We are group of concerned NYU students who decided to gather under the name TORCH Student Debt. We are disturbed with the lack of transparency from NYU’s Board of Trustees, and upset by the way NYU administrators responded to NYU SLAM and NYU Divest’s occupation. NYU SLAM and NYU Divest have asked for student representatives on the Board of Trustees, and for NYU to divest its funds from the fossil fuel industry. The University Senate has voted in favor of both of these demands. However, the Board of Trustees have continued to deny the university body what we have democratically voted for. They claim having students on the board would be a “conflict of interest”--and yet there are board members with ties to the fossil fuel industries and to predatory, private student lending firms. Instead of granting the demand of a public town hall to discuss these demands further, the administration decided to threaten protesting and occupying students with suspension, loss of financial aid, and/or loss of housing. 
NYU’s student body is one of the most indebted in the nation, with an average of $35,000 in debt per student, and yet we are not even granted a say in how our money is spent. Enough is enough. Our actions as TORCH Student Debt aim to raise attention to the lack of transparency at NYU--and to bring about a more just and equal university.

Press contact: Emily Bellor (bellor.emily@gmail.com)