We, the Columbia Coalition Against the War, stand in solidarity with the hunger strikers and their demands for a fully supported Ethnic Studies department, an ethical expansion plan, an inclusive core, and administrative reform. As opponents of the Iraq War, we question a university that invests money in weapons manufacturers but does not move to fund a strong Ethnic Studies or African-American Studies program. In a country that ignores the self-determination of those occupied in Iraq, we question a university that single-mindedly forces its own plan for expansion upon the Harlem community. While racism is used to justify aggression and paternalism abroad, we fear the dangers of a narrow-minded curriculum and an administration that responds inconsistently to hate crimes and remains silent as Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week is paraded through our campus. Until the demands of the hunger strikers are met, Columbia University stands complicit in the racism and aggression that plagues our society and fails miserably to meet the standards of a global university that extends respect towards all of its students and the surrounding community.
As members of Columbia University, we all have the right and the responsibility to hold our university to the high standards it claims to uphold. Through their hunger, the strikers seek institutional change that will nourish people within and around Columbia University for years to come. The Columbia Coalition Against the War applaud their courageous efforts and call on the administration to provide an immediate response to their demands.
As members of Columbia University, we all have the right and the responsibility to hold our university to the high standards it claims to uphold. Through their hunger, the strikers seek institutional change that will nourish people within and around Columbia University for years to come. The Columbia Coalition Against the War applaud their courageous efforts and call on the administration to provide an immediate response to their demands.
