Category: Blog 8

1.) After reading the text, ”Realizing the Dream of a Liberation University” by Conor Tomas Reed, Reed makes several connections between the retrenchment period and the current day. The definition of retrenchment is the dismissal of e, employees due to downsizing in a company, this can be for many reasons such as the company not reaching a certain quota or profit. Due to the pandemic, many people lost their jobs. At CUNY due to a policy called financial exigency, many CUNY employees were let go of their jobs. In general, tuition stayed the same even though classes were online, and in some schools, it increased. The retrenchment period is very similar to the pandemic in CUNY.

2.) Death cult means that human life can be a means to some other end and not solely an end to itself. Reed uses this term to talk about the events that occurred during the retrenchment period. In addition, Reed mentions how the rise of neoliberalism ruined CUNY in the grand scheme of things. Economically New York City is a death cult. The policies regarding CUNY today were created due to greed while in the retrenchment period, it was largely due to poverty. A free school system should be the norm, but there are a lot of factors against it today. Having access to free education in one of the best city’s in the world should not by any means be political.

3.) Minorities in America have either always been pushed to the side or ignored. This can be due to race, gender, sexual orientation, and or religion. The reason for the LatinX student alliance group to demand more diversity is due to the lack of inclusivity. When talking about the history of this group, there should be more diverse teachers and just in general more representation.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.media-diversity.org%2Ffrom-broadway-to-hollywood-in-the-heights-aims-to-break-the-barriers-of-latinx-representation%2F&psig=AOvVaw0x4v4o8bHabkAO1ALAI0zG&ust=1650640255026000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAwQjRxqFwoTCLjdxKa4pfcCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAJ

 

1. Reed makes the connection between the 1978-1992 “retrenchment period” at CUNY and the Covid-19 pandemic such that they both resulted in many people to lose their jobs. The policy of financial exigency, resulted in the termination of many CUNY employees. Reed talks about the budget cuts, increased tuition fees, and other reasons that make the connection with the Covid-19 pandemic.
2. Reed uses the term death cult in the context of describing the events that resulted around the ‘retrenchment period.’ He uses this term to explain that the rise of neoliberalism and economic downfall were destined to lead to the problems that it did.
3. The reasoning that the LatinX Student Alliance group gives for demanding more diversity in their curriculum, is that the current lack of diversity was a result from the history of removing colonized and minority groups from the system and putting them at a disadvantage. They believe that education should be a reflection of the world and not just a ‘white washed cannon’ and creating diversity is a major first step to providing equality for minority groups.

 

https://jamboard.google.com/d/14ZESA8UiYOsq0CyKmIfz5rUCGapUDCd8-YMjppi7xyc/edit?usp=sharing

1. 1. Reed makes multiple connections between the 1978-1992 “retrenchment period” and the Covid-19 pandemic. He compares both of these events in order to make an overall point to the reader.  During the retrenchment period, many staff in CUNYS, and just workers in general were all being cut from their jobs, and tuition was being increased. People were being left without a job, and the students weren’t getting a quality education, despite the fact that they were paying for it. A lot of people’s lives were being negatively affected by this. Similar to COVID-19 in 2020, the pandemic left thousands without jobs, shut down colleges and schools all over the country, and made it hard to live in America.
      1. Reed uses the term “death cult” in a very specific way within this article.  Referring to the negative effects neoliberalism brought up with CUNY, he thinks that over the years as this continues, the economic model that New York City runs on will be turned into a “Death Cult.” Reed takes this quote from climate activists in Madrid, who also believed neoliberalism was inevitability a “Death Cult.” This means a guaranteed failure with no hopes of success. No matter what happens, something negative is bound to happen as it only brings about bad things that benefit the rich, and negatively affect the poor.
         1. 1.  To summarize the reasoning the Fall 2019 Latinx Student alliance gave for more diversity in their curriculum, it is important to the students who attend Lehman college that they are able to see themselves represented within their college curriculum.  For reference, Lehman is 56.1 Black/Latino. The fact that more than half of the school is black or Latino, but these students aren’t getting the correct representation in their own communities can be very alarming to some. Also, the alliance points out that diversifying the curriculum can bring benefits to future generations to come. More point of view from different authors all over the world is very important, compared to just the same British writers that overlook other stories that are just as important.
            2. Suggestions Reed makes for both anti-racist and anti-austerity groups at CUNY are the following: the 2 groups both had ten demands that were very good demands to make for CUNY, but both groups were leaving out many important things from these demands. Reed suggests that the 2 groups combine their demands, in order to make sure all the demands get activated instead of trying to push one issue out more than the other. The fact of the matter is that all of these issues are equally important, and one shouldn’t override the other. So if these demands get combined, they could get worked on and focused on at once.

https://jamboard.google.com/d/1AygEAaM_IH1Gtqgj-f3M6GgLloGMzq8w2zsOfVoTh3A/viewer?f=0

 

As previously mentioned in class before New York was already going through a period of fiscal crisis and was in dire need of money during the 70’s. This stemmed from the concept of neoliberalism and its effect on an urban area. Reed analyzes this and then speaks on the “retrenchment period”. The author notices that we are simply dealing with problems we didn’t create. Both the retrenchment period and COVID created extreme impacts which directly and majorly was geared towards CUNY students and staff. They both imposed tuition increases less money overall for the rest. Now one was created from poverty and the other from greed which represents their differences.

Death cult is used as a reference to the retrenchment period and once again the neoliberalistic policies as mentioned earlier. A free school system shouldn’t have been viewed as a potential investment for Austeric  policies. Rather should be considered as a platform for education nd potential for easy socioeconomic mobility.

Inclusivity is the main thing mentioned by Lehman has over a 55 percent Hispanic undergrad population . However, the education they are being served is a mainly privatized white version of history. Instead of more white teachers there should be a plethora of people of color teacher. In my opinion, I asked my girlfriend who also attends Lehman college. She only has one black professor and when asked she mentioned that her comfortably skyrocketed when she was introduced to her. Her entire history seemed like it had proper representation and it was a case of inclusivity, making her feel like this is a safe space.

For some reason I can upload the media so if you want to see my poster the link is below.

https://www.canva.com/design/DAE8I5Dh5RA/LQUlWKSV0ycfMi_0B1X14A/view?utm_content=DAE8I5Dh5RA&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=publishsharelink

 

Reed does a great job mapping out the covid-19 pandemic and its effects on education at CUNY. Just like the “retrenchment period” between 1978-1992, the city and state budgets are getting cut and impacting the lives of many people including CUNY staff and students. Workers lost their jobs due to CUNY staffing conflict and tuition for students at the university increased drastically. The 2020 pandemic has impacted the CUNY system in just about the same way. With the economy falling, and quarantine making it impossible for workers to go to work and for students to obtain proper education, this all comes at a price. Reed’s stance is that the education system is equally as important and deserves to get funded properly. Reed goes on to talk about the many actions and reforms being taken to ensure that the system does not win over us.

The Latinx Student Alliance group demands more diversity in their curriculum by mentioning the importance to be inclusive when learning about our history. They mention that also by having diversity in the curriculum, the students are able to feel like they can do it as well and in a way feel more encouraged to do great things in the future. She uses the fact that Lehman College is primarily filled with minority group students yet the textbooks, professors, and the education they are receiving do not reflect their backgrounds and in a way, it can also be classified as racial discrimination. It’s this idea of inclusion instead of exclusion and to be considerate at all times. Respectfully, I agree with them and do believe that if the information and education we receive somehow connect to us, especially in an English course, it makes me feel more engaged and generally happy that my racial background is being mentioned and represented.

Reed suggests that anti-racist and anti-austerity groups at CUNY should not just be a bystander or have a small voice, instead they should be an activist voice themselves loud and clear and who forces change to happen.  Use strategy and utilize well to change not just one issue but multiple at the same time. Be demanding and be very straightforward with the changes wanted, how to change and what is expected. Use the power we have wisely.