Memorandum

Memorandum

To: Karol V. Mason, President at John Jay College of Criminal Justice
From: Krysteen Martinez, Student at John Jay College of Criminal Justice

Date: February 10^th, 2020

Subject: Proposed renovation of lactation rooms

Here at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY (JJCCJ), we support our faculty, staff, and student mothers with a lactation room on the fifth floor in Haaren Hall, it has come to my attention that renovations need to be made. Due to an influx on the number of mothers that are either continuing their education, educating, or supporting our faculty and students – it is time to provide better, inclusive services for our nursing mothers.

CUNY supports the rights of employees and students who are nursing mothers, and at John Jay we are dedicated to accommodating the needs of nursing mothers for break time and a private, comfortable space to express breast milk and/or feed nursing babies on campus. The single, current lactation room is hidden up in the skybox area of the fifth floor at Haaren Hall. The room locks from the inside, contains a table, chair, access to an electrical outlet and sink. While it is a private space by all means, I’m sorry to say it is the bare minimum. The inconvenient location and lack of content in the room can be improved.

This new proposal includes the creation of 5 new lactation rooms throughout campus, strategically placed in areas of convenience for students and staff, who sometimes only have the minutes in between classes. Lactation rooms, in terms of location, should be considered adjacent to restrooms/ gender neutral restrooms. Rooms would now additionally contain a fridge, lockers, and set up to make multiple occupancy possible as opposed to single-use rooms. A refrigerator and lockers are essential for the needs and conveniences of nursing mothers. A fridge to store breastmilk as needed, as students/employees time spent at John Jay varies greatly. Lockers for safe storage of belongings, including equipment needed to express breastmilk. Equipment can be a load to carry each day, especially going from class to class. These are some of the proposed renovations to alleviate the pressure on our students/teachers who are also mothers.

I thank you for your time, patience, and your commitment to making JJCCJ a safe, comfortable place for all people regardless of age, gender, or skin color. We strive to be inclusive of all here at John Jay, which is why projects like this are so close to home. We commend nursing mothers for their dedication, and that is why we, the college community, are dedicated to making them feel welcomed here. If you have any questions, comments or concerns about this project, and/or nursing mothers/ lactation rooms at JJCCJ in general, please don’t hesitate to contact me at: krysteen.martinez@jjay.cuny.edu, or visit this page: www.jjay.cuny.edu/lactationroommakeover.