University of Chicago continues to put prestige before people, say students. Where is the money going?
CHICAGO—(ENEWSPF)—June 4, 2015. Graduating students at the University of Chicago have just started a sit-in on the first floor of Rosenwald Hall (admissions) at 1101-11 E 58th St. Students say they are sitting in to protest cuts to the jobs and salaries of low-wage workers, including students, and will not leave until the University agrees to negotiate regarding protections for student jobs and other low-wage employment, and releasing detailed information about the proposed cuts. Campus police are expected to attempt to remove students by 4:30 p.m. when the building closes.
A rally outside Rosenwald is beginning to form, with students holding signs demanding that the university stop prioritizing its image over the lives of the people who work, study, and live here. In the past several years the University has spent $1.5 billion to remodel the campus and rise in the rankings–enough to pay for the proposed cuts dozens of times over–while vital services like student counseling, and sexual assault prevention and survivor support are already severely underfunded.
“I’m sitting in because I needed my work-study job for groceries and rent,” said graduating student Julianna Estall. Another senior, Ava Benezra, said, “I’m sitting in because I’m ashamed to attend a university that time and again chooses to further a corporate agenda over the interests of students and South Side residents.”
FOLLOW THE ACTION ON TWITTER: #NoCutsUChi @SSNUChicago @IIRONAction @peopleslobbyusa
Impact of the cuts:
Losses of jobs and hours for lowest-paid workers in maintenance and IT, including students, many of whom need University jobs to pay for school, food, and housing.
These job losses hurt the local economy, since the University is the single biggest employer on the South Side
Increased tuition and fees, including in graduate divisions without financial aid
Reductions in administrative staff, meaning more work for faculty
Cuts to academic budgets, causing more reliance on underpaid adjunct and graduate student work
What is not being cut:
Salaries of top administrators, whose pay has gone up 75% in the last five years
The budget for the Office of Admissions, the only department not being cut
Budget for new developments, including a new campus residence hall and recently acquired properties in Washington Park, near the proposed site of the Obama Presidential Library
The students sitting in are graduating students representing a coalition of on-campus organizations dedicated to fighting for economic, racial, and gender justice at the University of Chicago and beyond.
Source: Southside Solidarity Network
