VICTORY!!!!!!!! Feb 27
The food service workers reached a successful settlement
with
ARAMARK. The favorable terms include a wage increase, and
a
better pension plan. The bargaining ended
surprisingly quickly,
averting the strike which was suspected and feared
by both
ARAMARK and the administration.
Students and workers truly make a powerful combination.
Send your congratulations for the workers to uslac@wesleyan.edu
.
Partial Site Redesign Feb 27
The WESUNITY site has been
overhauled. The new tables should make
it Netscape friendly. If it ever looks screwed up (text
overflowing like
a Campus Center trashcan) please email wesunity@wesleyan.edu. Also,
the WSA Resource Guide is now complete. Finally, if you have
news,
send it to the usual
address, or we'll tell
everyone Oddfellows
Playhouse
was named after you.
Labor and the American Psyche Feb 26
What is the labor movement today?
How are you connected to it? Come
to PAC 002 on Monday March 1
at 7:30 to hear the dynamic
Stanley
Aronowitz of CUNY speak about these
issues.
Questions? Call sociology Prof. Jonathan Cutler at x2339.
Monday March On City Hall Feb 25
Because our administration will not stand up in support
for our food
service workers, campus
workers and USLAC have decided to take the
issue straight to Middletown's City Hall. The town
already resents
Wesleyan, and many of our campus workers are
Middletown
residents. This a perfect opportunity to improve
relations with
Middletown by showing student
support for the workers. Join USLAC
and campus workers in leafletting this
Monday, March 1, and meet
behind the Campus Center at 6:15PM.
The event will be over by 7:15.
Don't have time to leaflet?Give the administration and ARAMARK
a call
Questions? Contact USLAC.
Amnesty International Benefit Concert Feb 25
The fun just doesn't stop. This Friday
from 9 to whenever you get
tired,
at 356 Washington,
Wesleyan's Amnesty chapter will be having a
Benefit Concert. Enjoy the sounds of Mary's Foursome at 9, Dave Cope
at 10, Electric Patterson at
11 and the always superb Triple Lindy at 12
midnight. All proceeds go to
Amnesty International.
Questions? Contact Dan
Engler
Dance
Group from Ghana Feb 24
While not WESUNITY's usual sort of
announcement, since news has
been as slow as the
administration under pressure, here goes:
On Friday, February 26 1999, the African Students Association
will be hosting
its Annual 'African Explosion' night here at
Wesleyan. The
African dance troupe, called Adehye is scheduled to
be the highlight
of the event. Adehye is a Ghanaian group of very
high repute. They
come highly recommended by Wesleyan's
Artist-in-Residence
Helen Mensah. World Music Hall -- 8 pm
LIMITED SEATING,
SO GET YOUR TICKETS ASAP!
Student of Color Forum Feb 24
The email says it
better than I can. Looks like a great step toward
creating dialogue and community among students of color.
Are you satisfied with
the Student of Color Organizations at
Wesleyan? The
Student of Color community? As a student of
color, do you feel
a responsibility to the community? Is there a
student of color
community? This Thursday
at 7:30pm in PAC 002,
there will be a
campus wide forum to address the needs, concerns,
questions, and
comments of all students of color. Other topics
discussed will
include apathy,
unity, and more. Everyone
please
make it an effort
to come out to discuss the future of the Student
of Color
Community.
To Firebomb or to Dance? Feb 23
A recent article in
the Hartford Courant calls for creative activism at
Wesleyan. It notes
that the recent dance-in during Bennet's office hours,
and the old
Independant Ivy song, mark a change from protest to
dialogue, and show a
"lighter side" of campus activism.
The students streamed into
President Douglas Bennet's office and,
after a few words,
launched into five minutes of decidedly modern
and loosely
choreographed dance.
Call it a change
from the days when students firebombed the
president's
office, erected shanty towns and occupied buildings.
Call it the new
face of Wesleyan activism.
One thing to be noted: the
reporter, Eric Rich, was not actually at
Bennet's office hours,
but talked with students afterwards. Read the
article here. The Argus
(actually there) also wrote an article on the triad
in Bennet's office.
Read My Lips - No
More Bombing Feb 22
These silly government
officials just don't know when to stay home. On
March 11, George Bush will be
speaking at Central Connecticut State
University. For those of you who
missed it, Bush started the original
Gulf War™ with Iraq. If
you're interested in attending the requisite
protest, email Meredith
Lobel and she'll take care of
everything. Here's
a word from our sponsor:
Bush is scheduled to
speak at 8:00 PM in Welte Auditorium,
Central Connecticut State University, New Britain. We
encourage
those who are planning to attend to ask him to speak
the truth about
his career as director of the CIA, vice president,
and president.
We also invite everyone who shares our outrage at
this atrocity to
join us in a public protest from 6:30 to 8:00 PM
outside of the
auditorium. Our protest is directed not at George
Bush, but at his
successor, William Clinton. Sponsored by: CCSU Campus
Ministry, CCSU Chapter of Amnesty International, CCSU
Student-Faculty Coalition for Justice and Social
Advocacy, Committee to Oppose Gulf War II, St. Martin
de Porres
Catholic Worker, American Friends Service Committee,
Middle
East Crisis Committee, and the Young Peoples
Socialist League.
Stop the Bombing! Lift the Sanctions!
WESUNITY
WESPEAK Feb 22
What did Roger Smith
of WESUNITY get out of the conference for
student leaders that he wen to last weekend? Read this
soon-to-be-published WESPEAK, and find out. The juicy subject matter
includes right-wing infiltration and zany networking
snafus.
USLAC
Rally Feb 20
Today at 1:00 in front
of the campus center, well over 100 students,
faculty, and workers marched and chanted for a better
contract with
ARAMARK. The union of the food service workers, Local
217, was
responsible for bringing students and workers from around
the state to
the rally. Chants included "we've got the power,
union power," and "no
contract, no peace." To demonstrate this, the
marchers walked down the
middle of High Street to President Bennet's house, walked
and chanted
around his house, and then left him a large letter on his
front door.
Bennet was apparently not home at the time. The 2/23
Argus barely
covered it. Look at the pretty pictures of the rally here.
Site Update Feb 20
What's new on the
WESUNITY site? The excellent WSA Student
Group
Resource
Manual is now online. If you
are wondering how to book a
room, why physical plant tears down your posters, or how
to contact
schools and radio stations around the state, check it
out. Also, the
Poster Gallery is now online. You can see some amusing student
group
posters from the last year or so. Old news items have
been archived to
keep this page loading quickly. We also have a new hitcounter
(at the
bottom of this page), in case you're wondering how
popular this site is.
Please continue to email news, events, and links to
wesunity@wesleyan.edu.
Also, we are starting an online database
of student groups in conjunction with the WSA. Email the
name of your
group, the name of a contact person (with phone or
email), and a
sentence description of your group to wesunity@wesleyan.edu.
Rumble
at Bennet's Feb 19
Today's office hours
with President Bennet included groups protesting
on behalf of the Dance program, on behalf of Professor
Kerr-Ritchie and
faculty of color, and on behalf of Wesleyan's food
service workers.
President Bennet politely accepted pages of petitions and
demands, and
seemed willing to talk about the issues at length.
Whether or not he will
act is another question. Of the three groups, the dancers
were the most
creative, putting on a bit of a performance before
discussing the issues.
Read more about USLAC'S general role at www.wesleyan.edu/uslac
or
in Friday's Argus. Read about the
Dance-in in the Middletown Press.
Mmm, Good Chinese Food Feb 19
I know you don't want
to eat Saturday dinner in MOCON.
Instead, celebrate Chinese New Year at 156 High Street.
Dinner starts at 5 P.M. and costs $2. What is Chinese New
Year
anyway? Check out this excellent web site made by a
Wesleyan student.
Here's what the Argus had to say:
On Saturday, Feb. 20.,
Chinese House and Asian/Asian-American
House are co-sponsoring a
festive Chinese dinner open to the
entire Wesleyan community. The
event, organized by co-chairs
Mei Mei Chan ’01 and Tsui
Chiang Quek ’01, will feature
traditional Chinese food and
music.
Kerr-Ritchie and Pres. Bennet Feb 19
President Bennet has
office hours today at 4 PM. Come to South College
and let him know how your feel about Kerr-Ritchie being
denied tenure.
You can also email President
Bennet here.
Write an
Article for the Hermes Feb 19
Don't feel that the
mainstream press writes about what is important to
you? The Hermes wants submissions from any group or individual
at
Wesleyan. The Hermes
is the most widely read progressive publication
on campus.
Meetings are every Wednesday at 9:30 in the WSA building.
If you don't feel like leaving your
room, you can also submit online.
Death
Penalty Speakers Feb 19
Sister Helen Prejean
is the author of Dead
Man Walking and the
character played by
Susan Sarandon in the movie. She is speaking in
Science Center 150 on Sunday at
3pm. Also speaking will be Gerard
Smyth, CT's Chief
Public Defender, and State Rep. Richard Tulisano,
sponsor of recent
anti-death-penalty legislation.
Tickets are on sale for $2 at the
Box Office. Sponsored by CT
Students Against the Death Penalty.
Huge
USLAC rally Feb 18
Heard about the contract negotiations
between Wesleyan's food
service workers and ARAMARK yet? So far, USLAC has gotten
over
1400 signatures in support of our workers,
and dramatically presented
the results to ARAMARK'S brass in MOCON last Tuesday.
This
Friday, USLAC will be marching to the offices of President Bennet
and Senior Food Service Director John Turenne.
Come to the
Campus Center at 3:30 this Friday
and join USLAC in the protest.
On Saturday, Feb. 20, there will be
a huge rally at 1:00PM in front
of the Campus Center. Expect to read about this one in
the local press.
Contact Lauren at x6010 or Sarah at x4126 if you have
questions.
The Argus covered this issue last Tuesday. Read it here.
Learn from a Master Feb 17
Next Tuesday, Lynn Stone from the
Rainforest Action Network will
be coming to Wesleyan from San Francisco to talk with
activists
about running campaigns and doing successful, creative
direct actions.
Even if you are not in E3, come to their weekly meeting
in PAC 002 at
10PM next Tuesday, and learn from the best.
Lynn Stone is her name
and she's coming to East Coast to
consolidate the Home Depot campaign on
the East (pressuring
them to stop purchasing and selling
old-growth and rainforest
wood in their stores as they are the
largest leading home retailer in
country.) Want to contact her? Call
415-398-4404 X.307
A Career with a Conscience Feb 17
News has been a bit slow, so here's
another job opportunity.
The following
Not-For-Profit organizations will be
in the campus
center all day and will be taking names
for interviews on
2/18: ACORN, The New Party Project,
Vote Training
Institute in Organizing
Also, Not-For-Profit/Social Service Career Panel
Careers in Grass Roots Organizing on 2/17/99 at 7:30
PM
in the CRC Library
Clean Up the
Whole Mess Feb 15
Ever go to Wadsworth Falls or
Miller's pond? Ever wonder why
no-one cleans
up the mess? Mark your calendars for April 11,
because E3 is going to do a massive clean-up and is
looking to
work with individual volunteers and campus groups. Email
jkoch@wesleyan.edu
to get involved.
Please Sell Out Quickly
Feb 12
After all the protests are over,
today's student leaders are going to need
jobs. How can you use your experience to impress future
employers?
The Career
Resource Center can help. Here's what they say:
Whether you are the
captain of a sports team, the leader of a
student organization, involved with a Greek
fraternity/sorority, or
involved with community service work... Learn how to
properly
word your leadership skills on your resume whether you are going
for a job in business or public service, applying for
law school, or
looking for a summer internship. This one-hour workshop will be
tailored to your employment/educational goals. (frosh
and
sophomores, it is not too early to start building
your resume for
those summer internships!) Tuesday, February 16 from
5:00-6:00
pm at the CRC in Butterfield A, facilitated by
Roberto Rosario,
Director of the Career Resource Center. RSVP to
ckishimoto@wesleyan.edu or call x2627
Leadership Conference Feb 11
Tomorrow afternoon I am going with
Martha Paz to a national
conference for student leaders in Philadelphia. It
is hosted by the Center
for Campus Organizing and the Student Environmental
Coalition.
At this conference will be representatives from groups as
varied as
MEChA, the AFL-CIO, the Student Liberation Action
Movement, and
the US Student Association. The goal of the retreat is to
make contacts for
Wesleyan groups like Queer Alliance, UJAMAA, Ajua Campos
and E3.
Additionally, this gathering of activists will help us
learn about what is
happening around the country, about successful alliances between groups
with different interests, and about ways of strengthening
our own
organizations here at Wesleyan. WESUNITY's general goal
is to bring
the Wesleyan community closer together by connecting its
various
interest groups. Do you share this vision? Join WESUNITY,
or
affiliate your group with us. Email wesunity@wesleyan.edu
.
At any rate, don't expect site updates until Monday.
Still, mail us news!
Diversity and
Leadership Feb 10
Wesleyan is diverse, but is diversity
useless if different groups are
isolated from one another? How is this reflected in
American political
life? Why don't Americans vote? Are students satisfied
with the current
situation? If not, what can be done to change it? Where
to even begin?
On Wednesday, at 8PM in the Chapel, Mark Gerzon, and
David Skaggs,
a former US Congressman, will confront these issues in a
"dramatic
presentation, talk, and dialogue." On Thursday, Feb 11, Mark Gerzon
will conduct a workshop from 11:30 to 1 in the Butt C
Lounge on how
to work and lead in a diverse community. Reserve your
spot (and free
lunch) by calling x6014. Make Wesleyan the community you
always
wanted it to be. Questions? Contact Ari Gerzon-Kessler
at x6014.
Read the Argus article about this event here.
Wespeak on Fraternities and
Activists Feb 10
In Tuesday's Argus, Roger Smith of
WESUNITY called for campus
activists and fraternities to help each other run
successful community
service projects in the Middletown area. This should help
to dispel the
needless animosity that exists between some members of
these two
groups of students. Read the WESPEAK here.
Please note that in this
sentence, "characterizations of jocks,"
"jocks" should be in quotations,
as this derogatory view of athletes is exactly what Smith
would like to
end. Additionally, Smith is a member of hte class of
2001, not 2002.
His parents can't afford having him repeat a year.
Institutionalize
Activism at Wesleyan Feb 9
How can activism at Wesleyan to have
a sense of continuity from year
to year? What if there were a centralized resource center
to help
maintain communication between groups, and to store
contact
information for regional and national allies of our
campus groups?
Would activists like full time staffers to help contact
the media, and to
teach us how to effectively use technology like the Web?
Would it be
helpful to have one place to go to to reserve a room, or
rent a video,
or ask for funding? The Center
for Leadership proposal is an answer
to these questions. The proposed center will have similar
functions to
WESUNITY, but will not vary in
approach or staff from year to year.
On a related note, the WESLEAD Leadership series is
having a program
on coalition building today. You can be sure that
WESUNITY wil be
there. Here's a blurb intended for all student groups:
On Tuesday, February
9th in the CAAS lounge, from 4:30-6:00pm
Kate Rushin, Director for the Center
for African-American
Studies will be holding workshop on
"What is Inclusive
Programming?" She will be
focusing on coalition building and
impacting the community. Come ready to
network - this is NOT a
lecture. This is an interactive
workshop - bring your
organization.Sign up with Christina
Kishimoto at x2627 or respond
to this e-mail See you on Tuesday!
Protest at the
Admissions Office Feb 7
This is the busiest weekend in recent
memory. Today, outside the
Admissions office from 1 to 3PM, students petitioned and
passed out
leaflets about the lack of diversity among Wesleyan
faculty, and the
upcoming renegotiation of food service workers'
contracts. This
weekend the admissions office invited the children of
alumni to visit
Wesleyan. Wesleyan activists want to ensure that Wesleyan
is the sort
of school they will be proud to attend, and put pressure
on the
administration to live up to its ideals and admissions
office propaganda.
For more information about the lack of faculty of color
at Wesleyan and
the situation with Kerr-Ritchie, contact Alea Mitchell.
For more information about Wesleyan's food service
workers and the
contract renegotiations this month, contact Nina Haiman of USLAC.
Planning to make your group known to prospective
students? Check out
This weekend's admissions office schedule:
Anyway, here's a summary of what the campus workers want:
More 40 hour jobs
Recognition as part of the Wesleyan community
A decent pension plan
Tuition benefits
Wage increase, as workers average only $15,000 a
year, half of a
Wesleyan students' tuition.
Students and faculty need to show support for the
Wesleyan
University Food Service Workers and their Union, HERE
217.
Office of Community Services Feb 7
The OCS does great things with the
Middletown community.
Check out their webpage
and volunteer for a program that interests you.
Double Trouble
Feb 6
Today, Wesleyan students were out in
force fighting for
accountability from those in power. The protest against
the UN
sanctions on Iraq brought
together students and community members
from around the state,
and attracted the Middletown
Press, MSNBC,
ABC,
and the Courant.
At the same time, about 50 silent
students, clad in
black lined up along Wyllys Ave, holding signs in support
of Professor
Jeffrey Kerr-Ritchie. Kerr-Ritchie had
been denied tenure by the
history department, despite overwhelming support by
students and
an already severe shortage of faculty of color at
Wesleyan.
While the larger, and much more vocal protest of Madeleine
Albright
captured the spotlight,several speakers called attention
to the
similarities between the causes, and called for the
protesters to
support one another. Today's show of strength by Wesleyan
students
will surely prevent the powerful, be they the U.S.
Secretary of State
or a faculty tenure committee, from forgetting those
affected by their
decisions. Read the official press release here.
Read the Argus article here.
The Associated Press commented:
(Middletown-AP) --
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's visit
to Wesleyan University yesterday attracted more than
200 student
protesters who criticized US policy toward Iraq.
Albright left the
stage immediately after making a speech without
taking questions
but later met for 20 minutes with three leaders of
the student
protest.
Madeleine Albright Protest
Feb 5
Here's the schedule: on SATURDAY,
2/6 at 12:30 PM--meet in the
campus center basement to assemble, and get a black
solidarity ribbon
By 1pm we will walk over to Crowell Concert hall
and begin protesting
the American sanctions and miliary policy in Iraq.
What's wrong with the policy? Here's a summary:
We have only caused
the conditions in iraq to deteriorate
-saddam is still in office and in power
-we have fueled enormous anti-american and
fundamentalist
sentiment. we have now pushed france over to russia
and china's
side in the 5-member security council. few
international countries
support the sanctions policy.
-it has caused the iraqi nation to crumble,
illiteracy and
malnutrition to soar. the rate of chronic
malnourishment in Iraq
risen 72% since 1991.
-the former oil-for-food director, a UN worker for 30
years, quit
this past september, calling the sanctions policy
'damaging and
futile.' he is now waging one of the largest
campaigns calling for
the end of the sanctions policy.
For more information,
contact Meredith Lobel, x4111 or
mlobel01@wesleyan.edu
Read the official press release here
Upcoming Activism Conferences Feb 3
THE 5th ANNUAL WORKING FOR
GLOBAL JUSTICE
CONFERENCE:
This conference deals with Careers, Issues and Activism
in
International Development on March 26-29, 1999 at
American
University, Washington DC. For details, and to
register, visit www.visionsinaction.org.
Also, consider the New England
Student Activism Conference 1999,
from March27-29. Feeling disconnected from your
fellow
students? The New England states are teaming with
activists of all
descriptions, but there is very little regional
networking.
activists from Connecticut to Maine will gather at MIT in
Boston for an
important two-day event to galvanize regional cooperation
and
effort among progressives. Sponsored by SEAC and the CCO.
Visit http://www.neactivism.org
for details.
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