Megan-facilitator
Pat-office person
Stephanie-scribe
Julie Lampe-time keeper
Julie Gumerman-vibes watcher
We started by going around the table, stating our names and either what we want CHANGE to focus on or what we think CHANGE means. Here are some of the focus topics we came up with:
-Sodexho-Marriott (henceforth known as S&M)
-Sweat-Free KSU (keep it going)
-aid in anti-war/anti-racism movement
-increasing education & awareness on campus regarding economic injustices & human rights
-make sure CHANGE remains visible on campus (actions, teach-ins, etc.)
-living wage campaign
Announcements
-Anti-war rally 11:30-12:30 in front of MACC
-Meeting of (still unnamed) anti-war/anti-racism group every Monday @ 8:00 2nd floor of Student Center
-the new issue of Socialist Worker contains information about the threat of war, racism, etc. (contact Pat G. for info)
-Cafeteria workers were excited that we’re interested in booting S&M off campus after reading Mike’s column
-WKSU is supported & funded by S&M. Could we include that in our attempt to get rid of S&M?
-Mike is conducting important web authoring training for activists. If you are interested in learning how to create and maintain websites, contact him at mpesa@kent.edu
Agenda
-S&M
Mike has been talking to national anti-S&M campaigns & found out that KSU’s S&M contract is for managers only, and employees are under university control, meaning the S&M managers don’t have the power to hire/fire employees. (this info from Not With Our Money campaign) S&M has been screwing around w/ paychecks at KSU, for example: people not getting paid for the hours they worked, commuters not getting paid for their commute time (they’re supposed to get paid for the commute). AFSCME ended up coming in & taking the p aychecks to sort the mess out. We need to get contacts w/ local unions (AFSCME, etc.) and other anti-S&M campaigns.
-Homecoming
Homecoming is October 20th!! Our float is going to be a caterpillar built in the style of those Chinese dragons, and behind it will be a butterfly. (get the CHANGE symbolism?) We can’t change our float idea now, because a description is already on the float form. Dave suggested we could maybe even get Chinese musicians to walk alongside our caterpillar/butterfly.
-WAR
We need to keep building the activist stronghold against the war, because something’s gonna happen soon. CHANGE officially endorses the movement. The anti-war/anti-racism group got its start at an event sponsored by the Muslim Students Association. They had invi ted a doctor from Akron to discuss the nature of Islam and answer questions. The event turned into a frank and open discussion about the recent events and those still to come, and a suggestion was proposed to create an anti-war group. Those interested met after the doctor’s discussion and decided they would hold the first meeting of this group during CHANGE’s meeting time the next evening. The group has no name and no set points of unity yet, but every Monday at 8pm the group will meet. The group has not shrunk, and actions need to be taken to help it continue to grow. ARA is considering creating buttons and safe zones in support of Islamic and Arabic-descended students and would like CHANGE to! help in this. The Stater’s editorial on Thursday was a good example that the group is already very visible even though no official actions have been made yet. There will be a rally on Friday in front of the MACC from 11:30-12:30 with drums, speakers, music, etc.
-Living Wage Coalition
the most recent meeting of the LWC broke down; there were few people there, and nothing is getting accomplished very quickly. LWC is going to contact AFSCME & attend their meeting; CHANGE should send representatives. Mike encourages a vote for Kent City Council candidate Patty Fridrich (Green Party) on November 6, as she supports the Living Wage.
-Research/Education Ethics
All universities are sponsored in some way by corporations to aid in research and publications fundings, and KSU is one of the more serious offenders in this. This practice of corporations providing university funding means that if the company pays for a school to perform research for them, the company then has a stake in what the outcome of the study will be. CHANGE needs to begin to research this issue and find out what, if anything, can be done. (not necessarily right away, but for future actions.) It has been found that President Carol Cartwright is on dozens of corporate boards. For more info about this, see www.rabblerouser.org .
Working Groups
-S&M
more research needs to be done on the different branches of S&M. There are 2 branches, Sodexho Alliance and Sodexho Wood. (we have Sodexho Wood) Proposed actions against S&M include giving out free food as an alternative to visiting the cafeteria (that would involve a lot of red tape). We need to concentrate on research, planning, and contacts, and a move needs to be made soon before students get used to the bad food, bad service, and the Flashcard b.s. and don’t care. Ways to draw people in include hooking them with the Flashcard b.s. and educate them on S&M’s labor practices and their involvement in prison management. Stephanie is going to get in contact with local unions and other groups involved in anti-S&M actions.
-Homecoming
the caterpillar will be in the style of the Chinese dragon with 6 people inside the caterpillar. Displayed on each person will be a particular issue CHANGE is involved with. The butterfly behind the caterpillar will display these same 6 issues. Fliers will be handed out alongside the float, & these props will be reusable for Halloween. No decisions have been made about using free cardboard, free paint, etc.
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