Shutting down the Board of Regents, 101

In a community-service learning project this morning, the Student Solidarity Committee stormed the weekly Board of Regents meeting with the demand that the University meet the terms the striking AFSCME clerical, technical, and medical staff have asked for.

During a question and answer session, one student asked president Bob Bruininks why he won't give the workers a decent wage. When the Board refused to acknowledge the question, the students chanted "Shame on you! Shame on you! Give a fair contract at the U!" at which point in time the Board cowardly fled the room rather than answer for their money-grubbing practices. Then 5 of the demonstrators were arrested apparently for being the 5 closest to the police, because no explanation was given as to why 5 random people from the crowd of over 100 were arrested.

One board member, Steven Hunter, had the guts to stay and talk to the students, though it must be noted that he is the Treasurer/Secretary of the AFL-CIO in Minnesota. Through him, the students negotiated a truce with the Board that held that the students would sit quietly and not disrupt the meeting as long as the Board agreed to at least discuss the strike.

When the Board members finally returned to the room almost an hour later, Hunter read a weak, 3 minute long statement about how all sides want the strike to end as soon as possible, and that maybe the U should think about giving the workers a decent wage. After this, Board of Regents Chair Patricia Simmons called the meeting back to its regular schedule. When the students became upset at the bold-face lie of the Board in its refusal to even discuss the strike and began chanting "Shame on you!", the Board cowardly fled again down a back elevator to a van waiting for them and called off the rest of their meeting.

All of the students then left with a vague sense of wonder as to why the Board of Regents can't even answer the simple question of why they refuse to intervene on behalf of the workers, who are only asking for the pay the state Legislature already earmarked for them.

This may not be the last the Board hears form the Student Solidarity Committee...

If you'd like to be involved in the strike, please come to the weekly community Strike Support meeting at strike headquarters (University Baptist Church, at the corner of 13th and University) and/or come to the next meeting of the Student Solidarity Committee this monday at 4:30 at May Day books (in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood)