Acts of solidarity to support the people of Minneapolis and St. Paul took place at Canadian Mennonite University and Goshen College following violent and intimidating strategies used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in January.

CMU hosted “Singing Resistance” Feb. 2 with a standing-room-only crowd singing songs of protest and resistance in Laudamus Auditorium, and will repeat the event March 2.

“When violence, political chaos and injustice dominate the news, it’s easy to feel powerless,” said Anneli Loepp Thiessen, assistant professor of music. “When people gather to sing, something changes. We become part of something larger than ourselves. We remember that hope is not something we wait for, it is something we practice together.”

CMU external vice president Sandra Koop Harder told the CBC the event happened organically as community members and alumni sought ways to engage in nonviolent resistance against what is happening in Minneapolis.

“There’s something that’s really special about singing together. . . . It’s like a communal prayer,” she said.

At Goshen College, the student newspaper The Record reported more than 50 students, faculty and staff gathered Jan. 30 to participate in a nationwide strike calling for justice after multiple fatal shootings by ICE agents.

Eliza Alemán, a senior majoring in sustainability and history, organized the one-hour event, which included singing, chanting and speaking out. The protest coincided with the Indiana Senate passing Senate Bill 76 Jan. 26 to expand penalties for interfering with ICE representatives in the state, banning many institutions from limiting immigration enforcement activity.

It is unclear how the bill might affect the private college, which receives federal and state grants. The bill has not been voted on in the Indiana House of Representatives.

“Our position at Goshen College is and will always be to provide safety to our campus community,” said Gilberto Pérez Jr., vice president for student life and dean of students in The Record. “We acknowledge that the current climate is causing fear within the immigrant community and in the community in general. Goshen College will continue to stand with our undocumented students.”