Over the past 3 months, students at UC Riverside have been faced with a global pandemic and national crisis in the midst of COVID-19. Our Spring Quarter 2020 has been extremely detrimental to the educational experience of UCR students, especially for vulnerable and underserved communities, as we have been forced to maintain grades and perform regular class activities despite remote instruction and lack of support from the UCR faculty and administration. 

We are faced with systemic and institutional oppression as national outrage has ignited a socio-political movement in the wake of the senseless murders of Ahmaud Arbery, a man from Georgia who was chased down and shot by two armed white men while jogging down a street (February 23), Breonna Taylor who was shot 8 times in the process of a “no-knock” warrant by Louisville police in Kentucky (March 13), Nina Pop, a transgender woman who was stabbed to death in her own apartment (March 3), George Floyd, an innocent man from Minneapolis whose neck was forcefully knelt upon by police for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, including the 2 minutes and 53 seconds that he was unresponsive (May 25), and countless others.

We stand in solidarity with our Black Highlanders and the Black Lives Matter movement as racial injustice has plagued this country, even on our own campus. As a result of the circumstances we find ourselves in, we demand action and commitments from UC Riverside to provide much needed support and accommodations for Black students at UCR and our community in general that will empower and uplift those who have been impacted by these unprecedented events, while working to make UC Riverside a safer space for every Highlander by addressing anti-blackness within the institution. 

THEREFORE, WE THE STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE, DEMAND FROM CHANCELLOR WILCOX AND THE UC RIVERSIDE ADMINISTRATION:

-The immediate cancellation, postponement, or optional choice for Spring Quarter 2020 final exams. Due to the EXTREME circumstances that members of our campus community have been faced with, that include the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic and the anti-black police violence has imposed upon our student communities, we demand this accommodation for the entirety of the student body who has voiced their struggles in our current academic environment. You have a commitment to all students’ best interests as an academic institution. Show it. 

-The immediate implementation of a No Failing policy for the Spring Quarter 2020. We urge campus administration to host a consultation with the UCR Academic Senate that will provide for much needed relief to our most vulnerable students. This will be through the assessment of Spring Quarter academic performance and (lack of) accommodations provided by the UC Riverside faculty during our unprecedented remoteness, a transition that was made with extremely short notice. You have a commitment to all students’ best interests as an academic institution. Show it.

-The campus-wide support for the Black student community regarding accountability, educational equity, and increased support services. This also includes the physical and monetary support of African Student Programs, The Pan-African Themed Hall, and the various student organizations in the black community. 

-The assessment of alternative forms of UCR campus safety and ultimate divestment from UCPD, an inherently anti-black institution. This includes open exploration of new tactics and forms of protection in our community outside of UCPD, while also having consistent dialogue with officers and implementing resources such as body cameras, anti-prejudice escalation modules, and constructive communication strategies. 

View our official list of demands here:

LIST OF DEMANDS

SIGN IF YOU SUPPORT THESE LIST OF DEMANDS.