Students Rally on Campus for Immigration Reform
By Christopher Walker

Students marched through campus Monday morning before heading to the Immigrant’s Rights March in Siler City Monday night.

The Carolina Hispanic Association sponsored the rally to coincide with the National Day of Action for Immigrant Justice. The rally was just one of many across the nation advocating for immigration reform.

A mix of students and community members started the march, which continued to Franklin Street and back to the Pit and into Lenoir Hall.

Freshman Sandra Hinderliter collected signatures for a petition on the Web site April10.org.

“This would affect me personally because I have a lot of friends that are from different nations, not just Mexico and not just Latin America, because ‘immigrant’ is not synonymous with Latinos,” Hinderliter said.

Organizer Pedro Carreno says he’s pleased the community joined in the rally with students.

“That’s one thing that just lit my eyes up, seeing all those people…coming to join us, all wearing white with their flags, with signs showing support,” Carreno said.

Students packed those signs and flags to head to Siler City, where organizers expected anywhere from 2,000 to 10,000 people at the rally.

Siler City has a population of 7,500 people, but around 50 percent are Latino.

The small town represents a community deeply affected by the North Carolina Latino population.