Wagner Students for Criminal Justice Reform Releases Statement of Support
Wagner Students for Criminal Justice Reform unequivocally supports the Graduate Student Organizing Committee (GSOC) and NYU graduate workers in their ongoing strike against NYU. Further, SCJR fully supports GSOC in its contract negotiations and demands for improvements such as a living wage, increased healthcare, and particularly increasing graduate worker safety by barring the NYPD from NYU campus.
Cops off Campus
As a group committed to transformation of policing and incarceration, we are acutely aware of the damaging effect of police presence, as well as of police existence overall, on the lives of many people, particularly people of color. Further, we reaffirm GSOC’s position that the NYPD, with its lengthy record of racialized violence, harassment, and discrimination, has no place on an academic campus and poses an active risk to both graduate workers and NYU students at large. We categorically refute President Hamilton and Provost Fleming’s statement mischaracterizing the union’s demands as “unreasonable.”
Regarding the fight for police-free campuses, please also look into the Abolition May action from Cops Off Campus Coalition. The action begins in earnest on May 3rd and continues throughout the month of May.
Support Striking Workers!
We encourage you to support striking graduate workers through mutual aid donations and demonstrations of solidarity. SCJR Board Members will match the first $110 dollars to the GSOC Hardship Fund; if you donate, please reply to us with your receipts so that we can match. Note that this matching will be from the board members’ personal finances.
Donate to the Hardship Mutual Aid Fund.
Volunteer for shifts at the in-person picket or the virtual one.
Sign the petition to support the union.
We express our sincere hope that NYU will begin bargaining in a manner which respects graduate workers and the critical nature of their demands. We stand in firm solidarity with GSOC and encourage you to do the same.