Shortly after the end of WWII, the leaders of the world came together and agreed upon a set of human rights which they acknowledged to be universal, inalienable and inherent to all human beings. This Universal Declaration of Human Rights was passed by the United Nations in 1948, with no nations voting against it. Even if this resolution was not legally binding, it still marked a significant proclamation that there are certain ways you simply cannot treat human beings. This document inspired laws around the world that now protect the rights of billions.

Section 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights deals with the rights all human beings have in regards to their employment:

• Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.

• Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.

• Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.

• Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Recently, Clark University decided to systematically deny over 600 Clark student-workers their fundamental human right to form, and to join, a trade union. Clark had the opportunity to do this without legal repercussions due to the Trump administration effectively tearing up the near century old labor laws that guarantee our rights. Since we are no longer protected under the law, Clark has decided they no longer need to treat us like human beings.

I always try to assume the best in people, but when someone with power over you shows their true nature you need to listen. Clark University has demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that they do not view us as human beings who are valuable for our own sake, but as numbers on a balance sheet whose value can be maximized by accountants and legal consultants.

This is an outrage and an insult to the dignity of every single student at this school. If Clark only respects our rights when the courts force themto, what else would they do if they could? Would they force us to work for pennies on the dollar in unsafe conditions? Would they deny students employment based on race, gender, or ability? Would they expel students who spoke out or voiced dissenting opinions? 

After the events of the past month, it seems overwhelmingly likely that the administrators of this university will use students however they see fit. They see us as passive objects, as tools to be manipulated and utilized at their whim.

It’s time to remind them that we are not passive, that we have the agency to ensure our fundamental human rights are acknowledged and respected. We need to remind the overpaid and out of touch administrators that we will not stand to be spit on and treated like garbage.

It pains me to call for adversarial confrontation against my very own school but I see no other choice. We tried asking nicely and they responded by hiring a union busting firm, gaslighting us and our families, and threatening our fundamental human rights. I’m calling on everyone to say no to this madness: undergrads, grad students, faculty, and all other staff. We need to protest, go on strike, call out sick, put up flyers, spam the email of administration, and picket board meetings and admissions events. If they only see us as numbers on a balance sheet, we must remind them that we also have the power to shut their whole operation down. 

Otherwise, I fear that this will only be the beginning of Clark’s effort to strip us of our wages, our dignity, and our very humanity.