Fellow Loyola Graduate Student Workers,
As graduate workers and students of Loyola University Chicago, in keeping with the values of social justice and social responsibility, we have a duty to respond to injustices both external to and within our communities. One such organization already working to fight racial injustice on our campuses is Our Streets LUC, our Black Lives Matter LUC movement. We commend and respect the hard work that Our Streets LUC and the undergraduate students who have organized to pressure Loyola to cut ties with the Chicago Police Department (including removing the 25% discount on certain educational programs that Loyola currently offers to CPD officers), to demonstrate more support for Black students and Black student organizations, to support Black faculty, and more.
In discussion with lead organizers from Our Streets LUC, we have been told that the best possible way to support the movement for Black lives on campus is for the graduate student worker community to be active participants in the daily protests. Our leadership has also started to work with Our Streets LUC leaders to support logistics and meet their needs. The struggle for racial and social justice on our campus is not merely an undergraduate issue, it is a community-wide issue, and therefore it is necessary that graduate workers understand and actively support this movement.
To this end, we ask that concerned graduate workers sign on to Our Streets LUC’s list of demands (found at https://www.ourstreetsluc.org/) and actively participate in the daily protests happening at 3pm starting outside of Cuneo Hall. These protests will continue daily until the demands of Our Streets LUC are met.
In order to best support each other in our protesting efforts, if you plan on protesting, we ask that you please join the Loyola Mutual Aid Network (LMAN) our mutual aid tool via Slack that we recently developed for graduate students to utilize the power of community, allowing us to help one another during the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing movement against anti-Black racism and police brutality. It is through LMAN that we are organizing groups of protestors to (a) attend daily protests with fellow graduate workers and (b) helped build a sense of community among graduate workers. You can join by clicking the above link or by going to https://loyolagradunion.wixsite.com/home/loyola-mutual-aid-network
For security reasons, we are not communicating turnout efforts via email -- please use the Loyola Mutual Aid Network to coordinate with union members about which days you plan to attend, if you need help getting there, questions, etc.
As we have always maintained, The Loyola Graduate Workers' Union is committed to promoting racial and social justice and to fighting white supremacy, especially within academic institutions.
For anyone planning to come to the protests, please read the ACLU of Illinois’ “Know Your Rights” page to be aware of your rights when attending a protest.
We also ask that all graduate workers either wear their Loyola Graduate Workers’ Union garb or bring signs letting people know that graduate workers stand with the Our Streets LUC movement.
Note: Please be advised that these protests don’t have permits, there have been student arrests due to acts of civil disobedience, and make sure you have someone NOT at the protest who knows where you are, when, and whether you get home safe.
In solidarity,
Alec Stubbs and Claire Lockard
Co-Chairs of the Loyola Graduate Workers’ Union