Local Issues Matter, Too

On August 10, 2018, the Exeter Police Department left a dark stain on the history of their institution: they unlawfully detained Bashar Awawdeh, a 25-year-old Jordanian immigrant, under the suspicion that he was an undocumented immigrant. Awawdeh had been helping the Exeter Police make an arrest by translating the words of his co-worker, who was questioned for suspected assault. For 26 days, the Exeter police jailed Awawdeh as an immigration detainee, despite having married an American citizen the year before. Eventually, the ACLU of New Hampshire helped release Awawdeh on bond, but the facts of this case remain troubling.No protest was organized to release Awawdeh in town, nor were any cries forjustice made by most Exonians. What was the reason behind this silence? Every year, PEA holds rallies and marches for a number of national and international issues, from climate change to sexual assault, but fails to acknowledge that there are social justice issues going on right here, in the town of Exeter, that represent a microcosm of larger global matters. Cases like Awadeh’s occur all over the country every year, but why does it feel as though members of the PEA community restrict their efforts in social justice to what happens on the federal level and the Academy bubble, when controversial injustices occur just minutes away in our local town?           For one, PEA students have too much work and activities on their hands and not enough free time. How much blame can we place on a student, who is determined to receive admission to an elite university, for not caring about a case on undocumented immigration in Exeter that occurs daily in America? Many Exeter students view themselves as contributing members to the town through participation in ESSO clubs. However, for others, it is optional or even unnecessary to care about the social and economic well-being of the residents of this town.         Secondly, our focus on national and campus-wide issues forces the PEA community to leave local issues in the dust. The lack of importance placed on local and state issues makes. these problems much less appealing to those desiring to create change, as they hold the viewpoint that solving these local issues will have very little impact on the lives of people they know. However, the events that occur outside of PEA in New Hampshire affect students and faculty in ways that are just as serious, though they are less frequently discussed. If nothing else, the case of Awawdeh v. Town of Exeter is a clear example of illegal detention of immigrants and the abuse of police power based on racial bias—two issues that are at the center of American political debate. This case should have been a clear point of interest for Exonians interested in political and social issues like racism, immigration, and law enforcement. Instead, it went mostly ignored and undiscussed. Matters become national issues when a collection of people around the country care and respond to the local instances of those issues. It is just as important that the PEA community addresses local problems so that we can address national crises within our own town, and so victims of injustices and inequalities are not ignored.While national politics may be more flashy and schoolwide issues more pertinent to our personal lives, we ought to devote more energy and interest to the affairs of the local community. This action is not only for the benefit of this town, county and state, but to us, as Exonians, and to American society at large. The happenings of Washington are crucial to the public as well as the proper workings of our society, but it would be remiss to attribute unequal weight to regional proceedings. In fact—while I cannot speak to the experience of each individual Exonian—much of the time, state legislation and local policies have wider-felt ramifications than federal ones. One of the reasons the visitations policy was re-examined this past year was due to New Hampshire state law, which deemed the Academy’s previous policy in violation of the rules regarding gender neutrality. Fire codes and their enforcement are another such instance, one that almost all Exonians have had run-ins with. These examples demonstrate that no matter our attempts to ignore it, the regional community will still find a way to influence our everyday lives. There is reason to actively seek involvement in the community. Local politics is an avenue for examining broader political issues. Had Exonians rallied behind Awawdeh wholeheartedly, we could have thrust the matter more into the limelight, sparking and continuing conversation about the persecution of illegal immigrants. Dozens of individual cases like these represent the wider concerns of our nation on a smaller scale, and Exonians would benefit from taking an interest in them. We owe the town of Exeter some degree of interest for all the community does for us. Some of the most defining parts of Exeter culture would be nonexistent without the local community. The restaurants and businesses we cherish so highly as a cornerstone of what it means to be an Exonian are subject to a host of local and statewide regulations; a change in zoning laws could relocate your favorite coffee spot at any time. Ultimately, we are all a part of this community—whether we like it or not. Let’s embrace that.