Call to Scholarly Societies – In Support of Rumeysa Ozturk
To Whom It May Concern:
As leaders and representatives of developmental psychology in Canada, we write to you in response to the alarming recent actions taken by U.S. Immigrations and Custom Enforcement. On March 25th, Rumeysa Ozturk, a Ph.D. student in developmental psychology at Tufts University, was arrested near her home and subsequently relocated out of state and detained, where she remains.
Ms. Ozturk is an international student whose legal status was revoked without notice and without a clear and compelling rationale. Her colleagues at Tufts shared that she studies child and adolescent digital well-being and positive use of social media. She is also a teaching assistant and a valued departmental citizen. This seemingly arbitrary action by the U.S. government against a member of our intellectual community threatens our existence and weakens our ability to fulfill our missions, especially where it comes to training the next generation of developmental psychologists.
We call on all scholarly societies in developmental psychology to follow the lead of the Society for Research in Child Development and release official statements on Rumeysa Ozturk’s arrest and detention. It is imperative that we all contribute to international pressure against such future actions in general and to help ensure the safety of this student in particular.
Now is also the time to examine how we advise and safeguard those members of our societies who travel for our conferences—to or from the U.S.A.—when making plans for our meetings. Refunds, online attendance options, and issuing travel guidance are all welcome steps that we urge you to consider for the safety of all active members of your societies.
We are at a critical time for Rumeysa Ozturk, whose case is making its way through existing legal channels, but also for other students—friends, colleagues, and trainees in our classrooms and labs—living in fear of abduction. Help us to speak out and resist.
In solidarity,
Dr. Andrea Howard
Dr. Anne Bowker
Dr. Robert Coplan
Dr. Vivian Lee
Dr. Jo-Anne LeFevre
Dr. Stefania Maggi
Dr. Rebecca Merkley
on behalf of the Pickering Centre for Research in Human Development
