New CFA Member Melissa Wrapp Fights for Equity Inside and Outside the Classroom

Like the majority of other new faculty, Melissa Wrapp became a CFA member as soon as she began teaching as an assistant professor in the Anthropology Department at CSU Long Beach last year. “Knowing there was a union in the CSU was part of the reason why I was excited to work here,” she said. 

But for Wrapp, what made CFA more enticing was that it was an explicitly social justice union. “That means our members aren’t just advocating for my labor conditions, but they’re helping organize and speak out for broader social justice issues; I’m really proud of that. It just feels like such a privilege to be part of a union speaking out on political issues that are important to me.” 

Wrapp’s research as a cultural anthropologist and ethnographer includes a focus on issues of racism and economic inequity. She spent sixteen months living and working alongside housing rights activists in Cape Town, South Africa, both examining and discouraging urban design practices that may replicate longstanding patterns of marginalization. In her applied research, she also helps assess and leverage greater opportunities for credit unions to better serve the needs of minoritized, low-income households, and average working people. 

Within our own institution, however, Wrapp has expressed concerns over the introduction of generative AI tools on our campuses. “It actively undermines a lot of the core competencies that I’m trying to teach my students,” she asserted, while maintaining that her role is neither to police nor surveil her students. “I just offer an invitation for them to learn a set of skills and go on a journey with me instead.” 

Regarding its impact on faculty, Wrapp worries that intellectual property and tenure, along with academic freedom and free speech, are under considerable threat by the emergence of these AI technologies.

Even so, Wrapp takes solace in knowing that “our union is one of the only anti-corporate voices on campus that’s taken a stance in favor of pedagogy and educational values driving the choices we make in the classroom.” 

Her sentiments are rooted in the frustrations that CFA members felt over the chancellor’s abrupt decision to launch this AI initiative before meeting and conferring with faculty, staff, and students about how this may impact their working and learning environments. For our members, the chancellor’s initiative embraces a troubling partnership with private tech giants who undoubtedly prioritize profits over students’ education. 

“CFA members consistently speak out to defend the educational experiences of my students,” Wrapp remarked. “They advocate for the best values that the CSU can offer to students in terms of quality public education, mentorship, and support. They also advocate for students beyond just the classroom…as individuals who exist in this political moment.” 

“And it’s also just fun to be in a union,” she stressed, noting the joy that comes from being a member. “My fellow union members are fun, caring, and kind people. I enjoy being with them in meetings together or on the picket line.” 

While still getting acquainted to life within the CSU, Wrapp is gladly taking on informal roles in CFA Long Beach’s Campaign Action Team (CAT). There, members hall walk, table, and attend rallies in support of one another. “CAT is a space for members who aren’t able to serve in leadership roles, but still want to be actively involved in the work,” she expressed joyfully.