Dear President Byerly and the Board of Trustees, 

We, Dear Lafayette College, call upon our institution to enact a two-day mental health interim break set every four years on the first Tuesday in November known as, National Election Day. We, as students and scholars, know firsthand the impacts of mental, emotional, and physical distress during a national shift in oppressive power. National election week poses a detrimental impact on the lives of marginalized people, and it is reckless to believe that we can continue to learn and produce knowledge while our lives are at stake. Capitalism teaches us that labor under any institutional system does not require a self-care period; instead, we are ingrained to believe that we must simultaneously work, learn, and be “model citizens”. We are done with working until our body cannot, we demand time off from classes, and paid leave for work on the election and post-election day.

We expect Lafayette College to listen and respond to its students, faculty/staff, and community members’ concerns. We refuse to allow our mental, emotional, and physiological health to go unchecked further. We deserve a space to learn without feeling drained and overwhelmed by simply existing in an overt oppressive system. We demand that this interim break be publicly announced by 5:00 pm on November 13th, 2020. If we are not given the space to rest and expand our passions outside of academics during this strenuous transitional period, then we will continue to strike until this demand is met. 

Power to the People,
Dear Lafayette College

Black-led Coalition