Hand holding a zine that says "Welcome to Yale! A University Without Democracy." The image on the cover shows protestors from various generations of Yale students standing in front of the iconic lipstick sculpture that used to stand in Yale's Beineke Plaza. Words "Democratize Yale" under the graphic.
Posted inAlways Something We Can Do Politics Zines

Democratize Yale Zine

On September 1, hundreds of Yale students, faculty, and alums rallied at a teach-in in protest of Yale President McInnis's attempt to cut a "deal" with Trump. Here's the zine we distributed, which details Yale's failure to protect freedom of speech and academic freedom and Yale's refusal to democratize its governance.

To get involved, visit DemocratizeYale.org and StandUpForYale.org and sign up!

And please sign SUFY's petition to tell Yale not to cave to Trump!

Finally, please consider writing to Yale President McInnis directly. If you need a little inspiration, here's the letter I sent.

Cover of a zine that says "Welcome to Yale! A University Without Democracy." The image on the cover shows protestors from various generations of Yale students standing in front of the iconic lipstick sculpture that used to stand in Yale's Beineke Plaza. Words "Democratize Yale" under the graphic.
Page 2 Text: We love Yale - and we know you love it, too. But the university has increasingly betrayed the democratic values it claims to cherish... Image: cartoony drawing of a person with an apprehensive expression on their face saying "Boola WHAT?" They're wearing a shirt and holding a small pennant with "Y"s on them. Text: Today, Yale will hold a panel for first-years on "The University and Democracy." And yet: Yale is cracking down on free speech, negotiating with the DOJ over a baseless admissions investigation, and refusing to codify academic freedom, all under the governance of an undemocratic Board of Trustess. Right now, YOU DON'T HAVE THE SAME RIGHTS that generations of Yalies have enjoyed! Page 3 Let Students Speak! For decades, Yale students protested injustices like apartheid, labor abuses, and war through rallies, teach-ins, overnight structures, and more. But since the 2024 arrest of 40+ students just outside Woolsey Hall, Yale has betrayed that tradition and cracked down on even the simplest forms of expression... Image: photograph from 1986/1987 showing a multiracial group of students clapping/cheering/chanting on Beineke plaza at the shanty built by protesters to demand Yale divest from South Africa because of apartheid. * Students now can't put up POSTERS or CHALK MESSAAGES without obeying 18 DIFFERENT REGULATIONS. * Student group gatherings must now be PRE-REGISTERED and PRE-APPROVED; dozens of groups have had to DISPERSE or face disciplinary action. * Student BANDS, GREEK LIFE ORGS, and CULTURAL CLUBS are often dispersed from Cross Campus for fundraising for CHARITY - because in 2026 even that violates Yale's "free expression" regulations!
Pages 4-5 Yale, Don't Cave! Trump's second administration has threatened defunding to extort "deals" from prominent universities, many of which are now abandoning their students and faculty by adopting his authoritarian policies. * Brown and UPenn accepted federal guidelines that deny recognition to transgender and non-binary students. UPenn even revised the records of a transgender swimmer's results. * Brown, Columbia, and Northwestern all agreed to end many DEI-related programs. * Columbia and Northwestern agreed to long lists of free speech restrictions, including reporting visa-holding students' disciplinary actions to the government on request. And yet Yale President McInnis is still trying to bargain away Yale's admission practices to Trump! Image: montage of headlines from the WaPo, American Prospect, Yale Daily News, Inside Higher Education, and ABC News reading things like "Faculty and Students Demand Yale Not 'Cave' to Trump" and "Yale trustees, history is watching you." By trying to settle the DOJ's investigations into its admission practices, Yale is accepting Trump's racist premise that its Black and Latine students are unqualified. Every student and alum must tell President McInnis and the Trustees to fight Trump's attacks, not fold to his baseless demands. Harvard is fighting and winning in federal court - where's Yale's courage?
pages 6-7 Democratize the Yale Corp. and Codify Academic Freedom Image: headshots of the members of the Yale Corporation Yale isn't run by professors and teachers. It's run by the YALE CORPORATION, a group of 16 undemocratically picked trustees and an unelected president that operate with zero public meetings and little accountability to the Yale community. * Yale Corporation meeting notes are kept secret for 50 years. * The Yale Corporation holds $44 billion in undisclosed investments. * Even the alumni seats on the Yale Corp. have undemocratic closed nominations - the petition process for any alum to run for the office was shut down in 2021. Meanwhile, 68% of Yale faculty say that academic freedom at Yale has declined in the last year. Yale should be a beacon of academic freedom. But there is no written, binding commitment to academic freedom in the faculty regulations. In fact, Yale recently argued in federal court that faculty have no contractual rights to academic freedom - and the court agreed. As the Yale Corporation avoids accountability, our own faculty don't feel free to teach.
Page 8 Want to help fight for democracy at Yale? Sign up, learn more, and get involved! DemocratizeYale.org Led by a coalition of hundreds of students, faculty, and alumni The Lipstick in this zine's cover image is a sculpture by Claes Oldenburg '50 and a historical symbol of student speech at Yale. It was first constructed on Beineke Plaza in 1969 and became a speaking platform for anti-Vietnam War student protesters. Yale now celebrates the Lipstick in the University Art Gallery. BUT YALE'S CURRENT FREE SPEECH POLICIES WOULD PROHIBIT THE CONSTRUCTION OF A SIMILAR PUBLIC ART PROJECT TODAY. v1 - 08-27-2026 - Stand Up For Yale