tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36979670972734360562024-03-05T02:34:36.573-05:00Columbia Hunger Strike!The documentation of the November 2007 student activist hunger strike at Columbia UniversityUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697967097273436056.post-1665091332929320412007-12-10T11:57:00.000-05:002007-12-10T12:06:05.922-05:00WED at the City Council - DEFEND THE COMMUNITY PLAN, DEMAND A JUST EXPANSIONWednesday, Dec 12th. All day (STUDENTS COME AT 1:15 by TRAIN)<br />In front of the NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL<br />Hearings on Manhattanville<br /><br />DEFEND THE COMMUNITY PLAN, DEMAND A JUST EXPANSION<br /><br /><br />What?<br />A Show of Strength and Solidarity with the Communities of Harlem<br />Students Take a Stand at the City Council public hearing on the<br />Columbia Expansion<br /><br />Meet at the 116th and Broadway Gates at 1:15pm.<br />At 2pm we will be at the hearing to SHOW our support<br />and let the City Council know: "STUDENTS SAY: NO ONE GETS DISPLACED"<br /><br />(you will be back uptown to work on finals and papers by 3pm if you<br />like :) and if you have music or noise makers bring them along )<br /><br />Directions by train:<br />Take the 1, 2, 3, A or C to Chambers Street, enter through City Hall<br />Park.<br /><br />What matters most right now is the more the better. For EVERY PERSON<br />who comes out the message will be louder and clearer.<br /><br />--<br /><br />Why Now?<br />Wednesday, is the last major hearing as part of the city process to<br />determine the future of West Harlem and the Columbia plan to build a<br />17 acre / $7bn research campus in the neighborhood of Manhattanville.<br />As you may know the Columbia plan has long competed with the<br />community's (197a) plan for the future of the neighborhood.<br /><br />Most community residents believe both plans can co-exist, but in order<br />for that to happen, the Columbia must be accountable to the community<br />needs - most especially no displacement of residents in the expansion<br />area or the surrounding neighborhoods .<br /><br />Columbia's own environmental impact study predicts that 300 people<br />will be directly displaced and over 3,300 people from the surrounding<br />Black and Latino neighborhoods will see their rents become<br />unaffordable because of this development - something already happening<br />throughout the neighborhood.<br /><br />The City Council are the publicly accountable decision makers for New<br />Yorkers. What the City decides goes, except what gets worked out in<br />private negotiations and the state. This may be the last chance to<br />have a major student and public showing on the expansion .<br /><br /><br />What happened as of late?<br /><br />You may have heard some of the recent news around the expansion and<br />displacement in Harlem. The 125th St zoning receiving little support<br />throughout the neighborhood and getting voted down by Central Harlem's<br />CB10 because it will destroy the character of one of America's most<br />important commercial streets, and the heart of Harlem. Or you have<br />heard about the trouble the West Harlem Local Development Corp. has<br />come across in negotiating with Columbia about a fair and just set of<br />community benefits because of the role of politicians and closed<br />negotiations with Columbia. Or you heard about the Hunger Strike,<br />which though seven students and a professor fasted for 10 days the<br />University administration made no concessions on the expansion,<br />especially around protecting tenants who will be displaced and<br />offering an adequate amount toward preserving and creating affordable<br />housing its plan will displace.<br /><br />This is the last public hearing of a 7 month city review process. The<br />process was started during the summer, and will end during winter<br />break. A decision made by the University that has excluded community<br />residents and students alike from the process. The University made no<br />change to the start of the hearings when students and community<br />brought these concerns saying that this timing will exclude us from<br />the process.<br /><br /><br />What is Wednesday again?<br /><br />Though this hearing falls on reading days - one of the worst times for<br />student participation - and at the height of the holidays - when our<br />neighbors should be spending time with their families - we still have<br />a chance to be HEARD and take ACTION!<br /><br />People who want, can, have, not sure but think they should, - give two<br />hours of your time (1:15 - 3:15), and come down to the hearing. There<br />will be some visible action taking place, so the City Council knows<br />"STUDENTS SAY: NO DISPLACEMENT"<br /><br /><br />Meet at the 116th St. Broadway Gates - 1:15<br />Bring noise makers if you haveAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803795068688379158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697967097273436056.post-58836338220901386812007-11-20T18:17:00.000-05:002007-11-20T18:19:05.548-05:001986 Anti-Apartheid Hunger StrikersDear folks,<br /><br />We are writing to support your courageous protest. We are survivors of a 14-day student hunger strike in 1986, which not only ultimately led Columbia to abandon its investments in companies doing business in South Africa but also boosted a growing national movement for divestment. In the end that helped the anti-apartheid movement prevail in South Africa.<br /><br />When you act from conviction, you get the only results that count. So be strong and know that you are carrying on a proud tradition.<br /><br />Let us know if there's anything you need.<br /><br /><br />Yours in solidarity,<br /><br /><br />Tony Glover<br />Rob Jones<br />Laird Townsend<br />Whitney TymasAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803795068688379158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697967097273436056.post-82207479784409675452007-11-19T22:37:00.000-05:002007-11-19T22:45:10.046-05:00What We Just WonWhat we just won: Administrative commitment to, and student involvement in, expansion of the OMA, expansion of Ethnic Studies, and transformation of Major Cultures into a seminar format on equal footing with CC and Lit Hum.<br /><br />What the Next Five Years will bring is….<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Ethnic Studies</span><br />For the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race (CSER):<br />• <span style="font-weight: bold;">Three senior faculty</span> hires<br />• <span style="font-weight: bold;">Increased student participation</span> in hiring process<br /><br />Senior <span style="font-weight: bold;">faculty hire for IRAAS</span> (the Institute for Research in African American Studies)<br /><br />Recruitment of a <span style="font-weight: bold;">scholar in Native American Studies</span><br /><br />Resources toward s<span style="font-weight: bold;">trengthened ties between CSER, IRAAS and IRWAG</span> (the Institute for Research on Women and Gender)<br /><br />Student participation in the Academic Review Committee on CSER allowing for <span style="font-weight: bold;">student input in CSER's development </span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Office of Multicultural Affairs and Administrative Reform</span><br />Review of the OMA and the School of the Arts and Sciences to:<br />• Identify the unmet needs for the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Office of Multicultural Affairs</span><br />• Access to the <span style="font-weight: bold;">OMA for the School of General Studies</span><br />• Identify the needs for a <span style="font-weight: bold;">Multicultural Affairs officer in the Arts and Sciences</span><br />• Create <span style="font-weight: bold;">more safe spaces</span> for a number of campus communities<br /><br />The new location of <span style="font-weight: bold;">an expanded Intercultural Resource Center</span> will be announced and funded at the end of the semester<br /><br />The <span style="font-weight: bold;">Annual orientation for new faculty </span>will include perspectives that address the power and privilege<br /><br />Diversity education and <span style="font-weight: bold;">training for Public Safety</span> staff<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The Core and Major Cultures</span><br />Increased student participation in the <span style="font-weight: bold;">re-examining of the Core</span> beginning this semester<br /><br />Commitment to <span style="font-weight: bold;">funding new Major Cultures seminars</span> when approved by the Committee on the Core and the Task Force on Undergraduate Education<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Faculty, Student and Alumni Oversight</span><br />A committee of faculty, students and alumni to ensure the progress of these concerns<br /><br /><br />We've gotten the ball rolling, Columbia. We've put these things on the table and won a commitment to raise the money so that they will actually happen. Now it's up to you, students and faculty of the entire university, to shape it.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803795068688379158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697967097273436056.post-73665297115400954882007-11-16T20:18:00.000-05:002007-11-16T20:28:19.198-05:00Press Release: Friday, November 16, 2007<div style="text-align: justify;">***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><br /><br />November 16, 2007</b></span></span><b><br /><br />*Tonight all remaining Columbia hunger strikers will break their fast*</b><span lang="en-US"><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US">Contact: </span><span lang="en-US">Jamie Chen, Student Organizer, </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u><a href="mailto:eimajine@gmail.com" target="_blank"><span lang="en-US">eimajine@gmail.com</span></a></u></span> , 240.305.7628<br /><span lang="en-US">Contact: </span><span lang="en-US">David Judd, Student Organizer, </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u><a href="mailto:davidajudd@gmail.com" target="_blank"><span lang="en-US">davidajudd@gmail.com</span></a></u></span> , 646.326.0944<br /><span lang="en-US">Contact: </span><span lang="en-US">Annie Salsich, Student Organizer, </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u><a href="mailto:asalsich06@yahoo.com" target="_blank"><span lang="en-US">asalsich06@yahoo.com</span></a></u> </span>, 508.314.0422<br /><span lang="en-US">Contact: </span><span lang="en-US">Linnea Hincks, Student Organizer, </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u><a href="mailto:linneahincks@gmail.com" target="_blank"><span lang="en-US">linneahincks@gmail.com</span> </a></u></span><span lang="en-US">, 646.388.0603</span><br /></div><span lang="en-US"><br />Official website: </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u><a href="http://www.cu-strike.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span lang="en-US">www.cu-strike.blogspot.com</span></a></u></span><br /><br />VIGIL 9PM, NOV. 16<sup>TH</sup>, SUNDIAL ON COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY'S CAMPUS,<span lang="en-US"> W. 116<sup>TH</sup> ST., BETWEEN BROADWAY AND AMSTERDAM</span><br /><br />In response to the concerns of the Coalition to Preserve Community and prominent community members for the Columbia University hunger strikers' health, the remaining hunger strikers will break their fast at tonight's 9pm vigil. Although, at the urging of community members, they will change their form of protest, the individuals who have been on strike and those who have mobilized around this movement are committed to continuing their struggle for an ethical expansion by Columbia into West Harlem.<br /><br />Negotiations on the strikers' demands relating to Columbia's expansion took place yesterday. The administration's response to student demands was patronizing, and led to nothing but a restating of the university's current positions, demonstrating continual resistance to engaging in constructive discussion with its students. Ryan Fukumori, CC'09 and a student negotiator, noted that, on the issue of expansion, "This administration is in a moral crisis when its financial interests surpass the greater needs of the community." He added, "Despite significant advancements made in the areas of administrative and curricular reform, we have unfortunately not seen the same cooperative attitude from administrators on the topic of expansion."<br /><br />Community members have expressed their greatest appreciation for the student movement that escalated into a hunger strike ten days ago. The administration's appreciation for the community is less apparent: community members were asked by present officials to leave the gathering of silent observers at yesterday's negotiation. It had been agreed at student insistence that negotiations would be made public, but it had not been explicitly specified whether community members were included in this agreement.<br /><br />Students maintained their resolve over their demands regarding Columbia's expansion. The points brought by students to the negotiations yesterday were compromises from the students' original positions. Demands include: that Columbia take eminent domain completely off the table; that it promise to negotiate with tenants and the Local Development Corporation rather than landlords and city politicians; and that resources be allocated to creating affordable housing for the 5035 people who are living in unsubsidized housing in the area of expansion. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"> </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697967097273436056.post-9568434200067977132007-11-16T20:12:00.001-05:002007-11-16T20:18:37.669-05:00Open Letter to the Administrators, from the Negotiators<div style="text-align: justify;">Dear Administrators,<br /><br />We would like to begin by reminding you how we got to this point. But first, we want to state why we're not here: we're not here because a small group of students decided to hold the university hostage. We're not here requesting a laundry list of concessions, or else. We're not here for our own selfish whims. We're here because this semester we saw hate far and wide on this campus. We heard President Bollinger the face and head of our university make inflammatory remarks. We've seen incidences of racist, Islamophobic and anti-Semitic language in our community and we've experienced the personal attacks on Teachers College faculty in the form of swastikas and nooses. This is unacceptable in our community, but even less acceptable is the administration's lack of response. These acts and our university's inability to address them have only illuminated the vast inadequacies of this institution on numerous levels. We're here to address the ways in which this university contributes to the marginalization of communities.<br /><br />How is it that students on our campus can say that other students are overreacting when they are outraged by nooses in our community? What is the responsibility of our university to provide resources to create a safe, inclusive and just campus community and responsible world citizens? We don't think our opinions differ so vastly on these points.<br /><br />What we have laid out are ways we believe we can encourage this university to be accountable to its students and community, and specifically how we can (re)envision a process, administration, and university that will lead to this safe, just and inclusive community we imagine.<br /><br />Unfortunately (re)imagining the process by which we operate is not simple and unfortunately it can not be satisfied by placing checkmarks next to a laundry list of requests. Further, considering the significant difference of power between students and administrators, it is rather unfair and impractical to expect us to trust that these concerns and commitments will be followed through on without having the proposals and time tables by which these commitments will be implemented. We see our current agreements over the document as a first step in ensuring our trust in the process as we move forward.<br /><br />As to those many places where we have not made agreements or where we must defer to faculty, reviews and other processes, we would simply like emphasize the importance of the blue ribbon oversight committee proposed and agreed upon. It is simply unfair to expect students to become experts on the complexities of your bureaucratic system. In the future when approached with proposals, as we have in the past, we would ask you to tell us what you can do within your purview, if our proposals don't work, to help us to make our vision for what this community can be a reality.<br /><br />We would hope that your commitment to our community would extend beyond the discrete proposals we have made- beyond, even, the discrete issues we have brought up to truly interrogate how you can use your power to play a role in affecting change at every level of this institution. We expect this to be a starting point, not an end point, but we need to see that this is understood by your side as well.<br /><br />Just to reiterate this clearly, the student organizing in the past weeks was not just about how many hires we can get out of this process or specifically how much funding we can secure. Rather it should have been about you coming to us and saying "I may not be able to do this but I can call a meeting" or "I can start making calls to donors" or "I can have this or that discussion with the relevant administrators."<br /><br />Please understand that this is about being able to see your commitment for a new vision of our community in a tangible way, not trying to coerce you into acquiescing to some self-interested and un-negotiable demands. In that spirit, we hope that you yourselves will, in the future, be making recommendations to students above and beyond our own to make our community a safer more inclusive place, but we'll leave that to you for now.<br /><br />Sincerely,<br />Rahel Aima, CC'10<br />Yadira Alvarez, CC'10<br />Desiree Carver-Thomas, CC'09<br />Ryan Fukumori, CC'09<br />Vivian Lu, CC'10<br />Andrew Lyubarsky, CC'09<br />Sam Rennebohm, GS'09<br />Julie Schneyer, BC'08<br />Andrew Tillett-Saks, CC'09<br />Christien Tompkins, CC'08<br />with the concerned students organizing around the hunger strike and demands of Autumn 2007</div>Columbia Solidarityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17946115672631425204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697967097273436056.post-75301599122267711142007-11-16T19:25:00.000-05:002007-11-16T19:27:31.387-05:00Joint Statement from Administrators and Students<div style="text-align: justify;">Any successful negotiation results in an agreement that enables both sides to claim victory. In this case, however, there is only one winner and one side, because we all share the same commitment to building a better Columbia.<br /><br />The administration recognizes the deep seriousness of the student strikers' commitment to institutional changes that will reduce the marginalization experienced by some of our communities and enhance inclusiveness for all.<br /><br />The students recognize the strength of the administration's commitment to advancing change through the channels that represent the interests of the whole Columbia community.<br /><br />We have worked hard together to bring these two imperatives into complementary relationship and we are confident we have succeeded.<br /><br />Coming to this agreement has required a great amount of trust; trust that we must continue to build and sustain together. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697967097273436056.post-75255262450414204842007-11-16T18:10:00.000-05:002007-11-16T18:42:21.760-05:00Press Release: Coalition to Preserve Community, 11/16/07<div style="text-align: justify;">A response to CPC's concerns will be released shortly and presented at tonights vigil, 9pm at the sundial.<br />---<br /><br />***** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 11/16/07 *****<br /><br />WEST HARLEM COMMUNITY GROUP ASKS HUNGER-STRIKING COLUMBIA STUDENTS TO WITHDRAW DEMAND REGARDING UNIVERSITY'S PROPOSED EXPANSION<br /><br />Contact:<br />Tom DeMott: 917-969-0669<br />Nellie Bailey: 646-812-5188<br />Luis Tejada: 212 234-3002<br /><br />Five days ago, on November 11, the Coalition to Preserve Community (CPC), a four-year old West Harlem community group opposing the Columbia University expansion plan, asked the Columbia students who had been on a hunger strike since Wednesday, November 7, to withdraw their demand that the University recall its 197C rezoning application. They rejected our request at that time, but today we are asking them again.<br /><br />We do not want the students' health and welfare to be sacrificed in waiting on Columbia to engage in an honest dialogue and negotiation with the community on the rezoning application. For that to happen, President Bollinger and the Board of Trustees would have to respect the ten points raised by the Community Board as necessary to bring the Columbia plan into conformity with the community plan. The students are correct when they say that this could be accomplished, and they have done a great job bringing the true nature of Columbia's eviction plan out in the open, but we have all seen over the past five days that Columbia is stonewalling them, as it has stonewalled the community, on this issue.<br /><br />The students attempted to focus in on six points concerning the expansion, and Columbia would not even make the basic commitment to negotiate a Community Benefits Agreement exclusively with the Local Development Corporation. This refusal reveals Columbia’s underhanded strategy of dealing with elected officials in back-door 11th-hour negotiations in order to circumvent the comprehensive demands developed on LDC committees by grassroots people. Columbia and its politicians want to sweep the work of community members under the rug and invent some last minute deal that will be put forth as purported "mitigation" of the devastation the Columbia plan will wreak in the community. The students should not starve themselves any longer trying to change this bought-and-paid-for scenario. It is clear that the fix is in regarding Manhattanville.<br /><br />We have supported the advocacy efforts of the students on their other important demands for a democratic and inclusive education and those talks have been concluded. We will continue to work with them as we advocate for real community planning that does not cause displacement nor depend on the use of eminent domain.<br /><br />Coalition members are extremely concerned for the well-being of the students. Having dealt with the Columbia administration for four years on its proposed expansion plans, the CPC is fully aware of Low Library's intransigence, deceitfulness, and cold-blooded ruthlessness. Accordingly, the CPC calls upon the students to withdraw their demand regarding Columbia's 197C application with its reliance on bulldozing a community and eminent domain and to concentrate on their other advocacy.<br /><br />The striking students and their supporters will be conducting a vigil and press conference tonight at the sundial on the Columbia campus at Broadway and 116th Street.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803795068688379158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697967097273436056.post-82626955716608780462007-11-16T17:15:00.000-05:002007-11-16T17:18:07.546-05:00Statement of Solidarity: Sakib KhanSakib Khan is an alum of Columbia University, former Chair of the Student Governing Board and former President of the Muslim Students Association.<br /><br />---<br /><br />As an alum of the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, I write in solidarity with those taking and supporting direct action. The need for direct action has been a long time coming, and I am inspired by the sacrifice of the strikers. They continue Columbia's proudest tradition, selflessly speaking truth to power, no matter the personal expense. I wish the expense was less, but in my experience and in the experience of countless others, the administrations of the University, Columbia College and the School of Engineering and Applied Science have, both jointly and separately, neglected to respect more conventional communication.<br /><br />The University and its schools exercise their powers in a manner that systematically marginalizes people of color. Development powers, curricular powers, faculty-hiring and tenure-granting powers and student life powers are among those abused at the expense of neighbors, faculty, and students. The most troubling instance of this abuse of power might be the University's refusal to incorporate the principles of its neighbors' own plans for the future of Manhattanville. Here, the University chooses to unilaterally reject the community's rightful input on neighborhood development (197A) simply because land use laws allow marginalization. If expansion is to be successful, Columbia must invest in a campaign of inclusion and empowerment, not just capital.<br /><br />None of these abuses--development, curricular, faculty hiring/tenure, student life--are intentional. However, the University and its schools have persisted without significantly changing their approach to power in the face of multiple race-related scandals each year for the last several years. The University and its schools have persisted without change in the face of 5 hate crimes in a 4 week span. The University and its schools have persisted without change in the face of local, national, and international media attention. Most importantly, the University and its schools have persisted without change in the face of years of cautioning, advocacy, negotiation, and protest by concerned neighbors, faculty, students and alumni. Their persistence is repulsive and unbecoming of a well-regarded institution.<br /><br />However, without darkness, we would not know the light. Without obstacle, we would not learn the power of struggle. I hope that each of the strikers and their supporters takes time to reflect on the education they receive through struggle. Sadly, marginalized people coming together and taking direct action is a rare occurrence. It is among the most unique and valuable experiences they will have at<br />Columbia.<br /><br />I pray that further escalation is not needed, but that if it proves necessary, then that it is brief and successful. I pray for the health, strength, and faith of all involved in making a more responsible and moral Columbia. God willing, their sacrifice will pay dividends for us all.<br /><br />“Whosoever of you sees an evil action, let him correct it with his hand; and if he is not able to do so, then with his tongue; and if he is not able to do so, then with his heart." -Prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him)<br /><br />Peace to you all,<br />Sakib Khan SEAS '07Saffiyah Madraswalahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14030639998319845696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697967097273436056.post-21673206764942013152007-11-16T15:48:00.000-05:002007-11-16T15:51:11.844-05:00Statement of Solidarity: The Equal Rights and Access Committee of the Graduate Employees and Students Organization (Yale)<div style="text-align: justify;">As the Equal Rights and Access Standing Committee of the graduate teachers union at Yale University, we support your struggle to hold Columbia accountable to the principles of equality and respect for all people inside and outside the institution. We, like you, wonder whether universities (must) perpetuate the systems of oppression that they claim to challenge. You challenge Columbia to confront their role in, as you put it, "a world in which racist, gendered, and sexualized hierarchies dominate the way power flows." Your demands for curricular and thus intellectual change articulate the way in which the knowledge produced in and by universities enables these harmful actions. We draw inspiration from your willingness to take direct<br />action to institute greater democracy on your campus.<br /><br />Your struggle also speaks to other universities. Like you, we face a university that plays an increasingly dominant political and economic role in its host community and seeks to reshape it in its own image. This manifests in the forms of escalating gentrification and policing. Our administration, like yours has disregarded the voice of students, workers, community members, and faculty, and has failed to address the systemic discrimination that exists on our campus. We at Yale are also confronting articulations of white supremacy. The noose at Columbia manifests through hateful graffiti at Yale. Your example assists in providing encouragement for us.<br /><br />We thank you for your determination, and most of all, your vision.<br /><br />In solidarity and hope,<br />The Equal Rights and Access Committee of the Graduate Employees and Students Organization (GESO)<br />Yale University, New Haven, CT</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697967097273436056.post-69658223068094107402007-11-16T00:47:00.000-05:002007-11-16T00:49:58.436-05:00Words from the Negotiation Team<div style="text-align: justify;">Yesterday we, the negotiators, met with Maxine Griffith, Executive Vice President of Government and Community Affairs, to receive her responses on the points of compromise that we had presented the day before. To our great disappointment, the meeting was characterized by a disturbing incident of excluding the greater community, and a complete lack of progress on any of the issues under discussion.<o:p></o:p><br /><o:p></o:p><br /><o:p></o:p>At the start of the meeting, Ms. Griffith requested the removal of Dr. Vicky Gholson, a member of Community Board 9, on the grounds that she felt uncomfortable with the presence of community representatives, as silent observers, in an open negotiation meeting. The ground-rules agreed upon with the administration allowed for open observation by the student body, but did not specifically address community participation. The facilitator asked Dr. Gholson to leave, despite his own personal unease and the objections of the student negotiators. We are greatly troubled by the implications of this action, which implies that the administration rejects the presence of the very people whom the expansion most affects. We reject the artificial division between the student body and the broader community that <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Columbia</st1:place></st1:City> has so unreasonably defined on this issue.<o:p></o:p><br /><o:p></o:p><br /><o:p></o:p>Thereafter, we played a recording of CB9 consultant and former city commissioner Ron Shiffman, who confirmed that, contrary to prior statements made by Ms. Griffith, direct negotiations between the Community Board and <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Columbia</st1:place></st1:City> have not occurred since August, and that CB9 stands by its 32-2 vote against the 197-c plan. Ms. Griffith’s response was nebulous.<o:p></o:p><br /><o:p></o:p><br /><o:p></o:p>The negotiation itself confirmed our worst fears. It became evident to us that instead of engaging in a good-faith negotiation, Ms. Griffith preferred to restate the administrative position and merely clarify the functioning of various city processes with which we were already familiar. While we have been willing to compromise from our original position, we have not seen a similar commitment made by the administration, and have only been met with empty rhetoric and answers that continue to allude to vague commitments to future change.<o:p></o:p><br /><o:p></o:p><br /><o:p></o:p>While we have accomplished a tremendous amount in the last week, we see that this administration is in a moral crisis when its financial interests surpass the greater needs of the community. We, as students, demand that the University behave responsibly in its role as an institution of learning, rather than as a developer in a single-minded drive for its own narrowly-defined interests. Until then, the struggle for justice in Manhattanville continues.<o:p></o:p><br /><o:p></o:p><br /><o:p></o:p>-the negotiators </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697967097273436056.post-7127543151663549822007-11-15T20:56:00.000-05:002007-11-15T20:57:39.612-05:00Statement of Solidarity: Prof. Gary Y. Okihiro<div style="text-align: justify;">Please convey my support of the student strikers in their demands for equity and justice. It is unfortunate when students, who are at Columbia and Barnard for an education, must themselves educate their professors, Columbia's/Barnard's administrators, and their fellow students about the importance, nay necessity of a more democratic, responsible, and inclusive university, college, curriculum, and climate. The struggle continues.<br /><br />Gary Y. Okihiro<br />Professor of International and Public Affairs<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697967097273436056.post-8976863964129087592007-11-15T20:33:00.000-05:002007-11-15T20:35:24.397-05:00Statement of Solidarity: Prof. Robin D.G. Kelley<div style="text-align: justify;">I’m writing in support of student demands for a change in the core curriculum, administrative reform, support for a stronger, expanded and more autonomous Ethnic Studies program, and a more equitable and just policy toward communities in Harlem. These demands grow out of years of thinking and struggle on Columbia’s campus, dating back at least to the formation of Ethnic Studies eleven years ago, if not before. Indeed, during my brief tenure on the faculty at Columbia University, I recall spending most of my time battling on these same fronts—attending meetings “re-thinking” the core curriculum; trying to get faculty and students to understand how Columbia’s expansion plan into West Harlem will destroy local communities; figuring out how to keep CSER afloat on a miniscule budget, mostly junior faculty, and no authority to make unilateral appointments. And, of course, we dealt with racist, sexist, and homophobic incidents on campus.<br /><br />I do hope everyone—the administration, the faculty, and students who might be reluctant to support the strike—understands that the hunger strikes and the movement of which they are a part are offering a vision that would make Columbia University a better place. In struggle they have created a blueprint for what all institutions of learning (higher or otherwise) ought to aspire to be. And that is, a safe place for all students irrespective of difference, a place where knowledge is expansive and challenging, a place that engages, supports and partners with it’s neighbors rather than steam rolls over them, and an institution that places social justice at its core.<br /><br />Robin D. G. Kelley<br />Professor of History and American Studies and Ethnicity<br />University of Southern California</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697967097273436056.post-34479162430955114392007-11-15T20:31:00.001-05:002007-11-15T20:33:48.643-05:00Statement of Solidarity: Progressive Jewish Alliance<div style="text-align: justify;">"Is not this the fast I have chosen:<br />to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of tyranny,<br />to set the oppressed free and shatter all bondage?" (Is. 58:6)<o:p></o:p><br /><br />The Progressive Jewish Alliance stands in solidarity with the brave <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Columbia</st1:place></st1:City> students who truly understand the message of the prophet Isaiah, that a fast is not merely the abstention of food (or drink). Rather, it is a sympathetic response, an act of compassion, of feeling <i>with</i>, a radical intuition that shatters interpersonal boundaries. To fast is to refuse sustenance in a time when so many are hungering for dialogue, for fair treatment, for justice.<o:p></o:p><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><o:p></o:p></span>The PJA supports a quest for a curriculum that will educate the student body about the world in which we live, with proper attention paid to all cultures and ethnicities represented in this "global university." As members of a people historically diasporic for 2,500 years, we are appalled at the university's callous plan of expansion that will cause 5,000 people to be displaced and will utterly ruin a rich community. Lastly, as victims of recent bias incidents, the Progressive Jewish Alliance speaks out with great fervor against the appalling slew of expressions of hate and support the strikers' attempt to force the university's administration to do its duty and take care of its student body.<o:p></o:p><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><o:p></o:p></span>Our prayers are with the strikers and all their supporters, wishing them a speedy resolution and good health. Thank you all.<o:p></o:p><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><o:p></o:p></span>~PJA<o:p></o:p> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697967097273436056.post-62601595399479228882007-11-15T16:03:00.000-05:002007-11-15T16:08:02.218-05:00Press Release: Thursday, November 15, 2007<div style="text-align: justify; font-family: trebuchet ms;">*** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***<o:p></o:p><br /><o:p></o:p><br /><o:p></o:p><b style="">Two students to end hunger strike after winning concessions; four others to continue fast<o:p></o:p></b><b style=""><o:p></o:p></b><br /><b style=""><o:p></o:p></b><br /><b style=""><o:p></o:p></b>Thursday, November 15, 2007<o:p></o:p><br /><o:p></o:p><br /><o:p></o:p>Contact: Jamie Chen, Student Organizer, <a href="mailto:eimajine@gmail.com" target="_blank" title="blocked::mailto:eimajine@gmail.com">eimajine@gmail.com</a>, 240.305.7628<br />Contact: David Judd, Student Organizer, <a href="mailto:davidajudd@gmail.com" target="_blank" title="blocked::mailto:davidajudd@gmail.com">davidajudd@gmail.com</a>, 646.326.0944<o:p></o:p><br /><o:p></o:p><br /><o:p></o:p>More information: <a href="http://www.cu-strike.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" title="blocked::http://www.cu-strike.blogspot.com/">http://cu-strike.blogspot.com</a><o:p></o:p><br /><o:p></o:p><br /><o:p></o:p>Two <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Columbia</st1:PlaceName> <st1:placetype st="on">University</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> students have ended their hunger strike after eight days. The students, <span name="st">Emilie</span> Rosenblatt, CC '08, and Bryan Mercer, CC '07, have been on strike since Wednesday, November 7, in support of demands relating to the way the university deals with race in its curriculum and administration as well as its planned expansion into <st1:place st="on">West Harlem</st1:place>.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p>The students' decision was made last night after the <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Columbia</st1:place></st1:City> administration offered significant concessions in three of the four areas of concern to students and faculty supporting the strike. However, the administration has yet to address students' critique of its planned expansion into West Harlem, and the displacement of <st1:place st="on">Harlem</st1:place> residents expected to result. Four other students, Victoria Ruiz, CC '09, April Simpson, CC '11, Rich Brown, CC '10, and Sam Barron, BC '10, will continue to refrain from eating until the university revises its expansion plans to bring them in line with Harlem community needs, as expressed in Community Board 9's 197-a plan.<o:p></o:p><br /><o:p></o:p><br /><o:p></o:p>The two students who are ending their fasts made this decision after thorough discussions with the remaining strikers and with other allies. The students will begin eating once more both for medical reasons and as a sign of good faith in response to administrators' concessions regarding curricular and administrative reform. Emilie and Bryan were warned yesterday that Columbia Health Services officials judged them to be in serious medical danger and that they would be placed on involuntary medical leave for the remainder of the current semester should they refuse to end their strike. The two strikers were prepared to continue regardless, but when further negotiations produced acceptable results, they decided to transition to other methods of struggle.<o:p></o:p><br /><o:p></o:p><br /><o:p></o:p>According to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Bryan</st1:place></st1:City>, "the agreements reached tonight are a true beginning of progress," which "came about through the mass rallying of students, and show the ability of students to push through their concerns." Emilie noted that "even though I've stepped out of the strike, the struggle continues, and I will continue to be involved in other ways. It's crucial that we make progress on making the expansion responsible."<o:p></o:p><br /><o:p></o:p><br /><o:p></o:p>A meeting is scheduled for 4pm today at which students will negotiate with administrators regarding the major outstanding issue, <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Columbia</st1:place></st1:City>'s expansion plans. A separate meeting will take place to work out the last details of the positions to which administrators and the coalition of concerned students and faculty and administrators have already agreed in principle. Students and allies will rally at noon on College Walk at the center of campus in support of the remaining demands, and will hold their daily candlelight vigil at 9pm. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697967097273436056.post-75817539535659999332007-11-15T10:20:00.000-05:002007-11-15T16:23:55.739-05:00Statement of Solidarity: United Asian American Organizations, University of Michgan<div style="text-align: justify;">The United Asian American Organizations (UAAO) at the University of Michigan stands in full solidarity with the hunger strikers at Columbia University. UAAO is a political coalition of 37 Asian American student groups, established to work in unity to provide education on issues facing Asian/Pacific Islander Americans, to promote awareness of Asian/Pacific Islander American cultures, and to serve as a communication core for Asian/Pacific Islander American organizations and individuals.<br /><br />Since the founding of the first Ethnic Studies programs in late 1960s and on, faculty and students have continuously faced institutional challenges. We struggle to uphold the principles Ethnic Studies was founded on, the right to education, to redirect resources at higher education institution to our communities, and to connect with the grassroots movements. We have received backlashes at traditional, elite institutions. Our Studies has become inaccessible and academic because of the traditional framework of higher education. Our services to our communities are not valued, quantified or qualified for the "standards," made by people who intend to shake our beliefs, who want us to abandon the movements that have preceded us and will come after us.<br /><br />As students of color in Michigan, we share the same struggles as students at Columbia University. Our faculty of color, not only in Ethnic Studies but across in various departments and disciplines, are being let go one by one. The same reasons are told to us each time we request an explanation: the faculty member's research is not qualified, given the context of the prestigious research institution; their work focuses on the community, not on research that allows the university to continuously be perceived prestigiously; their research only concerns a small minority group, not the society at large. These reasons only raise more questions: Who are the people who set the standards? Who decides what is prestigious and what is not? And furthermore, why should one be punished, not rewarded, for spending tremendous amount of time and effort in the community, outside of one's research facility?<br /><br />The colonialism existing in the traditional academia framework greatly hurts students. If Columbia University claims to embrace diversity and freedom, then the diversity cannot be validated solely by having students of color on campus. The administration needs to recognize that diversity goes beyond numbers and community input is crucial in improving campus climate. The curriculum needs to be diversified, allowing knowledge in different fields, including Ethnic Studies, which promotes knowledge that has been traditionally suppressed because of colonialism. Students have the right to learn about the history and importance of people of color in building this country, founded on colonial principles. Students have the right to demand the university's support for acquiring such knowledge, if the university truly embraces diversity.<br /><br />United Asian American Organizations Board<br />Eric Li, Co-Chair<br />C.C. Song, Co-Chair<br />Anisha Mangalick, Advocacy<br />George Dong, Community Historian<br />Katherine Takai, External Relations<br />Ashley Manzano, Internal Relations<br />Jeff Meng, Finance<br />Vivian Tao, Programming<br />Ravi Bodepudi, Service</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697967097273436056.post-1064535799272480422007-11-15T04:59:00.001-05:002007-11-15T05:00:34.869-05:00Open the TALKS! Vigil and Rally at Hamilton<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VlLcrdL4Vak"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VlLcrdL4Vak" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803795068688379158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697967097273436056.post-26741634096054131272007-11-15T03:00:00.000-05:002007-11-17T18:08:10.134-05:00Student PowerPictures from the 11/14 vigial at the Sundial, rally at Hamilton and march around campus:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRho7R16bxlUPFuO-We_c6Saphq1RPJvhaiKLX1PVKXneEJQPW95xwDo5xeRS6rg0ImSOLBcD5OboXDqzCB2vbxTnCA220jjBlJnsx8CEPBFXdLAtJT2YEw7GZmBbE4XPblrO7pawAgy3P/s1600-h/IMG_1840.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRho7R16bxlUPFuO-We_c6Saphq1RPJvhaiKLX1PVKXneEJQPW95xwDo5xeRS6rg0ImSOLBcD5OboXDqzCB2vbxTnCA220jjBlJnsx8CEPBFXdLAtJT2YEw7GZmBbE4XPblrO7pawAgy3P/s320/IMG_1840.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5132979013526924850" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMRUdJcrBSh5ZBKemWgrPKYDyuBqxU3a3QQiommjjEtEvMdPAa830y7fz8Gi9kBZymwb_E1R3Nwm2bohlTe4AGxbkhOUAWAVEYqFGbglX5dwFoIvR9EsbzcpdKQsXZ4u5Lw_kHdHobJrop/s1600-h/IMG_1851.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMRUdJcrBSh5ZBKemWgrPKYDyuBqxU3a3QQiommjjEtEvMdPAa830y7fz8Gi9kBZymwb_E1R3Nwm2bohlTe4AGxbkhOUAWAVEYqFGbglX5dwFoIvR9EsbzcpdKQsXZ4u5Lw_kHdHobJrop/s320/IMG_1851.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5132979146670911058" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF3V-JLVoeaKfDVF4cEUl8Rvm71jv-REoHeb6ggipG3EXZaOLjVmdiA2giSYLe4NNX3XU8R7WpPj1Obbljk991SLAerYqo_oI4hyphenhyphenssds_uDueS-UgPOs8-9lzqSVy9rMedmfDawJIA0_R_/s1600-h/IMG_1816.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF3V-JLVoeaKfDVF4cEUl8Rvm71jv-REoHeb6ggipG3EXZaOLjVmdiA2giSYLe4NNX3XU8R7WpPj1Obbljk991SLAerYqo_oI4hyphenhyphenssds_uDueS-UgPOs8-9lzqSVy9rMedmfDawJIA0_R_/s320/IMG_1816.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5132978416526470674" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYxouUnXahniauYiAWwCzUzSh_PdkhFV36DgWdnVjUpenLkJ-WMmYMscY32ZK-bfK8kcG5uIf_hkDUSc3dIeLVVVyp0NkTiBnqlMYQr9eOzVgi1nXECWly27tnjSD2Iyu3hUJ5ymF78sE_/s1600-h/IMG_1858.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYxouUnXahniauYiAWwCzUzSh_PdkhFV36DgWdnVjUpenLkJ-WMmYMscY32ZK-bfK8kcG5uIf_hkDUSc3dIeLVVVyp0NkTiBnqlMYQr9eOzVgi1nXECWly27tnjSD2Iyu3hUJ5ymF78sE_/s320/IMG_1858.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5132979198210518626" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgP3z_qWGxfO9CAroRv_46BUzjIs0rAI0gKk8vhyphenhyphenzH8ozJT223BPTF7wglThpS3c1Kp2dwPN33OE2fzV80nAtcZttb0S5RBweT_9YT3GjqNDAUKV08Ho9HM71q0bej09tXAxr98YEjkP7S/s1600-h/IMG_1881.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgP3z_qWGxfO9CAroRv_46BUzjIs0rAI0gKk8vhyphenhyphenzH8ozJT223BPTF7wglThpS3c1Kp2dwPN33OE2fzV80nAtcZttb0S5RBweT_9YT3GjqNDAUKV08Ho9HM71q0bej09tXAxr98YEjkP7S/s320/IMG_1881.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5132979601937444466" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR-t3oVzRHY4jqK1VpKtiiT489SlL-p42m1XAh7MGsierx5sdVNKusxaDONNxXJAOGY05Qd-vVWtM5rnjOsDZnArX-G6AHGtGJ6nTzrcn1MnPq5RWYbgvlC2HhYZTzfwLeLOpgB9FyiTWr/s1600-h/IMG_1892.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR-t3oVzRHY4jqK1VpKtiiT489SlL-p42m1XAh7MGsierx5sdVNKusxaDONNxXJAOGY05Qd-vVWtM5rnjOsDZnArX-G6AHGtGJ6nTzrcn1MnPq5RWYbgvlC2HhYZTzfwLeLOpgB9FyiTWr/s320/IMG_1892.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5132979657772019330" border="0" /></a>Saffiyah Madraswalahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14030639998319845696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697967097273436056.post-38918555382077142262007-11-15T01:48:00.000-05:002007-11-15T02:21:45.194-05:00Words from the Negotiation Team: 11/15/07<div style="text-align: justify;">We are pleased to announce that after a day of great adversity, we have emerged with significant victories on many of our demands and a clear vision of what student power can accomplish. What began with administration threats to cut off all further negotiations and an ultimatum to end the strike by midnight ended with explicit concessions on the Core Curriculum, administrative reform, and support for ethnic studies. The struggle continues unabated around issues surrounding the university's expansion into West Harlem, which has as of yet not been addressed in a substantive fashion.<br /><br />Hundreds of students packed the campus in a peaceful but boisterous demonstration that decried the university's decision to cut off civil negotiations and resort to threats of force, rallying around Hamilton Hall where administrative deliberations were taking place. As public safety guarded the doors to the building, students and community leaders demanded that the administration continue the negotiation until all issues were satisfactorily addressed. The crowd swelled in size and a continuing lack of communication with administration sources threatened to escalate the situation.<span> </span>Finally, we received communication from the administration that the hunger strike would continue undisturbed, that specific commitments on funding for the transition of Major Cultures to a seminar format and the expansion of the Office of Multicultural Affairs were made, that disciplinary penalties on hunger strikers would not be levied, and that negotiations for the expansion would continue.<br /><br />As these victories were announced to the assembled crowd, sentiment changed from anger to elation. Scores of people remained at the Sundial discussing the advances of the evening and the necessary steps to follow. While students rejoiced in their triumph, they remained fully aware that much work is left to be done in negotiations on the expansion plan.<br /><br /><span></span>As the hunger strike enters its ninth day, students' resolve remains firm on the expansion demands. While the fundamental demand remains that Columbia respect the democratic voice of Community Board 9 and withdraw its 197-c plan to rezone Manhattanville, we have presented six points to Executive Vice President Maxine Griffith which represent a reasonable progression to the negotiation process. To date, we have received no response and no commitment from the administration.<br /><br />Significant advances have been made, but much remains to be resolved until students return to their daily lives. The victories of the day show what power students organizing for justice can have. Today more than ever, the struggle continues.<br /><br />- The Strike Committee<br /><br />---------<br /><br />The points presented to the administration are detailed below.<br /><br /><i>Point 1</i> – Columbia has a responsibility, as stated in the EIS, to mitigate the impact caused by the proposed actions. The body with which the university has committed to negotiating with is the West Harlem Local Development Corporation. However, the university has also reached agreements with other entities on issues of community benefits, most recently and prominently Borough President Scott Stringer, who has a representative on the LDC body. We demand that the University commit to, in writing and on the record, negotiating community benefits exclusively with the LDC, excluding any separate agreements with individual politicians, including but not limited to those politicians represented on the LDC.<br /><br /><i>Point 2 – </i>The agreement reached with Borough President Stringer is problematic on many levels. First, demand a clarification on what exactly is proposed. Is it a loan or a grant? When does the money get transferred and how does that happen?<br /><br />Secondly, with an estimate of $200,000 per creation of each affordable unit, this would create 100 units in an area with 5,035 people living in unsubsidized housing. This is an extremely low floor in negotiating an anti-displacement program with the LDC, especially given the cost and potential profit of the project. The students demand that a far more significant commitment to affordable housing be a part of any agreement with the LDC and that Columbia come to the board with a number that mitigates the full effect of its project.<br /><br /><i>Point 3 –</i> Columbia has pledged officially to relocated the tenants living under the TIL program to equivalent housing. This is a positive step. We demand that any relocation occur as a result of direct agreement with the tenant affected and not through an agreement of property transfer with any city agency or outside entity.<br /><br /><i>Point 4 </i>– Columbia needs to take eminent domain off the table for the commercial property-owners in the area and reach agreements with them on an individual basis, even if that implies that they are to stay there in a revised development scenario.<span> </span><br /><span></span><br /><i>Point 5 – </i>Using funding specifically earmarked for the expansion plans or fundraised independently of existing efforts, Columbia should develop and financially empower those parts of the university that provide community programming. The university should provide resources for the development of new programs in the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race, the Institute for Research in African-American Studies, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Double Discovery Center, Community Impact and other university institutions that would provide services for both students and community members.<span></span><br /><span></span><br /><i>Point 6 – </i>Columbia is one of the foremost educational institutions in the country and the world. As part of its expansion, we feel that the university has a responsibility to the community it is effecting, not merely to its own constituency. This responsibility is profound and goes beyond the Secondary School proposal. Students demand that local students be granted access to Columbia resources, including libraries and course auditing privileges. We also call for a scholarship admission program for CB9 residents, and for a comprehensive educational complex that would serve the community's needs, including not only K-12 education but also an infant and pre-K school, a health clinic, and an adult education service. This should be funded directly by the university. The university's resources are vast and can be shared more broadly. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697967097273436056.post-75025756557292307272007-11-14T23:58:00.000-05:002007-11-15T02:26:45.626-05:00Press Release: Wednesday, November 14, 2007<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">*** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***<br /><u1:p></u1:p><u1:p></u1:p><br /><u1:p></u1:p><b><u1:p></u1:p>Students win concessions in hunger strike negotiations; strikers to continue fasting until all demands are addressed</b><br /><u1:p></u1:p><br /><u1:p></u1:p><u1:p></u1:p>Wednesday, November 14, 2007<br /><br />Contact: Jamie Chen, Student Organizer, <a href="mailto:eimajine@gmail.com">eimajine@gmail.com</a>, 240.305.7628<br /><u1:p></u1:p>Contact: David Judd, Student Organizer, <a href="mailto:davidajudd@gmail.com">davidajudd@gmail.com</a>, 646.326.0944<br /><u1:p></u1:p><a href="http://www.cu-strike.blogspot.com/">www.cu-strike.blogspot.com</a><br /><br />RALLY, NOVEMBER 15, 2007, 12 NOON at the Sundial at <st1:place style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Columbia</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">University<br /></st1:placetype></st1:place><u1:p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"></u1:p>College Walk, <st1:street st="on"><st1:address st="on"><st1:street st="on"><st1:address st="on">W. 116<sup>th</sup> St</st1:address></st1:street>.</st1:address></st1:street>, between Broadway and <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Amsterdam<br /><br /></st1:place></st1:city>Tonight, despite the administration briefly declaring negotiations closed, the coalition of students and faculty at Columbia University involved with a hunger strike won a set of concessions from the administration regarding curricular and administrative reform. The strike will continue until administrators and student negotiators reach agreement on revisions to <st1:city st="on">Columbia</st1:City>'s plan to expand into <st1:place st="on">West Harlem</st1:place>.<br /><br />The administration has committed, subject to approval by the Task Force on Undergraduate Education, to raising fifty million dollars in order to staff a seminar format for the non-Western portion of the Core Curriculum. Currently, every other Humanities requirement in the Core is taught in capped seminar format. Administrators will also put out a call for proposals from faculty for new courses for the Core Curriculum.<br /><br />The administration has agreed to raise funds for the expansion of the Office of Multicultural Affairs, to the extent recommended by a review by a consultant firm. Administrators offered a blueprint for student involvement in the academic review committee for the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race, which will decide the future of the Center. Finally, administrators guaranteed that there will be no disciplinary action brought against any hunger striker.<br /><br />In the late afternoon, administrators issued a demand that two student hunger strikers end their eight day demonstration, or be forced on medical leave for the remainder of the semester. Administrators further threatened that if strikers did not accept a specific set of proposals offered at 7pm, the administration would walk out of negotiations.<br /><br />While these threats hung in the air, at 9pm, approximately two hundred students gathered for a previously scheduled vigil. Upon hearing the administration's position, students spontaneously formed a rally and marched across campus, gathering in front of Hamilton Hall, where administrators were convened. Hamilton Hall has been the location of student sit-ins several times in the last decades. At this point, the administration resumed negotiations.<br /><br />Outstanding demands of the coalition of students and faculty include a critical revision of <st1:city st="on">Columbia</st1:City>'s plan for expansion into <st1:place st="on">West Harlem</st1:place>. A meeting is scheduled for Thursday to negotiate specific points of compromise brought forth by students.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br /><br />A larger rally is scheduled for Thursday at noon, to coincide with a luncheon between administrators and major donors to the university.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697967097273436056.post-55010399269807269292007-11-14T13:56:00.000-05:002007-11-14T14:15:19.151-05:00Statement of Support: General Studies Student Council<div style="text-align: justify;">STATEMENT OF SUPPORT FOR THE HUNGER STRIKE<br />FROM THE GENERAL STUDIES STUDENT COUNCIL<br /><br />We, the undersigned members of the General Studies Student Council, wish to affirm our support for progress within our Columbia community. At this moment, four students from Columbia and Barnard Colleges are engaged in a sincere and serious act of protest against racist and prejudicial practices, activities, and words. They have chosen a hunger strike as a tactic of last resort because they feel systematically marginalized by the administration. Our concern is for the health of our fellow students regarding the marginalization of their voices. We therefore stand in solidarity with our fellow students in their efforts to eliminate some of the myriad forms of racism, sexism, homophobia, ethnocentrism, ageism, and elitism found within our campus. Just as the administration has a responsibility to engage in fruitful dialog with the strikers, so too does the student body have an obligation to critically engage with the concerns proposed by the student strikers. The scope of the issues brought forth by the groups involved pertain to all.<br /><br />For these reasons, we stand in solidarity with the hunger strike and with all who seek progress within our academic community. The kind of nourishment our fellow students need is that of support. To that end, we humbly offer this statement and hope that our campus will move in a progressive direction as a result of the efforts of these dedicated students.<br /><br />Jacob Matilsky<br />Allen Settle<br />Karly Curcio<br />Nancy Saunders<br />Nicolle Rountree<br />Eleanor Colley<br />Monique Long<br />Ishmael Osekre<br />Keith Hightower<br />Raul Wikkeling<br />Elizabeth Alonso-Hallifax<br />Jay Kim<br />Todd Murphy<br />Helena Lellis<br />Ashley Forman<br />Brendan Rooney<br />Brody Berg<br />Niko Cunningham<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697967097273436056.post-30162327112062733722007-11-14T13:33:00.000-05:002007-11-14T13:37:05.505-05:00Statement of Support: Student Government Association of Barnard College<div style="text-align: justify;">In light of the strike currently going on at Columbia, the SGA writes today to inform students that the SGA is committed to addressing issues of ethnic diversity, curricular shortcomings, and necessary institutional reform on our campus. These goals have been part of SGA's 2007-2008 agenda since the beginning of the semester. To address these issues, the SGA held a Town Hall on this subject in October, attended by Barnard College and Columbia University students, faculty, and administrators. All present expressed and stressed the need for additional steps to be taken to ensure that all Barnard students graduate having had the opportunity to intellectually engage with these issues. The SGA is thus committed to reviewing and assessing necessary curricular changes. Additionally, the SGA is calling for an Ethnic Studies major at Barnard, and the provisions to be set up for the eventual creation of a center.<br /><br />The SGA also recognizes that the demands being made of the Columbia administration affect Barnard students. The SGA acknowledges that many members of the Barnard community, students, faculty and departments, have been active in the strike and in response to the strike, both voicing support and dissent. Although the strike is addressed specifically to the Columbia University administration, the SGA supports the call for changes that will improve the academic opportunities and quality of education that Barnard students receive.<br /><br />Moreover, the SGA officially calls for various curricular and institutional changes at Barnard College that are in a similar vein.<br /><br />The SGA expresses its support for the following:<br /><br />1.The SGA calls for the Committee on Instruction to move forward on the creation of an Ethnic Studies major. Towards this end, the SGA would like to see a thriving, well-funded and administered Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race (CSER) at Columbia that can support an influx of Barnard majors. In the long term, the SGA supports the creation of a center at Barnard dedicated to the study of racial and ethnic power dynamics, similar to the Barnard Center for Research on Women.<br /><br />2. The SGA calls for the incorporation of discussion of racial and ethnic formation into the 9 Ways of Knowing. For the short term, the SGA plans to facilitate the creation of a more diverse First-Year English reading list. In the long term, the SGA supports the Committee on Instruction in reviewing how to better incorporate these issues into the 9 Ways of Knowing, particularly looking at the Social Analysis, Cultures in Comparison, and Reason and Value requirements.<br /><br />3. The SGA calls for the appointment of a Provost for Diversity. Many of our sister schools, as well as many Ivy League universities, have such an office. A Provost for Diversity will work closely with the deans and the President of the College to ensure fair hiring, tenure, and curricular practices.<br /><br />4. The SGA calls for better communication between the Office for Multicultural Affairs at Barnard and the Office of Multicultural Affairs at Columbia.<br /><br />The SGA continually seeks student input, concerns and support on all of these initiatives and hopes that Barnard students feel empowered to work with the SGA. While institutional reform does take time, student voices are heard and ideas are supported by the administration through the SGA. The above mentioned goals are also part of discussions being held by Barnard faculty and administrators. The SGA does recognize the need for immediate and tangible examples of progress. From the SGA student representatives on the Committee on Instruction to all of the participants at our Town Hall, Barnard students have been actively engaged with this debate all semester. Please be encouraged to join your fellow students in these discussions by contacting sga@barnard.edu or by attending our weekly Representative Council meetings, held every Monday at 7:45pm in the North Tower.<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697967097273436056.post-5836799259740538842007-11-14T13:31:00.001-05:002007-11-14T14:17:42.404-05:00Statement of Solidarity: Students for Environmental and Economic Justice<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:100%;" >Students for Environmental and Economic Justice expresses love and concern for Samantha Barron, an integral part of the group, and also reaches out to the other strikers.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br />We feel that a variety of tactics are necessary for effective protest and to engage in the University in new and creative ways. <span> </span>We hope that the ends to this justify the means, and support the demands around West Harlem, as well as the non-racist principles for which the movement advocates.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br />We hope that all of these students, strikers and supporters, come out of this action unscathed, mentally and physically, and hope that Columbia students can continue to hone their skills as effective activists on campus and in the future. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Best wishes,</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Students for Environmental and Economic Justice (SEEJ)<br /></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697967097273436056.post-60857600174068988112007-11-14T07:34:00.000-05:002007-11-14T13:28:53.155-05:00Statement of Solidarity: Jennifer Oki<div style="text-align: justify;">Jennifer <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Oki</span> is a Columbia University alumna and former student leader of various organizations including United Students of Color Council and Students Promoting Empowerment and Knowledge.<br /><br />---<br /><br />As an alumna of Columbia University I am proud to stand in solidarity with the hunger strikers and those who work so tirelessly to support them. The demands of the strikers, continuing the struggle of so many student activists before them, are in no way novel. Their existence is proof of the evasiveness and insulting disdain of an administration that counts on promises of committees and meetings, and the short stay of most undergraduates to maintain the status <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">quo</span>. Today's hunger strikers and organizers have taken a bold step to emphasize the severity and urgency of the situation at Columbia; their demands must be met and their call for change supported.<br /><br />Over my four years as an undergraduate I sat with fellow concerned students in meeting after meeting, with committee after committee to achieve important, but limited successes. The administration's failure of us and our predecessors has led to the need for the hunger strikers' actions today.<br /><br />Columbia University has an alarmingly long history of devastating disregard for marginalized communities both within the university and in the neighborhood that surrounds it. Columbia as an institution, comprising members of the university at all levels, has chosen silence and a nearly stagnant rate of change in the face of demonstrated racism, homophobia, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">classism</span>, religious prejudice and other forms of bigotry. At times, the university itself has perpetrated these very injustices through direct action or through appalling lack of concern. A better Columbia necessitates a strong student voice on the side of justice and an inclusive, responsive, and accountable university, and these students have taken the necessary steps to demand their voice be heard. Administrators, faculty, alumni, and other students must in turn stand up for what is right and just and lend their support to these brave and stead-fast strikers and the vital changes they call for.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(136, 136, 136);">Jennifer <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Oki</span>, CC '07</span></div>Saffiyah Madraswalahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14030639998319845696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697967097273436056.post-19968483841395146792007-11-14T03:21:00.000-05:002007-11-14T03:22:20.711-05:00Statement of Solidarity: Student Organization of Latinos<div style="text-align: justify;">The Student Organization of Latinos not only stands in solidarity with the hunger strikers, but we hunger with them. We envision, and furthermore demand, a university that respects and values all communities, whether they be communities of color, the queer community or the immediately surrounding community of West Harlem. As Latino students, an underrepresented group at this University, we feel these pangs deeply.<br /><br />We fail to see the histories and struggles of our people properly legitimized and embraced in our administrative offices, our classrooms and in our community in Harlem.<br /><br />We think it shameful that students must risk and sacrifice so much for something so basic. Our prayers and actions are with the strikers, their well-being and the well-being of this campus.<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697967097273436056.post-87000773027972609252007-11-14T02:12:00.000-05:002007-11-14T02:14:28.746-05:00Statement of Solidarity: Prof. Gil Anidjar<div style="text-align: justify;">General Strike<br /><br />When the university forces students into a silent corner – it exercises power, not freedom.<br /><br />When Western culture continues to dominate our education – it extends its power, not freedom.<br /><br />When racist individuals join forces with racist institutions – they benefit from power, not freedom.<br /><br />When diversity is showcased by those who still dictate the same rules – this demonstrates power, not freedom.<br /><br />When professors are vilified and fired – this is the familiar face of power, not freedom.<br /><br />When administrative staff and maintenance workers are ignored and overworked – they are the recipients of power, not freedom.<br /><br />When the president of a U.S. institution of higher learning (“America at its best”) “criticizes” the president of a country targeted for the next war – he inflicts power, not freedom.<br /><br />When corporations destroy the lives of individuals and communities – they practice power, not freedom.<br /><br />When Columbia expands, and the community is told to move on – this is the doing of power, not freedom.<br /><br />The tradition of the oppressed teaches us that power knows nothing of freedom, nor can it claim it for itself. Power is not freedom. Power is power.<br /><br />And truth must be spoken to power.<br /><br />Thank you for striking for all of us, and for speaking truth to power.<br /><br />Gil Anidjar<br />Associate Professor<br />Department of Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures<br />Columbia University<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com