Brown University is charging students and their families hundreds of dollars just to live in their own homes during the pandemic. This is immoral and will disproportionately impact Brown’s most vulnerable students and their families.

Read more below and sign this petition to tell Brown University to stop profiting off its students.

Remote learning fee:

In July, Brown unexpectedly billed the hundreds of students choosing to study remotely a “non-resident fee.” 

The $920/year fee has long been controversial and was historically charged to students living off campus or living locally with family. 

However, Brown never even shared that it would charge remote learners this fee, and at the time of writing, even its own website fails to mention the charge in the list of fees for remote learners. 

Worst of all, students have no real clarity as to what this hidden fee covers nor if/how services will even be provided to them across the world.

The only explanation Brown provided as to the benefits students receive are that the fee broadly covers campus life “services and resources.” This meager explanation was only provided after it was requested by Brown student government.

Notably this fee was increased 3.7% this year, and does not even include separate campus life health and wellness fees.

Leave taking fee:

As if this weren’t bad enough, Brown is also applying charges to students who aren’t even taking classes. 

According to the Brown website, students taking a leave of absence, due to the pandemic or otherwise, will be charged a $70 readmission fee to return to Brown. 

Brown currently does not offer a waiver nor any financial aid whatsoever for students. This demand puts extra pressure on low-income students trying to return to campus.

This fee poses another barrier for the hundreds of students forced to take leave during COVID-19 — a time of massive economic distress across the world. Many families simply cannot afford yet another fee.

Call to Action:

We call on Brown to remove these exploitative charges given their disproportionate impact on Brown's most vulnerable students and families. 

Further, if the University is in fact charging students for legitimate means, it should be able to explain specifically where our money is going. 

Please sign this petition and email the Brown administrators below to tell them to eliminate these two inequitable pandemic fees. Address emails to:

Provost Locke, richard_locke@brown.edu AND VP for Campus Life Estes, eric_estes@brown.edu 

Be sure to CC:

Brown President, christina_paxson@brown.edu and Dean of the College, rashid_zia@brown.edu 

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Petition by the Brown Undergraduate Council of Students Executive Board