The strike, which has amassed 3,200 signatures over two months, aims to hold the University accountable to students, staff, and community members for how it handles its wealth. The movement follows national calls to defund police departments and redistribute funds from Public Safety arms to more community-based initiatives. Since this past summer, Mobilized African Diaspora has been organizing to implement many of these demands within the Columbia community—including through the severing of ties to the New York Police Department and defunding Public Safety. In light of these movements, as well as the economic downturn from the ongoing pandemic and rising tuition, students are now calling for participatory budgeting so they can exercise a greater voice in the allocation of University finances.
