by Juliet Barry '17

Tuesday, November 16th, marked a week after the election. It also marked the return of a delegation of Norte Dame students from our nation’s capital. 

A group of Notre Dame students and faculty spent five days learning about politics in Washington DC. In their five days, they visited many landmarks including the Lincoln Memorial and the Capital building. They also visited the Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument. This is a historic house and museum where the group was able to learn more about the women's suffrage movement in DC. 

The "Mercy in Action" Jesuit-sponsored conference brought high school and college students together with community leaders to discuss political issues. Speakers at this event included Father Greg Boyle of Homeboy Industries, an organization in Los Angeles that provides services for former gang members. Father Boyle was the ND Reads author for the 2013-2014 school year. Father Boyle and other speakers spoke about how to have hope following the polarizing election. 

The Notre Dame student delegation also had an opportunity to learn about immigration policies in the United States. They participated in a simulation that showed how expensive it is to immigrate in the US and how that poses a huge obstacle to those seeking a better life. 

Notre Dame joined other Bay Area high school and college students to meet with a staffer of Senator Feinstein to discuss reform around immigration and the criminal justice system. Senior Serena Francisco said that this was her favorite part of the trip because she, "had the opportunity to make a change."

Back on campus, the Notre Dame community has been engaging post-election as well. Facing History in Ourselves, a national organization focused on educating and empowering students of which Notre Dame High School is a member school, has a group of student leaders on campus. The leadership group held a lunch conversation to address the attitudes across different Bay Areas schools after the election. They also discussed non-partisan issues such as ongoing energy and engagement in politics in the upcoming non presidential election years. 

Looking through the lens of immigrants and refugees, Notre Dame's TASC Justice group also hosted a social justice teach-In yesterday - Compassion Without Borders, Love Without Limits. Students learned about the difference between immigrants and refugees. They learned that crowd-sourcing is a tool that can be used to help rescue teams find refugees in the vast ocean. Speakers, including a Notre Dame alum, answered student questions and talked about welcoming refugees into our country after the extensive twenty-one step screening process. Thank you to these inspirational women for joining us:

• Theresa Samuel Boko, program manager for the Catholic Charities’ Refugee Resettlement Program
• Ms. Francis Bencik, community coordinator at the Refugee Foster Care Program at Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County
• Ameera Naguib, an ND alum of the Class of 2012 and sister of Sabrina Naguib, Class of 2019. She graduated from Santa Clara University in 2016 

On and off campus, the Notre Dame community has been participating in conversation and action surrounding the political climate of today.