Dear fellow graduate students,

The AGS Council has voted 14-0-3.5 (see AGS Bill 23-20) to send this message to our graduate student community in the spirit of increased equity and accessibility in our educational environment.

It has been brought to our attention that there was a positive, symptomatic COVID-19 case during the April 15 rehearsal for the Department of Dance’s most recent mainstage production. Despite potential exposure to the over 100 students, staff, faculty members, and disabled and immunocompromised guest artists involved in the production, the production team was prohibited from requiring masks backstage because current campus messaging prohibits faculty members from requiring masks in their educational environments.

AGS feels that this messaging is inequitable, with particularly negative consequences for disabled members of the UCI community.

UCI’s current policy communications undermine UCI’s stated commitment to “Inclusive Excellence.” Rather than “dismantling the systemic barriers of racism and discrimination that have too long been the norm in higher learning and our broader communities,” UCI’s messaging on its masking policy reinforces and adds to the barriers that disabled, immunocompromised, and other vulnerable populations already face in higher education. UCI’s messaging on masking is also inconsistent with court rulings on the issue, such as one by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, that have found that mask mandates in classrooms can be “reasonable accommodations” pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act (see Arc of Iowa v. Reynolds and Seaman v. Virginia).

The AGS Council calls on university leadership to modify the campus masking policies toward empowering marginalized campus community members, whom UCI claims to champion and support, to safely and equitably access UCI’s educational environment as is their legal right.”

In solidarity,

Reginald T. Gardner
President, Associated Graduate Students, 22-23

Dear Grad Anteaters,

We stand with you heartbroken and enraged at today’s ruling by the United States Supreme Court that erased the fundamental constitutional right for Americans to make their own reproductive decisions. Today’s decision is wrong, capricious, and Justice Clarence Thomas’ concurring opinion suggests that today’s defeat for reproductive rights will be the first in a series of monumental blows to the broad portfolio of liberties enshrined in the Constitution. 

California and some other states will continue to provide abortion access undeterred by today’s ruling. If you or someone you know needs help finding an abortion provider in California or in another state, you can use this Abortion Finder’s helpful search feature or call the National Abortion Federation’s toll-free hotline at 1-800-772-9100. 

We know that many of you have left Irvine to visit family, research, intern, and recharge after a long year. If you or your dependents receive your medical insurance through UCI and have questions about your coverage, you can review plan details and call their hotline here. Unfortunately, more than thirteen state have so-called ‘trigger laws’ that already begin the process of outlawing abortion and more than a dozen other states that have laws or are currently legislating laws that could further constrain or outlaw abortion. 

UCI graduate students have been fighting for reproductive justice for decades. In recent years:

• AGS and students worked with the Student Health Insurance Advisory Committee to expand access to free contraception and medication abortion (abortion pills). 
• Three years ago, AGS fought UCI administrators and the UC system when they opposed efforts by the State to require that medication abortion be available on campus. 
• We continue to fight UCI and UC Health’s partnership with Dignity Health, a medical pariah with a long history of anti-choice, transphobic policies have endangered the lives of patients and are antithetical to UCI’s stated values.  

It is a rapidly changing landscape. We are working with partners to make space for students and to provide support for students who may already be adversely impacted by today’s calamitous ruling. Spaces like the Womxn’s Center for Success and the LGBT Resource Center have programming that may be helpful to you and your peers. If you would like to get involved in improving reproductive healthcare access for Anteaters, you can reach out to the AGS VP for External Affairs to join AGS’s lobbying efforts and the VP for Internal Affairs to get involved with efforts on campus.  

In the wake of today’s decision, AGS is holding space for community comfort, care, and grief today (Friday 6/24), 12:00-6:0 0pm, at the Verano Housing Office Patio. There is no schedule or agenda. For graduate students who do not live on campus in Verano or Palo Verde, the closest campus parking lot is the East Campus Parking Structure at the ARC. Please also note that public restroom access is currently tentative. Feel free to come and go as you need, bring your children, bring whatever refreshments you, chairs, or other items as you would like. 

In solidarity,

Connor Strobel

AGS President  

Where: RISE Suite Student Center South Building, G458

When: Thursday, May 26th, 2022,  5-7 pm

Please RSVP at https://cglink.me/2eo/r1605620

Description:

Are you a First Generation Graduate Student or an Undocu-ally? Do you want to learn more about the resources that exist on campus to support you and connect with other grad students? Join AGS and the DREAM Center in person on May 26th from 5-7 PM for a grad student mixer at the new RISE Suite in the Student Center!

Come learn about the DREAM Center, the Womxn’s Center for Success, the Sustainability Resource Center, and the Latinx Center, and enjoy a fun evening of arts and crafts and networking!

For any questions, Contact: Genesis Mazariegos (gmazari@uci.edu / firstgen@ags.uci.edu) or Diana Carreno (undoc@ags.uci.edu)

Intended Audience: Graduate Students but open to all students!

Sponsors: UCI DREAM Center & UCI Associated Graduate Students.