Baldwin-Wallace Food Justice Council
Emergency Communiqué
WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!
Tonight is an interesting night. We, in the Baldwin-Wallace Food Justice Council, have been distributing leaflets announcing our meeting on this coming Thursday. Through our leafleting, we have found out some interesting facts.
1. We have almost universal support on campus. Not a single person has challenged us, or said they disagree with us. As we were leafleting through one fraternity hall, a crowd of Fraternity Brothers were whipped up into a frenzy of cheers as they saw us leafleting. They told us that they were mad as hell about the prices, and happy that somebody was doing something about it.
2. Our leaflets have been banned by the college administration. As one member of our group was printing out more leaflets in the computer lab, we noticed a lab monitor throwing them away as they were being printed out. We questioned her about it, and she informed us that she had been told by the college administration to throw leaflets with “Food Justice Council” on them away. She said this was because “only official student organizations may post fliers.” This is false. B-W’s campus is decorated with leaflets promoting all kinds of off campus events. Rap concerts, Vector Marketing, Quickstar, rooms for rent, and other non-campus organization advertising covers the campus. The B-W Food Justice Council is the only one subject to be ripped down. This is an outrage.
3. We Have Been “Documented.” As the campus has directed its employees to rip down our signs, we found it best to slip them under student’s doors, as to best reach them without being interfered with by the administration. For this “crime” or “advertising” which is frequently done by Fraternities, Sororities, Charities, and Vector Marketing, one of our members has been “documented” and could be subject to disciplinary action.
We wish to announce that we will continue to leaflet and spread our message, and fight for fair food prices. The Baldwin-Wallace Student Handbook and the United States Constitution defend the right of students and other human beings to peacefully petition authority with grievances. We will not be silenced and suppressed by the administration. We will continue to speak. We will not be shut down. We are human beings. We are not “brats”, “kids”, “punks” etc. We are adults paying $30,000 a year to attend an institution of higher learning. We will not surrender.
Contact Us At: foodjusticebw@gmail.com
Join Us on Facebook!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
Workers World: Students Demand Food!
by Caleb T. Maupin
Berea, OH
Richard Durst, president of Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio, claims to have served in Vietnam alongside Bob Kerrey, the president of New School University. Both went on orders from the U.S. government to repress the Vietnamese people and their resistance.
Durst and Kerrey are once again repressing justified resistance—this time from students at the institutions of higher education they have directed.
New School students who opposed Kerrey's policies occupied the cafeteria for 30 hours in December. The students demanded more involvement in decision making and recognition of the campus workers’ union. The students’ demands were met and Kerrey resigned from his post as interim-provost.
Durst is now the target of a campaign organized by B-W students for a basic human right: the right to eat. Instead of having a meal plan, like most colleges in the U.S., through which students are assured three decent meals a day, Baldwin-Wallace deposits an amount of money on a campus debit card known as the Jacket Express Card.
When this money runs out, students must pay out of their own pockets for any additional expenses. Financial aid cannot legally cover the additional costs. Students are expected to eat for $4 a day. If the food prices were reasonable, this would be realistic, but they aren’t. The director of auxiliary services at B-W, David Jensen, even confirmed in an e-mail that the average cost of purchases during meal times is sometimes as high as $5.56 and this average includes students who buy only beverages or single items.
Students whose cards have run out and whose parents do not have the resources to add more money have had to steal food. The response of the college to the food stealing has been punishment. When some concerned students approached the cafeteria regarding the problem, they were told that the youth needed to “take responsibility for their actions” and that the $4 allowance was somehow reasonable.
In response, several students—including three members of the B-W chapter of Fight Imperialism, Stand Together (FIST)formed the Baldwin-Wallace Food Justice Council. The group recruited using the Internet and, within 48 hours of announcing its existence, had 142 online supporters, all of whom were B-W students, faculty or alumni.
Members of the council got unanimous support when they distributed leaflets to other students face to face. Students happily grabbed stacks of leaflets to give to their friends. Every dorm on the campus was covered.
Attempts were made on the Internet to redbait one of the group’s founders for being an “anti-Zionist communist.” This failed to stop the group’s growing support. The council still maintains over 140 members on Facebook.
A meeting has been called for March 19 at 9 p.m. in Ernsthausen Hall at Baldwin-Wallace at which students will discuss plans to challenge President Durst when he gives his address on the college budget at an upcoming date. A petition is being circulated among the student body that will be delivered to the campus authorities in a future mass demonstration.
The B-W Food Justice Council has also unanimously voted to endorse the Bail Out the People marches on Wall Street on April 3 and 4.
Just as the Vietnamese people drove Durst and his fellow imperialist occupiers out of Vietnam, the Baldwin-Wallace Food Justice Council hopes to be victorious and win the basic right to eat for the students at Baldwin-Wallace College.
The Food Justice Council can be contacted at foodjusticebw@gmail.com.
Articles copyright 1995-2009 Workers World. Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved.
Berea, OH
Richard Durst, president of Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio, claims to have served in Vietnam alongside Bob Kerrey, the president of New School University. Both went on orders from the U.S. government to repress the Vietnamese people and their resistance.
Durst and Kerrey are once again repressing justified resistance—this time from students at the institutions of higher education they have directed.
New School students who opposed Kerrey's policies occupied the cafeteria for 30 hours in December. The students demanded more involvement in decision making and recognition of the campus workers’ union. The students’ demands were met and Kerrey resigned from his post as interim-provost.
Durst is now the target of a campaign organized by B-W students for a basic human right: the right to eat. Instead of having a meal plan, like most colleges in the U.S., through which students are assured three decent meals a day, Baldwin-Wallace deposits an amount of money on a campus debit card known as the Jacket Express Card.
When this money runs out, students must pay out of their own pockets for any additional expenses. Financial aid cannot legally cover the additional costs. Students are expected to eat for $4 a day. If the food prices were reasonable, this would be realistic, but they aren’t. The director of auxiliary services at B-W, David Jensen, even confirmed in an e-mail that the average cost of purchases during meal times is sometimes as high as $5.56 and this average includes students who buy only beverages or single items.
Students whose cards have run out and whose parents do not have the resources to add more money have had to steal food. The response of the college to the food stealing has been punishment. When some concerned students approached the cafeteria regarding the problem, they were told that the youth needed to “take responsibility for their actions” and that the $4 allowance was somehow reasonable.
In response, several students—including three members of the B-W chapter of Fight Imperialism, Stand Together (FIST)formed the Baldwin-Wallace Food Justice Council. The group recruited using the Internet and, within 48 hours of announcing its existence, had 142 online supporters, all of whom were B-W students, faculty or alumni.
Members of the council got unanimous support when they distributed leaflets to other students face to face. Students happily grabbed stacks of leaflets to give to their friends. Every dorm on the campus was covered.
Attempts were made on the Internet to redbait one of the group’s founders for being an “anti-Zionist communist.” This failed to stop the group’s growing support. The council still maintains over 140 members on Facebook.
A meeting has been called for March 19 at 9 p.m. in Ernsthausen Hall at Baldwin-Wallace at which students will discuss plans to challenge President Durst when he gives his address on the college budget at an upcoming date. A petition is being circulated among the student body that will be delivered to the campus authorities in a future mass demonstration.
The B-W Food Justice Council has also unanimously voted to endorse the Bail Out the People marches on Wall Street on April 3 and 4.
Just as the Vietnamese people drove Durst and his fellow imperialist occupiers out of Vietnam, the Baldwin-Wallace Food Justice Council hopes to be victorious and win the basic right to eat for the students at Baldwin-Wallace College.
The Food Justice Council can be contacted at foodjusticebw@gmail.com.
Articles copyright 1995-2009 Workers World. Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
3rd Communique - BW Admits We Are Right, But the Struggle Continues
We in the Baldwin-Wallace Food Justice Council have had an interesting week. Following our first meeting, and its announcement www.mrzine.org we have been contacted by several B-W alumni who support us and our efforts. We have also faced continuous harassment from the College Administration.
In the cafeteria, one of our members always makes sure that when he gets a free glass of water from the beverage fountain, that as he walks by the check out counter, he is sure to point out that he only has a free glass of water, as not to be accused of stealing. He does this in light of the fact that college bureaucracy has attempted to paint the Council as a food stealing conspiracy.
One day, in response to this justified precaution, a woman, not a cafeteria worker, but a college bureaucrat who polices the student union screamed at the member harshly. “Don’t make a big deal out of it!” She screamed at high-pitched tone and loud volume making a scene, and causing many to pause nervously. “It’s not bad anymore!” She screeched at him.
The phrase “it’s not bad anymore” raises many questions about the Union’s water. Was it bad at one time? Is that what this woman meant? We shall be investigating this further. Contamination of Water at Baldwin-Wallace would a matter that if it existed, all students should have been informed of. Is more foul play afoot at B-W than just price gauging?
A member of the Council was personally e-mailed, without solicitation by David Jenson, director of Auxiliary Services at Baldwin-Wallace College. Though he may have been attempting to make the case that we were wrong, the information he provided in his e-mail confirmed what the Council has been arguing since our first communiqué.
Jenson, in a graph he sent us, showed the average total of union of purchases on various recent dates. Not a single one of the averages was below $4.00. On top of that, these averages include all purchases made during the times he chose to highlight. If someone got a cup of coffee or other beverage for little over a dollar, this brought the averages down significantly. According to Jenson’s own statistics, we in the Baldwin-Wallace Food Justice Council are correct about the fact that 4.00 meals are impossible on the union budget, even including the statistical outliers of small purchases.
As the Baldwin-Wallace Food Justice Council grows in strength and numbers daily, the Union has stripped all critical comments, especially those involving food prices, from the comments board. A single, anonymous comment in sloppy handwriting telling the staff “don’t listen to the food justice council.” Does the College intend make it look as if this were the opinion of the vast majority of the students? We in the Council find this to be hilarious, and thank whoever wrote this note attacking us for the free publicity.
It is clear that college administration and its officials, which constantly lecture us “kids” about taking “responsibility” for our actions, are not ready to do so themselves. Their response to our pointing out their dishonesty has been harassment and abuse, from screaming in lunch lines, to disruption of our internet activity, and a slew of personal insults against several of the groups founders which can be found across facebook.
How ironic it is, that to so many of the college bureaucracy’s members, we are “brats” and “kids” who need to “grow up.” There is nothing more mature than seeing an injustice, and not cowering in fear, but standing up like a human being and fighting back. Likewise, there is nothing more immature than to intimidate, threaten, and degrade those who point out your faults, rather than merely correcting them for the good of all parties involved.
We, in the Baldwin-Wallace Food Justice Council wish to announce our second public meeting. This meeting will be held on Thursday March 19th in the lounge of Ernsthausen Hall located in the C wing. The meeting will begin at 9 PM.
As many of us are skipping meals and hungry, and our supporters in the community and the general area have been generous, free Pizza will be provided to all in attendance. Join us and eat, as we plot how to make sure we can do so for the rest of our college experience.
Various community activists and organizations have come out in our support. We recognize that justice is something that must be won. We will fight for food justice, and we will win. We will eat! See you there on March 19th, at 9 PM.
Contact Us At: foodjusticebw@gmail.com
In the cafeteria, one of our members always makes sure that when he gets a free glass of water from the beverage fountain, that as he walks by the check out counter, he is sure to point out that he only has a free glass of water, as not to be accused of stealing. He does this in light of the fact that college bureaucracy has attempted to paint the Council as a food stealing conspiracy.
One day, in response to this justified precaution, a woman, not a cafeteria worker, but a college bureaucrat who polices the student union screamed at the member harshly. “Don’t make a big deal out of it!” She screamed at high-pitched tone and loud volume making a scene, and causing many to pause nervously. “It’s not bad anymore!” She screeched at him.
The phrase “it’s not bad anymore” raises many questions about the Union’s water. Was it bad at one time? Is that what this woman meant? We shall be investigating this further. Contamination of Water at Baldwin-Wallace would a matter that if it existed, all students should have been informed of. Is more foul play afoot at B-W than just price gauging?
A member of the Council was personally e-mailed, without solicitation by David Jenson, director of Auxiliary Services at Baldwin-Wallace College. Though he may have been attempting to make the case that we were wrong, the information he provided in his e-mail confirmed what the Council has been arguing since our first communiqué.
Jenson, in a graph he sent us, showed the average total of union of purchases on various recent dates. Not a single one of the averages was below $4.00. On top of that, these averages include all purchases made during the times he chose to highlight. If someone got a cup of coffee or other beverage for little over a dollar, this brought the averages down significantly. According to Jenson’s own statistics, we in the Baldwin-Wallace Food Justice Council are correct about the fact that 4.00 meals are impossible on the union budget, even including the statistical outliers of small purchases.
As the Baldwin-Wallace Food Justice Council grows in strength and numbers daily, the Union has stripped all critical comments, especially those involving food prices, from the comments board. A single, anonymous comment in sloppy handwriting telling the staff “don’t listen to the food justice council.” Does the College intend make it look as if this were the opinion of the vast majority of the students? We in the Council find this to be hilarious, and thank whoever wrote this note attacking us for the free publicity.
It is clear that college administration and its officials, which constantly lecture us “kids” about taking “responsibility” for our actions, are not ready to do so themselves. Their response to our pointing out their dishonesty has been harassment and abuse, from screaming in lunch lines, to disruption of our internet activity, and a slew of personal insults against several of the groups founders which can be found across facebook.
How ironic it is, that to so many of the college bureaucracy’s members, we are “brats” and “kids” who need to “grow up.” There is nothing more mature than seeing an injustice, and not cowering in fear, but standing up like a human being and fighting back. Likewise, there is nothing more immature than to intimidate, threaten, and degrade those who point out your faults, rather than merely correcting them for the good of all parties involved.
We, in the Baldwin-Wallace Food Justice Council wish to announce our second public meeting. This meeting will be held on Thursday March 19th in the lounge of Ernsthausen Hall located in the C wing. The meeting will begin at 9 PM.
As many of us are skipping meals and hungry, and our supporters in the community and the general area have been generous, free Pizza will be provided to all in attendance. Join us and eat, as we plot how to make sure we can do so for the rest of our college experience.
Various community activists and organizations have come out in our support. We recognize that justice is something that must be won. We will fight for food justice, and we will win. We will eat! See you there on March 19th, at 9 PM.
Contact Us At: foodjusticebw@gmail.com
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