Students at Nassau Community College rallied on campus this afternoon to support LGBT and immigrant rights, and to promote policies like the DREAM Act and marriage equality.
Several dozen activists gathered outside the student union for the midday rally, which was organized by the Student Organization of Latinos (S.O.L.) and PRIDE, an on-campus LGBT group.
Students heard a few brief speeches before they began marching, including one from Osman Canales, the head of the Long Island Immigrant Students Association. Canales explained the need for legislation like the DREAM Act, which would create a pathway to citizenship for undocumented youth who attend college or serve in the military.
“Who would think that there are groups of people not getting an education just because they are undocumented?” he said. “They’re just like us…they deserve the right to an education.”
Samantha Fredrickson, Esq., the director of the Nassau County branch of the New York Civil Liberties Union, also spoke at the rally, focusing on the commonalities between immigrant and LGBT struggles for civil rights.
As the students marched around campus, longtime immigrant rights activist Omar Henriquez led the group in cheers for immigrant and LGBT rights.
Here are photos from the rally:
