Dear Dr. Joyce F. Brown,

We the Community Members of FIT, are writing to ask that you reconsider your decision to lay off the 13 full-and part-time Student Housing Corporation (Residential Life) employees as well as reinstate the Resident Assistant position.

Due to job requirements, Residential Life full- and part-time professional staff must make their on-campus housing their permanent residence. Therefore 10 of the 13 full- and part-time Residential Life employees who face being laid off, will experience significant housing insecurity after December 31, 2020 when they are required to vacate their on campus residence but do not have any other housing options.

Several of the Residential Life full- and part-time employees who will be laid off will also lose crucial benefits including health insurance, during a time in which maintaining one’s health is vital as a global pandemic continues to exist.

The students that serve in the Resident Assistant (RA) role, will also face significant housing insecurity for Spring 2021 semester. Many students do not have the financial means to live on campus without the benefit of on campus housing that their role of being an RA has provided them. This will leave many Resident Assistants vulnerable and at risk of being in unsafe environments, not conducive to learning during the academic semester.  

The Residential Life professional staff and Resident Assistants have undergone significant amounts of professional training that allow them to provide a safe, sustainable residential experience for FIT students. Residential Life full- and part-time employees and Resident Assistants are trained in LGBTQ safe zone training, anti-racism training, mental health first aid and crisis management.  For students living on campus next semester, it will be crucial for RAs to be present as they are able to provide direct peer-to-peer support in these areas.

In your address to the FIT community on Monday October 19, 2020, you stated that due to the decline in occupancy this past year, this has created a loss of $32 million in revenue for the FIT Student Housing Corporation which has resulted in your decision of layoffs.

We believe the loss of revenue to be in large part due to negligence in frivolous spending and mismanagement of funds from Sherry F. Brabham, treasurer and vice president for Finance and Administration, and Catherine O'Rourke, the interim vice president for Enrollment Management and Student Success. Full accountability should be held as both of their leadership roles led to decisions of which outcomes resulted in a loss of revenue for the FIT Student Housing Corporation.  

We are asking for the following:

1.       Furlough of all full-and part-time Student Housing Corporation employees, to include continuing to receive on campus housing and health insurance benefits.

2.      Resident Assistant positions to be reinstated to include at least 1 RA position per occupied floor of on campus student housing.

3.      Resignation of Sherry Brabham and Catherine O'Rourke for the mismanagement of funds.

Sincerely,

FIT Community Members

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We thank you for signing our petition and supporting our cause. 

In addition to signing this change.org, please copy and paste the body of this petition and send to:

Joyce Brown (joyce_brown@fitnyc.edu and office_of_the_president@fitnyc.edu)

SHERRY BRABHAM (sherry_brabham1@fitnyc.edu)

CATHERINE OROURKE (catherine_orourke@fitnyc.edu)