| U.S. : Students Occupy New York University!! UPDATE - more info By Scott Campbell. Take Back NYU! Axis of Logic, Feb 19, 2009, 06:51 |   |
This is live webcam video of the student occupation at New York University. 70 students and non-students are inside. From time to time, they issue a report on this live video. - LMB
Webcam chat at Ustream
UPDATE AT BOTTOM
Editor's Note: Scott Campbell, the author of this e-mail is a friend and translator of Axis of Logic who has been living in Oaxaca, Mexico in the thick of the revolution taking place there. He recently moved to New York to begin graduate school at New York University in Manhattan. We received this message from him last night.
Students occupying a building at New York University is significant and may signal the beginning of a militant student movement in the U.S. It was recently announced that the head of NYU university relations has cut his vacation short and is flying back home due to this student action. Please help us support these students by contacting the administration at New York University via e-mail and telephone. Here is some contact information we found on the NYU website:
John Sexton, President
Office of Public Affairs
25 West 4th Street, 5th Floor
New York, New York 10012
Telephone: 212.998.6840
Fax: 212.995.4021
(no email listed)Michael Alfano,
Executive Vice President
Office of Executive
Vice President
212-998-4090
evp@nyu.edu David W. McLaughlin, Provost
Telephone (212-998-3077
Facsimile: (212-995-3190)
Email: davidmclaughlin@nyu.eduAdministration
David Greenberg, Director
212-998-4097
dgreenberg@nyu.edu Media
Rosalind Romera-Rivera
212-998-6841
rrr2@nyu.eduNYU Student Government
212-998-2230
ucsl@nyu.edu
- Axis of Logic Editorial Board
From Scott Campbell
Friends,
I'm writing from New York University where I just started grad school. Very briefly, I'd like to let you all know that as of 9:30pm tonight we have occupied NYU. A website with more info is at www.takebacknyu.com.
The list of demands is below. I don't have internet time and my cell phone is dead, but please spread the word. Thanks!
Scott
OCCUPATION
Feb 19th, 2009 by Take Back NYU!
We, the students of NYU, declare an occupation of this space. This occupation is the culmination of a two-year campaign by the Take Back NYU! coalition, and of campaigns from years past, in whose footsteps we follow.
In order to create a more accountable, democratic and socially responsible university, we demand the following:
- Full legal and disciplinary amnesty for all parties involved in the occupation.
- Full compensation for all employees whose jobs were disrupted during the course of the occupation.
- Public release of NYU's annual operating budget, including a full list of university expenditures, salaries for all employees compensated on a semester or annual basis, funds allocated for staff wages, contracts to non-university organizations for university construction and services, financial aid data for each college, and money allocated to each college, department, and administrative unit of the university. Furthermore, this should include a full disclosure of the amount and sources of the university's funding.
- Disclosure of NYU's endowment holdings, investment strategy, projected endowment growth, and persons, corporations and firms involved in the investment of the university's endowment funds. Additionally, we demand an endowment oversight body of students, faculty and staff who exercise shareholder proxy voting power for the university's investments.
- That the NYU Administration agrees to resume negotiations with GSOC/UAW Local 2110 – the union for NYU graduate assistants, teaching assistants, and research assistants. That NYU publically affirm its commitment to respect all its workers, including student employees, by recognizing their right to form unions and to bargain collectively. That NYU publically affirm that it will recognize workers' unions through majority card verification.
- That NYU signs a contract guaranteeing fair labor practices for all NYU employees at home and abroad. This contract will extend to subcontracted workers, including bus drivers, food service employees and anyone involved in the construction, operation and maintenance at any of NYU's non-U.S. sites.
- The establishment of a student elected Socially Responsible Finance Committee. This Committee will have full power to vote on proxies, draft shareholder resolutions, screen all university investments, establish new programs that encourage social and environmental responsibility and override all financial decisions the committee deems socially irresponsible, including investment decisions. The committee will be composed of two subcommittees: one to assess the operating budget and one to assess the endowment holdings. Each committee will be composed of ten students democratically elected from the graduate and under-graduate student bodies. All committee decisions will be made a strict majority vote, and will be upheld by the university. All members of the Socially Responsible Finance Committee will sit on the board of trustees, and will have equal voting rights. All Socially Responsible Finance Committee and Trustee meetings shall be open to the public, and their minutes made accessible electronically through NYU's website. Elections will be held the second Tuesday of every March beginning March 10th 2009, and meetings will be held biweekly beginning the week of March 30th 2009.
Socially Responsible Finance Committee
- That the first two orders of business of the Socially Responsible Finance Committee will be:
a. An in depth investigation of all investments in war and genocide profiteers, as well as companies profiting from the occupation of Palestinian territories.
b. A reassessment of the recently lifted of the ban on Coca Cola products.
- Additional demands of the Socially Responsible Finance Committee
- That annual scholarships be provided for thirteen Palestinian students, starting with the 2009/2010 academic year. These scholarships will include funding for books, housing, meals and travel expenses.
- That the university donate all excess supplies and materials in an effort to rebuild the University of Gaza.
- Tuition stabilization for all students, beginning with the class of 2012. All students will pay their initial tuition rate throughout the course of their education at New York University. Tuition rates for each successive year will not exceed the rate of inflation, nor shall they exceed one percent. The university shall meet 100% of government-calculated student financial need.
- That student groups have priority when reserving space in the buildings owned or leased by New York University, including, and especially, the Kimmel Center.
- That the general public have access to Bobst Library.
- Come support the occupation, inside or outside! We’ll be inside all night.
- Send a letter to the administration in solidarity!
- Tell the world! Send an e-mail to your professors, peers, listservs, facebook groups, etc! Talk to your friends!
- 2/19 12a.m.: Why We Really, Finally Took Back NYU
- 2/18 10:30p.m.: Demands, Solidarity Statment and Statement of Non-Violence and Abstention from Property Destruction
UPDATE FROM SCOTT CAMPBELL
Demonstration in support of the NYU occupation:
Thursday, 12:15 PM
In front of Kimmel Student Center
60 Washington Square South, Manhattan, NYC
Since 10pm Wednesday night the third floor of the Kimmel Student Center at New York University has been occupied by more than 70 NYU and non-NYU students. Originally present for the first few hours of the occupation I had to leave for personal reasons, but it is still going strong and spirits are very high. It was recently announced the head of NYU university relations has cut his vacation short and is flying back home. They're clearly worried.
This is in direct solidarity with the many occupations occurring recently across the globe, from Greece to Britain to the New School and the University of Rochester.
There are 13 demands relating to NYU investments in war profiteers and occupation, the cost of tuition, the lack of transparency and the lack of respect for NYU workers.
See the full list of demands here: http://takebacknyu.com/2009/02/19/nyu-occupied/. See live streaming video from the occupation here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/take-back-nyu.
Help out and spread the word by:
- Come support the occupation!
- Send a letter to the administration in solidarity
- Send an e-mail to your professors, peers, listservs, facebook groups you name it! Tell the world.
- Have your parent write a letter or e-mail to the university
- Print the following demands and distribute them far and wide!
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