Hundreds of students walked out of class Friday afternoon and gathered on College Green in protest of nationwide U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity. The rally, organized by Ohio University’s Ohio Student Association chapter, called on university administration to respond to student concerns about the potential presence of ICE on campus.
“After the killing of Renee Good, amid other acts of violence perpetrated by ICE agents, students are standing in solidarity with Minneapolis protesters,” a press release from OSA said. “Ohio University has failed to respond to this threat to its students.”
Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, was fatally shot by an immigration officer in Minneapolis earlier this month, according to The Associated Press. Protesters have gathered in dozens of U.S. cities to demand justice and object to the nationwide immigration crackdown.
Cami Jackson, a sophomore studying nutrition science and president of OU’s chapter of OSA, commented on the motivation behind organizing the rally at OU.
“(Friday’s) walkout and rally is a response to the call to action from organizers in Minnesota,” Jackson said in an interview prior to the event. “We’re standing in solidarity and support of the work they’re doing to fight ICE in the neighborhoods.”
OU’s OSA chapter was officially established in September 2025, and the walkout was its first major rally and call to action.
“Along with supporting Minneapolis and Minnesota, we’re launching a campaign for student safety at OU,” Jackson said. “Our ultimate goal is to protect the students.”
The Trump administration deported over 605,000 people between Jan. 20 and Dec. 10, 2025. In Minneapolis, as many as 2,000 officers have been deployed since Jan. 6, 2026, to enforce anti-immigration policies in the city. Since 2025, there has been a significant rise in the presence of ICE in and around schools.
“It’s not an issue of if (ICE) shows up, it’s when,” OSA Partnerships Chair Jaidyn Hughes, a junior studying wildlife conservation, said.
The rally was held on College Green, the epicenter of university activities and within sight of Cutler Hall, which houses the Office of the President.
*Members of OSA handed out Know Your Rights Cards, which explain that you are exercising your Constitutional rights by remaining silent, and led the recitation of protest songs, including “Anthem,” “Rise Up” and “Light is Returning.”
Protesters also brought their own signs, reading “No one is ‘illegal’ on stolen land,” “ICE always melts” and “You can’t love our culture and not our people.”
Student speakers at the rally included Jackson and Tylar Ayers, vice president of OSA and senior studying political science, Students for Justice in Palestine members Henry Turner and Eden Truax and Black Panther Party Legacy President AJ Jones.
Among those in attendance was Wenda Sheard, a 71-year-old candidate for state representative in the 94th District of Ohio, who has lived in Athens since 1979. She said she started attending rallies after watching the federal administration ignore citizens’ constitutional rights.
“I am appalled at what’s happening in our nation,” Sheard said. “It is so much harder to be near 20 years old today. It is so scary. I may have 20 more years to live (but) all these students have 70 more years to live with all the consequences of what’s happening today, and I want to help as much as I can.”
Clayton Snyder, a senior studying political science, said he hopes the rally demonstrates the disconnect between students and administrators.
“Not just on issues of ICE concern but across the board,” Snyder said. “Broadly speaking, it’s pretty good to demonstrate that we have demands. We are OU and the administrators are ultimately there to answer to us.”
During the rally, OSA passed around a petition addressed to the Office of the President for students to sign.
The petition listed six demands for OU: to inform the public of the policy of OU toward ICE either through email or a website page, to publicly state ICE is not welcome on campus, to refuse all data sharing with ICE that is not legally mandated, to protect private information of students and staff to the fullest extent of the law, to treat the presence of ICE on campus as a critical emergency, where all students will receive an OHIO Alert emergency alert through the established system and to deny ICE entry to campus buildings and to refuse to sign the 287(g) agreement.
If signed, a 287(g) agreement would allow Ohio state and local law enforcement officers “to perform certain functions of federal immigration agents,” according to the American Immigration Council.
Among these functions is the ability to detain an individual, without due process, “for an additional 48 hours after his or her release date in order to provide ICE agents extra time to decide whether to take the individual into federal custody for removal purposes,” according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
The university has yet to respond directly to OSA’s demands. However, Dan Pittman, senior director of communications at OU, commented on the university’s commitment to students’ freedom of expression.
“Freedom of speech and civic engagement are central to Ohio University's values as an institution of higher education, and we support the right of all individuals to peacefully and safely express their views and to speak out about issues they feel are of impact and importance,” Pittman said in an email.
No ICE activity has been confirmed on campus or around Athens. However, if ICE were to appear, OSA said it plans to immediately jump in, send out resources and consult its parent organization to figure out the best response, Jackson said.
“I hope (OU) understands that our demands are backed by students and everybody else in the community,” Jackson said. “I hope that they understand that we want to work with them. We don’t want to have this villainous relationship with them.”
