#democratizingknowledge

This is a screenshot of our school’s, California State University East Bay, home page website. As you can see our school is very diverse and many different ethnicities are represented. You can say our school is multicultural. I have attended CSUEB for two years now and I honestly don’t see a racial majority at our campus. In every class there are students from every background. CSUEB embraces diversity and open-mindedness. Our school’s principles ride on the universal idea of freedom, equality, and compassion. I am very happy to be attending CSUEB because of their diversity. I may be from a white background, but at school teachers make everyone feel equal and it’s nice to make friends with students from different races. 

(http://chancellor.syr.edu/messages/m/fast-forward-syracuse.html)

Dear Kent,

  Look. You talk a good game. You say: "I believe that our direction should be inspired and empowered by the insights of all our people, from a shared dialogue about the direction we go in together." This is a mission that I admire....until I see how you make decisions for our shared community. When you decided to close the Advocacy Center, you did so without the "insight of all our people," without a "shared dialogue about the direction we go in together." Rather, you made an internal decision based on a loose (i.e., poor) interpretation of the White House's recommendations. You only solicited our feedback based on a large public outcry covered by national news outlets. But even then, there was no dialogue. There was no "listening." There was no REAL discussion about "the direction we go in together." There was just you, and your Board of Trustees, making decisions and sometimes including us pro forma. 

  Your entrepreneurial mission is yours alone. Walking the halls (as you seem to be doing now) of the sociology, anthropology, education, political science, geography, writing, philosophy, history, disability studies, women's and gender studies departments, there is no demand, no drive for an entrepreneurial spirit.

  Our demands are simple: that you create real spaces for dialogue, that you take the time to solicit feedback from the University's most marginal faculty and students, and that you take seriously the fact that institutions of higher education have long served (and continue to serve) the most privileged - white, wealthy, able-bodied, heterosexual, US men. We believe another kind of University is possible, one that recognizes and celebrates the knowledges and experiences of the oppressed. You have a responsibility to work towards this other kind of university. To do so, you must work with us, not for or against or without us.

  Sincerely,

February 25, 2014

(http://chancellor.syr.edu/messages/m/touring.html)

Dear Chancellor Kent,

   As a recent WGS grad, I have not been on campus since you took over Nancy Cantor's job. I am waiting to hear about when you finally visit the College of Arts and Sciences. You know, the main part of campus. When you do, I highly encourage you to visit the WGS department. Do you know how many famous feminists we have?! 

  Chandra freaking Mohanty is here. There are professors who would kill to have a conversation with her. And we get to take her classes. It would be like taking a class with Foucault! I mean, one of her books has been translated into at least 9 languages! And I bet more are coming. And ANGELA DAVIS was here for a couple years (#ThanksNancyCantor). I got to take a class, as an undergrad, with Angela Davis! #RadicalFeminismFandom

   You say that "first impressions matter too, particularly in recruitment, and I learned a lot from Newhouse and the iSchool in this regard." And yes, you mention that instruction is more important in the long run. Well then why are you so focused on the money schools and entrepreneurship? You do know that having graduated with a degree from a great department, I can easily read into what you're saying. The way you talk about education and recruitment is making students into capitalist consumers. You like shiny things, like broadcast studios and new technologically advanced classrooms. Next thing, I expect you to jump on the # MOOC bandwagon. It seems all you care about is money. #GetMoreMoneyUpInThisPlace. #DollarBillsY’all. I guess for you, Mo' money does not equal mo' problems.

  #WhatHappenedToCriticalThinking #CriticalPedagogies #LearnToReadTheWorld #NotDistractedByShinyObjects #EducationIsNotAVideoGame

   Also, I would encourage you to think of the alumni you are trying to impress. There are more people who attend this school than "entrepreneurs" and Bob Costas wannabes. There are people like me who work in non-profits. People who are educators. People who are working towards social justice and who do not place making money above all else. I don't know if your Model-T comment was meant to appeal to white male nostalgia for the "perfect" 1950s, or rich people who can afford "classic" cars for fun and use car elevators. #RecognizeWhitePrivilege Maybe when you think of SU Alumni, you think of old white men. 

   And maybe that is who wants to donate to this school right now, based on your messages. But me, I will donate directly to WGS if I can. But until then, my extra money goes to actual non-profits. Actual real causes. Like the #FreeMarissa campaign. Because there are things more important than making a good first impression for rich white kids. Because people are people, not dollar signs and future dollar signs.

   Peace,

February 25, 2014

(http://chancellor.syr.edu/messages/m/touring.html)

Hi Kent,

  Carly here. I'm a graduate student in the iSchool's Library and Information Science program. I came to the iSchool in order to become a librarian in a public school. It worries us future librarians to hear that the iSchool has "embraced entrepreneurship in virtually every aspect of the school." Kent, I didn't take out tens of thousands of dollars in school loans to turn a 3rd grader's library into a business. #JustSayNoToNeoliberalism #KnowledgeNotProfit #DemocratizingKnowledge We're invested in making books and knowledge publicly available.  In fact, visiting the poorly funded Bird Library may have provided you some historical insight into Henry Ford and his beloved Model T Ford, whom you seem to mistake with a woman by saying the car has an "independent streak." Again, perhaps if you had read more or asked a research librarian to help, you would learn a bit more about the sexualization of cars. 

  With my head stuck in a free book on Ford's exploitation of workers (could you turn the heat on in the library?? And not police it? #LibrariesAreForEveryone),