A Victory for free speech with SDS reinstated

author : Olympia Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) topic : sit-in | TESC

by Olympia Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)

A 23-day student sit-in outside of the Evergreen State College (TESC) Vice President?s office concluded Thursday night after five days of negotiations, ending with all of the students? demands being met.

This stands as a significant victory in manifesting student power on The Evergreen State College campus. The students came to table with four demands: the reinstatement of SDS as a registered student organization (RSO) with an acknowledgement of some wrongdoing on the part of the school administration; that no disciplinary procedure be brought against participating students; that a student who was fired for her participation in the sit-in receive her campus job back with full compensation for lost time; that the disciplinary policy for RSOs be rewritten by students. While the wording of these demands was debated to satisfy all parties involved, the students stayed firm on the essence of all demands. The students involved consider this a tremendous success and encourage students to utilize similar strategies in future struggles. This victory illustrates that taking direct action is an effective means through which students can get their interests addressed and accomplish change.

The last day of negotiations took place on Thursday, June 13th. They focused on the last agreed upon demand, the rewriting of the RSO disciplinary policy by students. The policy will be rewritten by a coalition of students and student groups. Once this policy is written it will be brought to the student body in the form of a referendum, and if it passes it will become binding school policy. Thus, whatever policy the student body democratically decides on will become official school policy without any say from the administration. The students taking place in the sit-in considered this the success of this demand to be an important step in furthering student empowerment and self determination.

After the events of February 14th, a moratorium on concerts was imposed by TESC administration. While this moratorium was in effect, numerous concerts were allowed to take place on campus. A panel discussion of former Black Panthers organized by SDS for March 7th, however, was canceled by the administration two days before it was scheduled to happen. SDS had been very involved with organizing against police racism in our communities prior to February 14th. SDS was the first, and thus far the only, organization to officially speak out against the police racism and violence (including the hospitalization of one student) on the night of the dead prez concert and the administration?s enthusiastic cooperation with the police. Seeing this selective enforcement of policy for what it was, an attack on free speech, SDS followed through with the event. In response to this, TESC administration suspended SDS? RSO status.

The banning of SDS as an RSO is representative of the current climate of political repression on TESC campus. This along with other instances of the suspension of student rights signals a deviation from Evergreen?s original mission statement and a move towards becoming a more mainstream institution.

On Wednesday, May 21st, SDS and their supporters began a sit-in outside of Vice President for Student Affairs Art Costantino?s office. Costantino, along with Dean of Student and Academic Support Services Phyllis Lane (who initially filed the complaint against SDS), was foremost responsible for this suppression on campus.

Throughout the course of the sit-in, there was substantial community support. A petition in support of the sit-in was written and signed by alumni. Members of the faculty wrote and publicized letters of support as well. For much of the sit-in, community members constantly brought fresh meals and food to the sit-in, sometimes on an hourly basis. Many community organizations from Olympia, and throughout the Northwest, have been in support of Olympia SDS throughout this Free Speech struggle. Iraq Veterans Against the War, Industrial Workers of the World, and the Revolutionary Communist Party participated for some time in the sit-in. Many community and student organizations were present at SDS? appeals hearing and the Free Speech rally leading up to the sit-in to show their support for SDS? reinstatement, including Students Educating Students about the Middle East (SESAME), Umoja, MEChA, Center for Radical Education (CRE), Appearing Task Force (ATF), Evergreen Animal Rights Network (EARN), Women Of Color Coalition (WOCC), Committee in Solidarity with the Peoples of El Salvador (CISPES), and the Sabot Infoshoppe. Before the sit-in began, a petition signed by over 400 students demanding SDS? reinstatement was presented to the administration.

Sit-in participants began using the 4th floor of the SEM I building, the site of the sit-in, for the People?s University, almost nightly free educational events for the community. These included workshops on: Radical labor organizing and solidarity between labor, student and other social struggles given by a major labor organizer from Seattle; a People?s History of New Orleans Post-Katrina; Radical Queer History; Accounts of Radical Student Organizing in India as presented by Dr. Muhammad Ayub; Community Accountability and Sexual Assault; The Making and Implementing of Lockboxes as a tactic for direct action; GI Resistance; Political Prisoner Support. There were several film screenings as well. The People?s University was also the venue for many musical concerts, including Kimya Dawson, David Rovics, Heliotroupe, the Gay Science, Jesus Was a Slave Ship, and the 9/11s.

Over the summer SDS will be meeting every other Wednesday at 6:30 at Media Island the next meeting will be Wednesday July 2nd.

Student Power!