Correction appended.
A group of students staged a march around campus on Oct. 20, chanting, yelling and banging a drum on the Quad to express their grievances against the University.
The “A New AU” campaign rallies behind three main points: democracy, transparency and accountability, according to Chris Litchfield, a junior in the School of Public Affairs, president of College Democrats and one of the primary leaders behind the campaign.
Members of A New AU are pushing for more student input in important decision making processes at AU.
About 20 to 25 students rallied in front of Hurst Hall at the Oct. 20 protest, then continued to make two laps around the Quad. They chanted slogans such as, “When workers and students are under attack what do we do? Stand Up, Fight Back,” and “AU step off it, put students over profit.”
Roots of the movement
The Community Action and Social Justice Coalition has been one of the main organizers of the campaign.
The movement consists of leaders from a variety of different student organizations who have all had problems with AU’s administration in the past.
Ethan Miller, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences and a member of CASJ, said a variety of students attended an open meeting about A New AU on Oct. 18.
“This shows how there’s really a wide range of people coming together on this, it’s not just, whatever, hardcore left activist groups,” Miller said. “It’s multicultural groups, it’s Eco-Sense, there’s been a lot of groups coming together on this on campus.”
Gaining Board of Trustees student representation
CASJ hopes to achieve many wide-ranging goals, including student representatives with full voting rights on the Board of Trustees.
The Board has one student member that does not have voting rights. The Board chose this year’s student trustee, Chazmon Gates, from the Washington College of Law.
Rachel Mandelbaum, a junior in SIS and member of both CASJ and Eco-Sense, said during the Oct 18 meeting that she would like to see an undergraduate student on the Board of Trustees.
“If you’re in the law school, you don’t really know what’s affecting the main campus, so another thing we want is a student member on the board with a real vote on what goes on with our administration,” Mandelbaum said. “Maybe putting in an undergrad because that’s the bulk of the people here and what they represent,” she said.
Increasing financial transparency
CASJ members hope that an undergraduate student representative on the Board of Trustees would bring more transparency to AU’s decision-making process, especially its fiscal budget.
“The University does not release information on its investments, even though we pay tuition, they’re using our money for investments,” said Michael Dranove, a CASJ member and a member of Students for Justice in Palestine. “The university doesn’t think we have the right to know and that’s insulting.”
The University could be investing tuition money in large national banks and corporations, such as Capital One and Bank of America, Dranove said.
Student Government President Tim McBride said protesters should focus on the faculty senate and not the Board of Trustees.
“I think there are other places where students’ voices can have a larger impact,” McBride said at the meeting. “The faculty senate votes on specific regulations whereas the board votes on very big picture things.”
During the meeting, many members of ‘A New AU’ said they would like to see the University invest money in local banks or credit unions that would in turn re-invest their money in local businesses.
A New AU members think this method would help build sustainable economies, according to Litchfield.
Continuing discussion on Aramark workers
Members of A New AU will also continue to discuss the rights of campus workers.
“The university is continually horrible when it comes to workers’ rights,” Litchfield said.
The students are concerned about the expansion of Aramark workers’ workload to off-campus AU offices on New Mexico Avenue, said Mitch Ellmauer, a junior in SPA and another A New AU leader.
The students in A New AU hoped that, by holding a rally on Oct. 20, they could gain a substantial amount of support and then march to the president’s office and show the administration the amount of students behind the movement.
“We want a new AU and that is why we are here,” Litchfield said to the gathered crowd at the President’s office on Oct. 20. “And we are going to be coming back next week and every week after that if we have to until the University responds with progress.”
March to president’s office
The protestors marched to President Neil Kerwin’s office to present the administration with a typed letter of grievances.
David Taylor, Chief of Staff at the President’s office, greeted the group of protestors at the President’s house and said that Kerwin was not in the office at the time.
The students then handed Taylor their letter and proceeded to list their grievances and demands. They also stated that they expect to hear back from the University within a week about their demands. Taylor accepted the letter and went back inside the building.
Taylor did not respond to requests for comment in time for press.
A New AU will be holding another rally on Oct. 27 in front of Hurst Hall.
news@theeagleonline.com
Staff writer Leigh Giangreco contributed to this report. In a previous version of this article, Ethan Miller was quoted as saying “it’s just, whatever, hardcore left activist groups." Miller actually said "it's not just, whatever, hardcore left activist groups"
