We are THE General Body; a group of students representing numerous backgrounds, cultures, voices and perspectives. Our birth on this campus has been due largely in part to the new administration and its rushed, undemocratic Fast Forward campaign, which has already shown that it cares much more about campus aesthetics and university rankings than it does about the university’s students, faculty and staff. In a letter written in June, Chancellor Kent Syverud claims that Fast Forward Syracuse will be “prioritizing students,” but of the 93 seats on seven of the campaign’s workgroups, only eleven are students and only six are undergraduates.

Our full—and ongoing—list of grievances may be accessed at thegeneralbody.org. Some of these include: defunding the Posse Program, overriding student and faculty government decisions, closing the Advocacy Center without first consulting the SU/State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry community and without adequate substitute services in place, inadequate mental health services and an unsupportive climate for students of marginalized identities. Our concerns have been viewed and treated as a public relations and marketing problem for the university, resulting in far too many listening meetings but far too little action.

In light of these issues, we are holding a rally today demanding diversity and transparency. The administration is treating students as customers rather than people with significant voices and constructive input. It has also been treating its faculty and staff as disposable workers. This is indicative of a rush toward a corporate, top-down model of governance that we do not support. We are having this rally in advance of the November Board of Trustees meeting in which they will be voting on new vision and mission statements for SU. This was pushed forward very quickly, without diverse and widespread input, and the new statements deliberately remove the terms “the public good,” “access to opportunity” and “diverse backgrounds.” It is no secret that the new administration seeks to be less involved with the wider Syracuse community, and to replace need-based scholarships with scholarships that tend to go to wealthier students.

Please join us today at the steps of Hendricks Chapel. The rally goes from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.; it will be preceded by musical and spoken word acts beginning at 2 p.m. Now is the time to stand up for a better university. More info: DAT Rally on facebook, #WeAreSU, #CanYouHearUsNow, #RewindSyracuse, and you can also register your own grievances on our website, www.thegeneralbody.org.

On behalf of THE General Body at SU,

Colton Jones ‘15, Divest SU and co-president of Students of Sustainability; Kimberly E. Powell ‘15, independent; Chiara Klein ‘14, Divest SU, treasurer of Active Minds; Katie Lynn Farr SUNY ESF ‘15, vice president of Pride Union and brother of Alpha Phi Omega; Fatima Bangura ‘17, NAACP, NABJ, WellsLink Leadership Program, Newhouse peer advisor; Yanira Rodríguez, PhD candidate composition and cultural rhetoric, GSO senator and finance committee member, Campaign for an Advocacy Center; Henry Nelson ‘18: Syracuse Animal Rights Organization, A Men’s Issue, Students of Sustainability, Divest SU; Becca Glaser ‘15, MFA creative writing, Campaign for an Advocacy Center at SU; Ben Kuebrich, PhD candidate composition and cultural rhetoric, Divest SU; Georgia Chaniotaki ‘17, Students of Sustainability, Alpha Phi Omega; Chen Chen ‘15, MFA creative writing; Farrell Greenwald Brenner ‘17, EIC of The OutCrowd Magazine, Mentors in Violence Prevention peer facilitator, Campaign for an Advocacy Center; Emilio Sola ‘16, MFA creative writing; Steve Paisley ‘17, MFA Creative Writing; Christine Edgeworth, ‘15, Divest SU and co-president of Students of Sustainability; Kate Navickas, PhD candidate composition and cultural rhetoric, CCR Graduate Circle member; Simone Richmond ‘15, MFA creative writing; Laura Cohen ‘15, Campaign for an Advocacy Center; Hasmik Djoulakian ‘17, Divest SU, Campaign for an Advocacy Center; Jasmín Durán ‘15, Students of Sustainability, and brother of Phi Sigma Pi; Caitlin Vance ‘16, MFA creative writing; Alejandra Avina ‘15; Dana Wakeley ‘17, Students of Sustainability, Alpha Phi Omega