Campus News
By Jesse Dolojan, Staff Writer
On Friday, Nov. 1, Xavier University hosted a naturalization ceremony in the Kennedy Auditorium to complete the naturalization process for new American citizens while informing Xavier students about the immigration process.
Xavier’s Director of Government Relations Sean Rhiney met with Xavier alumnus and Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Pavan Parikh to discuss the opportunity to host the naturalization ceremony on Xavier’s campus. Together they planned the event starting last spring with the help of the Xavier Center for International Education (CIE) and the U.S. District Court.
Director of Government Relations Sean Rhiney and the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Pavan Parikh began planning for the event last spring with the help of the Center for International Education and the U.S. District Court.
Vice President of Institutional Diversity & Inclusion Dr. Ivy Banks gave the closing remarks at the naturalization ceremony.
“This celebration is to really to recognize that the journey of becoming a citizen is a difficult one. It can take upwards of five, six, sometimes even 10 years in order to go through the full process of becoming a citizen,” Banks said. “So to be a part of the moment where they are pledging allegiance for the first time, it reminded me how important this work is to ensure that we have those moments and those opportunities to see how we are connecting ourselves to the community.”
Immigrants who wish to become United States citizens must undergo the naturalization process. They are required to fill out various forms and complete an interview with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services before being contacted to take the Oath of Allegiance to become an American citizen.
Rhiney noted that hosting the event would allow for new American citizens to be exposed to the Xavier community and for students to learn more about the naturalization process.
“Folks don’t traditionally go to a courthouse; instead, we’re able to bring them into our community,” Rhiney said. “So, I see that the court has a mission, and I think that fits our mission to make sure that our students are connected with the broader world and see the broader world.”
“If you spent one hour with us on a Friday, you would probably learn more about the path to citizenship and the power of the path to citizenship by the applause, the cheers, the tears, all those things that we all witnessed,” Rhiney added.
Local and Xavier communities gathered together to celebrate the naturalization process for new American citizens in the Kennedy Auditorium.
Senior political science major and the Vice President of the Hispanic Organization for Latinx Awareness (HOLA) Executive Board Alfredo Ferguson attended the naturalization ceremony, along with other members of HOLA, and helped set up tables in the morning to greet guests with items such as butter cookies and sticker packs people could use to assemble toy cacti and alpacas.
Ferguson attended a naturalization ceremony in high school, but found the one hosted by Xavier to be different.
“The high school one, they didn’t bring their kids or family members to kind of celebrate afterwards,” Ferguson said. “It was interesting to see that interaction, when everybody was naturalized and they were all hugging each other because they were so happy to become citizens of the U.S.”
Ferguson believes events like these are important for Xavier students to be aware of in order to create a welcoming environment for naturalized citizens.
“We want to bring these new citizens in, and if they have kids show them that the Xavier community is supportive of the immigrant community,” Ferguson said. “Especially now, with anti-immigrant sentiment, we want to show immigrants that there is a community that is ready and willing to welcome them.”
