Over a hundred students gathered in Kemper last Thursday for a current events Q&A panel hosted by the History and Social Science Department, according to Dr. Eric Denby, Instructor in History. The talk, titled “History in the Headlines: Immigration, Power, and Resistance,” featured instructors from across the history department who explored current events.
With history courses at Andover often focusing on the past, Dr. Denby highlighted the role of the talk in helping students understand current events. Denby also mentioned the importance of exploring diverse sources and the eagerness students and teachers have shown in engaging with this information.
“A teacher can’t always integrate what’s happening in the moment with what they planned on teaching. Since we only have roughly 26 class periods per term, it’s hard to stop and deal with the present immediately. But all of us want to, [and] all of us see the need. The history department feels that it’s somewhat of a duty to do the most we can in contextualizing the current events,” said Denby. “If we don’t make a conscious, intentional effort to get out of the [Andover] bubble, to read a variety of new sources laterally and to try to understand what’s going on outside, then students risk entering the world in college ignorant of some of the larger issues at play. What I like is that students are hungry for that [information] and that my colleagues and I are hungry to help provide information.”
Joshua Donovan, Instructor in History and one of the panelists, discussed how he touched on how U.S. immigration restrictions have changed over time. He highlighted the connections between its history and current enforcement, relating it to his own experiences and recent events.
“When my ancestors came, there were really virtually no immigration restrictions, at least not at a federal level. People basically just showed up. If they were residents for a few years and didn’t commit any crime, then they would automatically get citizenship. This started to change over the course of the 20th century. When we look at what’s happening today with ICE raids in Minnesota and elsewhere, there’s a long history to this. It’s a process that happened gradually over time,” said Donovan.
Sebastián Vermut ’27 attended the event with hopes of hearing informed perspectives from knowledgeable faculty. Vermut emphasized his personal concerns about actions by ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement), and connected the topic to his background as the child of an immigrant.
“It’s really special that we have the opportunity to be in an institution with such knowledgeable teachers. I am the son of an immigrant, [and] I feel ICE and what they’re doing is pretty horrible. I wanted to hear what others had to say, especially others who are much more educated than I am. It was really great to see such well-read, knowledgeable people,” said Vermut.
As an international student from Italy, Gabriele De Carlo ’26 highlighted the use of the panel in looking into the American perspective.
“I was interested in U.S. foreign policy, particularly in the Arctic, but also in seeing how some of the American students would ask questions and react to various things about American domestic policy, especially with what’s going on in Minnesota… The U.S. does have a very great history of international relations, and looking at the American present through the lens of the American past can be very informative from the point of view of people who have different cultural and historical experiences from different parts of the world,” said De Carlo.
Olivia Isacson ’26, president of the Current Events Club, emphasized the importance of such talks and ways in which the event could have been improved.
“I’ve always wanted to create a space where we can learn from professors about issues happening, and we can directly apply our understanding of the past. I wanted to see [teachers in] practice, because I’m really curious to hear what they have to say. All the teachers who hosted were fabulous and very informative. I wanted to see how our faculty can try to share their opinions while still enforcing some sort of neutrality, but still showing humanity,” said Isacson.
She continued, “They had a flyer where you could fill out a form and submit your own questions, but they didn’t address any of the questions people asked. They wanted them to stand up and ask. It lacks anonymity, and you get people who are asking maybe random questions that are very specific to them. So what would have been nice is if they had tailored a class on current events and then taken questions at the end.”
