[Tsa] Seeking Hampshire support for source organizer's demands

[Jess Kahn]

Dear Hampshire community members,

As part of Action Awareness week, we are encouraging as many people as
possible
to call, write, or email the school stating that their support of Hampshire
college, financially and otherwise, depends on the administration meeting
the
demands presented at the beginning of the week. The voices of parents and
alumni are particularly important, so we are asking students on campus to
ask
their parents/grandparents/any alumni they know/etc to contact the school.
Below is the letter we have been sending out, so if you could forward it as
widely as possible, that would be great!

Thank you in advance,
friends of action awareness week



On Monday, students organizers from SOURCE (Students of Under-Represented
Cultures and Ethnicities) presented a list of 17 demands to college
administrators insisting that the college adopt institutional changes
towards
anti-oppression (specifically anti-racism).  Since, SOURCE organizers, aided
by
white allies, have worked tirelessly to raise awareness, covering the campus
in
flyers, performing guerrilla theatre, holding panels, and facilitating
teach-ins.  Members of SOURCE are currently in negotiations.  If the demands
are not met,
faculty, staff, and students will walk out on Monday at 11 and assemble on
the
library lawn, publicly declaring Hampshire unsafe for students of color and
international students.  The press and donors will be notified and further
actions will be organized.
 I am writing you because as a Hampshire [parent]/[alumni], you hold
significant sway
over the decisions of the administration.  I am asking that you take the
time
to draft a simple letter asserting that your support of the school financial
and otherwise is contingent upon the implementation of demanded
institutional
changes.  Letters like these are crucial.  Below, I have provided contact
information for administrators,  a sample letter which you may use, and a
list
of demands as drafted by members of SOURCE.  Thank you so much for your
anticipated
support.



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTACTS:
President Ralph Hexter: rjhpr at hampshire.edu,  413-559-5521
Vice President Aaron Berman: aabss at hampshire.edu, 413-559-5378

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear President Hexter and Vice-President Berman:
      I am writing you as a Hampshire parent to express my unequivocal
support
for the demands of SOURCE organizers which have been published during Action
Awareness
Week.  I recognize that the safety and health of every student on campus is
dependent anti-racist institutional changes.  I ask that these demands are
met
immediately, and assert that my support financially and otherwise is
contingent
upon your positive response.
Respectfully,


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PURPOSE AND DEMANDS OF SOURCE

This week is being executed in an attempt to raise awareness about the need
for
serious change in the way that the institution approaches anti-racism. The
week
will consist of art, activism, and the events listed below.

Members of the SOURCE community are asking the administration, faculty, and
student body to support them in making institutional changes. These changes
are
mandatory in order to increase the retention and success of students from
the
SOURCE community here.

All we demand is that Hampshire be actively anti-racist.
.

DEMANDS


We demand the following:

1. Re-establishment of Dean of Multicultural Affairs position (as stipulated
from the Cole Agreement), in addition to the already-existent Presidential
Assistant for Diversity position.

2. Creation of four new positions for full-time faculty in ALANA and Queer
Studies.

3. Transparency in the process by which adjunct faculty become permanent
faculty.

4. Re-evaluation of the Multiple Cultural Perspectives academic requirement.

5. Mandatory anti-oppression trainings for faculty, staff, Public Safety,
and
Residential Life staff and interns.

6. Stability in financial aid packages. If a student's needs do not change,
then
the package must remain the same over the course of the student's time at
the
college. Further, a student's ability to register for classes will not be
hindered by holds or other issues related to financial aid status.

7. Institutionalized funding for the Cultural Center, SOURCE groups, QCA
groups,
and Women's Center. Identity-based groups will be exempt fro the process of
"group recognition" each semester.

8. Permanent staffing at the Cultural Center, Women's Center, and Queer
Community Alliance. Creation of a new staff position at the Cultural Center
to
be filled by an individual experienced in addressing the needs of
international
students.

9. Establishment of at least one residential hall designated for students of
color, in the dorms, by Fall 2008.

10. Designation of a Queer-Identified (and not just Queer-Friendly)
residential
hall in the dorms.

11. Allocation of funds to expand library and media resources relevant to
Third
World Studies and students.

12. Immediate hiring search, for which a committee will be formed with
students
for whom this position is intended to serve, for a new staff member in
health
services with the goal of hiring this person within one year. Person must
provide some kind of concrete experience/qualifications for relating to
students of color, international students, queer students, trans students,
and
female students.

13. Guaranteed permanent identity-based housing on campus. Aggressive
recruitment of students of color, international students, queer students.


14. For Hampshire to live up to its current plan of responsible investment,
keeping with historical precedent of divestment from South Africa, we demand
that Hampshire should cut financial ties with countries that occupy and
practice racial apartheid.

15. Establishment of a comprehensive racial harassment policy to be outlined
in
Non Satis Non Scire.

16. Creation of a position in Institutional Advancement geared towards
raising
funds that specifically address issues of diversity on campus.

17. Closing of the college on Colombus Day and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
to
hold a campus-wide teach-in on racism and imperialism.

LASTLY, we demand that a committee of students and administrators be
established
to negotiate these demands and assess whatever agreements follow.
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