[act-ma] 2/27 Whose university is it? an invitation

[Charlie Welch]

*/Whose University Is It? /
*

*Feb. 27, 6pm @ Cambridge Public Library (Lecture Hall)**. 449 Broadway, 
Cambridge, MA
*

**

*MIT and Harvard rolling out the red carpet 
<https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/30/elite-universities-selling-themselves-mit-harvard-saudi-arabia-mohammed-bin-salman>for 
the Saudi Crown Prince in March, 2018 was no fluke: it is symptomatic of 
the lack of democracy on campuses across the US. Increasingly, 
university administrators act in our name, but without our involvement.*

*

The renewed scrutiny of Saudi partnerships is an opportunity to fight to 
make universities democratic and accountable to their communities. 
Universities’ official response to community grievances has been 
inadequate. Our event is an attempt to sketch what a responsible 
community response would look like.

Using the Saudi partnerships with Boston schools as a model, we will 
attempt to:

 1.

    Reckon with the harms that result from universities’ secretive
    partnerships,

 2.

    Demand that universities disclose all their partnerships and their
    terms,

 3.

    Try to repair what is broken by discussing alternative, democratic
    ways to run university affairs.

The event will begin with short vignettes from scholars, students, 
activists from around the Boston area, including: Harvard, MIT, BU, BC, 
Northeastern, Suffolk, UMass, Tufts, Brandeis, as well as Cambridge City 
Council and Massachusetts Peace Action.

This will be followed by a town hall-style session, where everyone is 
invited to share their thoughts. Afterwards, pizza will be served and 
there will be time for informal discussion.

Please join us in this effort to imagine a university that’s for the 
people - not for corporations, foreign governments, or the military.

More information:

  *

    RSVP
    <https://www.eventbrite.com/e/whose-university-is-it-tickets-55089471091?aff=utm_source%3Deb_email%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_campaign%3Dnew_event_email&utm_term=eventurl_text>to
    attend the event

  *

    Spread the word by sharing these flyers with your friends and
    colleagues: bit.ly/whoseuniversity-promo
    <http://bit.ly/whoseuniversity-promo>

  *

    Join our mailing list: bit.ly/whoseuniversity-mailinglist
    <http://bit.ly/whoseuniversity-mailinglist>

  *

    Explore our reading list: bit.ly/whoseuniversity-readinglist
    <http://bit.ly/whoseuniversity-readinglist>

  *

    Visit our website for more information:
    https://whoseuniversityisit.github.io/

* --
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