1. The connection between Reed’s 1978-1992 “retrenchment period” at CUNY and the Covid-19 pandemic is that in both periods public services were cut in New York City to avoid bankruptcy, leaving students without education and faculty without jobs. During the CUNY “retrenchment period” many faculty members were laid off and CUNY’s new colleges, such as Hostos and Medgar, were threatened with closure. And budget cuts led to more than just layoffs; they also led to skyrocketing tuition, so many students could not continue to attend without a free education.
2. Reed uses the term “death cult” to denote the impact of the change in tuition at CUNY, which was designed to provide access to education for many students who could not afford it, and the increase in tuition has made it unaffordable for minority students, so they have lost their original opportunity, and in this case, death. refers to these opportunities to receive an education. These changes have had a negative impact on education in New York City.
3. Reed’s advice to the anti-racist and anti-austerity groups at CUNY is to share everyone’s ideas, and CUNY should unite to analyze the impact of ideas together to be more powerful. It is only when these groups protest and labor movement to express their ideas that they will be noticed and have more opportunities to solve problems.