ENTER YOUR ADDRESS AND CLICK THE "START WRITING" BUTTON (to your right on a computer, above this paragraph on mobile) TO SEND YOUR LETTER TO YOUR LAWMAKERS! While an email is a good start, click here to find your local lawmakers and make a follow-up call!

We have to protect our public colleges and universities during the coronavirus crisis. Students and workers can’t afford inaction or more cuts. The closings of our colleges and universities have hurt students, faculty, and staff. Many students are left without housing or food. Our campus workers fear an interruption and pay or benefits. Due to chronic underfunding, our students, faculty, and staff were vulnerable before this crisis. Now, they are facing disaster.

We have won some victories to protect students and workers. Colleges and universities have moved to pass/fail classes. Some campuses are continuing to pay their students workers. And, most recently, the UMass system announced that they will be giving reimbursement for food, housing, and parking to students. These are all steps in the right direction. But, without state support, it will mean long-term disaster for our campuses, our students, our workers, and our communities.

We need our elected leaders to step in. We need the Massachusetts legislature to ensure that they will fully fund the campus budgets in the FY2021 budget. Further, we need the state of Massachusetts to fully reimburse our colleges and universities for unexpected expenses related to the coronavirus crisis and economic collapse.

Without full funding and reimbursement, we will see budget cuts in the upcoming academic year. Colleges and universities will be forced to lay-off workers. The crisis will deepen and it will be at the cost of students, workers, and their families.

We need your help to send the Legislature a message. Please email and call your State Rep and State Senator and demand action for Student and Worker Justice! Use this tool for emails, and click here to find your local lawmakers and make a follow-up call!

We need you to demand state support for public higher education.