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Showing posts with label UPR Mayaguez. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UPR Mayaguez. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Participando en la Universidad - Assessing the Assessment

Dear Earthlings:

Here's what yours truly made for her community at UPR Mayaguez.  A Facebook group to assess the assessment the government made without consulting the communities.  A space to speak up and participate in the creation of the university WE want!

Listen to the description, and sign up for the group if you are a member of the UPR Mayaguez community and have a Facebook profile in your name.

"The group Participando en la Universidad - Assessing the Assessment is a forum to assess the assessment of the UPR system presented in the document "Cambio de Rumbo para la Pertinencia de la Educacion Superior en el Siglo 21," published on December 12, 2012, and its recommendations. 

The group is open to faculty, administrators, employees, and students of the UPR community at Mayaguez with a Facebook profile in their own name.

The document to be assessed, often known as "Golpe de Timon," is the result of a study of the system commissioned by the Governor of Puerto Rico, Mr. Fortuno, to assess the state of the system and offer recommendations.  The group of "experts" who did the study was entirely appointed by the Governor and his administration. 

The study is multifaceted and intelligent.  However, it does not include contributions from members, participants, constituencies and sectors in the university community, nor the associations that represent them.  This is a major flaw. 

The present group is intended as a forum, an open discussion space for those contributions to be heard.  It is a bilingual space of participation in creating the university we really want.  It is a digital space for the assessment of the document that claims to assess the UPR system without the contributions the university community can make.  The idea of this open participation in the assessment of the system and design of its future is part of CUNAPU's directive to generate the free participation we want in both digital and presential ways.This group is a forum to assess the assessment of the UPR system presented in the document "Cambio de Rumbo para la Pertinencia de la Educacion Superior en el Siglo 21," published on December 12, 2012, and its recommendations.

The group is open to faculty, administrators, employees, and students of the UPR community at Mayaguez with a Facebook profile in their own name.

The document to be assessed, often known as "Golpe de Timon," is the result of a study of the system commissioned by the Governor of Puerto Rico, Mr. Fortuno, to assess the state of the system and offer recommendations.  The group of "experts" who did the study was entirely appointed by the Governor and his administration.

The study is multifaceted and intelligent.  However, it does not include contributions from members, participants, constituencies and sectors in the university community, nor the associations that represent them.  This is a major flaw.

The present group is intended as a forum, an open discussion space for those contributions to be heard.  It is a bilingual space of participation in creating the university we really want.  It is a digital space for the assessment of the document that claims to assess the UPR system without the contributions the university community can make.  The idea of this open participation in the assessment of the system and design of its future is part of CUNAPU's directive to generate the free participation we want in both digital and presential ways.

If you are a member of the UPRM community with a Facebook profile of your own, please ask to join and one of our admins will let you in quickly.  Please contribute to the debate by posting questions, adding comments, documents, and links.

If you simply would like to download a pdf file for the document, click on this link, and then click on Golpe de Timon for the download.

Please consider that the document is not difficult to read at all.  Of the 144 pages, only some 40 are analysis and recommendations, the rest is appendices, notes, and work cites list.

The same link above leads to some of the most important digest and comment articles about the document in the PR press.

Welcome to Participando en la Universidad: Assessing the Assessment!"




Did you enjoy the post?  Let us know!  Yours truly appreciates your attention.  The comments box is open.

Come back!  And stay tuned for more wonders.


Namaste,
 
Serena Anderlini-D'Onofrio, PhD
for Junta Aprum and Conapu 
Author of Gaia, Eros, and The "Weak" Subject (1998) Award Winner with Nautilus and Finalist with Lambda
Editor of BiTopia (2011), Bisexualtity and Queer Theory (2012), Plural Loves (2005), Women and Bisexuality (2003)

Professor of Humanities
University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez


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Monday, January 30, 2012

Escepticismo Saludable: Yours Truly's Assessment of "Cambio de Timon" to Conapu and Press

28 de enero de 2012

Saludos companer@s, colaborador@s, y colegas!

El 21 de enero de 2012, en la reunion regional de Conapu, se prioritizo la discusion del documento en cuestion, que yo habia leido detenidamente el dia antes. Se pidio a l@s representantes de los recintos de aportar sus contribuciones a la Conferencia de Prensa que Conapu iba a tener la semana subsiguiente. Como miembro de Aprum, yo participe en esta reunion, y alli mismo asesore el documento. Escribi en seguida un email a la Portavoz, la colega Annelisse Sanchez de UPR Arecibo, en que inclui los punto que siguen. Asi que, en cuanto al documento conocido come "Cambio de Rumbo," aqui van mis aportaciones.

"1. Es importante estar concientes de que el documento reconoce muchos asuntos queridos a la comunidad universitaria en todo y las asociaciones que la representan.  Por ejemplo el documento recommienda que: a) el porcetage del 9.6 del Fondo General del estado a la UPR sigua siendo lo mismo; b) la estrategia de quitar ingresos al fondo general para desminuir el total a la UPR se quite; c) se aprecie la plantilla de profesor@s con permanencia como recurso valioso y vital para la Upr; d) no se suba repentinamente la matricula o despidan emplead@s debido al fuerte riesgo de inestabilidad con efectos en la acreditacion.

2. Es significativo que el documento plantea integrar los dos modelos que teoriza en una propuesta de "win/win," pero en realidad se equivoca seriamente acerca de uno, y no considera otros modelos mas comprobados y antiguos. De este error sale el mayor equivoco: que la ciencia autentica rechaza el eskepticismo. Quien conoce la larga historia de la ciencia y cultura no puede equivocarse en eso. La ciencia autentica esta basada en el eskepticismo, que hoy se conoce tambien como "pensamiento critico," o, a veces, como "postmodernismo." De la ciencia no ser basada en un sano eskepticismo, como podria la misma cuestionar las creenecias comunes? Cabe recordar la oracion de Galileo observando el planeta que segun la ciencia del tiempo estaba fijo. El cientifico renacentista lo dudo y eskepticamente exclamo: "y con todo eso, se mueve!"

3. El documento informa de como el sistema de escuelas publicas no siempre logra preparar bien l@s estudiantes para el sistema universitario mas selectivo, la UPR. Tanto que en muchos recinots altos porcentages de los admitid@s provienen de escuelas privadas. El efecto es que a veces familias de pocos recursos deben adeudarse para educar sus hij@s. Asi que como representantes de educadores, entendemos que sea necesario fomentar una mayor inversion en el sistema K-12 publico.

4. Las recomendaciones se prestan a interpretaciones que en la actuacion podrian resultar positivas, incluso el enfasi en la excelencia academica, en la independencia de la alta adminstracion de los partidos politicos locales, en el fomento a la educacion a distancia, continua, y por diversas edades y fines, y por fin en la autonomias de decisiones por pares basadas en el merito academico. Se espera entonces que l@s legisladores que utilicen el estudio lo hagan intelligentemente y segun su mejor espiritu. Tambien, se anima a las comunidades y los sectores de todos los recintos a que se reunan para debatir el contenido del documento y asesorar el asesoramiento alli producido."

Lo presentado es una respuesta incompleta y de "prima facie" que ni siquera toca en muchos punto especificos de UPR Mayaguez, como por ejemplo la recomendacion que el RUM sea uno de los tres recinto de estudios graduados y investigacion, con UPRRP y Ciencia medicas. Estas pocas notas solamente desean animar a la discusion.

Espero esto ayude. Quedaremos en espera de sus preguntas, comentarios, y participacion.

La discusion continua en Facebook!  Solicite entrar al grupo Participando en la Universidad - Assessing the Assessment!

"Que viva la excelencia de la universidad libre y participativa!"

Videos of Yours Truly's Humanities Course at UPRM, Part 1- Theme is Love
Videos of Yours Truly's Activism for Public Education on PR

Did you enjoy the post?  Let us know!  Yours truly appreciates your attention.  The comments box is open.

Come back!  And stay tuned for more wonders.


Namaste,
 
Serena Anderlini-D'Onofrio, PhD

Author of Gaia, Eros, and The "Weak" Subject (1998) 
Award Winner with Nautilus and Finalist with Lambda
Editor of BiTopia (2011), Bisexuality and Queer Theory (2012), Plural Loves (2005), Women and Bisexuality (2003)
Professor of Humanities
University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez
 

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Follow us in the social media
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Sunday, December 19, 2010

SWATS Units in UPR: 74 PR Scholars in the US Write Attorney General

Never Thought it Would Get This Bad!  Thanks to all those who've signed!

Copy of Signed Letter to US Attorney General Sent via E-mail and Certified Mail

December 16, 2010

Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr. Attorney General of the United States The United States Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530-0001

Dear Mr. Holder:

As Puerto Rican scholars teaching in the United States we have decided to write to you in order to express our deep concern with regard to recent developments at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR). For the past months, the University has experienced a continuing conflict that began last semester with a call for a strike by the students in response to an increase in academic tuition and related to fears about the future of public higher education on the island. Unfortunately, university administrators, professors, and students have not been able to negotiate a satisfactory agreement. The whole process has recently culminated in the intervention of Governor Luis Fortuño and the deployment of a massive police presence on the main university campus at Río Piedras and on other campuses in the system, including a private security contractor and fully armed SWAT units.

On December 13, Chancellor Ana R. Guadalupe banned all meetings, festivals, manifestations, and all other so-called large activities on the Río Piedras campus for a period of thirty days. In our view, this represents a clear breach of fundamental constitutional rights. The justifications given by the Chancellor are that this measure is required in order to keep the campus open and to return it to normal operations. Furthermore, professors and workers are being asked (under the threat of punishment) to continue working despite the intense volatility caused by the police presence on campus.

We remain very concerned that such use of force may in fact increase the potential for violence and continued tension, especially if the guarantees of freedom of speech, association, and assembly have been revoked. Both the United States Constitution and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico guarantee these rights. Moreover, this week the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico (which, without the opportunity for serious public debate, was recently restructured by the government of Luis Fortuño in order to ensure a clear majority of judges in his favor) declared, in a disturbing resolution, that strikes will be prohibited at all UPR campuses effective immediately.

We the undersigned write to you as scholars and citizens because of the potentially lethal conditions that we have described and that prevail at the UPR. That is why we urge you to intervene in order to:

1.    Guarantee the constitutional rights of freedom of speech, association, and assembly as stipulated by both constitutions and to see that the conflict is conducted under the strictest observation of human and civil rights for all parties involved.
2.    Procure the immediate withdrawal of all state and city police, private contractors, and other non-UPR security personnel from the University of Puerto Rico system currently under occupation.
3.    Call all parties to meet and have a truly productive dialogue.

Respectfully yours,

[Institutional affiliations for identification purposes only. Please respond to primary contacts.]
1) Agnes Lugo-Ortiz, The University of Chicago [Primary contact] lugortiz@uchicago.edu
2) Ivette N. Hernández-Torres, University of California, Irvine [Primary contact]
ivetteh@uci.edu
3) Luis F. Avilés, University of California, Irvine [Primary contact]
laviles9631@sbcglobal.net
4) Aldo Lauria-Santiago, Rutgers University [Primary contact]
alauria@rci.rutgers.edu
5) Arcadio Díaz-Quiñones Emory L. Ford Professor, Emeritus, Princeton University adiaz@princeton.edu
6) Aníbal González-Pérez, Yale University
anibal.gonzalez@yale.edu
7) Luis Figueroa-Martínez, Trinity College Treasurer, Puerto Rican Studies Association (PRSA) Luis.Figueroa@trincoll.edu
8) Roberto Alejandro, University of Massachusetts, Amherst ralejand@polsci.umass.edu
9) Harry Vélez-Quiñones, University of Puget Sound
velez@pugetsound.edu
10) Ismael García-Colón, College of Staten Island, CUNY
Ismael.Garcia@csi.cuny.edu
11) Áurea María Sotomayor-Miletti, University of Pittsburgh
aureamariastmr@yahoo.com
12) Antonio Lauria-Perricelli, New York University al71@nyu.edu
13) Wanda Rivera Rivera, University of Massachusetts, Boston Wanda.Rivera-Rivera@umb.edu
14) José Quiroga, Emory University jquirog@emory.edu
15) Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor lawrlafo@yahoo.co.uk
16) Daniel Torres, Ohio University torres@ohio.edu
17) Pablo Delano, Trinity College Pablo.Delano@trincoll.edu
18) Denise Galarza Sepúlveda, Lafayette College
galarzad@lafayette.edu
19) Richard Rosa, Duke University
rr49@duke.edu
20) Eleuterio Santiago-Díaz, University of New Mexico esantia@unm.edu
21) Ilia Rodríguez, University of New Mexico ilia@unm.edu
22) Ramón H. Rivera-Servera, Northwestern University r-rivera-servera@northwestern.edu
23) Gladys M. Jiménez-Muñoz, Binghamton University-SUNY gjimenez@binghamton.edu
24) Luz-María Umpierre Poet, Scholar, Human Rights Advocate LUmpierre@aol.com
25) Sheila Candelario, Fairfield University
candelariosheila@hotmail.com
26) Edna Acosta-Belén, University at Albany, SUNY eab@albany.edu
27) Efraín Barradas, University of Florida at Gainsville barradas@LATAM.UFL.EDU
28) Kelvin Santiago-Valles, Binghamton University-SUNY
stgokel@binghamton.edu
29) Víctor Figueroa, Wayne State University an7664@wayne.edu
30) Juan Duchesne Winter, University of Pittsburgh juanduchesne@yahoo.com
31) Pablo A. Llerandi-Román, Grand Valley State University llerandp@gvsu.edu
32) Irmary Reyes-Santos, University of Oregon irmary@uoregon.edu
33) Arnaldo Cruz-Malavé, Fordham University cruzmalave@fordham.edu
34) Ileana M. Rodríguez-Silva, University of Washington imrodrig@uw.edu
35) César A. Salgado, University of Texas, Austin cslgd@mail.utexas.edu
36) Jossianna Arroyo, University of Texas, Austin jarroyo@mail.utexas.edu
37) Francisco A. Scarano, University of Wisconsin, Madison fscarano@wisc.edu
38) Jaime Rodríguez Matos, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor jaimerod@umich.edu
39) Cecilia Enjuto Rangel, University of Oregon enjuto@uoregon.edu
40) Elpidio Laguna-Díaz, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey elplag@optonline.net
41) Lena Burgos-Lafuente, SUNY, Stony Brook
lenabu@nyu.edu
42) Ramón Grosfoguel, University of California, Berkeley grosfogu@berkeley.edu
43) José Francisco Buscaglia Salgado, SUNY, Buffalo Director of Program in Caribbean Studies jfb2@buffalo.edu
44) Francisco Cabanillas, Bowling Green State University fcabani@bgsu.edu
45) Lisa Sánchez González, University of Connecticut lisa.m.sanchez@uconn.edu
46) María M. Carrión, Emory University mcarrio@emory.edu
47) Yolanda Martínez-San Miguel, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey Director Institute for Research on Women yolandatrabajo@optonline.net
48) Agustín Lao-Montes, University of Massachusetts, Amherst oxunelegua@yahoo.com
49) Jason Cortés, Rutgers University-Newark jasoncor@andromeda.rutgers.edu
50) Nelson Maldonado-Torres, Rutgers University President, Caribbean Philosophical Association nmtorres7@gmail.com
51) Daín Borges, The University of Chicago dborges@uchicago.edu
52) Edna Rodríguez-Mangual, Hamilton College emrodrig@hamilton.edu
53) Ricardo Pérez Figueroa, Eastern Connecticut State University
PerezR@easternct.edu
54) Licia Fiol-Matta, Lehman College, CUNY lfiolmatta@earthlink.net
55) Frances R. Aparicio, University of Illinois at Chicago franapar@uic.edu
56) Luis E. Zayas, Arizona State University lezayas@asu.edu
57) Hortensia R. Morell, Temple University hmorell@temple.edu
58) Milagros Denis-Rosario, Hunter College mdenis@hunter.cuny.edu
59) Víctor Rodríguez, California State University, Long Beach vrodrig5@csulb.edu
60) Madeline Troche-Rodríguez, City Colleges of Chicago mtroche05@yahoo.com
61) Carmen R. Lugo-Lugo, Washington State University clugo@wsu.edu
62) Jorge Luis Castillo, University of California, Santa Barbara castillo@spanport.ucsb.edu
63) Rosa Elena Carrasquillo, College of the Holy Cross rcarrasq@holycross.edu
64) Juan Carlos Rodríguez, The Georgia Institute of Technology juan.rodriguez@modlangs.gatech.edu
65) Susana Peña, Bowling Green State University susanap@bgsu.edu
66) José R. Cartagena-Calderón, Pomona College
Jose.Cartagena@pomona.edu
67) Amílcar Challu, Bowling Green State University achallu@bgsu.edu
68) Carlos J. Alonso, Columbia University calonso@columbia.edu
69) Carmen A. Rolón, Providence College CROLON@providence.edu
70) Amy Robinson, Bowling Green State University arobins@bgsu.edu
71) Consuelo Arias, Nassau Community College ecarias@att.net

Puerto Rican Scholars in Canada Who Also Subscribe to this Letter
72) Rubén A. Gaztambide-Fernández, University of Toronto rgaztambide@oise.utoronto.ca
73) Néstor E. Rodríguez, University of Toronto nestor.rodriguez@utoronto.ca
74) Gustavo J. Bobonis, University of Toronto gustavo.bobonis@utoronto.ca

cc: Thomas E. Pérez, Assistant Attorney General, United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division
Luis Gutiérrez, Congressman, Illinois 4th District Nydia Velázquez, Congresswoman, New York 12th District
José Serrano, Congressman, New York 16th District American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
Luis Fortuño, Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Pedro Pierluisi, Puerto Rico’s Resident Commissioner in Washington
José Ramón de la Torre, President of the University of Puerto Rico
Ygrí Rivera de Martínez, President of the Board of Trustees (Junta de Síndicos), University of Puerto Rico
Ana R. Guadalupe, Chancellor of the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Multisectorial Strike and Occupation at the University of Puerto Rico, All 11 Campuses, Supporting Public Education, Resisting Privatization

Listen to all of it and view on Democracy Now!

In Puerto Rico, an ongoing strike by students at the University of
Puerto Rico is coming to a head. Riot police have surrounded the main
gates of the university’s main campus and are trying to break the
strike by denying food and water to students who have occupied the
campus inside. The strike began nearly four weeks ago in response to
budget cuts at the university of more than $100 million. On Thursday,
a mass assembly of more than 3,000 students voted overwhelmingly to
continue the strike. The next day, riot police seized control of the
main campus gates. We go now to Puerto Rico, inside the occupied
campus at the university. [includes rush transcript]

To read, listen to, or watch the whole story:
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/5/17/student_strike_at_university_of_puerto

Guests:

Giovanni Roberto, student at the University of Puerto Rico and a
spokesperson for the striking students.

Christopher Powers, professor of comparative literature at University
of Puerto Rico.

Rush Transcript

This transcript is available free of charge. However, donations help
us provide closed captioning for the deaf and hard of hearing on our
TV broadcast. Thank you for your generous contribution.
Donate - $25, $50, $100, More...

AMY GOODMAN: In Puerto Rico, an ongoing strike by students at the
University of Puerto Rico is coming to a head. Riot police have
surrounded the main gates of the university and are trying to break
the strike by denying food and water to students who have occupied the
campus inside.

The strike began nearly four weeks ago in response to budget cuts at
the university of more than $100 million. Students called on the
administration to reconsider the cuts and sought guarantees, such as
no fee increases and no privatization of campus services. Students
initially called for a forty-eight-hour strike, but more than three
weeks later the strike continues and has spread to ten out of eleven
campuses. On Thursday, a mass assembly of more than 3,000 students
voted overwhelmingly to continue the strike. The next day, riot police
seized control of the main campus gates.

The striking students have received widespread support from professors
at the university, as well as unions around the country. Crowds have
gathered outside the university gates, where police have encircled the
striking students inside. Parents, family members, other supporters
have tried to throw bottles of water and food over the fence to
support the strikers.

We go now to Puerto Rico inside the occupied campus at the university,
where we’re joined by Giovanni Roberto, a student at the University of
Puerto Rico and a spokesperson for the striking students. We’re also
joined by a professor at the university, outside the campus, who’s
supporting the students. Christopher Powers is a professor of
comparative literature at UPR. He joins us on the phone.

We welcome you both to Democracy Now! Giovanni, we’ll begin with you.
Describe the scene right now and what your demands are.

GIOVANNI ROBERTO: Hi, Amy, and hi, people watching.

Our first—our main demand was that we reject certification of the
trustees of the university that tried to limit the tuition waivers to
students. Especially they tried to make people that have a Pell Grant
or other economic help not to be part of the tuition waiver, which in
the University of Puerto Rico, which is a public university, most of
students have economic aids in order to go to the university and
study. So we identify that the administration, what they wanted to do
is to attack especially poor students, trying to limit their right to
have a tuition waiver.

Right now in the university, we are inside. We remain for more than
twenty-seven days on strikes. We are occupying the whole campuses. As
you say, ten out of eleven campuses are shut down by students. Inside
the university is calm. We are—we have been receiving a lot of people
outside the fences helping us to resist the possibility of the police
to get in.

Since the first day, the administration demonstrate no will to
negotiate with students. Our first demand was that they’re beginning
to negotiate. We only want to negotiate with the administration our
demands. We have been working for more than one year. And after that,
we have no other solution than to go on strike, as we’re doing now,
trying to push the administration to negotiate. And they only use the
force. They’re trying to get the police in and trying to make us get
out. And that’s one of the demands.

AMY GOODMAN: Let me bring Professor Powers into this, professor at the
University of Puerto Rico. Can you talk about the scene there, as
well, the students outside, the professors—the students inside, the
professors outside?

CHRISTOPHER POWERS: Yes. Well, thank you for having me on the show.

I’m a professor at the Mayagüez campus of the UPR, so I’m not in San
Juan right now. But I can report that the strike is being maintained
at all of the eleven campuses—that’s a minor correction—because the
eleventh campus was closed today by the staff union, which represents
about 2,000 maintenance workers in the system. The staff union has
also closed the administrative buildings, the central administrative
buildings located in the botanical gardens, this morning. They moved
in heavy machinery, closing the gates, and have called for a weeklong
strike in support of the students. So all of the campuses are closed
right now. And the union is calling for the closure, as well, of
auxiliary institutions, as well. So the strike has indeed spread to
the entire system.

It has also sparked widespread support on the part of professors, for
one, but also the broad public. Parents are involved in supporting the
students in an unprecedented way compared with the strikes in the
past. The use of force to close the main campus has sparked wide
sympathy with the students. It should also be noted that the
University of Puerto Rico is a university of 64,000 students. It’s the
largest university in the Caribbean. And it’s also the premier
institution of higher learning in the country. It’s considered part of
the cultural patrimony of the island. It has produced the island’s
best and brightest. And in the context of the colonial status of the
island, in which historically so much of Puerto Rican—Puerto Rico’s
resources have been sold out to foreigners, the UPR is widely regarded
as the last best resource that the nation has to keep. So attack on
the integrity of the institution, the restriction of access for
working-class students, and the fears of privatization of the
university have sparked very wide public support.

AMY GOODMAN: Who controls the budget exactly, I mean, in relation—for
people on the mainland in the United States, given the relationship
between the United States and Puerto Rico?

CHRISTOPHER POWERS: Right. Well, the budget of the university is
controlled by the presidency and the board of trustees. According to a
law from 1966, 9.6 percent of the income into the general funds of
Puerto Rico are to be used by the university. However, the current
conservative, pro-statehood New Progressive Party government issued a
law called "Law No. 7," which is widely unpopular on the island, which
gave them emergency powers to effect fiscal measures. And this law has
been implemented in the, oh, year-and-a-half or so of the Fortuño
administration to lay off public workers, and now it’s been applied to
deny funds that have been historically available to the university.
This has caused a deficit which could be $100 million or more,
although those are based on estimates at this point.

At any rate, the austerity measures that the board of trustees and the
presidency are trying to impose have been disproportionately directed
at students, professors and staff and have not at all touched the
bloated budgets for the central administration and the chancellors’
offices. So there’s a very—you know, a sense of injustice and
unfairness in the application of the austerity measures, and the
students are not taking it. They have maintained the strike and
haven’t budged from the camps that they’ve set up at the gates of the
various universities.

It’s a very multi-sectorial movement, the students. It’s not just the
traditional activists who are protesting. The tuition waivers that
Giovanni was mentioning apply to groups like athletes and musicians,
so these students are also involved in the protests. It’s a very
exciting movement. And the mood is quite electric. And the students,
like I’ve said, have inspired a lot of inspiration and support on the
part of the population. There’s a phrase circulating now that this new
generation of students is the basta ya generation, the "enough is
enough" generation.

AMY GOODMAN: Giovanni Roberto, what are your plans now, with the SWAT
teams having moved in? Where do you go from here?

GIOVANNI ROBERTO: Well, we’re still demanding the administration to
negotiate, actually. I think the general strike called for tomorrow is
a good step forward in order to push the administration and push the
government, as part of that administration, to sit down in the table
of negotiation. We’re only demanding that we need to negotiate our
demands.

Right now, we’re going to still have—we’re going to continue to
strike. We are not going to let us intimidate by the police. We know
that if the people remain supporting us, as they have been doing for
the last three weeks, we don’t think the police are going to get in or
try to get in, because that will be a political—a serious political
problem for the government, because we think that all that support, in
water and food or in picket lines in front of the university, will
transform in mass mobilization in this country. And that’s what we’re
hoping, that all of that solidarity that have been expressed in
different ways in the last three weeks transform, today and tomorrow
and the rest of the weeks, in mass mobilization and mass protest,
especially in the strike of tomorrow. So we are going to remain on
strike, and we’re going to continue asking negotiation with the
administration.

AMY GOODMAN: Have you had support from students on the mainland United
States? And what have been the effect, for example, of the student
protests in California? Have you been following them, Giovanni?

GIOVANNI ROBERTO: Yeah, we received a letter of students and
professors of Berkeley and CUNY in New York, from Canada, from Spain,
from Venezuela, and from other countries, from República Dominicana.
We have received international attention, because, like in California,
we are receiving attacks, a budget cuts attack. And we think that the
defense of the public university obviously is not only here in Puerto
Rico; it’s an international fight against privatization and against
things that affect students. So, obviously, what happened in
California affects us. Before the strike, we made two occupations of
two faculties, in some way inspired by what’s happened in Berkeley and
the fight that Berkeley was having there. So I think for them to us
and from our fight to them, there’s a relationship between our fight
and an inspiration, a mutual inspiration, right now.

AMY GOODMAN: I understand there was a father who was trying to bring
food to his son, a student inside, who was attacked. Giovanni Roberto,
what happened?

GIOVANNI ROBERTO: Yeah, he was trying to get in bread and water, which
is in the morning for breakfast, and the police attacked him and
pushed him to the ground and then arrested him in front of all the
students. We have a video of that. That same day, in the morning, too,
another student was trying to get in, and the police attacked the
student, pushed him to the ground, hit him while he was on the ground,
and then arrested him. That happened two days, yesterday, happened
again with artists that wanted to get food inside the
university—actors, singers, famous Puerto Rican singers. They didn’t
allow them to get food, and they had to throw it over the fences in
order to get the water inside the university. There’s a law that don’t
allow any food or water to get in, according to a judge.

So, right now the situation is tense outside. We have more food than
ever. That’s important to people to know. We are creating ways to get
food and water inside. And the solidarity of the people is so
impressed that now we have food like for two weeks. So even there you
see the picture. No matter the police, what try the police, we know
that we’re going to continue the strike and that we’re going to win
this strike. We have the whole country on our side. We have the right
to do this. And we are defending only public education, public
university. That’s not a crime. One of our slogans is that we are
students, not—we’re not making crimes, you know? So—

AMY GOODMAN: Christopher Powers, the support of unions, can you talk
about that, like the AFL-CIO?

CHRISTOPHER POWERS: Yes. Well, there’s a general strike called for
tomorrow. This strike was called both by the coalition of unions,
which includes the Change to Win, the Federation of Workers of Puerto
Rico, the Puerto Rican Workers Union representing a broad variety of
the union groups and leaders. It’s also being called for by all of
Puerto Rico for Puerto Rico. The spokesperson, Juan Vera, the
Methodist bishop, called for massive support and all of the members of
this coalition of community and religious groups, known for their
involvement in the Free Vieques movement, to participate in the
strike. And as I mentioned earlier, also the staff union of the
university is going on strike for the entire week and closed down the
central administration facilities, as well as auxiliary facilities. So
the union support for the students is massive.

AMY GOODMAN: This is hardly getting attention on the mainland. Can you
talk about that lack of press coverage?

CHRISTOPHER POWERS: Well, I suppose one could relate that to— again,
to the colonial status of Puerto Rico. This is really, I think, in my
opinion, a very important struggle, in that the University of Puerto
Rico is more important for Puerto Rico than, say, public universities
in the States are for their states. And so, what is happening now is
that the students are defending the right to a quality public
education, that they are staying firm in the face of the attack on the
integrity of the institution, the restriction of access for
working-class students, and they are really serving as a model, as
Eduardo Galeano wrote in a message of support to the students. He says
that they are showing the shining path towards the future, while the
rest of the world gets used to what is already there.

AMY GOODMAN: Christopher Powers, we’ll have to leave it there,
professor at the University of Puerto Rico. Giovanni Roberto, student,
one of the student leaders of the strike, speaking to us from inside
the campus that they are occupying. Tomorrow, a major strike called
across Puerto Rico, and of course we will cover it.