PSPA: University Park

Contact: rainbow.roundtable@gmail.com
Information: http://www.clubs.psu.edu/up/psupride/news.html
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Tuesday, February 21st, 2006

To the entire Penn State community,

We believe it is time to work together.

Don’t you think it’s time to do something about apathy? Don’t you think it’s time our community experienced solidarity? Our university must change, but we can only do that with a united front.

For too long, students, staff, and faculty at Penn State have struggled with unjust social policies and divisive administrative pressure aimed at limiting institutional privileges only to members of some groups. The arbitrary social hierarchies we struggle with have kept diverse communities separate from one another, and at odds with one another, preventing us from being in a larger community. Furthermore, the common thread of unjust inequality that prevents us from creating community is carefully hidden while underrepresented groups try to fight segregated battles for social justice. We seek your help in building movement among distinct groups, while uniting around a common goal of a community in which we have a unity-in-diversity.

By emphasizing the need for our university to provide equal access to people who are women, people of color, people with disabilities, people from different spiritual/faith backgrounds, people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, we seek to support those who have been unjustly made second class citizens, and who want to build social justice into the fabric of our education.

The more work we do to educate people about institutional inequities and the ways that institutional discrimination is setup to target specific groups, the more we can do to find a common thread with allies from underrepresented groups.

Administrators may threaten you with loss of access to resources. Your peers who rest on unearned privilege may tell you to stop causing trouble. Faculty may fail to stand up and defend the integrity of your education. You deserve better.

On Friday, February 24, 2006 at 5:00 p.m., we are inviting everyone to attend a community forum in 304 HUB. At this meeting we hope to bring students, staff, faculty, and administrators together to discuss movement toward student solidarity on our campus. Please don’t let this opportunity pass you by. We’d like you to extend this invitation to anyone you believe would be supportive of our goals.

RETURN TO NEWS
RETURN TO NEWS	Contact: rainbow.roundtable@gmail.com Information: http://www.clubs.psu.edu/up/psupride/news.html ___________________________________________________ Tuesday, February 21st, 2006 To the entire Penn State community, We believe it is time to work together. Don’t you think it’s time to do something about apathy? Don’t you think it’s time our community experienced solidarity? Our university must change, but we can only do that with a united front. For too long, students, staff, and faculty at Penn State have struggled with unjust social policies and divisive administrative pressure aimed at limiting institutional privileges only to members of some groups. The arbitrary social hierarchies we struggle with have kept diverse communities separate from one another, and at odds with one another, preventing us from being in a larger community. Furthermore, the common thread of unjust inequality that prevents us from creating community is carefully hidden while underrepresented groups try to fight segregated battles for social justice. We seek your help in building movement among distinct groups, while uniting around a common goal of a community in which we have a unity-in-diversity. By emphasizing the need for our university to provide equal access to people who are women, people of color, people with disabilities, people from different spiritual/faith backgrounds, people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, we seek to support those who have been unjustly made second class citizens, and who want to build social justice into the fabric of our education. The more work we do to educate people about institutional inequities and the ways that institutional discrimination is setup to target specific groups, the more we can do to find a common thread with allies from underrepresented groups. Administrators may threaten you with loss of access to resources. Your peers who rest on unearned privilege may tell you to stop causing trouble. Faculty may fail to stand up and defend the integrity of your education. You deserve better. On Friday, February 24, 2006 at 5:00 p.m., we are inviting everyone to attend a community forum in 304 HUB. At this meeting we hope to bring students, staff, faculty, and administrators together to discuss movement toward student solidarity on our campus. Please don’t let this opportunity pass you by. We’d like you to extend this invitation to anyone you believe would be supportive of our goals.