Occupation #1
Full Coverage of the Second Occupation of 65 Fifth Ave
Visit our Occupation Page for full coverage of the Second Occupation, when Riot Police stormed 65 Fifth Ave.
Agreement ending the FIRST building occupation in 12/08
You can view the actual occupation-ending agreement, signed by President Kerrey, right here!
(Please note: it was not USS’s occupation.)
• Occupation agreement letter page 1
• Occupation agreement letter page 2
USS statement on the first building occupation
12/19/08 (NYC)
A message from Peter Ian Cummings, President
University Student Senate
Dear fellow students,
As you may know, a large group of students occupied the Graduate Faculty Building at 65 Fifth Avenue for two nights this week. The occupation ended early this morning after negotiations between President Bob Kerrey and the students.
USS called an all-student assembly last night to discuss the leadership of President Kerrey and Vice President Jim Murtha. This followed the 98% vote of the entire full-time faculty against Kerrey and Murtha. However, President Kerrey canceled our student assembly.
As I said in the press, my problem is not that he canceled our student assembly for safety reasons, but that he canceled it without consulting USS. This is typical of the way the New School administration makes decisions by fiat without consulting those involved. USS must be involved in decisions that affect the students.
Nonetheless, President Kerrey canceled our assembly after the group of students occupied 65 Fifth, and students, police, and others gathered outside. Last night, the outside protest grew unruly resulting in a horrible incident where a running mob chased Bob Kerrey (surrounded by security guards) down Fifth Avenue. This incident is the largest threat to academic freedom of all these events. It distracts from the legitimacy of everything else that has happened. Everyone in our school deserves respect, tolerance, and safety, and we roundly condemn this terrible incident.
As you may know, the current campus unrest began two weeks ago when the Provost Joe Westphal left the university suddenly and President Kerrey appointed himself acting Provost. While the President now concedes that this was a mistake, it caused the faculty vote of no confidence, and seems to have culminated in the two-night student occupation that ended early this morning.
Although USS was not part of either the occupation or the resulting negotiations, the occupation has ended with President Kerrey agreeing in writing to an amnesty for the occupiers, and to USS representation on the Provost Search Committee. He has agreed to support establishment of a Committee for Socially Responsible Investing for the university’s endowment. The President has said he will support a non-voting USS representative on the Board of Trustees, and has agreed that USS will be permitted to email all students without censorship. These last two points are central to our mission to serve the student body, and we see them as an important step forward in the relation of the administration to both the students and our student government.
Last night for several hours, all the campus buildings were locked down due to threat of further occupation. During this time USS met in Valentino’s and passed a preliminary resolution of no confidence in the President and Vice President.
In this resolution, USS repeated our demands that the university establish two offices for LGBT and Minority students; to raise salaries for students who teach, which are currently in the bottom 10% of universities nationwide, and have not increased in 10 years. We asked the President to join USS in drafting a Student Satisfaction Policy to ensure that students are well-treated at all times, are able to interact directly with administrators who make individual decisions about them, and to work toward the reduction of bureaucracy and middlemen. However, USS’s main demand is not in the details. It is far more simple, and it has to do with respecting the students in all ways big and small.
A few of USS’s demands were met as a result of the negotiation between Kerrey and the students occupying 65 Fifth: namely, student representation on the Provost search committee, support for a seat on the Board of Trustees, and the ability to email students without censorship. These concessions are also important steps forward.
While some of the events at 65 Fifth may seem to be extreme methods of protesting the establishment, I and the rest of the USS Executive Board, who have been elected to represent you, and who have been fighting for these issues for years, can understand why people are upset. This is what happens when the university ignores the entire student body for as long as possible.
While it is true that the administration has made attempts to change by forming the USS and slowly allowing greater student input, change was evolving too slowly for the needs and current crisis the school faces. The students’ requirements are not expensive compared to the whole budget.
Several of the President’s concessions are promises. USS further resolved last night that “USS and the students will take further action depending on satisfaction.” We will keep our no-confidence vote under discussion pending the administration’s specific performance.
The New School has grown rapidly into a major and dynamic university. This growth has resulted in the tumultuous events of the last two weeks, which everyone should see as an incredible opportunity to establish a dialogue between students, faculty and administration. USS is proud of our school for working through these issues for the good of everyone.
I wish you a pleasant holiday season,
Peter Ian Cummings
University Student Senate President
MA in Media Studies student