Date:

Full Description:

The convention was a great success! Go here to see the action items adopted in the plenary session. Click here to view the convention's agenda.

Autumn, 2005
Fellow Campus Organizers,

We write to you as members of an emerging network of campus organizers who believe that it is time to better coordinate our energy and organizing efforts to fight for an accessible, diverse and fair public higher education system.

We note that our campuses are home to a wide array of progressive organizations, yet these groups and unions tend to focus on specific issues (such as sweatshops, the environment, Palestine, civil liberties, antiracism, the war, labor) and are often composed of single campus constituencies (i.e. exclusively undergrads, graduate students, faculty, blue collar staff, etc.). Even amidst a real rise in campus mobilizations across the nation, higher education is rapidly undergoing changes that run counter to the interests of the majority of Americans. These trends include the skyrocketing cost of tuition and fees, a new wave of campus union busting, massive cuts in public spending on education , the corporatization of campus research and services, the elimination of affirmative action and ethnic studies programs, and the corporatization of campus governance, to name but a few. Unfortunately, at present, we lack a national grassroots organization that makes the realization of accessible, public, diverse, and democratic higher education its primary focus.

At a recent retreat in Ottawa, Ontario, campus organizers from six public universities and colleges in the U.S. discussed the idea of building some form of national higher education alliance or coalition uniting students, faculty, and staff. This union would not compete with existing groups, but would compliment them with its capacity to use coordinated direct action tactics. In order to begin shaping this sort of a national higher education union in cooperation with a wider community of campus organizers, we are writing to invite you to an organizing convention at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on the weekend of Oct. 20-23, 2005.

At this convention, we will also begin coordinating a nationwide direct action for the spring of 2006, which will allow us to coordinate our messages and energies immediately. Two proposals we expect to see raised at the convention are the coordination of a series of educational teach-ins combined with "Tent State University" direct actions, and the initiation of a process for a coordinated national higher education industrial strike. Other associated direct actions will likely be proposed. We encourage you to develop proposals as well; much of the convention will be devoted to discussing, deciding on, and planning these coordinated actions.

Once again, we stress that these projects will only succeed with widespread participation. We hope that you will explore this website, register for the October convention, and contact us to join in fighting for a future of democratic, diverse and accessible system of American higher education. Questions can be directed to contact [at] democratizingeducation.org

Mohammed Abed
Graduate Student, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Al-Awda, Alternative Palestinian Agenda

Tony Barnes
Graduate Student, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Teaching Assistants Association AFT 3220

Dr. Patrick Barrett
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Director, Havens Center for the Study of Social Change and Social Research

Pabitra Benjamin
Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution & Action Wisconsin

Ginny Bormann
Classified Staff, University of Wisconsin-Madison
AFSCME 2412

John Bruning
Undergraduate, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Student Labor Action Coalition & Associated Student of Madison

Julie Coon
Undergraduate, University of Missouri-Kansas City
Tent State University & UMKC Women's Center

Anthony Chattley
Graduate Student, Bloustein School for Public Policy, NJ
Tent State University & Air Force Veteran

Dan Clawson
Faculty, Dept. of Sociology, University of Massachusetts-Amherst
President, UMass-Amherst Faculty Union

Andrew Culp
Undergraduate, University of Missouri-Kansas City
Tent State University & Assoc. Students for the U of M

Tom DeGloma
Graduate Student, Dept. of Sociology, Rutgers University
Tent State University

Holly Denning
Academic Staff, Sociology Instructor,  University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

Mary Duran
Undergraduate, University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Associated Students of Massachusetts

Meleia Cullman Egger
Masters in Geography, Michigan State University
Students for Peace and Justice

Tyler Endsley
Undergraduate, University of Missouri-Kansas City
Tent State University & Campus Greens

Darren Griffis
Graduate Student, University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Vice President, Graduate Employee Org, UAW 2322

Leah Grupp-Williams
Undergradate, Macalester College
Student Labor Action Coalition

Charlie Hoyt
Undergraduate, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Student Labor Action Coalition

Adam Jung
Undergraduate, University of Missouri-Kansas City
Tent State University & Campus Greens

Ryan Kaplan
Undergraduate, University of California-Santa Cruz
Tent University

Ashley Karlin
Graduate Student, Carnegie Mellon University

Christine Kelly
Associate Professor, William Paterson University
Dept. Political Science & Director, American Democracy Project

Ashok Kumar
Undergraduate, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Associated Students of Madison & Student Labor Action Cltn

Mishy Leiblum
Undergraduate, University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Take Back UMass & Free Higher Education Campaign

Stephanie Luce
Associate Professor, Labor Center, University of Massachusetts-Amherst

Brian Lutenegger
Masters in Urban & Regional Planning Student, University of Michigan

Ben Manski
Law, Class of 2005, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution

Jed Murr
Graduate Student, University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Graduate Employee Organization, UAW Local 2322

Jeff Napolitano
Undergraduate, University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Take Back UMass & Student Government Association

Tony Palmeri
Professor, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
TAUWP/AFT-Wisconsin

Will Parrish
Graduate, University of California-Santa Cruz
Research and Advocacy Associate, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation

Pavel Payano
Undergraduate, University of Massachusetts-Amherst
President, Student Government Association

Dr. John Peck
Executive Director, Family Farm Defenders

James Ploeser
Undergraduate, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison Fair Trade Action Alliance (MadFTAA)

Lena Posner
Undergraduate, Rutgers University
Tent State University

Todd Price
Professor, National Louis University

Austin Emmiett Purnell
Wesleyan University
NAACP & Progressive Student Alliance

Fletch Schubert
Undergraduate, University of Missouri Kansas City

Mike Sellers
Undergraduate, SUNY Albany
Mayoral Candidate, Cobleskill, NY

Lily Shank
Undergraduate, University of Minnesota
Global Studies Dept. & General College Truth Movement

Claire Stoscheck
Undergraduate, Macalester College (St. Paul, MN)
Defend Need Blind Admissions at Macalester & Mac
Students for Fair Trade

Uri Strauss
Graduate Student, University of Massachusetts-Amherst
President, Graduate Student Senate

Jen Walling
Law Student, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Student Senator & Campus Greens

Dave Wilcox
Undergraduate, College of DuPage, Illinois
Campus Greens

Nicole Wong
Undergraduate, University of California-Santa Cruz
Tent University

Areas of Focus:

User Comments