Protesting is Not a Crime!
Defend free speech and the right to protest!
Support activists targeted for protesting the genocide in Palestine!
On Monday May 5th, Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt) in Boston, US, placed two workers on indefinite administrative leave, and restricted students and threatened them with suspensions, for attending a student-organized demonstration two weeks prior that demanded divestment from weapons and an end to the genocide of the Palestinian people. The two workers put on administrative leave are members of the Association of Professional Administrators (APA), a Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) union affiliate.
One of the workers, Peggy Wang, is also a member of the Independent Socialist Group. She was formerly targeted by the MassArt administration for fighting back against cuts to a student program. Peggy is an activist within the MTA, running in a recent union election, engaging in active solidarity with MTA locals on strike or rallying for good contracts, and attending statewide conferences where she helped move resolutions that included ”MTA solidarity and mobilization in support of student protests and a ceasefire in Gaza.”
MassArt management is alleging that the workers pushed a public safety officer, blocked entrances, and refused to leave a building. These are completely false allegations meant to intimidate workers at MassArt from joining with students to publicly protest.
MassArt has now shamelessly joined colleges and universities cracking down on the First Amendment rights of students, staff, and faculty to express their dissent and opposition to the invasion of Gaza and genocidal policies against the Palestinian people.
We demand that MassArt administration immediately take the workers off administrative leave, allow them to return to work, and take no disciplinary action against them or the MassArt students over the exercise of their rights to free speech, assembly, and protest.
The petition to MassArt started by a former MTA president Merrie Najimy demanding no further disciplinary action and full return to job duties has gathered 1,700+ signatures over the last week. There was a successful protest of over 80 students, workers, and community members in support of the MassArt workers and students who are being targeted with disciplinary action.
Progressive groups and individuals that are standing up in defense of the worker and student protestors at MassArt include MTA Rank and File for Palestine, MTA Educators for a Democratic Union, Jewish Voice for Peace, leaders of the MTA and the faculty union at MassArt, as well as rank and file members of other unions.
MassArt’s “investigation” is ongoing, and the two workers are still on forced administrative leave and not back at their jobs. MassArt and other universities need to know that we will continue to defend our rights to free speech and protest, including opposition to the ongoing genocidal attacks against the Palestinian people.
Please consider taking the following solidarity actions:
- Support any future events to defend the jobs and rights of the MassArt workers and students under attack for exercising their rights to free speech, assembly, and protest.
- Sign and share the petition.
- Have your organization write a statement of support.
- Email and call MassArt President Mary Grant at (617) 879-7077 and presidentsoffice@massart.edu. Feel free to use the following template if you find it helpful.
MODEL PROTEST LETTER
President Grant,
I am writing to express deep concern over the actions taken by Massachusetts College of Art and Design against Peggy Wang and Isaac Watts in response to their participation in a peaceful Palestine Solidarity action on campus.
These educators, both members of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, have been placed under investigation—an alarming move that undermines core values of justice, equity, and freedom of expression. Peaceful protest and political engagement are fundamental rights, particularly in academic spaces that should foster critical thinking and civic engagement.
I urge you to allow Peggy and Isaac to return to work immediately, take no disciplinary action against them or the students and to advocate for the protection of all members of the MassArt community who engage in nonviolent political expression. Retaliatory actions of this nature not only contradict the principles of the justice, equity and transformation you are charged with upholding, but also threaten the integrity of MassArt’s long standing role as an independent artistic institution that welcomes political engagement as part of the responsibility of all artists and creatives.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Affiliation, if applicable]