The Maine College of Art in Portland Maine is attempting to cancel city plans to build health and safety resources on Forest Ave in order to gain real estate for their students. 

The MECA students care about our community, the members and the healthcare offered for all. We do not condone prioritizing student housing over social services that would benefit our lower income communities greatly. We also do not condone claiming those that are house-less as a “safety risk” to students. 

by signing this petition you are agreeing that the comments made by Laura Fried and Beth Elicker in support of this city cancellation were inappropriate  and classist. This should be publicly apologized for immediately with a confirmation to either coexist with the city plans or change the location of the dormitory to protect the pending healthcare development.  

to learn more about this issue please check out the article link below. https://www.pressherald.com/2021/04/13/maine-college-of-art-plans-180-student-resident-hall-in-downtown-portland/