Around a dozen NYU students rallied to broaden protections under state anti-discrimination laws at Father Demo Square Sunday afternoon. The NYU College Democrats and the Feminist Society at NYU joined nationwide groups Planned Parenthood and the Young Feminist Party to organize the demonstration.
Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine and other state politicians spoke to dozens of attendees advocating for Proposition 1, a proposal on this year’s ballot that would amend the first article of the New York Constitution. The constitution currently affirms that individuals are protected against discrimination based on “race, color, creed and religion,” and the amendment proposes adding factors such as age, ethnicity and sexual orientation to the list.
Although Prop 1 does not explicitly mention abortion, it includes “pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy” as grounds for secure civil rights. Many attendees held signs that read “Vote Yes Prop 1” and “Protect Abortion and Our Freedoms.” About half an hour into the demonstration, four New York City Police Department officers surrounded the group but did not intervene.
“We are trying to spread the word to flip the ballot and vote yes on Prop 1 — to enshrine the Equal Rights Amendment to the New York State Constitution,” CAS sophomore Barney Riley, a member of the NYU College Democrats and Feminist Society at NYU, said in an interview with WSN.
A recent Newsweek poll named abortion the second most prominent issue among voters, ranked only behind the economy, ahead of the 2024 election. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul endorsed Prop 1 last week, stating that the amendment would allow women to “make decisions about their own bodies.”
CAS senior and NYU College Democrats President Saha Guerrero called for the university to take greater strides in encouraging all students, regardless of their political views, to vote.
“Young people, especially at NYU, we’re not standing on the sidelines — we’re at the forefront of this,” Guerrero said in an interview with WSN. “The university needs to join with us in a nonpartisan manner to promote voting. It’s not a controversial thing. It’s just something we all got to do in November.”
Contact Rory Lustberg at [email protected].
