International students are a vital part of the MIT graduate student community. We are also among the thousands of members and hundreds of organizers of the MIT Graduate Student Union (GSU). The reason we are involved is quite simple — like all of our colleagues, international or not, our voices should matter. As international students, we face many roadblocks to advancing our graduate program that we seek to address through unionization. We are voting yes on the GSU because we deserve:
adequate resources and support;
protections when we are confronted with visa issues or travel restrictions; and
equal opportunity and fair policies — for example, around Curricular Practical Training (CPT) to advance our research, professional development during our program, and Optional Practical Training for post-graduate jobs and a stable future.