pretty racist,” said Christopher Fisher ‘20.

“I really don’t like it. America has been built on the foundation of basically being built off of immigrants. Our entire nation is built off of immigrants. We have brilliant people who are pushed out of our country just be- cause of their heritage. I understand the fear, but if we did something about everything we are fearful of we would live our lives in a bubble. I just think it’s wrong,” said Brooke Stiles ‘20, communication major.

With a wide range of opinions on campus, one thing many can agree on is the fact President Trump knows how to get people talking.