The List of Demands

On Friday, May 8, 2009, at approx. 5 p.m., students representing M.E.Ch.A. de Vassar and the May Day Working group hand delivered this very modest list of demands to President Catharine Bond Hill.

LIST OF DEMANDS 1. Respect, dignity and peace on campus for all workers: The college was founded on principles of social justice. We must remain committed to these principles so that they are not undermined by power and privilege. Marginalized groups should have an equal voice and vote in the decision making process so that the power to make decisions does not come exclusively from the privileged few.

2. Summer Employment We demand summer employment as expected by campus workers in order to at least meet their basic living needs for as long as the institution exists.

3. Job Security Vassar College is indebted to the Poughkeepsie and Mid-Hudson communities. We demand that Vassar recognizes this responsibility by continuing to provide stable employment with decent wages to community residents and we demand a freeze on staff firings and layoffs.

4. A New Economic Strategy: In times of future economic crises, Vassar’s first commitment should be to those in the most precarious economic situation, not to those at the top of the economic ladder. The economic strategy should include that those who are in the top 20% of the Vassar pay bracket have their wages adjusted accordingly before any job cuts are made.

5. Social Justice Committee: We demand the creation of a social justice committee comprised of permanent autonomous positions at the staff, student, faculty, Poughkeepsie community, and administrative levels. The individuals who will occupy these positions will have a demonstrated commitment to social justice. Populations at each respective level will elect these positions. This committee will oversee and revise existing policy and develop new policy as needed that maintains the college’s commitment to social justice. All extant committees dealing with related subject matter will be subsumed under the Social Justice Committee. One of the concrete objectives of this committee is overseeing the implementation and management of a monthly town hall meeting where all members of the Vassar Community will make decisions collectively, and be informed of the state of The School.

6. Financial Transparency: We demand financial transparency. Students, staff, and faculty are perfectly able to, and will, partake in financial decision-making. We will be informed. All economic literature will be distributed electronically to our emails. We also demand that all meetings of all committees be open to the public.

7. No punitive repercussions for anyone who engages in this struggle for justice.

Movimiento Estudiantil Chicana/o de Aztlán (MEChA) de Vassar College

May Day Working Group 

Student Activist Union-Students for a Democratic Society (SAU-SDS) 

The Catalyst 

Vassar Association of Class Activists (VACA) 

Women of Color Alliance (WOCA)

Horizontal Working Group