There is a looming crisis that has been brewing over the summer that the board believes should merit your attention. This is the crisis of legitimacy of our whole UC higher educational system that the Abolitionist movement — inspired by racial justice principles — has brought to light and is planning to raise with vigor over the incoming academic year. The UCSB Faculty Association does not take a position on Abolitionism as a movement or as a more delimited request to get “cops off campus.” But your board considers the arguments of this movement to be of such urgency and interest for all our members that we have agreed to provide you with the information you will find in the two flyers linked below from the Critical Abolitionist Educators Network and Cops Off Campus Coalition.
We urge you all to educate yourself on the Abolitionist movement because its principles will likely inform a wider discussion to come among our members on the fundamental changes it demands to insure a future for public higher education.