By FORRESTER PACK/Murphy News Service
Whether it was during the socially riveting decade of the 1960s, or the politically fraught years following Sept. 11, 2001, the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) has been a national resource on college campuses throughout the United States for individuals eager to act, to speak, to get involved.
For the University of Minnesota’s chapter, that concept is no different.
“Our short-term goals include another tuition freeze, a cut in administrator salaries and general administrator bloat, which means hiring less administrators and paying workers at the University living wages,” SDS member Manuel Berduc said. “Our long-term goal is to create a truly public university, one that meets the needs of people and not the few.”
SDS describes itself as a multi-issue, progressive organization that holds chapters mostly on U.S. college campuses, but on some high school campuses as well. Having roots in the 1960s, the national organization experienced a revival in 2006, sparked by individuals and groups opposed to the Iraq War. Issues specific to the U mainly steer SDS activity.
“Tuition hikes, the University being run as a corporation as opposed to a public institution, which citizens have access to the U, marginalization of specific groups of people at the U… these are important issues SDS tackles,” U student and SDS member Stephanie Taylor said.
Act locally, think globally
“A public university is precisely an institution which exists for the public, and right now what we see instead is a university running to meet the necessary requirements to rise in rankings and therefore ignoring the needs of the people in this state, especially people of color and oppressed nationalities,” Berduc said. “The university’s policies toward said students can be seen in their attitude toward Chicano and Latino studies, a department which was neglected until students decided to occupy [President Eric] Kaler’s office. With their mobilization, an immediate response was given (even if limited) to many of their demands, and we do not see these two events as separate, though the administration would like to see it that way. We therefore believe student action is the only way to move forward.”
SDS sees history and global movements blended in its efforts and those of students around the U.
“What we hope to see is not abstract, but rather based on struggles of students around the world. In the past few years we have seen student mobilizations around the world, with particular success in places like Chile, Canada, Germany, and now South Africa, to name a few,” Berduc said. “Some protests rolled back tuition down to zero, others simply created international awareness, and the recent example of South Africa led to a tuition freeze after a rebellion of close to 10,000 students forced the President of the country to step back. What we see in these struggles are examples for a future for a united student struggle, but we also take examples from our past, as the university reforms of 1918 in Latin America spread throughout the continent, democratizing universities, creating strong student governments, and creating bonds between university students and workers, examples which still persist in many places today.”
Recent Efforts at the U
Berduc said SDS has worked on or partnered with other groups to advance its message.
“Two of our actions had peculiar importance in the last couple of years. The first was a student referendum that we successfully passed in the all-campus elections in 2012,” Berduc said. “Once we obtained the numerous signatures required to get our proposals on the ballot, a vast majority of students voted in favor with 85 percent.
“Among the demands raised were a 10-percent pay cut for administrators and a tuition freeze, which recently expired. The latter demand was met, respecting student voices, while the first was completely ignored,” he added. “This is in part why we feel the need to push for student mobilization and organization, because when such a large majority votes in favor of such a demand, there needs to be an organized movement to keep pressure so that said demands be met.
“Another important action which we led were the protests against Condoleezza Rice speaking on our campus,” Berduc said. “For this action we collected hundreds of signatures and mobilized hundreds of people on campus to repudiate the invitation of a war criminal, and the reception was excellent. This action was particularly successful in our work with a variety of groups on campus, but also community groups, faculty, and staff. While we were not successful in rescinding her invitation (which students at the University of Rutgers were), we did mobilize many people and in doing so helped foster solidarity on campus, all while showing people to vote with their feet.”
SDS is coordinating with labor unions at the U, including the Teamsters and Association of Federal, State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).
Contract negotiations with administrators can be contentious.
“Often, U administrators try to pit various bodies against each other. For example, they may say ‘You can’t have lower tuition because we have to pay our staff’ or ‘we can’t afford to pay livable wages because we are trying to keep your tuition down’. The administrative model of money management and employee pay is unsustainable because it leads students and U workers in more dire conditions than when they entered campus,” Taylor said.
Student debt and University labor unions
SDS works to raise awareness among the student body of how student life and worker pay is intimately connected to future job prospects and student debt.
“Labor issues impact students issues and vice-versa […] if workers are better off now, future graduates of college seeking jobs will have an already secured foundation of higher wages and [job security]. This benefits current workers in the job market, and future workers upon their completed college education,” Taylor said. “The reality is that when students are the ones footing the bill for the University, and the U is paying top-level administrators six-figure salaries, some of the lowest paid workers at the University are receiving unequal benefits compared to their bosses.”
Taylor cited how some lower-level University workers receive only two weeks of paid parental leave compared to six for upper-level University workers.
“Workers who are involved in our student experience, those workers who help students enroll in courses, who manage student service issues […] these are the people affected by this inequity. They deserve to be paid like a valued, contributing member of the University,” Taylor continued. “If they aren’t being paid well, we all have to question where our money is going that is being paid to the U each semester.”
SDS counts faculty among its supporters at the U. The organization has had requests from class instructors this semester to come and speak on issues of importance to the U community, a unique development this academic year.
“Issues surrounding student debt and tuition are very popular around the U, and SDS is assisting in rallying stakeholders around those issues,” Taylor said. “We also grapple with the nuances of what is going on in the world around us. I think SDS can help people process the ‘politics of our age’.”
SDS usually meets weekly to discuss upcoming events, outreach, and political or breaking issues around campus. On Nov. 17, SDS will be joining with the labor unions at the U to have a supportive forum that brings a number of issues to the forefront. SDS maintains a Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/UMNSDS/ and student group overview http://sua.umn.edu/groups/directory/group/1480/ for individuals seeking involvement or more information.
Forrester Pack is studying journalism at the University of Minnesota