GMU is spending more than $70,000 a year on at least 16 Flock cameras across the Fairfax and SciTech campuses. Flock cameras are ALPRs: automated license plate readers that persistently surveil the environment that they are placed in. They create an expansive, national, and private network of motor vehicles that has been used to:

• Aid ICE in their inhumane deportation machine;

• Track people seeking reproductive care across state lines;

• Surveil activists who speak out against the federal government;

• And more.

These cameras are not secure: we do not know where our data is going, what it’s being used for, who is watching us, and what else Flock is up to. This endangers all of us, especially undocumented and international students, who are already under attack from the Trump administration. To keep our community safe, we demand that:

• GMU PD ends their contract with Flock Safety;

• GMU takes down all of the Flock cameras around the Fairfax and SciTech campuses;

• GMU does not replace Flock cameras with other ALPRs or AI-enabled security cameras.

We furthermore demand more transparency from the university when it comes to installing technology around campus. If Flock cameras concern you, if these demands resonate with you, and if you want to fight for a better GMU, we invite you to sign our petition and join us. GMU can be a college that prioritizes what students, faculty, staff, and our community really want – but only if we all organize together.

In Solidarity,
Young Democratic Socialists of America at GMU
Students for Justice in Palestine at GMU
Student Environmental Justice Alliance
Henna for a Cause
Jewish Voice for Peace at GMU

If your RSO would like to co-sponsor this petition, please reach out to ydsagmu@gmail.com.