Statement of Solidarity

Dear Members of the BU Community,

The Boston University Graduate Student Organization (GSO) condemns the incredibly upsetting violence being committed against the Black community in America. We rebuke this violence and stand in support of the Black communities on our campus, in Boston, and beyond who have continued to endure the repeated violent and racist events unfolding around them.

As a graduate student organization, GSO pledges to improve. We admit that we can and should be doing more. We promise to better support our fellow Black graduate students and the organizations that support them, such as the Underrepresented Graduate Student Organization (UGSO), to push for better institutional-supported short- and long-term action, allyship, and self-care. We promise to use our ability to closely interact with administrative offices and student groups to change the BU environment by pushing for more anti-racist programming and education across disciplines.

A small action we plan to do is circulate knowledge for our graduate student body. This google document created by @abjectcriticism contains a continuously growing resource for direct and indirect action such as signing petitions, donating to local funds, contacting officials, and ways to provide allyship and solidarity. Our next small action will be to compile a list of reading material to help contextualize the times that we are in. Many of these lists are already circulating, and the GSO hopes to create one collectively for the BU graduate students.

The GSO knows that a statement does not suffice. Actual change requires continuous and unrelenting effort. We pledge to do better for our community. Please do not hesitate to contact us at gso@bu.edu to discuss ways in which we can better support you.

We, as a collective student body, must offer extra support and comradery, both in the heightened sense of urgency now and forever going forward.

Sincerely,
Boston University Graduate Student Organization