11/06/2020
SLAP stands in full support of the crucial demands that UMOJA has written in the letter below to Penn administration. We ask that you read these demands and amplify the voices of Black students at Penn.
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To Penn Administration,
Currently and over the course of the past several months, there has been a great deal of chaos and turmoil in our nation. COVID-19 further exposed the glaring health inequalities that disproportionately impact Black people in this country. Concurrently, the recent brutal murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and Breonna Taylor continue to serve as examples of an inescapable and unjust system — a system that deeply affects Black students at the University of Pennsylvania and nationwide. Due to the rising tensions in the country paired with the upcoming 2020 election, the UMOJA Board insists that the Penn Administration does everything in their power to provide the necessary resources outlined below to ensure the health and well being of the Black student body while working together with the Philadelphia community to eradicate systemic racism in the city we call home.
UMOJA is demanding that the safety of Black students be taken as a priority on Penn’s Campus. After the 2016 election, Black students at Penn faced blatant and horrific threats from white supremacists and we see similar, or arguably worse, levels of racial and political tension rising leading up to the 2020 election. As a result, we are looking to Penn administration to take a proactive lead on ensuring the safety of the Black student body. To be clear we are seeking to accomplish the safety of students not through increased police presence which has shown itself time and time again to be more detrimental to our safety. A start to ensuring our well being would be a safe haven on campus specifically for Black students; A room in a basement has never been enough but in these times Makuu in its current layout would not only be an example of negligence from the administration but would also be harmful. Our constituency has made it clear that a house on Locust Walk is one of their biggest demands from the administration, and failure to provide this safe haven would reflect that Penn has not seriously committed to standing in solidarity with its Black students. For the safety and mental health of the Black student body, the UMOJA Board and our constituents are requesting that Black students receive both a safe location on Locust Walk and increased funding to Makuu for our protection. As per our conversations earlier this year, we hope that the administration is still prioritizing the expansion of academic and mental health resources for Black students.
As an institution that has a dominating presence in the Philadelphia community, there must be a desire to show solidarity with not just your Black students, but also the surrounding neighborhoods as they attempt to deal with the current pandemic and protests. A multitude of Penn students and allies have taken action by donating to Black-led organizations. Students have directly donated funds individually and matched donations through their Penn student organizations. Students have also called on the Student Activities Council (SAC) to donate the unused funds from this shortened semester to organizations benefiting the West Philadelphia community. SAC has been responsible for disbursing funds according to student wants and needs through the years, giving funding for concerts and events off-campus, artist and speaker fees, and much more. We are asking that the Office of Student Affairs, along with Penn administration through the Penn Projects for Progress Fund, work with students to directly donate these funds to organizations aiding Philadelphians. Donations bring change and Penn partnering with its student body will serve as the best example for how all universities should operate to eradicate oppression. Foundations that you could donate to are the Philly Bail Fund, Project Home, Black and Brown Workers Co-Op, BLM Philadelphia, and The COLOURS Organization. Additionally, the university has directly funded the racist and brutal response of the Philadelphia Police Department to the recent protests. We are demanding that the university immediately defund the Philadelphia Police Foundation and end any formal relationship with the Philadelphia Police Department.
We understand the effects of COVID-19 on the fall semester and we are still waiting on guidance from administration for the academic year. In the case that we are unable to return to campus in the fall, we expect that certain actions will be taken to ensure affordable housing for those students unable to live at their homes. Many students are concerned about tuition increases, potentially not receiving refunds from SFS, and financial insecurity in general. We request that a COVID Response Fund, separate from the Emergency Fund that is operated by SFS, be created for the 2020-21 academic year to address these student needs.
It is of the utmost importance to us and our constituency that the necessary steps are being taken to accomplish these goals. Therefore, we request meetings with President Gutman, Provost Pritchett, and the VPUL team as soon as possible to ensure that each and every demand outlined above is being sufficiently considered and appropriately addressed.
