I know this quote above was written somewhat rhetorically by Jon, but for those who read his post and are wondering what to actually do…
If you feel passionate about this topic, given the structure of our laws and the nature of visas, the best opportunity may be to approach this like the Olympics. Draw attention to the specific nature of the event for those specific individuals and plea for an exception in this case. Making it a general argument about the policy, as others here seem to suggest, is likely fruitless. Making it specific about the event, the culture and spirit of the competition, and keeping it specific to the teams involved is the most likely path to success.
Think of it in terms of the exceptions to such rules made during the cold war when the various teams from East and West would still compete against each other in the Olympics.
A rational, kind, professional, well worded, and appreciative letter to the federal government officials you feel are most likely to influence the situation is your best bet.
To be brief, equality discusses giving everyone the same tools to succeed. On the other hand, equity is providing people will the tools they need to be on a level playing field. An example from the module is that you may need to provide transportation options to someone in a low income area/with working parents/etc whereas you do not have to provide the same options to others for them to have a level playing field and equal shot.
Here is a message from Shelley Henderson (Diversity and Inclusion Manager, FIRST):
Joining the protests… I’m at work by 8AM every day, heading to my team’s build space when I get out, and don’t get home until 9PM. When, exactly, am I supposed to join a protest? On the one day a week I actually spend at home taking care of my own needs?
My Representative and Senators are already taking action, adding my voice to the chorus won’t change anything they’re doing (and if you’re going to add your voice, call, don’t e-mail. Call’s have to be listened to by someone and make them pay attention. E-mail’s just get tallied up and mostly ignored). Sure, if I had different congressional representation calling them may have an impact. That’s what you do when your Representative or Senator is not representing your point of view on an issue. But when they already are… then what? I’ve seen lists of Senators opposing the ban, and it includes over half of the Senate! That’s half of the US right there that won’t benefit from calling their Senator. There are more borderline issues where calling in is invaluable. Issues where calling in may actually help sway your senator. I really don’t think this is one of them.
For many people, “taking action” just isn’t that simple. There are real world considerations and personal commitments that prevent a lot of people from getting involved as they may like to, especially when it’s something relatively quick or surprising. Some things, like the recent Women’s March, get planned significantly in advance, allowing people to adjust their own schedules if they feel strongly about it. This, however, popped up overnight and is less than a week old. No room to adjust schedules!
Everyone takes action in their own way. You can donate (5 minutes), call a legislator (15 mins), or anything in between. I recommend any of these articles:
I don’t mean this to call out anyone’s politics but I am simply trying to provide information on many options to take a stand - on whatever it is you believe in fighting for.
Protests where I am happen outside of work hours (and on weekends). As protest locations are everywhere from government buildings to airports, times are flexible. Of course, it may not be the same for everyone, and everyone’s schedule is different, so I understand not being able to participate. It’s all about priorities.
My Representative and Senators are already taking action … I’ve seen lists of Senators opposing the ban, and it includes over half of the Senate! That’s half of the US right there that won’t benefit from calling their Senator.
That’s great news! Previous you just said that they had spoken out against it, which isn’t all that much action.
In what ways are those Senators taking action though? I have only seen a handful of Congressmen taking actual action further than voicing their own disapproval. Calling congressmen who have simply voiced their disapproval can absolutely make a big difference.
So far press conferences and talking with refugees in the state (interesting fact, MN has the largest Somali population in the US), for the most part. Our state’s Attorney General has also pledged support for any immigrants in the state affected by the ban (as have around 15 other State Attorney General’s around the US). That’s what they’ve personally done that’s made the news. There are efforts within the Senate in the news that just apply the broad labels of “Democrats” and “Republicans”, maybe referencing the party leaders, that I’m sure they are involved with.
About 2006, there was a coach of an FLL team from Jordan who could not get a visa, for whatever reason. The team couldn’t attend World Festival. They were awarded a Judges’ Award.
In 2004 my dad and brother competed in a non-FIRST robot competition in Saskatoon Canada. Two teams from a university in Iran had registered because they were unable to get into the US for any competitions here. They got to the event but Canadian customs impounded their robots until after the event was done.
Maybe such an action will, in a weird and gross way, get FIRST to end the perpetual shafting of its worldwide program, FIRST Lego League by highlighting/uplifting some of the Open Championships that I believe occur in the late spring in places inside and outside of the United States.
I won’t go into heavy details, but 422 comes from the Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School for Government and International Studies, which is a very politically active public school. We have relationships with representatives at all levels that we stay in touch with. We are definitely keeping our eyes out for an official date for the March for Science. When going through the public school system, I could feel that we were entering interesting times. As I finish my undergrad, I enter the world with the confirmation that we have many challenges that we will have to face as a combined people, and I hope the skills we foster through our team help the kids we mentor face those challenges as well.
One thing to keep in mind is that countries are placing travel bans on entering the US in response to the travel ban, to keep their own citizens safe. I know some Canadian FIRST teams that are worried because of travel bans on their end.
We are currently competing at the Ontario Districts Georgian College event. As you all know there are a ton of excellent teams that hail from Ontario, particularly from the Toronto area. I am hearing that a number of district school boards are cancelling trips to the US. There are teams here that will not be able to go to Championships as a result. There are other teams that have students that they fear may have difficulty with the border process and will keep the entire team home in solidarity. I talked to a team that went to Championships last year and experienced a “30 minutes in a back room being interrogated” experience last year and are very afraid that it would be even worse today.
This ban is definitely impacting teams in Ontario.
Edit: I stand corrected this isn’t related to the ban. Just general stupidity. (If you want to know how I REALLY put this just string together a series of far nastier words)
While it’s terrible that they won’t be able to come here to participate… this is not a result of the travel ban. They are from Afghanistan, and the ban (which only just went into effect this week) applies to Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
From the article: “Other teams from Iraq, Iran and Sudan were all able to secure their travel visas for the competition – and roughly 95% of FIRST global teams will be able to attend. Only team Afghanistan and team Gambia have been denied visas so far.”
There are no FRC teams in the banned countries but the ban extends to all citizens of those countries.
I should mention for 1241/1285 we had an easier time crossing the border than we have had in previous years. In the last few years at the border we are always asked to get off our bus with our luggage, line up and individually open all our luggage in front of border security and then get back on the bus. This year they just looked at all our passports/documentation on the bus and let us cross. Although not from any of the 6 countries we even had a few students that were not Canadian citizens, so the border security should be commended for that.
I reached out to FIRST Global for comment. It is posted on our Facebook pagealong with a video about Team Afghanistan but here is the quote from FIRST Global below:
“We have gotten 98% of all 160-plus teams through to date, with only two teams turned down for visas so far and only four teams left to go through the visa process. Part of our process includes calling the embassies individually before each interview, and the State Department has been amazing. Although we are saddened that Team Afghanistan won’t be able to join us, with 65 of our countries possessing visa refusal rates of over 50 percent, the process has been more than fair, and the State Department has been superb with several calls to us each week, and even sending out a memorandum of support to all embassies and consulates telling them about FIRST Global. A team of Afghanistan-American students will pilot the robot the original team will send from Afghanistan and the team will be Skyped in so that they can see their robot compete.”
When I saw this thread was active again, I got slightly nervous. Yet we have still not crossed into the politically unacceptable.
This is amazing. This is FIRST. I am truly impressed that so many individuals from all around the world, including areas where getting a visa is more than a few forms and fees, are able to compete in a competition that highlights not only science and technology but also collaboration.
This is the ultimate “Make It Loud” moment. The passion for FIRST is strong and has proven prevail, especially in hard times.