We Need an Academic New Deal!

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"We need an Academic New Deal." The Nation, June 2020

As part of the Academic New Deal, we demand that Congress:

  1. Fully fund the health care and salaries of all higher education workers—contracted or not, faculty, staff, and campus workers—at a living wage indexed to the local cost of living. This includes workers whose contracts were set to expire this academic year but who are facing a nonexistent job market.
  2. Immediately provide student loan forgiveness. As student debt disproportionately impacts black Americans, loan forgiveness will offer a small step in addressing racial economic gaps. While we understand that this will primarily help the students of yesterday, we believe that education should be a right, not a privilege, as it is essential to a functional and vibrant society.
  3. Immediately subsidize student tuition at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. We are witnessing a massive collapse of existing opportunities under Covid-19, especially for Americans from underprivileged communities. We must not mortgage our future by foreclosing the possibility of an educated, innovative, and equitable nation.

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