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<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B>
geo.organizing.committee@gmail.com [mailto:geo.organizing.committee@gmail.com]
<B>On Behalf Of </B>GEO Organizer</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"><B><FONT size=4>
<DIV style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><BR>Public Hearing on the Student Strike
Demands</FONT></B><BR><B><FONT size=4>TUESDAY, 12/11/07 </FONT></B><BR><FONT
size=4>Noon to 1:30, <SPAN
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,102,204) 1px dashed">Cape Cod</SPAN> Lounge
(Student Union) </FONT><BR><FONT size=4>Free lunch provided by Greeno
Subs</FONT><BR><I>Hosted by the United Student Action coalition - <A
href="http://strike.umassgss.org/" target=_blank rel=nofollow><FONT
color=#000000><SPAN>http://strike.umassgss.org/</SPAN> </FONT></A></I><BR><SPAN
class=638133717-10122007><FONT face="Courier New"> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><SPAN
class=638133717-10122007> </SPAN><EM>Hear updates about post-strike
negotiations with the administration,<BR></EM><EM><FONT size=2><FONT
size=3>and hear testimony from students about the four strike demands:
<BR><BR>1) Accessibility & Affordability<BR>2) Funding &
Accountability for Outreach & Diversity <BR>3) End to all Unwarranted
Police Patrols <BR>4) Reverse Mandatory First-Year Only Housing & Return
Campus Center Student Union to Student Control<BR></FONT></FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><B><I>Strike Updates:</I></B><BR></DIV><BR>As
a result of the student strike on 11/15 & 11/16/07, the administration
agreed to meet weekly with 10 students to discuss the demands! This 10-student
committee includes elected leadership from GSS, SGA, and GEO and undergraduate
ALANA Caucus, in addition to 4 students elected at a post-strike "general
assembly" meeting. The committee has given a 10-page proposal to the
administration detailing student demands, and they have been meeting with the
administration every Thursday from 8:30 - 10:30am. The administration has
agreed to sign a report that outlines action steps by February 22, 2008.
<BR><BR>The new coalition that organized the strike, United Student Action,
now hosts weekly general assembly meetings (Mondays at 7pm), and it has four
subcommittees: 1) Action & Logistics, 2) Research, 3) Communications &
Press, and 4) Outreach. Email <A href="mailto:strike@umassgss.org"
target=_blank rel=nofollow><SPAN>strike@umassgss.org</SPAN></A> to get
involved.<BR><BR>
<DIV style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><B><I>Overview of the
Demands:<BR></I></B></DIV><B>
<DIV><BR>1) ACCESSIBILITY AND AFFORDABILITY </B><BR><BR>Fees have soared in
recent years as support from the state has plummeted and need-based
scholarships have shriveled, keeping many students out and hobbling many
with debt. The student negotiating team has proposed a phased fee
reduction for all students, a lobbying day in which 300 students, faculty, and
staff will travel to <SPAN
style="BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,102,204) 1px dashed; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial">Boston</SPAN>
to lobby lawmakers for more state funding, and a reevaluation and
postponement of university spending projects until alternative sources of
revenue are secured. The negotiating team has also proposed significant
expansions of existing need-based aid programs and the creation of a
"last-dollar" (complete cost) need-based aid fund to be endowed by alumni and
private contributions.<BR><B><BR>2) FUNDING AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR OUTREACH
AND DIVERSITY</B><BR><BR>The proportion of students from groups historically
and currently underrepresented in higher education has decreased in
recent years. While <SPAN
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,102,204) 1px dashed">Massachusetts</SPAN> has
become more diverse, the University has lost all its major outreach grants.
A recent report on accessibility flunked UMass, and the campus has
repeatedly cut funding for outreach and support programs for underrepresented
students. The students' proposals address four areas.<BR><BR>A) Increase
Outreach to <SPAN
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,102,204) 1px dashed">Springfield</SPAN>, Holyoke,
and Franklin County <BR>The negotiating team has proposed that the University
work to secure state and national funding for outreach, that it provide
transportation for students conducting college outreach in the area, that it
provide funding for new classes in various departments focusing on the path to
college and empowering students to do outreach, that it work with Five
Colleges, Inc., to create free bus service between the University and the
Holyoke-Springfield area, that it hire a "Pathways and Public Schools
Partnerships Coordinator" responsible for forging formal relationships with
local schools at all levels, and that it expand access to its athletic
facilities to local schools and community groups. <BR><BR> B) Fund
Recruitment and Retention for Student Success Centers: Undergraduate
Level<BR>Students have proposed that the University provide resources to
expand ALANA support programs (to include a new office for students of Middle
Eastern descent), restore the total operating budget of the Everywoman's
Center, the Stonewall Center, Disability Services and the ALANA support
programs to their 2001 levels, adjusted for inflation, and to provide those
centers with increased staff.<BR><BR> C) Transparency and binding input
into diversity funding: Graduate Level<BR>Students have proposed that the
University allocate $500,000 each year for Graduate Diversity Fellowships for
graduate students of color and first-generation students, fund a
"pipeline project" to work with institutions of higher education in <SPAN
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,102,204) 1px dashed">Springfield</SPAN>, <SPAN
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,102,204) 1px dashed">Holyoke</SPAN>, and Franklin
County to recruit more graduate students from these areas with the goal
of contributing to the revitalization of these areas by training
home-grown public sector professionals, and establish campus-wide benchmarks
for diversity.<BR><BR>D) State Funding for Outreach<BR>Students have proposed
that the University work with student organizations to lobby the state
legislature for a line item in the state budget for outreach and retention
programs. (A line item funds a program<SPAN
class=638133717-10122007><FONT face="Courier New"
size=2> </FONT></SPAN>directly rather than leaving the funding decisions
to the administration; <SPAN
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,102,204) 1px dashed">Commonwealth College</SPAN>
is one program that already has line-item funding.)<BR><BR>E) Diversity
Advisory Council <BR>Students have proposed the establishment of an advisory
council to assist in planning and assessing diversity and inclusion goals,
policies and programs and determine ways to create a welcoming campus
environment. The council will create an annual report with binding
recommendations and will be half students, a quarter staff, and a quarter
faculty. <BR><B><BR>3) DEMILITARIZE CAMPUS: UMASS POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THE
STUDENT CODE OF CONDUCT</B><BR><BR>The UMass Police Department (UMPD) conducts
illegal entry into residences--our dorms--on a regular basis. We are NOT
talking about the uniformed officers and cadets stationed in the lobbies at
night; we are<SPAN class=638133717-10122007><FONT face="Courier New"
size=2> </FONT></SPAN>talking about the patrols and plainclothes officers
that travel through the halls without warrants. Unwarranted entry into a
residence to conduct policing violates the Constitution of the United States
as well as state and federal law.<BR><BR>The negotiating team's proposals
address several issues. To make the UMPD more accountable to the entire
University, they recommend that jurisdiction shift from the Office of Student
Affairs and Campus Life to the Office of Administration and Finance (as is the
case on many campuses with full police departments), and that a Community
Advisory Board, with a student majority and representation from staff,
faculty, administration, and the Amherst community, be created to oversee the
UMPD. To ensure a preservation of<SPAN class=638133717-10122007><FONT
face="Courier New" size=2> </FONT></SPAN>students' privacy and
Constitutional rights, the team proposes that the administration issue a
policy explicitly recognizing hallways as part of residential space limited to
residents and their guests and a memorandum to<SPAN
class=638133717-10122007><FONT face="Courier New"
size=2> </FONT></SPAN>all residence staff requiring compliance with the
Residence Life Policy rule protecting students' residences from
unwarranted searches. The team has proposed that the appeals process be
reinstated for students charged with Level 1 (very minor) offenses, that the
UMPD make its formal complaint system simpler and more accessible, and that
the Picketing Code, which allows official academic penalties against
individuals in response to political action and speech, be revoked.
<BR><BR><B>4) STUDENT CONTROL OVER STUDENT SPACE</B><BR><BR>The University has
taken undue control of the Student Union and Campus Center, charging
fees for use of space and equipment, denying use of space to student
organizations, and impeding student organizations' ability to serve any food
not bought from Campus Center/Auxiliary Services catering.
<BR><BR>Additionally, the Office of Student Affairs and Campus Life has
proposed requiring all first-year students to live in first-year-only dorms
converting Southwest and Orchard Hill into permanent all-first-year
housing, threatening to uproot residential communities and restrict
options of all students wishing to live in themed communities or simply the
same dorm as last year.<BR><BR>On the Campus Center/Student Union issues, the
negotiating team has proposed that Auxiliary Services rescind all fees for
student organizations' use of Campus Center/Student Union space and equipment,
that the<SPAN class=638133717-10122007><FONT face="Courier New"
size=2> </FONT></SPAN>administration officially recognize the Campus
Center/Student Union Commission's (CCSUC) authority to administratively
oversee the Campus Center and Student Union Building (allocating space, etc.),
grant CCSUC control over Campus Center Catering prices and the authority
to provide alternative catering options for student organizations, and
issue a policy granting priority to student organizations for use of the
CC/SU.<BR><BR>On the housing issue, the negotiating team has proposed the
reversal of mandatory first-year-only housing -- first-year-only floors
should be optional. They should not displace legacy floors or entire living
areas.<SPAN class=638133717-10122007><FONT face="Courier New"
size=2> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN
class=638133717-10122007> </SPAN></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>
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