The following statement was delivered by the members of #OccupyDePaul and the Coalition Against Corporate Higher Education earlier today
“We are holding this conference not on property that belongs to all DePaul students, but instead on the public sidewalk, the only place we’ve been told our presence will be allowed, despite this being our school.
This morning, the DePaul Board of Trustees picked up the Student Government Association President, Anthony Alfano, in a university vehicle. After refusing to tell him where they were taking him, they drove him to a parking garage and brought him up to the trustees meeting through the back door. In an act of solidarity with those silenced by this maneuver, Anthony texted us updates of his situation. They still have not told him where he is.
At the last minute, in response to student mobilization last night, the Board of Trustees and administration has moved this vital meeting to an undisclosed location, and resorted to the secretive transport and restriction of communication with our appointed representative. They have threatened severe disciplinary action, arrest, and police involvement in an attempt to restrict our voice regarding those decisions that affect our education, our lives, and our future. In the face of the undemocratic actions taken by the Board of Trustees; we demand the following, unequivocally:
- Justice, in the form of a tuition freeze, effective immediately.
- Democracy, in the form of a public forum fully open to students, faculty and administration alike, on Friday, March 9 at 5:00 p.m., to discuss the tuition hike decision and any such future decisions affecting the cost of tuition.
The entire system of corporate higher education, has repeatedly lied to us, betrayed us, run from us, and condemned us to a lifetime of debt in order to line their pockets. Today we say no more.”