UVMSU Board Statement on Student Encampment

Dear Members,

As many of you are now aware, our students have erected an anti-war encampment on the UVM campus in response to the ongoing crisis in Gaza and the decision to invite Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. representative to the United Nations who has cast our country's official ‘no’ votes in opposition of ceasefire, to campus as a commencement speaker. This morning, the students reached out to our union to request our solidarity.

The UVM encampment follows similar student encampments on other campuses around the country over the past week. Many universities have responded with sometimes brutal opposition, directing security forces to remove and arrest demonstrators, and suspending students. While the UVM administration and police force initially sought to obstruct the Passover seder at the encampment on Sunday night and threatened to remove student tents, they have yet to respond with force or discipline.

The right to free speech and assembly are cornerstones of democracy and of life on the UVM campus - something our union holds dear. We also know these students: many of us work with them to support their academic careers and their wellbeing. And significantly, many of the juniors and seniors involved in this action stood in solidarity with our union two years ago by launching an encampment that pressured the UVM administration to agree to a fair first contract. As union members, we know the value of freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. Collective action is and has always been our strength, and we must defend the right to organize on this campus. 

More than that: it is at the heart of our mission statement that we stand against oppression and use our collective power to hold the UVM administration accountable for their actions. These students are our future union siblings–what better education could we ask for them than to learn to organize, demonstrate, and call this administration to account? The very same power, UVM administration, that we ourselves hold to account in pursuit of our own rights?

Therefore, following an emergency UVMSU board meeting today in response to the students’ solidarity request, and after hearing from members, we declare unequivocal support for our students’ safe expression of their freedoms of speech and assembly. We would find police or administrative action against these peaceful demonstrators to be abhorrent, inappropriate, and out of line with this University’s Our Common Ground values. We acknowledge that there are differing perspectives on the crisis in Gaza among our members. We want to invite all of us to stand together in solidarity with the rights to free expression and the right to protest, and with students taking collective action to hold the administration accountable for its actions.

As a reminder of your rights as a staff member: your union stands with you in your rights to your own freedom of expression, and your right to be free from bias, discrimination, and harassment. Specifically, we support the rights of our members to respond to the students’ requests for staff and faculty solidarity (see below) without harm or retaliation. If you experience any such harm in the workplace, know your contract rights, and if you need assistance, contact your Area Steward. 

In Solidarity,

UVMSU Board