First, a comment about the blog itself. Everyone seems to be posting comments in response to my very first posting. Those comments are here. The comments form a long, frustrated, angry thread. I'm hoping we can elevate the level of discussion if we move on. I think this blog has been valuable as a place to vent, if nothing else. However, not much more than venting is really going on. Would it be possible to use this anonymous forum, where people can feel free to speak out without fearing for their jobs, to establish a plan of action, to organize faculty and students?
Today Jindal officially announced the cuts we have known were coming. So very soon now we should start to see activity on the firing front. If we were in France, this action by Jindal's office would have prompted a general strike. Here, public sentiment and the national propaganda machine is so dead-set against higher education, we cannot hope for any sudden display of public support unless we turn this trend around.
So, let me ask the question... how do we organize? What can we do that might actually make a difference?
Did everyone see the article in the paper that UNO has to take a bigger mid year cut for Pennington and the LSU Ag Center? Our Dean was told that UNO's cut would be $687,000 and now was just told UNO's cut is DOUBLE that!
ReplyDeleteSeems that the LSU System (Lombardi) doubled it to $1.6 million. Why? So UNO can pay for Pennington and LSU Ag Center's cut. Lombardi said that those schools bring in too much research for the state and they can't take a cut that size.
Really?..UNO brings in more research per faculty member than ANY OTHER university in this state. So why do we get the double cut? A faculty friend from LSU told me that they were told the mid year cut would become a permanent full year cut. That means UNO's $1.6 million cut is really a $3 million dollar permanent cut to all the colleges.
Lombardi has to hold a public meeting on it all..I have heard rumors that it is supposed to be November 6th (a Saturday) at the LSU System office. Public notice has to be given so keep checking the lsu system website: www.lsusystem.edu. for the exact time. One of my LSU Senate friends said it's on a Saturday since that's a LSU football weekend and members of the board will be in town.
UNO has a RIGHT to be heard about why we are being shortchanged. Be at the meeting! The time is not yet announced but will post when I find out. The LSU Senate is organizing and I have been told they have to allow for public comment for anyone who registers BEFORE the meeting. Call the LSU System office and register now 225-578-2111. We need as many people there and registered as possible!!!!! Please share this info with everyone.
Does anyone know if we can get buses? How can we get this message out to everyone? Can we do car pools?
Also, we have to get this in the media. LSU is all over this... How can we do that for UNO?
As far as keeping the campaign against the cuts going into the future:
ReplyDelete-an idea people have had is to organize a media action called a "clean-in" where students/faculty/etc... announce they will be cleaning MH or Liberal Arts one evening in protest of the cuts and the filthy buildings because of the firing of staff. This had been brought to admins for over a month now with no response, so I suggst just firing out a press release with a date and time and the question asking why admins won't allow students to clean their own buildings: forcing th admins to either agree to it in the media to save face (in which case the permission can allow it to become a large, unity-building and movement-building social event), or deal with the consequences of a photo op of people standing with brroms ready to clean and UNO PD ready to arrest people for cleaning without permission. It will protest the cuts and force the admins to stop throwing up roadblocks to everything just because they want it all to go away, because whichever side they are on, the other will be mad at them (movement vs. LSU supervisors).
another idea:
-satirical protest: "billionaires for budget buts" -- because we want a docile, stupid workforce, we thank Jindal for his courageous leadership...
-tent city/encampment in the quad: a classic campus protest form, provides a 24/7 visible physical center for students to congregate, discuss, and organize around the cuts. such a consistent transformed space is sorely needed.
-a sit-in: 1960s style, non-violent sit-in in Lombardi's office. only need a few people to do it, and ask supporters to come out. make it a big media event. NV civil disobedience shows who has the moral high ground and shows a seriousness of struggle.
-one day srtike: this should be thought about being organized for next semester. or even a strike on every monday or something. recurring or continuous actions are what builds momentum better than anything else.
-at least tabling every day during lunch.
-a protest march downtown could be good.
-building more active coalition support around the city: get non-students involved not just in moral support but in active supportive actions.
-protest tent city in jackson square?
-classes on the quad/in the halls/on the floor day? (the photos of empty desks showing we are "making room for all those being squeezed out of an education")
-organizing with high school students to get them in on actions: they are going to be most effected beginning next year
-occupations are always great as well in providing a transformed space for coalescing supportive people
-a hunger strike by a committed and angry person/people
-organizing a tuition strike for next semester
-organizing a faculty grading strike
-finals week walk out
there are plenty of options.
"providing a transformed space for coalescing supportive people"
ReplyDeleteWhat does that even mean?
If by "tuition strike" you mean students refuse to pay tuition, I don't see that being productive. You'd end up closing the university; the state wouldn't suffer, just UNO. And any student not paying tuition isn't a student. That's a fact. No tuition, no enrollment.
ReplyDeleteUNO faculty are not unionized; we work for the state, so we cannot go on a "grading strike" or join in any kind of walk out, occupation, or other illegal action. If we don't perform our jobs, we can simply be fired. We certainly can join in any legal activity on and off campus.
Some of us also already are cleaning rooms and hallways in our buildings - but we do that so our students won't be subjected to filth, not as a protest. Publicizing it might be good and I don't see any reason to expect that UNOPD would seek to stop us from cleaning. Why would they?
Looks like the cleaning action happened, with no arrests, as expected. The Save UNO group has lately pulled off some smart, attention-getting events with credibility and good public relations.
ReplyDelete