Tips for Activists

The first problem Welcome to college, what will you do? This is a world for all of us, men of war and injustice, pain, hope, and struggle. The richest one percent and women, is not of humanity controls as much wealth as the bottom 60 percent. There are more than two billion peasants living today. There are count- to learn, but to unless more whose lives are equally difficult, and they all live in the first learn. world’s long shadow. A global ecological crisis is upon us. Centuries -Gloria Steinem of exploitation have left large swaths of the earth barren and poisoned. A crisis of meaning has overtaken us. We are continually bombarded I have never let my with messages promoting consumption, wealth, and individual gain as schooling interfere the highest achievements we can aspire toward. with my education So welcome to college. How did you get here? Ever wonder - Mark Twain how many people dream of attending the university but can’t afford it? What will you do with your time and education here? Do you It is, in fact, noth- believe that money, appearance, entertainment, and shopping are the be-all-end-all? Or is there more to life? Is there a different meaning? ing short of a mira- Collectively, most of us came here not entirely of our own choosing. cle that the modern If the future were our own, what would we make of it? Can we change methods of instruc- things for the better? tion have not entire- The (Dis)Orientation Guide suggests some possibilities. The fu- ly strangled the holy ture is written partly in the rubble of yesterday’s burned banks. It’s curiosity of inquiry. etched in the blazing passions of past hunger strikes, sit-ins and or- -Albert Einstein ganized uprisings. Part introduction, invitation, and inspiration, this booklet is a resource to connect you with others in your search for Education either meaning and understanding. The goal of the Guide is to challenge all functions as an in- assumptions and to catalyze radical thought about the university, soci- strument which is ety at large, and our individual lives. used to facilitate Welcome to UCSB. integration of the We can change the world if we, younger generation work hard, into the logic of the raise hell, present system and and love unabashedly, bring about confor- mity or it beocmes The 2005 DisOrientation Guide Collective the practice of free- [Darwin BondGraham, Heather Buchheim, Ronald Dumsfeld, Gabe Mann, Tanya Paperny, dom, the means by Will Parrish, Stephanie Smith, Vicki Zeitner] which men and wom- Thanks to: De Acker, Harley Augustino, Michael Bean, Eileen Boris, Grace Chang, en deal critically and Michael Coffey, Barbie Deutsch, Sarah Fenstermaker, Dick Flacks, Geoff Green, creatively with real- Aaron Jones, Ellen Nagler, Kristine Pfannenstiel, Kyle Richards, Elizabeth Robin- ity and discover how son, Lelia Rupp, Josephine Vu, Jon Williams, Howard Winant, the IV Food Co-Op, to participate in the the IV Bike Boutique, all past and present UCSB activists, and all of the authors transformation of All content within this guide is Copyleft unless otherwise stated. All views, opinions, crass statements, their world. aphorisms, pissed-off rants, pronunciations, and shouts are those of the author. See our web site - Paulo Freire for more in-depth articles, images, and features we couldn’t print here; sbdisorientation.org. If you want to help us produce next year’s guide or submit articles for the web site email us, [email protected]. What’s Inside the DisGuide? Part I - Herstory/History 4-20: A Timeline of Protest and Activism at UCSB................. 4: Still the Earth Jumps Back: Student Uprisings then and Now............ 8: Who Rules the University?.............. 13: Regent Profiles............. 16: Thirteen Reasons to be Radical......... 19: Knowledge, of, by, and for the People.............. 22: UCSB - More Radical Than You Know........... 23: The Dedication of Perfect Park............ Part II - The Here and Now, Where and Why The University 26: S.C.O.R.E. - Student Commission on Racial Equality.......... 27: Education for Sustainable Living Program (ESLP)................. 28 Environmental Affairs Board.............. 29: Environmental Accomplishments at UCSB......... 30: VOX: Planned Parenthood......... 31: Vagina Dialogues............ 32: I Went to the UC and All I Got Was This Stupid Thermo-Nuclear Weapon......... 34: Workers and the University.......... 36: Be Realistic -- Demand the Impossible: Stopping Student Fee Increases and Transforming the World.......... 39: Language Matters: Queer Resources & Terminology............. 41: Covering Bases: Five More Things You Should Know About at UCSB............. Santa Barbara Locale 42: PUEBLO, Economic Justice, and the Living Wage Campaign.................. Global Perspectives 44: Peace Be Upon You: A Muslim’s Call for Peace............. 45: The Facts About Iraq............ Part III - Tools, Spaces, and Resources, and People 46: Radical Faculty Profiles............. 51: Independent Media............. 53: Corporate Media Ownership.............. 54: Attack of the Blog............. 55: KCSB, The Underground Beneath the Not So Ivory Tower............. 57: Feminism is for Everybody............. 59: Isla Vista Co-Ops............. 60: Consumer Sanitation............. 61: Tips for Getting Involved............. Directory of Organizations, UCSB, and the Greater Community............. 70: Fun Time............. www.sbdisorientation.org / [email protected] for any com- ments, criticisms, suggestions, corrections, or additions Still the Earth Jumps Back Student Uprisings Then and Now By Will Parrish On February 1, 1960, four black college stu- lars” upholding Milosevic’s rule. By October 2000, the dents sat down at a segregated lunch counter in country’s elites had been thrown into such disarray Greensboro, North Carolina, and asked to be served that the students, joined finally by activists from vari- a cup of coffee. This simple but defiant act touched ous other segments of society, swept Milosevic from off a monumental southern black civil rights move- power and ushered in a new era of democratic pos- ment, out of which emerged numerous other nation- sibility in their country. wide political movements for fundamental change. Dating from the 1200s, when students at the The sum of these movements altered countless University of Paris and the University of Bologna be- aspects of US culture, gan to demand more while bringing about power over univer- numerous legislative sity affairs, students reforms in the ‘60s and the world over have ‘70s. participated in — and On March 22, been at the forefront 1968, eight students at of — mass political Nanterre University movements. The list outside of Paris broke of these movements’ into the university triumphs is as long as dean’s office, occupy- you want to make it. ing it for three days as In relating these a protest against the inspirational stories, overcrowding of their I hope to instill in university and the Students allied with staff and faculty literally shut down UCSC last spring de- UCSB DisOrienta- recent arrest of six manding that the university respect all of its workers, support them in their tion Guide readers of their peers in the needs, and pay them a living wage. an ambitious sense French peace move- of what is possible ment. The dramatic, improbable chain of events that for our own activism. Whether we know it or not, ensued resulted in a near-revolution, with hundreds we have in us the capacity to do just as much as the of thousands of students boycotting in the streets and students of the past (nay, much more!). But I also over 12 million workers out on strike. hope to challenge what may be the central myth pre- In the late-’90s, a decentralized, leaderless venting the great masses among us from recognizing network of students and youth from across Serbia the disempowering, unengaging, and — quite frankly came together under a common goal — ending the — oppressive political system we currently live in for brutal dictatorship of Slobodan Milosevic — and a what it is: the idea that all legitimate power in society common strategy -- undermining the three main “pil- comes from the top-down. 1967 1968 March on Sacramento: On October 14, twelve members of In the first dramatic pro- the Black Student Union take over test ever engaged in by the Campus Computer Center in campus activists, dozens North Hall, re-naming it “Malcolm of UCSB students join X Hall,” and using the takeover thousands of their peers as a platform to issue a variety of statewide in a march on then-CA Governor Ronald demands to University Chancellor Reagan’s office in Sacramento. Reagan had recently Vernon Cheadle. Within days, Cheadle agrees to meet several of the demands and explore announced a 25 percent funding cut across the UC several others, prompting the students to end the occupation and declare a major victory. system. 4 In reality, it is not mainstream politicians, marked by far the largest student insurgency the corporate executives and military officials, but rather world has yet to witness, the dawn of what might be people far removed from these centers of establish- called the “modern” student movement (in the US, ment power, who have that is — student move- initiated most of the ments in many other coun- major progressive social tries matured much earlier) changes we now regard took place a century ago, as fundamental to our with the formation of the lives. As MIT linguistics Intercollegiate Socialist So- professor and US for- ciety (ISS) in 1905. While eign policy critic Noam the ISS’ activities were Chomsky writes, “All mostly comprised of dis- over the place, there is cussion groups on socialist constant pressure to theory and current events, make people feel that the group nevertheless they are helpless, that the made a significant mark on only role they can have is thousands of students of to ratify decisions and to Students, both black and white, were major participants in the era.

Load more