BROOKLYN COLLEGE–Brooklyn College, and two other CUNY campuses, rallied in a national walkout for reproductive justice last Thursday, Oct. 6. Students and allies called for the University to provide free abortion pills at campus health services and fund research on abortion access, among other demands.
“I think it’s important to just recognize that while everyone has a right to their own belief systems and to choose what they want to do with their own lives and their own bodies, you can’t dictate what other people do with their lives and their bodies,” said Sami Binder, a class of 2018 alumnus and staff member who helped organize the rally at BC.
CUNY for Abortion Rights, a group recently founded by Graduate Center students, led the rally for National Student Day of Action for Abortion Rights, where over 40 campuses nationwide advocated for abortion access, trans rights, and bodily autonomy. The Graduate Center, Hunter College, and Brooklyn College joined the effort, with participants later in the day marching to the university’s central office on 42nd Street in Manhattan to vocalize their demands. Participants called for CUNY to provide resources and aid for students in need of an abortion, providing them funding to cover procedural or travel costs, among other demands.