healthcare and safety net benefits--and the way forward. Professor Rodberg's presentation will be followed by discussion and updates on our safety net campaign. As always, we will provide light refreshments--coffee, tea, fruit, cheese and cookies. MAY 1st CHAPTER MEETING Joan Greenbaum, Editor Academic Year 2016-7 No. 8 psc-cuny.org/retirees 1 – 3 pm, PSC Union Hall, 16th Floor, APRIL 3rd CHAPTER MEETING, 1 – 61 Broadway. Theme: The 3 pm, PSC Union Hall, 16th Floor, 61 surveillance state. We'll examine Broadway. Theme: Health, welfare government surveillance in the and wellbeing. 1950s and contemporary New York. Speakers: Speakers: Donna Costa, Executive Dave Kotelchuck, Hunter Director, PSC/CUNY Welfare College (retired), author of Fund, speaking on and Abe and Julia, on FBI answering questions about surveillance of his family the Fund's new benefit during the McCarthy period. enhancements. Alex Vitale, Brooklyn College, Jared Herst, PSC on NYPD surveillance of Coordinator, Pensions and Muslims, including CUNY Benefits, reporting on latest students. Professor Vitale news and issues about has written extensively on benefits. “broken windows” policing, Len Rodberg, recently retired protest policing and social chair of the Department of movements. Urban Studies at Queens College and nationally As always, we will provide light renowned advocate for refreshments--coffee, tea, fruit, healthcare reform, speaking cheese and cookies. on current attacks on 1 JUNE 5th LUNCHEON, 12 PM, PSC We’re limited to 100 seats, which Union Hall, 16th Floor, 61 Broadway. means you should MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS EARLY. With a Speaker: Blanche Wiesen Cook, speaker like Dr. Cook, seats will go Distinguished Professor of History at quickly. A reservation form John Jay College and the CUNY accompanies the printed edition of Graduate Center. this newsletter. If you are reading Turning the Page digitally, you can Professor Cook just published the find the reservation form online at third and final volume of her award- https://tinyurl.com/June5Luncheon winning and critically acclaimed biography of Eleanor Roosevelt. UPCOMING EVENTS HAMILTON'S HEIGHTS TODAY: MONDAY, APRIL 24, 3:30-5 PM (PLUS DINNER) Join Alan Feigenberg and David Chapin for a rambling tour of what gentrification looks like in Hamilton's Heights. We will learn about the architecture and communities in the area around City College. Like Alan and David's successful architectural tour last year, we will follow the tour by breaking bread (or whatever you choose) at a local restaurant. Meet at the corner of 145th Street and Amsterdam Avenue Directions and more information will be sent when you register. Please email [email protected] with “TOUR” in the subject line. This tour will be easy on the feet and accessible for those with wheelchairs The venue has changed for this or walkers, but please let us know if year’s June luncheon. Because you have mobility limitations. John Jay was not available, we’ll be breaking bread at the PSC Union WORKING THEATER PRESENTS Hall. "BAMBOO IN BUSHWICK," APRIL 23. The PSC will be hosting a We’ll be providing a buffet luncheon special group at a performance of the show on Sunday, April 23 at 2 with an excellent and more varied th menu – and at lower cost. PM at Urban Stages, 259 West 30 Street between 8th and 9th Avenues. 2 The play tackles the thorny issue of RETIREES TAKE TO CITIFIELD gentrification from several angles REMATCH: METS VS. GIANTS, using comedy and magical realism to WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 1 PM. The explore gentrification. Mets 2016 season ended with a playoff loss to the Giants. We plan Reserve your seats now! Tickets for to bring good luck to this game, as PSC members are $25. Make your well a good weather. We can buy a checks out to Working Theater and block of tickets probably in the $25 mail them to the PSC/ 61 Broadway/ range. Let us know if you will join us NY 10006/ Attention: Steve by writing to [email protected] Leberstein. with “METS” in the subject line. Reservations required. BUSES TO PEOPLE’S CLIMATE MARCH, WASHINGTON D.C., APRIL 29. THE MONTH THAT WAS Our March Retirees Chapter meeting welcomed five award-winning women poets from CUNY. The subject of their readings was "Women's Words--Solidarity in Struggle." If you missed it, you missed some lively discussion of teaching and learning at various CUNY colleges, as well as the fascinating and often surprising ways The PSC Environmental Justice that life experience influences (and Committee, formed last year and sometimes doesn't) writing. The spearheaded by a number of poets included: Meena Alexander retirees, encourages all members to (Hunter & Grad Center), Page sign up and join the April 29 march. Dougherty Delano (BMCC), Kimiko Hahn (Queens College), Joanna Sit Learn more about the march and (Medgar Evers) and Michelle PSC’s participation by reading Tom Yasmine Valladares (City College). Angotti’s article in the latest Clarion [https://tinyurl.com/ClarionApril29]. Kimiko Hahn told us, among other things, that she is "constantly The PSC is sponsoring two buses for learning what students don't know" in members at reduced cost. One will figuring out how to teach. She also leave from lower Manhattan and the is intrigued by the NY Times Science other from Brooklyn. To reserve a section and likes to make science place and make your payment, go to stories into real life; here is a short https://tinyurl.com/PSCbusses tempting example: 3 A Bowl of Spaghetti convention. If this vote passes, all Kimiko Hahn, Distinguished provisions of the NYS Constitution professor, Queens College will be subject to change or elimination, including labor’s rights to “To find a connectome, or the mental organize, public employees’ makeup of a person,” pensions, the constitutional researchers experimented with the protection of tenure at state neurons of a worm institutions of higher education, along with home rule for NY cities, then upgraded to mouse hoping environmental protections and the “to unravel the millions of miles of Forever Wild provision of public wire in the [human] brain” lands in upstate NY. It’s all up for grabs, if there is a constitutional that they liken to “untangling a bowl convention. of spaghetti” of which I have an old photo: Rei in her high chair delicately picking out each strand to mash in her mouth. Was she two? Was that sailor dress from Mother? Did I cook from scratch? If so, there was a carrot in the sauce as Mother instructed and I’ll never forget since some strand determines infatuation as a daughter’s fate (Brain Fever, 2014) NYSUT and the PSC strongly urge a “no” vote to reject holding this convention. For retirees this vote is A NYS CONSTITUTIONAL especially important since the state CONVENTION: NO THANK YOU. constitution now guarantees that The Retiree Council of New York pension payments cannot be State United Teachers (NYSUT), of decreased during the lifetime of a which the PSC is a member, met in retired public employee. A state Albany on March 7-8, following a constitutional convention could successful two-day lobbying effort for eliminate this provision and subject restoration of funds for CUNY and future and even current PSC retirees SUNY. One of the key discussions at to pension cutbacks. During the past the Council meeting was the decade such changes have been upcoming New York State vote on enacted in many other states, such Nov. 7, 2017 on whether or not to as Rhode Island, Illinois and soon, have a state constitutional perhaps, New Jersey. 4 Most NYS voters, according to Kotelchuck, Cecelia McCall and recent polls, are not yet aware that a Eileen Moran. A reminder to all: Say statewide vote on such a convention “No thank you to a constitutional is being held this year. NYSUT is convention.” currently working with the NYS AFL- Dave Kotelchuck, Retiree, CIO and the NYS Association of Hunter College Retired Americans (NYSARA) to educate New Yorkers about the vote and urge them to vote “no.” GLOBAL RESISTANCE IN THE NEOLIBERAL UNIVERSITY. The convention is supported by the NYS Bar Association and many state and local political leaders (of course). Many good government groups also support a “yes” vote; they’re hoping for a “People’s Convention” that will finally enact ethics reform in Albany. But all past conventions in New York have featured pledges to enact ethics reforms, and New York remains one of the more corrupt state governments in the U.S., as evidenced by the steady stream of The PSC International Committee's NYS legislators going to prison in conference on March 3-4 drew 195 recent years. people to our union hall. The organizers brought together Other issues discussed at this participants from South Africa, Retirees Council meeting included Mexico, Puerto Rico and, via Skype, the Republican “repeal and from Turkey, as well as members of replacement” of the Affordable Care our union and faculty from NYU and Act and the state of the NYS public the University of Colorado. One employees’ Pension Fund, which outstanding, if not surprising, finding remains in good health. Pension was our common experience in the Fund Trustee David Keefe reported distortion of higher education by the to the group that the Fund grew last current neoliberal version of year by $3 billion dollars, even after capitalism and the forms of $7 billion in pension payouts. Keefe resistance to it. reported that t Fund is rated by pension experts as one of the top The recurrent debate of class vs. two or three such funds in the U.S. identity politics surfaced in several panels, notably in the first one Our PSC delegation to the State- featuring presenters from South wide Retirees Council included Irwin Africa and in the one on resisting Yellowitz, leader of the PSC racism, xenophobia and gender delegation, Francine Brewer, David oppression.