CUNY Fact Sheet

Rally at Governor-Elect Cuomo's

(Sorry: It said 2007! Odd error. Am taking it down and fixing it)



On November 22, The CUNY Board of Trustees voted to raise your tuition by 5% this spring and another 5% in the fall. That’s on top of 44% tuition increases, since 2003! That’s also on top of $200 million in state and city CUNY budget cuts over the past two years. And the 10% cutbacks currently slated for Baruch college and elsewhere that would result in layoffs of up to 65% of adjunct faculty and the creation of jumbo classes of up to 200 students. And further budget cuts projected for 2011. Simply put, the bankers and politicians that caused the economic crisis are passing its costs on to CUNY students in the form of deteriorating educational quality at an ever higher price, and on to full-time and adjunct faculty in the form of layoffs and course cuts, class size increases, and slashed programs and resources. (From a March4/October 7th committee email)

(more on increases)

Dwight Peter's Free CUNY Speech:

We want America and the world and everybody
To understand that education is a human right
In 1847
This great institution of ours
Was founded for the working class of New York
In 1847-1976
There was no tuition
In 1969
a coalition of African American and Latinos
Fought for something that is very sacred
And very, very beautiful…
For open admissions
They understood what the future of this nation was worth
They understood that the working class must be educated
And we today
Continue that fight
You want to know why
I keep talking about CUNY’s past?
The reason was
Because I’m afraid of CUNY’s future:
Tuition hikes
Overcrowded classrooms
Loss of professors
Where would this leave us?
We are tired of begging
We are tired of asking
Let it be known that we are demanding
Opportunity and life
Students,
Faculty,
Unions
All stand in Solidarity
We cannot rely on anybody else
We will create that world
Free CUNY!
[They say] that we are in an economic crisis
Our reply to that:
It’s not our fault
Tax the rich
Why should we
Clean up the mess?
Don’t we already clean up the mess?
We work hard
Some of us have full time jobs
And go to school full time
Some of us have kids
And go to school full time
Some of us do not get financial aid
We have to figure out how we’re going to pay for tuition next semester
…They’re cutting TAP
…See what’s happening in England?
See what’s happening across the world?
We stand with students all throughout the world
So let them know
It’s not just CUNY students fighting
It’s not just in New York that we’re fighting
This is an international movement
For a Free Education
Free CUNY!
Don’t give up
Some people are going to say it’s not worth it
They’re going to say there’s nothing you can do about it
But we know better
We know that people that stand up for themselves
Will be heard
You are not alone!
Free CUNY!
…Go back
To your campuses
Organize
Like you never have before
Students there
Need us to voice for them
International students
They’re facing a tuition hike as well
…Free CUNY!
Free CUNY!
Free CUNY!
Free CUNY!
When do you want it?
Now!
When do you want it?
Now!
When do you want it?
Now!
When do you want it?
Now!
Free CUNY!

NYPIRG Students Hold Vigil for COP16

After the third day of COP16, where government representatives once again are negotiating for the UNFCCC, NYPIRG (The New York Public Interest Research Group), which is comprised of student chapters throughout SUNY and CUNY, held a vigil across the street from the UN.


Students came out from various CUNY schools, some who are newcomers to this gigantic people's movement. Oxfam and Greenpeace organizers participated as well in discussing the concept of Climate Justice, that "non annex" countries are greatly more affected by Climate Change and could use financial help from "annex" countries, or wealthier nations, to survive.

CUNY Budget/Tuition Protest Tuesday December 14th

From a March4/October 7th committee email:

Tell CUNY…
NO TUITION INCREASE!

On November 22, The CUNY Board of Trustees voted to raise your tuition by 5% this spring and another 5% in the fall. That’s on top of 44% tuition increases, since 2003! That’s also on top of $200 million in state and city CUNY budget cuts over the past two years. And the 10% cutbacks currently slated for Baruch college and elsewhere that would result in layoffs of up to 65% of adjunct faculty and the creation of jumbo classes of up to 200 students. And further budget cuts projected for 2011. Simply put, the bankers and politicians that caused the economic crisis are passing its costs on to CUNY students in the form of deteriorating educational quality at an ever higher price, and on to full-time and adjunct faculty in the form of layoffs and course cuts, class size increases, and slashed programs and resources.

 It’s time to tell the CUNY Trustees, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo that enough is enough!
 It’s NOT too late, the proposed tuition increase CAN be rolled back... But we MUST raise our voices!

Where: Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo’s office @ 120 Broadway, between Cedar Street and Pine Street (A, C, J, Z, 2, 3, 4 or 5 to Fulton St.)
When: 5 pm, Tuesday, December 14
Sponsored by: March4/October7th Committee.
For further information, contact: march4ny@gmail.com

Water Justice Phone Call

If you want to stop Hydrofracking, you can join this phone blitz. This bill will give us another 6 months to build the movement.

Action:

Tuesday 11/23 (and everyday until the Assembly passes the bill), please call and ask the Speaker, influential members of the Assembly and the Governor to attend the Special Session in Albany and “bring the Sweeney hydraulic fracturing moratorium bill A11443B to the Assembly floor for a vote and pass the bill!”

Essential calls: (If the phone lines get flooded, send an email or fax!)

• Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver 518-455-3791, or, 212-312-1420 or mailto: Speaker@assembly.state.ny.us
FAX HIM @ 518-455-5459

• Assemblyman Herman Farrell (Chair of Ways & Means Committee)
518-455-5491, or, 212-234-1430, or, 212-568-2828 or mailto: FarrelH@assembly.state.ny.us

• Your Assemblyperson!
Find Them Here

• Governor David Paterson
518-474-8390 or email Paterson here

Students Disrupt CUNY Board of Trustees Meeting

The CUNY Board of Trustees held a public meeting at Baruch College on 24th Street to vote on certain items such as raising Tuition. What began as a modest protest of twenty five people in front of the campus, escalated into a disruption of the meeting, police force to remove the students, and a rally of up to fifty people in the lobby, held back by police, but witnessed by many curious students.

Unlike a similar protest at a previous public hearing with the Board of Trustees, this protest caught the attention of students that were unaware that tuition was on the verge of going up 5 to 7%. Of course these increments often don't seem like much to the average student, but to others they are yet another addition to their own stuggle, and the protesters made it very clear that tuition has already gone up 44% since 2003.

Adjunct professors and professors fought as well. With the movement came Hunter, Lehman, La Guardia, and other schools. Alumni attended as well.

RALLY OUTSIDE THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES TOMORROW!

Tuition has gone up 44% since 2003.
Now the CUNY Administration is doing it to us again with a proposed
5% tuition increase for Spring 2011, and 2% tuition increase for Fall 2011

Rally outside the CUNY Board of Trustees meeting
Monday, November 22, 3:30 pm

Meet in the GC lobby on Monday at 2:45pm to walk to the rally together.

Rally location and details:
Baruch College, 55 Lexington Avenue (corner of 24th Street), Vertical Campus.
We will rally outside from 3:30 to 4:00, then go into the Board meeting,
which starts at 4:30 and is in room 14-220 of Baruch's Vertical Campus.

For more info, contact TheAdjunctProject@gmail.com

Raucous at CUNY Budget Hearing

Students brought noise to a public hearing with the board of trustees of CUNY on CUNY's budget and tuition today. Many of the testifiers were faculty, many of who supported the proposed 5% tuition hike for the sake of the quality of the education. Testifiers could hardly take this stance without much vocal opposition, such as chanting during the hearing in the filled room of some seventy people.

Patrick Krug, chairperson of NYPIRG and student at BC, won over the support of the vocal crowd by opposing the tuition hike, but also fought to keep TAP and PELL (financial aid) as well, which he said are unlikely to remain secure.

A representative of the Internationalist Club went further to demand no tuition at all and an abolition of the Board of Trustees.

Chancellor Goldstein, who has been a very controversial figure amongst student activists in the Education Movement, left the hearing before all the students could be allowed in, which was towards the end of the hearing. The students pointed this out to the board as the meeting ended in a vocal attack from students at the board, which generally left without comment.

Protest for Schools

From a March 4 NY email:

*** Please forward widely ***
47 Schools Slated for Potential Closure - Its time to stand up to the attack on public education

Protest Michael Bloomberg and Joel Klein`s puppet school board, the Panel for Educational Policy. This administration has overseen the school-closing assault and promoted other attacks on our public school system, including:

. Increasing the number of charter schools colocated with our public schools, causing increased overcrowding.
. Cutting school budgets while NOT providing the support schools need to help students.
. Promoting the use of standardized testing as the only method of evaluating students progress and teachers effectiveness.
. Threatening to publish teachers test scores, despite scandals exposing the tests as inaccurate and flawed.
. Increasing the number of quality teachers in the excessed ATR pool who are denied seniority rights.

Tired of the education deform onslaught against parents, students and teachers?

Make your voices heard! Join the Real Reformers. Protest the Panel for Education Policy. This will be the first of an ongoing series of actions to protest the disastrous educational policies that are trying to dismantle public education

Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Meet at 5:30pm
Brooklyn Technical High School
29 Fort Greene [Place] Brooklyn, NY 11217
[G train to Fulton (at So. Portland Av.); C to Lafayette Av. (at So. Portland Av.); Q, R or weekday B to Dekalb Av. (at Flatbush Av. Extension); 2, 3, 4, 5 to Nevins St. (nr. Fulton St.); D, N to Pacific St./Atlantic-Pacific (on 4th Av.); LIRR to Atlantic Ctr./Flatbush Av.; map: http://bit.ly/cInRhJ -t.]

Sponsored by the Grassroots Education Movement - http:// grassrootseducationmovement.blogspot.com

Come help plan our action -
Join our Schools Organizing Committee at the Skylight Diner on Thursday, Nov 11th at 5:00pm, 34th and 9th avenue.

Save CUNY... InYourClass.com

There will be a public hearing for CUNY on Monday, November 15th in which students are welcome to come, testify, listen, meet people. A obvious hot item on the calendar is the CUNY budget and any student can testify to their own situation or their general view of affordable education, et cetera. Anyone that wants to testify must call before 4:30 tomorrow to be on the list of speakers.
See the Face Book event here.

Also, a product of the CUNY Institute for Virtual Enterprise, InYourClass.com is a social network for CUNY students launched by City College Students last year. Check out this promotional video they have recently created.

Struggle Marches Through Harlem to CCNY

As part of a national day to defend education, New Yorkers marched half way across Harlem from the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building to City College. Hospital workers, teachers, high school students, and allies protested in solidarity with student strikes in California and similar actions across the country as a continuation of the March 4th Movement. In New York, activists protested the consistent cuts to New York public schools and rise in tuition -according to an email blast, "Over the past six years, tuition fees have increased 46% at SUNY and 44% at CUNY,"- charter schools -"In the name of excellence they are creating islands of exclusivity," said second grade teacher, Brian Jones,- cuts to hospitals and they protested gentrification.



The March 4th Coalition of New York City demands:
*No budget cuts, school closures, tuition hikes, layoffs, privatization, or union-busting.
*A restoration of all education funding.
*An elimination of systems of racism in the publics school system.
*Real education, not testing
*Smaller class sizes.
*Cancel all student debt.
*Equal pay for equal work and job security for all faculty and teachers
*Free and equal access to quality education from kindergarten to university for all
*No MTA fare hike
*Money for education - not war and incareration

The coalition invite all to join the ongoing struggle and organizing. Find out more at DefendEducationNYC.wordpress.com or contact March4NY@gmail.com.

LGBTQA Vigil

LGBTQA Alliance of City College, the Office of Student Life and other allies held a vigil in response to the recent suicide of Rutgers University student, Tyler Clementi as well as, Asher Brown (age 13), Seth Walsh (age 13), Billy Lucas (age 15), and Raymond Chase (age 19). It may seem curious as to why so many LGBTQ related suicides occurred recently, but according to Hector Martinez, "LGBTQ youth are four times more likely to commit suicide than their strait peers" and that "twenty to forty percent of the homeless population in New York City is identified as LGBTQ." The story that brought these other other similar tragedies into such a light was unique in itself. The story is that Tyler Clementi's roommate secretly filmed him on a webcam being sexually active with another man, leading to the event in which Tyler jumped off the George Washington Bridge.



Vigils in solidarity with the LGBTQ community and youth, occurred all across the country. At CCNY, it was emphasized by the representatives of Student Life, Student Government, The Wellness Center, the affirmative action office, the office of the campus minister, and the study abroad office that these are all places where students can to talk about various such issues. The staff member of the study abroad office, who did not appear to be too much older than the average student, shared that he would be a good person to talk to, that he came out while in college, and that it was not easy. It was noted that there is a Coming Out Group for LGBQ People forming, Tuesdays from six to seven-thirty PM at the Psychology Center in the NAC 8-101.

There were two perspectives given to look at the oppression of LGBTQ peoples and solutions to it, at the vigil. One was that the problem is systemic, that homophobia is encouraged by the larger context of our society. The recent legislative actions taken that don't allow gays to marry, to be openly gay in the military and other forms of discrimination feed homophobia into domestic settings. A political movement to change these things would then be an answer. The other perspective was that we can reverse the tide by simple acts of kindness, by making sure people know that we care about them. Actions of neither sort may include going to a vigil, or by going to a meeting of the LGBTQA Alliance.

Vigil & Strike

Candle Light Vigil to Remember the Victims of GLBT Bullying & Harassment
Wednesday, October 6 · 12:00pm - 1:00pm
NAC Plaza
LGBTQA Alliance of City College

"Join the CCNY community as we remember the lives of the young men who committed suicide due to homophobic bullying and harassment in recent days. This event will reaffirm our commitment as a college and community to creating and nurturing an open and accepting campus where everyone is cared for and everyone is safe." - from Fb page


Strike! to Defend Education
Thursday
As a continuation of March 4 to Defend Education, the struggle continues. As part of Strike! October 7th, CUNY students and others will rally at the Harlem State Office Building, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Blvd. & 125th Street. Actual strikes will occur in California and similar rallies all over the country for public education at all levels and types.

What Happened on Education/Earth Day?

As mentioned previously, the Education Rally had to conflict with Earth Day. Last year a big education rally was on April 22nd because it was the anniversary of that very successful action in 1969. Two years ago was the first Earth Day at CCNY, April 22nd also being Earth Day, but Earth Day at CCNY last year was really done on the 23rd so it worked out. This year it wasn't going to work out because the real Earth Day fell on a Thursday, when there are club hours.

The rally also conflicted with the Caribbean Students Association's Festival. There were other disorders too such as permit situations. The action on March 4 might be looked at as taking organizing time or energy from April 22nd, but I think mostly it helped establish the presence of the struggle this semester when the annual Walk Out was going to be limited for several other reasons.

For me, there was a feeling of complete mystery because I didn't know what was going to happen but I think the SER more or less knew because unlike last year, I didn't see posters all over the wall, exceeding the bulletin board limits, and on doors, et cetera, preceding April 22nd.

There wasn't exactly a rally, but in the first hour of club hours, as Salsa Mambo had the stage, Cort of SER's band performed allowing speeches to interlude each song. Hundreds of people witnessed this and that is a good thing. It was something. Also, allies from the Maribol Sisters Community Center took to the mike and spoke as well. None of this was disruptive of CCNY Green or the various other tables and awareness raising going on.
So that's how it went on April 22nd.

New President: Kenroy Cherrington

Many people know him as that guy who says, "Vote for Kenroy!" by the escalator. People listened. Many people do know him though, for who he is and his values. What might it mean that he will be your new USG President?

I first met Kenroy in the fall of 2006 when I first came to CCNY, and it was in the NYPIRG office. My first impression was that this guy had no self consciousness at all and an unforgettable sense of humor. Because we were both in NYPIRG I know his deep knowledge on everything about TAP, financial aid and tuition, as well as everything else that they work on like the environment- but he also interned for the state assembly in Albany for a semester so he's been there to lobby for lower tuition and he's been there getting to know people from the inside, which could come to our advantage eventually.

He was the first person I've ever heard say "Oslat," as in, "I'm working for Oslat!" A while later I realized he and then others were talking about OSLLD, formerly known as Finley, now the Office of Student Life and Leadership Development. This is good experience for a president to have had, because he knows everything about OSLLD. Historically USG has had a sometimes adverse relationship with OSLLD so perhaps this will restore harmony with them.

He is a Political Science major. Mostly he talks about politics/current events, and whatever internship or project he has at the moment. He has been running for some time and now he is a senior, super experienced, president and I should say, when I met him in NYPIRG, someone else was there. Our current, CAC president, Irene Castro was there.

Come to DC

The 4th free bus is nearly filled so it's your last chance to register for that bus, to join the Climate Rally/march/concert in DC on April 25th, Sunday. http://action.earthday.net/t/10584/signUp.jsp?key=5015

Just ask me if you want to know more, ShannonAyala@Rocketmail.com or 516-458-6966

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMKPh4RW0no

Everything's Going to be Okay on E-Day?

SER, CSA & CCNY Green are all sharing the NAC Plaza on Earth Day, which means a concert/rally, a pot painting festival and something caribbean will all be going on. I haven't able to get all the details yet...

Destined Conflict!

On April 22nd, 1969, City College students participated in the latter part of the perhaps 15-20 year Civil Rights movement by fighting for an affirmative action policy that would open the school to students from all sorts of neighborhoods, that grew up in all sorts of conditions, people of color. I think this says something about the people that were able to get in with closed admissions but still wanted to open it, about their world view, and this story should be told to children.

Exactly one revolution around the sun later, April 22nd, 1970 was the first nationwide Earth Day. 20 million Americans participated in rallies from coast to coast. They were protesting all sorts of pollution, commercial development and loss of wildlife. Over the years Earth Day became more soft core but what with Ozone loss, in 1990, 200 million people globally participated in events on Earth Day. Now it's about Climate Change and this is where it gets messed up with City College.

The first CCNY Earth Day was 2008, during club hours. CCNY Green was brand new and I went to one meeting of the Student Engagement Committee with Jason Self and Nkem Stanley. I had a NYPIRG table at our Earth Day and so did Green Planet Society. In 2009, the committee tripled, and we made Earth Week (WE ACT @ CCNY was around too). April 22nd was a Wednesday so we did it on Thursday instead. We made Wednesday Green Political Action Day or something and left that time open for the first Walk Out commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the Strike for Open Admissions.

This year is the most deadly, destined year, the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day because it falls on a Thursday and therefore CCNY Earth Day and the Education Rally are same time, same place!

For a while I knew about this but it was resolved because ED wasn't starting until 2 and the concert/speak-out/rally was at 12. But CCNY Green, being out of the loop even though I tried to keep everyone in the loop, pushed it back into club hours. I went to SER about this and they said that that actually, their concert is 12-2 and they are walking out at 2. So it's a huge mess.

My agenda is to go to the rally, whenever it is and then do some action with the Amp Up Environmental Student Network in the subways during rush hour. Then Sunday go to the Earth Day Climate Rally. BTW, the bus is free on April 25th to DC but you have to register this week. Please register right away, http://action.earthday.org/campaigns/drive-campus-action.

Gentrification

Those posters that said Gentrification CUNY, I went to that workshop. Maribal Sisters Community Center and Students for Educational Rights came together in NAC 1/211 to discuss a common cause, Gentrification, or, the G word.



The Maribal Center is on 142nd Street and Broadway. They are basically a tenant rights group. The workshop began with a session by Maribal, focusing on the Columbia U expansion, the scale of gentrification in Northern Manhataan and the actions they have taken. Next, SER spoke about G here at CUNY and what the students have done and are doing about it. Lastly, we all discussed questions and comments. Cort from SER translated.

A man from Maribal said some 80,000 people have been displaced in the last 20 years. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, who I've discovered to be very active in the food and green movements, is part of the process to "beautify" Harlem from "river to river."

A woman testified that her landlord or other, had "racist ideas" that her and her family was "illiterate and things like that." She went to Maribal, who basically took care of the eviction situation. They have many stories of winning in court.

Margie from SER spoke alongside Ana. She explained that the school was mostly white until there was a strike in 69 and we obtained an open admissions policy. She described the process that pushes minorities out of school as "sneaky." Part of the sneakiness is the raising of standards for admissions.

Ana went on to say that the SATs are considerably racist. A professor Crane or Krane, spoke as an expert on the subject, saying that SATs predict your race and income, that both parts do not correlate with previous grades and (what made everyone gasp) was the items in which black and Latino students do well are removed from the tests. He also said, there has always been suspicion since women always did quite poor in comparison to men. Therefore, he said, as opposed to hoses and dogs, people of color are kept out by more subtle and sneaky tactics.

They elaborated that the price of tutors, Kaplan preparation, et cetera, are evidence of racism. Kachet, an attendee from League for a Revolutionary Party, said those considerations exist for the whole of the educational system. She alluded to all sorts of things, that neighborhoods have bad schools, there are private schools, parents may or may not be available to help their children, children have to take care of the family. These are all considerations in the discussion of remedial classes and open admissions. It is considerable because the school is capping admissions for the first time since way back (if not ever) and is raising admission standards.

Cort, a founding member of SER in 88, experienced a CCNY with a larger immigrant population. The drop out rates have been escalating and more out-of-state students, who pay higher tuition have been admitted. More things like, that students are forced to pay more to take more labs, were discussed.

We discussed the hotel supposedly being built on top of the Harlem landmark, Victoria Cinema 5 (originally a burlesque theatre), the Greek Collegiate Diner being closed and the Subconscious chain store appearing across the street.

A highschool student discussed how he feels, losing the student metro cards, talk of charter schools, maybe having to pay eventually for school. He came "from a country that is being destroyed by this country to this country," translated Cort.

An alumni said he was here in the SLAM days, (Student Liberation Action Movement). He explained that we won the fight to open admissions in 69, but the community, faculty and more students were involved. We lost, he said, when there was no community involved. (He also noted an upcoming Hunter action).

Margie said she feels not enough students get involved. 1st of all, if I may, they outnumbered the 350 climate rally in the education movement by about 4 times. Davey said something about our Edu movement that echoed my thoughts on the Climate Justice movement, that the students just don't feel it yet. In the community, gentrification is felt. A woman said, "We could talk about the [G] issues all night."

Big Environmental Actions in April

There are 2 big actions that I know of, on Earth Day, April 22nd (way after the Education Rally) and in DC on April 25th.
There is now a big, official network of student environmental groups from around NYC called Amp Up. We had one summit, we have a Ning site, and we're going to be having forum events, et cetera. Right away, we're taking action. On Earth Day we're going to be in the subway doing something, but it's not all worked out yet. The point is, we don't want people feeling like Earth Day was all about consumerism, like it came off last year in the media. The original Earth Day was serious, it was a day of protest. We're bringing it back.
3 Days later free busses are going down to DC for a huge Climate Rally, policy neutral, organized by Earth Day Network. I've become their NYC Point Person, so I am the person to ask about it.
This is the DC registration page: http://action.earthday.net/t/10584/signUp.jsp?key=5024 .

Before you just launch out into any of this business with us, there are some educational things you can do first. On April 15th, Students for Environmental Justice is hosting Those Most Effected Part 1: Teach-In on Climate Justice. The room is TBA but it will be 12-2 at school.
Then on April 16-17 is Youth Summit on Climate Justice: Our People, Our Hoods, Our Future (www.uprose.org) I think at the Point in the Bronx.
Of course CCNY Green will have some informative things going on after the Education Rally at 2 but I don't know much about it. Students for Food Justice and City Ag Network might be participating in bringing folks to our student/community garden at Saint Luke's Church at some point and we might organize a Toxics and Treasures Tour around the neighborhood with WE ACT for Justice.