University Administrators Must Support Students Affected by COVID-19 Campus Closures

(Washington, DC) — Statement by Kimberly Inez McGuire, Executive Director of URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity on the recent spate of university campus closures across the nation due to the COVID-19 pandemic:

“We call on university administrators to consider and find ways to meet the health and other needs of students impacted by sudden campus closures amid COVID-19 concerns. For millions of young people, campus food programs, health services, and housing are essential life-saving resources. For many, these services are the only safety nets they have. Colleges and universities must prioritize young people of color and those who are low-income, first-generation, and LGBTQIA+. As we manage the spread of COVID-19, we must center young people and all who face homelessness, food insecurity, and the loss of healthcare access. By prioritizing their needs, we can ensure that we don’t exchange one public health crisis for another.” 

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About URGE:

URGE envisions a liberated world where we can live with justice, love freely, express our gender and sexuality, and define and create families of our choosing. To achieve our vision of liberation, URGE builds power and sustains a young people’s movement for reproductive justice by centering the leadership of young people of color who are women, queer, trans, nonbinary, and people of low-income. As a state-driven national organization, URGE organizes our communities, provides a political home for young people, advocates for meaningful policy change, and shifts culture, working in states where the challenges and opportunities are greatest.