Syracuse University Protests (#5)

On November 3rd, protests began at Syracuse University, headed by a student group known as THE General Body. For ten days a sit-in has taken place outside of Chancellor Kent Syverud's office to address grievances held by university students over recent administrative decisions.

THE General Body produced a forty three-page document listing problems and suggested solutions and presented it to Syverud, stating that they would not leave Crouse-Hinds Hall, the building in which his office is housed, until all points were addressed. Among these points were movements to improve the diversity rate of the campus and to provide better facilities for minority students and those from lower-income families.

There is a whole multifaceted section of the document produced by THE General Body that discusses issues experienced by the aforementioned mistreated students. A central topic was the lack of attention given to varying acts of "micro-" and "macroaggression," which are "covert" and "overt" mistreatments of minority students, respectively. These include but are not limited to, slandering, vandalism, and general disrespect for students of minority backgrounds. They are documented and cited within the aforementioned address to Syverud, and are often followed up by equally alarming accounts of the administration's incompetence in dealing with these issues.

Also, the number of Syracuse students eligible for Pell Grants (a subsidy offered by the federal government to young people from low-income families) went from less than a fifth of the student body in 2004 to roughly a third today. Yet, oddly enough, the school administration has cut scholarships that aid poorer students and is looking to transfer its focus from need-based aid to merit-based aid (which helps, generally, more privileged students).

THE General Body has amassed a long list of wrongdoings that Syverud's relatively new administration has committed over the past few months. This is not the first university protest of late; there have been three others in the two months prior to this most recent one.

The outrage of the student body has been funneled into a civil and professional document and handed to their aggressors on a silver platter. I personally commend the efforts of THE General Body, as they have given Syverud no reason to act rashly, as their wishes are reasonable; of course, they are sleeping outside his office, but that does seem to be having an effect - and it's perfectly legal.

This is just one example of the disregard that is given by higher powers in education towards those who are less privileged but nonetheless equally entitled to an educational background. Minority students are marginalized often, and that is where the roots of our nation's poverty issues lie: with the younger generations. If our leaders can make an effort to solve such a growing issue before it gets further out of hand, they'll be able to sit back and watch as the young people whom they have helped take the reins and do it for them. You catch someone a fish, and that person eats for a day. You teach that someone to fish, and that person shall eat for a lifetime.