Gallatin as the School of the Earth needs to set a precedent for NYU and other universities situated in cities by respecting and keeping in touch with the history of the neighborhood of the East Village, West Village, and Lower East Side, and New York City as a whole. NYU has a history of destruction of rent-stabilized housing, buying up real estate, transplanting students into historic neighborhoods, and rezoning areas. This is destructive to the urban environment of the neighborhoods that NYU operates in and Gallatin must not participate in this and must actively fight against it. Gallatin should be responsible for initiating programs that help to right the wrongs historically committed by NYU to the people and the planet.
Scaled Tuition and Fair Admissions
New York City is the most expensive city in the United States and one of the most expensive cities in the entire world. On top of having to pay for daily life within New York City, Gallatin students have to pay exorbitant private university fees to NYU. Gallatin needs to have a scaled-tuition model that allows students to pay what they can afford and provide services to students who struggle to pay for housing, food, and events in New York City. This also should incorporate investments into sustainable resource companies such as solar-power companies that can be used to offset the scaled-tuition and help to offer grants to students. Gallatin also must have a more transparent and fair admission process where name, race, income, class, and gender are omitted from the application process so that the playing field for admission is equal.
Engaged Programs for the Local
There must be increased funding to programs that engage the wider East Village and New York communities, especially environmental programs. The School of the Earth should be dedicated to community-based learning that pushes students to engage with communities outside of NYU and gain knowledge about how to interact with people from different socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. Additionally, the university must provide programs and active green space where students, faculty, and staff can pursue gardening, growing their own food, and decrease the amount of food sourced from far away from the university. Also, it will provide affordable, healthy food to people in the surrounding neighborhoods. Gallatin must have awareness of environmental racism, and work as much as possible to make green spaces accessible to 100% of people and they must incorporate local community greening programs and ecology. The School of the Earth also must respect local plants and animals, and in the green spaces they provide, privilege native species over invasive ones. These local plants and animals are integral to the history of this neighborhood and the way that people have interacted historically with their neighborhood.
Climate Refugees
Also, we must look ahead and expect that by the year 2061, there will be a large influx of climate refugees from hard-hit areas and conflict associated with resource shortage into areas not as affected by climate change. As a school, there must be funding and opportunities to work with refugees, and for students at the school to establish relationships with these refugees. We will facilitate an apprenticeship program for refugees that help them to get environmentally responsible jobs, while still granting them agency. This will be a way that Gallatin demonstrates its awareness, social responsibility and commitment to alleviating the effects of climate change.