These are the three non-negotiable demands of Columbia SDS as voted on by our General Assembly of 100 students on April 17, 1968:
1. Sever all ties with the IDA (Institute for Defense Analysis) and end complicity with the Vietnam War. The IDA is a “consortium of universities supplying the pentagon with vital military research” and Columbia is one of the major sources. 46% of Columbia’s budget comes from government contracts, and a fourth of this comes from the military. Both Pres. Kirk and Columbia Trustee William Burden sit on the board of the IDA. Over 1,700 members of the Columbia community have demanded that the university and President Kirk sever all ties with IDA and we have been ignored. Our university is not just complicit in the war; it is benefiting directly from it!
2. Stop the building of the new gym in Morningside Park, or give full access to the people whose public land you have taken to build it. This is a private gym that is being built on public land! The residents of Harlem, whose land the university is stealing, will not be allowed full access to the gym and will be required to use a backdoor. This is another sign of the racism of the Columbia administration. Over the last 15 years, Columbia has evicted countless Harlem residents from their homes, mainly blacks and Puerto Ricans, to expand this university, which has become a symbol of the gross inequalities and injustices of the United States.
thestickingplace.com/wp-content/_pdfs/who_rules_columbia.pdf
3. Amnesty for student organizers, including the IDA six! President Kirk and the administration want to punish students for exercising our first amendment rights to free speech and free association. We cannot let them punish us for speaking out against corruption, racism, and imperialism. Abolish the prohibition against indoor-protests and end the punishment of Columbia’s students!
Plans for Morningside Gym:
http://www.wikicu.com/File:Morningsidegym.jpg
Other Issues:
- End ROTC and military recruiting on campus
- Enforce student power and restructure the university
- End American imperialism
- Build a radical and engaged base of students at Columbia and beyond
