To President Bollinger, Provost Katznelson, University Deans, and the Trustees of Columbia University:

We call on Columbia University to lift the obligation to return to the United States for scholars and student workers. Denying teaching assistants, research assistants, graduate instructors, and other student employees their stipends and pay while they are abroad during a pandemic is cruel and unnecessary. We reject that denying pay to student workers situated abroad in any way protects the visas of international students at the University. There is no legal basis why students residing outside the United States cannot be employed and many institutions, such as Rutgers, The New School, Yale, and the University of Pennsylvania, have already announced working remotely from abroad and receiving pay is an option.

For many, returning to New York City is not an option with global travel restrictions and the ongoing global public health crisis. The administration must put the welfare of the Columbia community first and not punish student workers who cannot return to campus. In addition, we urge the University to adjust its housing policies to accommodate the uncertainties and instabilities that the current situation presents. We demand that Columbia waive cancellation fees for breaking leases for the whole academic year, lift registration holds for students unable to pay rent, and guarantee housing for workers and scholars who choose to return to campus. We call upon the University to facilitate the safe return of all Columbia affiliates by providing space in which students returning to shared housing can safely quarantine for fourteen days.

After offering students and faculty a choice over how they wish to conduct their classes, any attempt to force them to return to campus is unacceptable. Columbia must ensure that student workers, regardless of where they may be located, and regardless of travel restrictions, do not have their jobs taken from them.

View the latest signers here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cPD1D2Xdu74tCB6cosOF8Jba2utBZBpu7evvo_QMm50/