Did you hear about the Ohio State students, calling themselves “ReclaimOSU”, who occupied the area outside school president Michael V. Drake’s office, and put out a list of demands?
With a major tip of my imaginary hat to Steven Hayward at powerlineblog.com, Here, in abbreviated form, is their statement (with its requisite attack on Israel, of course: I wonder if these geniuses have ever read the hamas charter):
We will not leave this space until both of the below demands are met.
- Budget & investments
- We demand complete, comprehensive and detailed access to the Ohio State budget and investments immediately, as well as personnel to aid students in understanding this information.
- Updates to investments and/or the budget must be publicly stated, publicly available, and provide qualified personnel to aid in understanding these changes and make the information fully accessible to all students, faculty, and staff.
- We demand the administration of the Ohio State University be responsive to community calls for justice, transparency and democratic process by meeting at least one of the previously established campaign demands below.
- OSU Divest: Divest from Caterpillar Inc., Hewlett Packard and G4S due to their involvement in well-documented human rights abuses in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and across the globe.
- United Students Against Sweatshops: Immediately cease all negotiations of the Comprehensive Energy Management Project. The university must maintain in-house operation of its energy systems, ensure that all workers in the energy systems will continue to work for the university, and ensure student led sustainability measures are implemented.
- Real Food OSU: Sign the Real Food Campus Commitment. Ensure the administration work with Real Food OSU through the entire implementation of the Real Food Campus Commitment, in place of, or as a means of attaining, the university sustainability goal of increased “production and purchase of locally and sustainably sourced food to 40% by 2025.”
And here, via the following 5 1/2 minute video, is a school official pleasantly, coureously telling them to take a hike, or be arrested and tossed out of school.
Guess which side prevailed? Yep, you got it.
The lesson here is that when you show some backbone and stand up to students who think because they “know” they are right it’s ok to just walk in and take over, you at least have a shot at prevailing. Even if you don’t, isn’t that better than kissing their rear ends and handing them the keys to the school?
Now: will other college administrations learn from this?
Sadly, I’m betting the answer is mostly no. But wouldn’t it be great if a few did?
