Williams Amnesty International hung a banner, which reads “ICE OUT, NO MASS DEPORTATIONS,” from the balcony of Sawyer Library yesterday afternoon to protest the Trump administration’s ongoing deportation campaign.
Williams Amnesty International is the College’s chapter of Amnesty International. Williams Amnesty International Co-President Emma Mazzotta ’29 founded the registered student organization (RSO) alongside Arleny Flores ’28 in December.
Assistant Director for Intergroup Relations and Inclusive Programming Firas Shennib ’15, who advises Williams Amnesty International, explained that he helped restart the club, which was active when he attended the College. “I heard from a couple of the students who were interested in attending [the] Northeast Regional Activism Conference 2025 of Amnesty International USA this past Fall 2025, and I offered the support of the Davis Center for them to attend,” he wrote in an email to the Record. “Afterwards, I encouraged the student leaders involved to restart Williams’ chapter of Amnesty International.”
Because of his former experience with the club, he offered to support their growth and operations however he could. When asked to be their official advisor, he agreed.
This week, Amnesty International chapters across the country are organizing the U.S. National Week of Student Action. Mazzotta told the Record that chapters nationwide are all focused this week on raising on-campus awareness about the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement. “For National Week of Student Action, we are trying to be as visible as we possibly can on the issue of [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] detention and refugee and migrant rights,” she said.
Williams Amnesty International members also wrote messages in chalk on the sidewalks between Paresky and Sawyer on Tuesday night. With the chalk and the poster, Williams Amnesty hopes to prompt student discussion about ICE’s actions and impact. “Most of our actions are geared toward inspiring conversations between students about this issue,” Mazzotta said.
According to Mazzotta, Williams Amnesty International sought approval from the College to hang the poster, and verified that the chalk writing is aligned with the College’s Poster and Protest Policy. The approval process for the poster was relatively simple, she said. “Overall, it seems like it’s pretty accessible to do activism on campus, which is really refreshing, especially in this political climate when a lot of students’ rights are under attack.”
Williams Amnesty International member Eleanor McFadden ’29 said the chapter thought carefully about how to protest without being overly disruptive. “The idea of protest is that it should disrupt our lives in some way,” she said. “But we’re also walking the line of not trying to cause problems [for College staff]… That’s not really what we want.”
Before organizing for the National Week of Student Action, the chapter participated in a letter-writing campaign to government officials in support of those detained for human rights advocacy, according to Mazzotta.
Louisa Pate ’29 said she became a member of the RSO shortly after it was founded because she felt compelled to action by current events. “I think it’s just important to do what you can, especially with the state of the world right now,” she said.
Both Pate and McFadden said they appreciated the organization’s nonpartisan focus on human rights. “It’s nice to do something that has political connotations, but is not overtly political, just emphasizing the common good and intrinsic human rights,” Pate said.
McFadden agreed that human rights should be a nonpartisan issue. “I do think it’s important that people remember that human rights should not be a partisan issue,” McFadden added.
Editor’s note: Williams Amnesty International Co-President Arleny Flores, who is a member of the Record board, was not involved in the writing or editing of this story.
Correction: A previous version of this article mistakenly referred to Louisa Pate ’29 by the name of another student uninvolved with Williams Amnesty International. This article was updated on March 11 at 12:15 p.m. to reflect the correct name.
