Make a Difference Through Activism at NYU: Part 2

Interested in advocating for your fellow students? Building a community of like-minded peers? With more than 300 student clubs to choose from and new ones created every year, there are a number of student organizations NYU students can join to impact the world around them. For example, the First-Generation, Low-Income Partnership and the LGBTQ+ Center offer myriad avenues to activism.

The First-Generation, Low-Income Partnership (FLIP) is a student-founded and student-led club. It offers first-generation, low-income students a space to build community, participate in professional development opportunities, and advocate for one another. What’s more, the club has a committee focused specifically on activism and advocacy work. Their projects ranged from making study away more accessible for low-income students to helping establish technology grants and funds for low-income students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“FLIP is passionate about making sure first-generation students have access to the resources they need to succeed at NYU,” says Freddy Barrera. Freddy is FLIP’s former coleader and a recent graduate of the Politics major at the College of Arts and Science. “FLIP is one of many NYU organizations that works to help first-generation, low-income students. But its student-led approach makes it a little bit different than the other groups. We are for students, and we pride ourselves in that.”

The University’s LGBTQ+ Center also hosts numerous student clubs. The main focus of these clubs is fostering community. Many, like Queer Union, New Masculinities, SHADES, CampGrrl, and T-Party, also provide students with resources and opportunities to spark activism and change both on campus and beyond.

“A big part of the LGBTQ+ Center’s mission is education and service,” explains Catherine Chen. Catherine is a Chemistry major at the College of Arts and Science. “It’s helpful to be a part of a community where people both acknowledge the problems you face and give you the tools to address those problems, help others, and uplift one another. Our clubs are a great place to meet people. But they’re also a great place to learn, lead, and serve.”

Do you want to join fellow NYU students in effecting change? Then, check out these additional advocacy groups on campus:

• Active Minds works for mental health advocacy and suicide prevention
• Alliance for Environmental and Social Justice focuses on justice for all living beings, nonliving beings, and the natural world
• Earth Matters was founded in 1982 and is NYU’s oldest environmental club
• J Street U inspires students to support peace, human rights, and multiracial democracy
• Native American and Indigenous Students Group generates awareness for Native American and Indigenous issues and works to find resolutions
• STEMinist empowers students to combat sexism in all forms, both within STEM fields and everyday life
• The Social Justice Art Project empowers NYU students to create art that addresses political and social issues as a form of activism
• Sprout Up provides free environmental education programs to first and second graders
• Students Creating Radical Change is devoted to supporting and promoting human rights organizations at NYU
• Students for Sexual Respect focuses on survivor-centered programming, including policy change, reproductive justice, and sexual autonomy
• Two Birds One Stone delivers leftover, hot, edible food from NYU dining halls to nearby food pantries