Hi All,

Thanks to everyone who came to the Adjunct Project meeting on Friday, February 15th. The meeting was really inspiring, highly effective, and there are some exciting things in the works. We look forward to seeing everyone at the next planning meeting this Friday, February 22nd@ 3pm! Here’s a brief recap of some of the exciting projects that were discussed at the last meeting:

1.  Alternative Budget Project: A working group formed to begin researching and writing an alternative budget for free public education in New York City. This WG will work with the Free University NYC (http://www.freeuniversitynyc.org/) in the coming weeks and months to collaboratively write this important document.

2.  Counter-Kroll Report: A working group formed to research and write a report which would critically respond to the highly problematic and dangerous “Kroll Report” (The Kroll Report is the official CUNY-commissioned report on the student protests of November 2011; this report criminalizes the student protests and argues for more securitization on CUNY campuses!). To join this working group, please contact: conortomasreed@gmail.com

3.  Combating Graduate Center Admissions/Funding Restructuring: A working group was formed to plan the next steps of a campaign around the Graduate Center administration’s plans for restructuring across the university. Students are upset about the inequities that will inevitably result from the restructuring plans. We invite students from across the GC to join this initiative! To join this working group, please contact: alysonspurgas@gmail.com

4.  Platform/Campaign/Analysis-Building: A working group was formed to address how to educate and build solidarity across departments at the GC, through departmental student associations (PSAs), by producing and then disseminating a practical and clear critique of the neoliberal restructuring of our public university. This will be applied to discussions regarding finance, diversity, labor, governance, and many other issues that we face.

COCAL 2014:  Coalition of Contingent Academic Labor (COCAL) hosts a biennial international conference on tactics and strategies for resisting the precaritization of academic labor. The Adjunct Project spent the Fall 2012 semester working with the PSC to bring the 2014 conference to the Graduate Center. We are currently in the visioning stages of designing a campaign around adjunct issues in NYC to coincide with this international conference. To join this working group, please contact: zoltan.gluck@gmail.com

To join up with any of these working groups please contact theadjunctproject@gmail.com or come to our next meeting on Friday, February 22nd @ 3pm in the 8th Floor cafeteria. We will be discussing GC President Bill Kelly’s upcoming community meeting (scheduled for 3pm on Monday February 25th in the GC Skylight Room, 9th floor) and how to present our concerns about restructuring and other issues in this public forum.

Hope to see you on Friday and Monday!

In Solidarity,

Zoltán, Alyson, & Conor