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NEWS | BACKGROUND | INTENT | STRUCTURE | SUPPORT | MEDIA STRUCTURE A group of 8 negotiators has set the agenda for this movement with vocal members and a CUCSC core working group who have diligently worked and expressed their desires. The reason you are a part of the movement is something only you can decide, but we are all working together towards a common vision that is every day become more and more clear and defined. We have been successful in showing administrators how determined students at Columbia are to seeing substantive changes that prove this university's commitment to diversity, and with this power we have, we hope to get the demands we have made met. We stand at as a united body; this is neither a black-white issue nor a left-right issue. This is a movement about something that affects all of us, and our solidarity will prove this and make us that much stronger in our negotiations. The several workers you see at the protest gatherings and meetings was formed separately from the 8 negotiators as a direct result of the uproar caused by The Fed cartoon. They do not work as representatives of any particular group (not BSO, not USCC, not SPEaK, though they may be members of those organizations) and are the product of the quick organization of students after the publication of The Fed cartoon. The first night of its publication several people met together, all angered by the article and ready for action, and started a flyering campaign and organized a meeting (held that first Sunday) to see who else felt the same. After that meeting, several members of that first group and those who had come to the meeting and expressed the desire to stay behind to propose additional ideas and offer leadership became what may now be perceived as the central organizers of our group. This group was first mobilized in response to The Fed, but is a group of people who were ready to take steps as soon as the issue arose. It is not, however, an exclusive group. In fact, the work they do is enormous and many people are needed to help get through it all efficiently and most effectively. It is up to each of us as members of CUCSC who are concerned about the progress and maintenance of our movement to lend our support and our time to these committees that work to decide on the work of our group. Working Group members & their committee responsibilities:
The 8 people who have been meeting with administrators did not select themselves for this task. Administrators sent e–mails to the President and Vice-Presidents of Black Student Organization, SPEaK and United Students of Color Coucil to attend these meetings. They were contacted before the Fed cartoon was published because the leaders of these organizations have expressed to administrators their concern for the institutionalized problems that have existed in Columbia for years. David Johns was added to this group of organization leaders because he also expressed concerns about the marching band incident to deans at Columbia. This group created the initially proposed changes to Columbia based on speak outs and Town Halls sponsored by USCC, BSO and SPEAK. This preliminary list was then brought to the entire group of CUCSC at our Town Hall Thursday where all of our ideas were consolidated; the 8 people were up all night reading over each survey to make sure that all of our voices were added and the best reflection on our group was found. The list was finalized at 1:35 Thursday as the negotiators were running into the meeting with administrators. While they are supporters of and collaborators with CUCSC, the negotiators are not the core leadership of CUCSC and may not always be informed as to CUCSC's actions. Their role is to represent the concerns of Columbia's students of color in negotiations with the administration.
Negotiators and the groups they represent:
Please, please, get involved if you are interested in taking on more
responsibility. Let your voice be heard so that our
collective voice is that much stronger and that much more powerful. Announcements regarding general body meetings will be posted on the news page; please feel free also to email the chair of any committee in order to getting involved with a specific task.
NEWS | BACKGROUND | INTENT | STRUCTURE | SUPPORT | MEDIA |