To the Faculty and Administration at Hunter College,

I write to you on behalf of the MFA Studio Art student body.

We are deeply concerned about the current political situation in America. We are worried about the impact the Trump administration will have on our community, our education and futures. We feel that it is time to come together to foster community, to organize ourselves, to plan actions, to stand up for our beliefs.

Last Friday, Hunter faculty and students gathered to share individual concerns and fears, and hear the ideas of others. We offered one another our support and began to conceive strategies that might help to shape the future. This meeting felt so necessary. We have incredible potential, not only here in the Hunter community, but also across CUNY and in other art departments across the city at Pratt, Parsons, etc. No doubt many students there are having the same conversations we are. We want to connect with these peers and get organized. We also want to invite people to talk to us who have relevant experience of protest and other actions, following the example of Carrie Moyer, who has kindly suggested she could talk to us about the activist group Act Up.

To continue this work, we need a communal meeting place which is accessible at any time, and large enough for the whole constituency of the program. For this purpose, we write to ask you for the use of the second floor space, currently used as the second floor gallery, during the spring semester. If there is any budget available, we would request a few sofas, a bookshelf and a notice board; if there is no budget for this purpose, we will find donations with which to furnish the space.

We very much hope that you will seriously consider our proposal.

Best wishes,

Ben Browne

mfasohunter@gmail.com

Dan Fig

Rebecca Baldwin

Nicola Probert

Hannah Schutzengel

Jazmine Hayes

Katy McCarthy

Liz Naiden

Michelle Hernandez

Mikey Estes

Clara Chapin

Hannah Beerman

Patrick Costello

Patrick Mohundro

T. Eliott Mansa

Jessi Li

Russell Perkins

Rachel Hillery

Frederick Greis

Eri King

Becky Rosen

Eugina Song

Evan Bellantone

Lindsay Burke

Michelle O'Connell

Wai Ying Zhao

mfasohunter@gmail.com

huntermfaso.com