Working List of Demands
Adopted in preparation to the CUNY Board of Trustees Meeting, November 21st, 2011
We, the students of CUNY and the people of New York, walked out of class and into this board meeting today together, because singly, we are not being heard.
WE DEMAND of the State of New York, of Governor Cuomo, Speaker Silver, and the rest of the state legislature, represented here by the CUNY Board of Trustees, a better CUNY.
WE DEMAND that you repeal this tuition increase, NYSUNY 2020, and do not pass any other increase.
WE DEMAND free tuition and admission open to all with a high school diploma or GED, with special attention in admissions to New York City public high school graduates.
WE DEMAND that you fund adjuncts’ health care, and all the wages, benefits, and working conditions for our faculty and staff need to live in dignity.
WE DEMAND that you pay for this by continuing the Millionaires’ Tax, reinstating the Stock Transfer Tax, and pivoting spending within CUNY away from wealthy top administrators’ compensation and toward the education of students and compensation of faculty and staff.
WE DEMAND that you pass laws that support students: we demand a state resolution in support of the federal DREAM Act, state laws to protect undocumented students, and a change in food stamp rules to acknowledge “full-time student” as an occupation, so that immigration laws and hunger will no longer interfere with our education.
WE DEMAND that you fund a truly excellent CUNY—no more overcrowded classes and crumbling buildings, no more cafeterias with serious city health code violations, no more underfunding of the arts, humanities, and, especially, LGBTQ Studies, Africana Studies, Puerto Rican and Latino Studies, Women’s Studies and other departments that teach us about our histories and herstories. Fully fund student services—free childcare, affordable housing, and nutritious, affordable food.
WE DEMAND that CUNY resources such as libraries, health clinics, computer labs and other campus amenities be opened up to the neighborhoods of New York.
Finally, WE DEMAND that you reform CUNY’s governance. All major decisions at CUNY, especially curriculum changes like the proposed “Pathways Project,” should be made by a “People’s Board of Trustees,” to be elected by students, faculty, staff, and community members. The current board represents the interests of the wealthy who comprise it and the politicians who appoint it, not the people of CUNY.”