DisOrientation Meeting Notes 7/22/08

Hey all. Some notes on what transpired at the DIS.

Some real progress was made in fleshing out the DIS! The CUNY Social Forum, the DIS blog, the format and content of the guide as well as release dates were discussed.

The CUNY Social Forum

It was proposed that the DIScollective present a panel for the CUNY Social Forum happening in October. Not only could this event be a "draft" launch for the DIS, showcasing what we have, but also serve as a networking event to get the DIS "out there" and potentially get more people involved. The SF may potentially be a great place to make a "call for aid" as well as a conversation builder – we will be able to find out what people might want to see in the DIS.

The DIS Blog
It was put forth that the blog could serve as a warehouse of information related to the DIS: listing meeting information updates and calls for aid. Additionally, any information, links, sites, etc. that people think would be beneficial for the project would be encouraged to be posted onto the site.

DIS Guide Format & Content
Rather than sticking with the traditional 8.5x11 inch format and the once a year launch (occurring in the Fall and weighing in at over 70 pages at some schools!) the CUNY DIS could take on the format of a zine and be published several times a year. This format would be more aesthetically pleasing and open the DIS to a much wider audience – getting our voice(s) out there to more people! The proposed layout may well contain cover art and illustrations, several main CUNY articles, shorter general interest articles, profiles of the trustees, profiles of radical professors, comics, and how to guides.

In solidarity,

The DIScollective.

CUNY DisOrientation Guide 2008

Throughout the city and across CUNY's campuses, students, faculty and staff are witnessing CUNY's slow transformation by the tides of corporate privatization and the elimination of social welfare support from the state. The powers of privatization, militarization and corporatization have entered into a holy alliance, and our CUNY, our city, our entire globe have fallen under its spell.

But there is something in the air, working to counteract this process. People are starting to come together. Faculty, students and staff across the campuses, across the city, and across the world are pushing back.

CUNY has a radical history and together we – students, faculty, and staff - are going to write the next chapter. We propose to create a DisOrientation Guide to CUNY as one small step in this direction which is a map of the factual socioeconomic history of CUNY. Our aim is to remember CUNY's radical past, contribute to its radical present, and to envision and build its revolutionary future. The DisOrientation guide will be a free, easily accessible resource distributed throughout the CUNY system. It will be a work in progress. A living document.

Below we list some of the areas we are interested in exploring. We invite you to join us in creating this DisOrientation guide in these and other areas. Here are some ways to be involved:

-- Join a working group :
~ Content development ~ Editorial ~ Design & Layout ~ Web ~ Distribution
-- Contribute writing, information or resources
-- Connect us to others who might want to contribute

-- Come to a general meeting

-- Stay connected by responding to this e-mail and joining the listserve! https://lists.riseup.net/www/info/cuny-disorientation

** Please forward this call widely to any one or group that might want to contribute **

Here is our tentative list of areas to explore:

People's History of CUNY
-History of social movements and student movements at CUNY
-Current social movement and student movement work at CUNY
Knowing CUNY
-Workers at CUNY (academic and non-academic, labor related issues)
-Students at CUNY/Not at CUNY (admissions, demographics, student body, access, stratification)
-Power/CUNY (power mapping, thinking about corporate CUNY, military CUNY)
-Neoliberal CUNY (CUNY in a broader political-economic context)
Resources
-Maps
-City-wide resources for the CUNY community (CUNY in the city)
-Adjunct's guide to CUNY (intro to PSC, basics of workplace rights at CUNY, etc)
-Undergraduate's guide to CUNY (campus specific)
-Guide for non-Academic workers at CUNY (campus specific)
-NYC Highschool student's guide to CUNY
Reimagining CUNY
-Right to the University
-CUNY mission statement