Bingo!GraduateSchool

post- walk out —-check out the video!

This is a short blurb/clip we got on the local channel. (see link bellow)

http://www.wicz.com/news/video.asp?video=10-05-11protest.flv&zone=News

yesterday’s walk-out/protest was great. lots of students showed up to take a stand against budget cuts that will and already have affected students and university workers: higher fees, less money for books, less services, less hours….

example: the secretary for the graduate program I am a part of has 3 different appointments; she works a total of 30 hours. She works for each  program/department 10 hours a week. first this is not enough time to do all the work, she often works from home, and it is not enough time for the program/department to achieve all of its duties since it doesn’t have the staff to support it. Of course, she does an amazing job under these circusmtances but its exploitation.

Furthermore, this situation is justified by the administration with the discoiurse of budget cuts and of course, the corporate model whose logic goes something like this: your program is small and serves only graduate students, as a result you don’t make us any money (undergrads=$$$) and so you do not get funding because we can’t make a profit from you. bottom line you don’t make us $$ so we don’t care. 

Thanks for your support, state university administration!

But  back to yesterday—>Most important. as one of the organizers, Maggie, repeated at yesterday’s rally: “this is not just today, this is the beginning of the student movement” because we, students need to take a stand against the corporate model being instituted in the university. This begins by truly understanding that this campus belongs to the students.  We(or our parents) pay tuition and taxes and with this money all of the salaries of the employees of the university and the state government, so we have a right to demand transparency and change as we see fit. This is our university and no one but the students should have a say in how it is run. Educate yourself and make education work for you, not the other way around.

Under water

On September 8, 2011 the Susquehanna and Chenango rivers, usually just part of a picturesque landscape, confronted this town head on. They made their presence felt. Standing in front of the inevitable swelling waters of disaster reminded anyone who dared to meet them at their peak how small they really are in comparison to the massive potential of their usual quiet.

They were coming for everyone. Evacuations began and as the cops, firefighters, and— decked out in fatigue— army officials forced everyone to leave their homes. Rec Park was the site of the army’s operations filled with tankers and hummers. Who can really protect us? The question echos in the aftermath who are we to the rivers? The rivers don’t care about the houses, businesses or lives people have built, are building, will build here. The Susquehanna and Chenango beg the question what are you doing here? We spend the majority of time thinking, walking, listening, to everything else, except the rivers. They usually acquiesce to our ignorance…

They are roaring now as it continues to rain. What will they do next? Where will we be ? and What can they help us realize about our time spent here? Could this be a silent call ? Don’t you hear it ?