On Friday, February 28, 2020, four graduate students in the Feminist Studies Ph.D. Program at the University of California-Santa Cruz were fired by the university for advocating for a living wage. We seek immediate support to fight back against this act of political repression by the UCSC administration, which unequally harms students in areas of the curriculum devoted to critically analyzing forms of social inequality and violence. This fund is one part of our strategy of mutual aid. We estimate a $60,000 immediate need for the four FMST graduate students. FMST graduate students will manage these funds directly for the following needs: preventing deportation of international students through tuition payments; maintaining health insurance; supporting lost wages. In the event that we raise money beyond these initial needs, we will share these funds with other graduate students who have been fired.

Here is some more information on our team and our goals:

Who are we?
We are four members of the UCSC Feminist Studies Department who are working to raise funds for fired graduate students.

Where are we from?
Santa Cruz, CA and Durham, NC

What is our relationship to the fired workers?
Two of us are fired workers ourselves and two of us are other employed workers in the department who are supporting our fired colleagues.

How will the funds be used?
Funds will be disbursed directly to the fired workers, adjusted to account for which workers have the greatest needs at or near the beginning of Spring quarter (around April 1, 2020). Need will be based on factors including need to pay tuition to retain visa status; need for health care; and support of lost wages.

How will the funds be disbursed?
Neel Ahuja will withdraw and deposit campaign funds into his bank account. From there, the funds will be distributed directly to the fired workers via Venmo or check.