A National Day of Action for Higher Ed

Higher Education for the
Public Good Must Be Defended

On April 17th, hundreds of organizations across more than 90 campuses participated in the National Day of Action for Higher Ed for the Public Good organizing powerful events on campuses nationwide. AAUP chapters, grad student unions, undergraduate organizations, and community groups mobilized to defend democracy everywhere! As students and faculty across the country are right now hold their ground to stand in solidarity with Palestine — and face intense repression from administrations, police, and politicians for doing so — we recognize our shared struggles are not about one day. They are about the ongoing and interconnected battles we face together!

One of the best parts of organizing this National Day of Action has been meeting each other and developing relationships that we hope will lay the groundwork for ongoing mobilization together — wall-to-wall and coast-to-coast. While the media focuses on immediate outcomes, we want to focus on building a durable movement from below to secure the future of higher education in this country. In the coming weeks, we will write op-eds, articles, and other media to get the word out about our Day of Action and the work to come, and below you will find photos and blurbs on some of what we have accomplished.

If your campus organization was not able to officially participate in the National Day of Action but would like to join our coalition to defend democracy on campus, please email us at DayofAction@proton.me. We invite everyone to the upcoming meetings to plan for the future.

As students & colleagues are under attack for Gaza-solidarity encampments across the country, we are proud to stand with them, on the ground and organizationally. Here are some of the recent statements and interviews we have given on the matter — Click the documents and videos to see more.

The National Day of Action, Our Struggles So Far, and the Shared Future to Come

In the coming weeks, we will produce op-eds, reports, and other media to publicize what we’ve done together, and we want to showcase as many campuses as possible. Below are a few photos and videos of the National Day of Action. Send us more and help us get the word out about your work!

The Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition went on strike at Indiana University.

Faculty and students at Columbia and Barnard, with support from higher ed workers across New York City, courageously occupied the campus in the face of extraordinary repression by the administration and police. NYU AAUP sent us this video. Columbia shamefully responded by calling the police to arrest over a hundred of their own students. In spite of police repression, the student encampment has continued, and has since inspired student encampments in solidarity with Gaza across the city, country, and globe. AAUP chapters and faculty have been publicly endorsing and materially supporting these struggles. Community and labor organizations who have been brazenly denied access to campus have been supporting the struggles from the outside.

Boston University AAUP rallied in support of striking grad workers in BUGWU:

Rutgers held a “Strike-iversary” event to commemorate their historic 2023 cross-campus strike:

Faculty Alliance of Miami decked out in solidarity red.

The Union of Tenure-System Faculty at Michigan State University phone-banked to prepare for arbitration.

Wesleyan AAUP tabled as part of their One Faculty campaign to abolish contingency.

And four Penn labor organizations rallied in the rain to support grad worker unionization.

As we continue to defend our students and colleagues from repression, and to advance our shared struggles, we recognize these are just a few examples of what we have and can continue to accomplish together.

Thanks for the incredible effort that made April 17 a success. We hope to keep working together in the coming weeks, months, and years to build a more just and democratic society.

Onward,

Rebecca Karl (NYU AAUP)
Bethany Letiecq (GMU-AAUP)
Bill V. Mullen (Purdue AAUP)
Amy Offner (AAUP-Penn)
Emily Steinlight (AAUP-Penn)

For the National Day of Action Steering Committee