UCWGA-UGA stands in solidarity with the #WaiveTheFeeUGA petition

The UGA Chapter of the United Campus Workers (UCWGA) of UGA stands in solidarity with the #WaiveTheFeeUGA petition. UGA students should not have to pay a fee to cancel their housing contract given the exceptional circumstances posed by COVID. Ranging from $2,500 to $4,000, this fee in effect forces students to return to campus life, whether they feel safe to do so or not. UGA should not force students to choose between their health and economic hardship. Repealing the cancellation fee would help reduce the number of students sharing common spaces like student dormitories, thereby minimizing the risk of transmission between students, faculty, and staff. In prioritizing the health of students, UGA will protect faculty and staff alike.

The elimination of this cancellation fee, however, must not come at the expense of UGA staff. For those who work so hard to make UGA so great, it is absolutely unacceptable to lay them off or cut their hours to compensate for lost housing funds.These invaluable workers are already overworked and underpaid. Given the additional work that is now required to keep UGA sanitary, a reduction in staff could only be seen as another ploy to prioritize profits over our community’s health and wellbeing. 

In these dire times, it is imperative to stand together--to build coalitions across student, faculty, and staff organizations--to protect each other’s health and wellbeing. The UGA chapter of UCWGA stands with those students who feel abandoned by UGA and its refusal to waive this cancellation fee. Please sign the #WaiveTheFeeUGA.