{"id":785,"date":"2025-03-14T11:00:29","date_gmt":"2025-03-14T12:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jtotheb.com\/?p=785"},"modified":"2025-03-18T11:59:46","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T11:59:46","slug":"students-demand-committee-to-investigate-racial-injustice-at-nyu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/jtotheb.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/14\/students-demand-committee-to-investigate-racial-injustice-at-nyu\/","title":{"rendered":"Students demand committee to investigate racial injustice at NYU"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Dozens of community members are urging the university to <\/span>establish a committee<\/span><\/a> of students, faculty and administrators to research and report ways that NYU can mitigate racial disparities on campus. The resolution was initially slated for a vote at the Student Government Assembly next week, but it is currently paused due to concerns amid a federal crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The NYU Reparations Committee movement, spearheaded by the youth-led organization Get Free NYC, calls for the university to broaden its efforts to combat racial injustices on campus. The proposed committee would investigate current and historical university practices to assess what policies perpetuate racial disparities, and how they can be effectively combatted. It would also prepare a public report detailing recommendations for NYU, and publish a website that comprehensively details its institutional ties to slavery.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thursday afternoon, 10 proponents for a reparations committee gathered under the Washington Square Arch and passed out flyers with QR codes linking to the petition. The group chanted \u201cNYU, don\u2019t comply, stand for truth, don\u2019t standby\u201d and held signs that read \u201cTHEY\u2019RE TAKING AWAY OUR FREEDOMS\u201d and \u201cTHEY\u2019RE GREENLIGHTING DISCRIMINATION.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are taking a stance and asking for concrete steps towards repair,\u201d Havann Brown, a member of Get Free NYC and CAS junior, said in an interview with WSN. \u201cIf you have a long history of oppression, you heal from that through recognizing the impact you made and working towards a solution.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the resolution, the committee references reparations commissions and initiatives similar to those at <\/span>106 other colleges<\/span><\/a> including Brown University, Yale University and Harvard University \u2014 all of which have launched restorative efforts including financial restitutions, divestment campaigns and alternative historical campus tours.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In an interview with WSN, SGA chair Angela Chou said that student government officers are currently reaching out to professors and administrators to bolster support for the committee. She said the resolution has passed through the Student Senators Council, and that general SGA will return to it once support is more widespread and there\u2019s no longer concern about potential consequences for students advocating for diversity initiatives.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to be intentional about the legislation we pass because it does place a spotlight on student groups that are advocating for initiatives like DEI programs,\u201d Chou said. \u201cIt\u2019s about being intentional about the right timing and place, to really push legislation and ensure that a real option is attached to it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Students at the rally also demanded that the university <\/span>refrain from tax cuts<\/span><\/a>, in light of a New York state bill that could make NYU and Columbia University pay more than <\/span>$300 million more in property taxes<\/span><\/a> combined. The letter criticizes the university as one of the largest property owners in New York City, asserting that their real estate holdings have contributed to \u201cgentrification and financial barriers to access.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

At the rally, Brown said the committee is especially important as NYU faces <\/span>declining Black student enrollment<\/span><\/a> after the U.S. Supreme Court banned affirmative action in 2023. The first admissions cycle following the verdict, NYU\u2019s enrollment of Black students fell from 7% to 4% \u2014 <\/span>inciting concern<\/span><\/a> from administrators.<\/span><\/p>\n

The proposal is also endorsed by five on-campus organizations, including NYU\u2019s College Democrats, Black Student Union and chapter of Young Democratic Socialists of America. In 2021, <\/span>hundreds of students signed a petition<\/span><\/a> calling for similar reparations efforts \u2014 however, it was not addressed by the university.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is to work alongside administrators to find a middle ground of how we can really strengthen this committee,\u201d Chou said. \u201cIt\u2019s more critical than ever for the university to find ways to advocate for underserved and marginalized communities that need their voices amplified.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Contact Amanda Chen at achen@nyunews.com.<\/em><\/p>\n

This story Students demand committee to investigate racial injustice at NYU<\/a> appeared first on Washington Square News<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dozens of community members are urging the university to establish a committee of students, faculty and administrators to research and report ways that NYU can mitigate racial disparities on campus. The resolution was initially slated for a vote at the Student Government Assembly next week, but it is currently paused due to concerns amid a federal crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.\u00a0 The NYU Reparations Committee movement, spearheaded by the youth-led organization Get Free NYC, calls for the university to broaden its efforts to combat racial injustices on campus. The proposed committee would investigate current and historical university practices to assess what policies perpetuate racial disparities, and how they can be effectively combatted. It would also prepare a public report detailing recommendations for NYU, and publish a website that comprehensively details its institutional ties to slavery. Thursday afternoon, 10 proponents for a reparations committee gathered under the Washington Square Arch and passed out flyers with QR codes linking to the petition. The group chanted \u201cNYU, don\u2019t comply, stand for truth, don\u2019t standby\u201d and held signs that read \u201cTHEY\u2019RE TAKING AWAY OUR FREEDOMS\u201d and \u201cTHEY\u2019RE GREENLIGHTING DISCRIMINATION.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cWe are taking a stance and asking for concrete steps towards repair,\u201d Havann Brown, a member of Get Free NYC and CAS junior, said in an interview with WSN. \u201cIf you have a long history of oppression, you heal from that through recognizing the impact you made and working towards a solution.\u201d\u00a0 In the resolution, the committee references reparations commissions and initiatives similar to those at 106 other colleges including Brown University, Yale University and Harvard University \u2014 all of which have launched restorative efforts including financial restitutions, divestment campaigns and alternative historical campus tours.\u00a0 In an interview with WSN, SGA chair Angela Chou said that student government officers are currently reaching out to professors and administrators to bolster support for the committee. She said the resolution has passed through the Student Senators Council, and that general SGA will return to it once support is more widespread and there\u2019s no longer concern about potential consequences for students advocating for diversity initiatives.\u00a0 \u201cWe want to be intentional about the legislation we pass because it does place a spotlight on student groups that are advocating for initiatives like DEI programs,\u201d Chou said. \u201cIt\u2019s about being intentional about the right timing and place, to really push legislation and ensure that a real option is attached to it.\u201d Students at the rally also demanded that the university refrain from tax cuts, in light of a New York state bill that could make NYU and Columbia University pay more than $300 million more in property taxes combined. The letter criticizes the university as one of the largest property owners in New York City, asserting that their real estate holdings have contributed to \u201cgentrification and financial barriers to access.\u201d At the rally, Brown said the committee is especially important as NYU faces declining Black student enrollment after the U.S. Supreme Court banned affirmative action in 2023. The first admissions cycle following the verdict, NYU\u2019s enrollment of Black students fell from 7% to 4% \u2014 inciting concern from administrators. The proposal is also endorsed by five on-campus organizations, including NYU\u2019s College Democrats, Black Student Union and chapter of Young Democratic Socialists of America. In 2021, hundreds of students signed a petition calling for similar reparations efforts \u2014 however, it was not addressed by the university.\u00a0 \u201cOur goal is to work alongside administrators to find a middle ground of how we can really strengthen this committee,\u201d Chou said. \u201cIt\u2019s more critical than ever for the university to find ways to advocate for underserved and marginalized communities that need their voices amplified.\u201d Contact Amanda Chen at achen@nyunews.com. This story Students demand committee to investigate racial injustice at NYU appeared first on Washington Square News.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":787,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/jtotheb.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/jtotheb.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/jtotheb.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jtotheb.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jtotheb.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=785"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/jtotheb.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":788,"href":"http:\/\/jtotheb.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785\/revisions\/788"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jtotheb.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/jtotheb.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jtotheb.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jtotheb.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}