Fwd: NYC Student Week of Action Press Release
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Einat
This is the press release from the NYC Student Assembly about the
collective Student Week of Action which will be taking place November
14th - 21st. In addition to the Student Strike on Nov 17th, which many
CUNY faculty have already come to support
(http://studentweekofaction.wordpress.com/cuny-faculty-statement-of-support/),
there are a number of interesting and important events going on
throughout the week that people should know about.
Zoltán Glück
Department of Anthropology, PhD student
CUNY Graduate Center
--------------------------------
PRESS RELEASE
November 14, 2011--for immediate release
Contact: Caitlin MacLaren, NYU
(786) 253-8708
marc...@gmail.com
Zoltán Glück, CUNY
(415) 519-5541
zoltan...@gmail.com
NYC Students Hold Week of Action Against Tuition Hikes, Student Debt
in Solidarity with Occupy Wall Street
Student supporters of Occupy Wall Street will hold actions every day
this week at universities throughout New York City to draw attention
to issues such as student debt, tuition hikes, university ties to Wall
Street, workers’ rights and structural inequalities within our schools
and our communities. Actions are scheduled to take place at various
City University of New York (CUNY) campuses, Columbia, the New School,
New York University, Pratt, Juilliard and more. Among the highlights
of the week’s events are:
A protest at Columbia on Monday, November 14 at 12 p.m. calling on law
professor Michael Sovern, chairman of the board of Sotheby’s, to end
the auction house’s lock-out of its art handlers.
A guest lecture by Indian author and activist Arundhati Roy in
Washington Square Park on Wednesday, November 16 at 12:30 p.m. This is
part of the ongoing “People’s U” series organized by student group NYU
4 Occupy Wall Street.
A city-wide student strike on Thursday, November 17. Students will
converge on Union Square at 3 p.m.
A rally and march on Monday, November 21 beginning at 3 p.m. from
Madison Square Park to Baruch College, where there will be a CUNY
Board of Trustees public hearing. The Board has decided on 5 years of
tuition hikes for students who are already struggling to cover costs.
Teach-ins at colleges throughout the city about direct action,
anti-oppression, privilege and the legacy of student activism.
The New York City All-City Student Assembly, along with General
Assemblies at various NYC colleges, coordinated the week of action in
response to a number of disturbing trends, such as student debt in the
United States surpassing credit card debt.
"Students now face two choices--tens of thousands of dollars in
student loan debt or not attending school at all," said Brittany
Robinson, a student at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn. “Education
should be an inherent right, not a privilege." According to the
Project on Student Debt, college seniors who graduated in 2010 carried
an average of $25,250 in student loan debt.
“The lack of emphasis on accessible higher education for everyone, the
quiet privatization of our campuses, the mistreatment of our
professors and the in-school policing of students and their
non-criminal activity is a disgrace to our country,” said Emma
Francis-Snyder, a student at CUNY Brooklyn College.
“This week of action will be an incredible demonstration of student
power,” said Dan DiMaggio, a student at New York University. “It is a
step toward an education system geared toward the needs of the 99%.”
About the All-City Student Assembly
The New York City All-City Student Assembly convenes students from
universities across New York and the region to discuss common concerns
regarding the state of higher education and to coordinate efforts
occurring on our campuses. We are inspired by and in solidarity with
the greater Occupy Wall Street movement. The Assembly meets every
Saturday at noon in Washington Square Park. Learn more at
studentweekofaction.wordpress.com
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