Free University NYC

[worldofdistractions]

[freeuniversitynyc]

The Free University of NYC Stands in Solidarity with The Students for a Free Cooper Union

We, The Free University of NYC, openly support the Cooper Union student occupation. We believe that Cooper Union and all education should be free!

We recognize the occupation of the Peter Cooper Suite by The Students for a Free Cooper Union as a vital effort to defend access to a free education for future generations. Their occupation serves as an inspirational, positive, and productive example of resistance in the broader struggle for access to education in NYC and around the world.

We see clear connections between the struggles that students at Cooper Union face and those of students across New York City and students struggling everywhere.  The lines between private and public education in this city have separated us for too long. We will not be divided by institutions, claims to prestige, or profit margins. Public schools are becoming clandestinely privatized, while private schools are increasingly run and financed by our collective student debt. Our grievances are connected and our struggle is necessarily collective.

We know that access to education is our path to empowerment, agency, and success.  We continue to fight for the opportunities to affect change in our communities and we believe that accessible education for all New Yorkers is an important step to achieving a more equal and just society.

We stand with the students of Cooper Union as they pressure their administration to recognize and respect the mission of the Cooper Union and hold them accountable to honor the history of their institution and the founding vision of Peter Cooper.

We also see the occupation of university spaces as a legitimate recourse for students to express their discontent over the existing governance structures in their universities. For too long students have been purposefully excluded from decisions that affect their future and the future of their universities. Students and faculty should have more control over their institutions. Students should not be treated as passive consumers of educational commodities; faculty should not feel compelled to act as dutiful enforcers of policy they do not write.  Both students and faculty should be recognized as powerful and active members of educational communities, which they build with their own voices. The Cooper Union Student Occupation is a powerful expression of this demand for respect and a demonstration of student power.

The Cooper Union Student Occupation is an inspiration for students and educators across the greater New York City region who are struggling on their respective campuses against austerity measures, against the privatization and corporatization of the University, and against the commodification of learning.

In fierce solidarity, -The Free University of NYC December 5th 2012

[visualawareness-blog]

Students for a Free Cooper Union lock-in to Cooper Union’s Foundation Building to preserve free education

We are current students of the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. This facebook community will serve to document the actions and events we have organized in response to the unfolding tuition crisis facing our school. The Board of Trustees and the Administration at the Cooper Union are considering charging tuition at the school for the first time in 110 years! We are organizing to make this proposition as public as possible in order to not only bring attention to our own situation but also to the crisis of student debt ravaging the U.S.

“The occupying students themselves are not only refusing to allow their institution to implement tuition for students that will come after them (they are not self-interested, but are hell-bent on protecting the integrity of their school for future generations to come) but also outside while they reclaimed the interior of their school building, fellow students and allies providing free and participatory classes outside through the Free University—providing a creative and pre-figurative component to the protest.”

LINKS:

www.cusos.org

facebook.com/FreeCooperUnion

[freeuniversitynyc]

The Free University of NYC stands in solidarity with the Students for a Free Cooper Union in their struggle to secure the invaluable opportunity of a free education for future generations.

For more information go to http://www.cusos.org/

—The Free University of NYC

[freeuniversitynyc]

The Free University’s community involvement and upcoming events

Free University folks have actively supported Occupy Sandy and New York City student unionism brainstorming work over the last month.  Free radical community education has been at the forefront of these efforts.

You can keep up to date with the upcoming events of New York City based student movements including Free University events by checking back on our  calender of events (http://freeuniversitynyc.org/events/) and following us on twitter (twitter.com/freeunivnyc) and flickr (freeuniversitynyc.org/flickr/)

Please email us at [email protected] for more information, and regularly check back here regularly to stay in the exciting loop of activities!

[freeuniversitynyc]

The storm has decimated several neighborhoods around the city. Hundreds of thousands of people still need basic goods and community aid over the next several days while electricity is out, houses are still flooded, a

nd food is scarce. Friends, families, students, workers, social justice groups, religious congregations--the people of New York are now coming together to rebuild and transform our communities. Here’s how to get connected: http://interoccupy.net/occupysandy/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OccupySandyReliefNyc?fref=ts Here’s what you can do to help. 1. Donate funds 2. Donate goods at drop-off locations 3. Volunteer at mutual support sites 1. Donate funds.  www.wepay.com/donations/492531958 2. Donate goods at drop-off locations. food (prepared or easy to prepare), bottled water, flashlights, batteries, candles, towels, socks Red Hook, Brooklyn 767 Hicks St https://redhook.recovers.org/ - [phone] Park Slope, Brooklyn 258 15th St, apt #2 Sunset Park, Brooklyn St. Jacobi Church 5406 4th Ave Williamsburg, Brooklyn 75 Powers St. #2, 11211 Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn 136 Jefferson Ave, apt 2 11216 Lower East Side, Manhattan https://lowereastside.recovers.org/ - [phone] Astoria, Queens https://astoria.recovers.org/ - [phone] 3. Volunteer at mutual support sites. Red Hook Initiative 767 Hicks St. Park Slope Armory 361 15th St.  Brooklyn Tech High School 29 Fort Greene Place **Immediate next steps** Come to the Red Hook Initiative on Wednesday, October 31, at 10am to prepare a 12pm lunch, a 7pm dinner, and fun Halloween activities for the neighborhood. Collaborate on outreach and hands-on community support. Dress in waterproof shoes and comfortable clothes.  List of Emergency Shelters in NYC: http://www.nyc.gov/html/misc/html/2012/hurricane_shelters.html

[merescribbling]

Mayday sketches: now in color. Just dropped them off at the Transforming Assembly exhibit at the James Gallery. 

[freeuniversitynyc]

these are just awesome.

[spatiallyinclined]

Capoeira at#FreeUniversity , Madison Square Park. New York City. #nyc #capoeira #freeu (Taken with Instagram)

[worldofdistractions]

The #freeu people’s panel is about to start by Columbus Circle! (Taken with Instagram)