aThis just in! Storm Lake's Pilot Tribune recently published an article saying that Lori Phanachone was reinstated into the National Honor Society after having her membership revoked last Friday. Lori, a Laotian American high school senior at Storm Lake High School, was punished for refusing to take a state-wide English competency test simply because she marked on her registration forms that she spoke Laotian at home. For more info, see previous Blaaag posts by both Marilla and myself.

A civil rights agency representing a Laotian American Storm Lake High School honor student reports that the National Honor Society membership of Lori Phanachone was revoked at SLHS on Friday, then restored on Monday.
The district had given assurances that she would not be punished by removal from the program, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund officials said early Monday, calling for immediate reinstatement of the student to the National Honor Society as well as removal of any disciplinary action from Phanachone's files and assurance in writing that she will not be further punished or excluded.

AALDEF DEMANDS JUSTICE FOR IOWA STUDENT DISCIPLINED FOR PROTESTING ENGLISH PROFICIENCY TESTING

Honor student deemed an English Language Learner for declaring Lao as her home language

New York, NY — The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), which is representing Iowa honors student Lori Phanachone, has called for the removal of all references to disciplinary action from her school record after she refused to take an English Language Learner (ELL) test. Phanachone was mislabeled an English Language Learner (ELL) after naming Lao as her home language.

Khin Mai Aung, the AALDEF staff attorney representing the student, said: “Lori Phanachone is an honor student who has excelled in mainstream classes throughout her life, and happens to speak Lao as her home language. Storm Lake has improperly conflated my client’s knowledge of Lao with lack of fluency in English.”

The Storm Lake School District, which did not assess Ms. Phanachone’s English level when she enrolled two years ago, has since subjected her to a yearly test for ELLs. The 3.98 GPA senior did not receive English as a Second Language or other ELL services before moving to Storm Lake as a sophomore. Since matriculating in Storm Lake, Ms. Phanachone has excelled in advanced courses–all of which were taught in English. This year, she boycotted the yearly ELL test in protest. As a result, Ms. Phanachone was suspended for 3 days and threatened with the loss of National Honor Society membership, exclusion from school activities including the track team, prom and other extracurricular activities, as well as further disciplinary action.

Lori Phanachone said: “Storm Lake labeled me an English Language Learner when I enrolled without even bothering to test me. All I want is to continue my education without the school labeling me unfairly.”

Among other things, AALDEF demands that the Storm Lake School District:

• Remove all references to Lori Phanachone’s suspension and other disciplinary action from her school records;
• Assure in writing that it will not impose further disciplinary action on her;
• Clarify Storm Lake’s procedures for classifying students as ELL upon enrollment;
• Explain how and why Lori Phanachone was classified as an ELL under Storm Lake’s classification procedures; and
• Reclassify Lori Phanachone, and other affected students if appropriate under Iowa and federal law, as English proficient.

Wow:

Lori Phanachone is a member of the National Honor Society, has a 3.9 grade point average and ranks seventh in the senior class of about 119 at Storm Lake High School.

But school officials have told her she is considered to be illiterate based on her refusal to satisfactorily complete the English Language Development Assessment, a test she says is demeaning and racist.

On Wednesday, Phanachone finished serving three days of in-school suspension for what school administrators say is insubordination. She faces another three days for continuing her silent protest with a second refusal to take the test. According to a written statement presented to her Wednesday, Phanachone said, she could be suspended again and then expelled for a fourth refusal.

"Mr. Ruleaux (assistant principal Beau Ruleaux) told me I was 'no Rosa Parks' -- that I should give up because I would not succeed in my protest," Phanachone said.

"Scholoarships"

From Christina Chen:

Hey everybody,

I have a friend who is organizing a walkout at CUNY Hunter on March
5th to protest tuition hikes, faculty layoffs, department downsizing,
the lack of a transparent admissions process, Hunter's relationship to
NYC communities, and more. Apparently BMCC is holding a rally on the
same time, and both schools are planning feeder marches to a CUNY-wide
demonstration that will take place at 4 pm that same day. I was
wondering if people are interested in participating in both events.
There is an educational at Hunter that's taking place *today* from 1-3
pm at Hunter HW 405 that will highlight longstanding CUNY student
efforts to promote a more "accountable, accessible, and democratic
CUNY".

My friend would like Columbia folks to get involved. I haven't really
had a discussion with her as to what this entails beyond attending
their events; however, I'd like to hear what folks think about
supporting the CUNY movement. I realize that we should probably
conduct convos about the politics of allying ourselves as students of
a private institution, with students within our city's public
university system; at the same time, however, I recognize that (obvi!)
these problems also not isolated to the CUNY's. Our circumstances are
not completely analogous, but I'm wagering that there is much to be
learned in how CUNY students are organizing around these issues.
They've been planning events / teach-in's all year which are
culminating into these end of the year actions... these folks have
been framing this as a student movement and I'd like to talk about our
place in all of this.

So, I'd appreciate 1) feedback, and 2) anybody who's interested in
participating in the rallys/ march to email me! And feel free to
forward this to other listerves I keep forgetting board aliases-
speak's is so easy to remember lol!

Love
Christina

The Columbia Political Union will be hosting a debate on affirmative action,between the College Democrats and College Republicans:

Sick and tired of the seemingly endless partisan debate? Well then, you're out of luck! Because, on Monday, February 23rd, the College Democrats and the College Republicans will face off in the first debate of the semester, moderated by the Columbia Political Union.

Debaters will be representing their own personal views and debating the following resolution:

Resolved: affirmative action is a policy at odds with equality and fairness

Reported by Rachel Smith, Richa Naik and Marc Beja. Compiled by Thomas Garry:

Just minutes before a planned 12 p.m. rally, Public Safety officers stormed Take Back NYU's third floor barricades, according to Emily Stainkamp, Take Back NYU's spokeswoman. Just past noon, five non-NYU students walked out of the front door of Kimmel Center after they were granted amnesty from the university for their peaceful cooperation. All remaining NYU students have been told they will be expelled, Stainkamp told WSN. Four NYU students have taken to the dining hall's balcony, because they said they are fearful of fifteen Public Safety officers who have entered the barricade. All students still inside Kimmel Center will either be suspended or arrested, according to university officials. "This morning the university summarily suspended the remaining students," university spokesman John Beckman said in a statement. "Any non-NYU students will be turned over to the police for arrest as trespassers; we will notify their schools of the participation in improper activity. Any students who refuse to identify themselves will be assumed to be non-NYU students."

NYU BUILDING TAKEOVER!!!

At approximately 10pm (Feb. 18), students of Take Back NYU! took over the Kimmel Marketplace. They blockaded the doors and declared an occupation! They presented their demands to the NYU administration. They read as follows:

DEMANDS

We, the students of NYU, declare an occupation of this space. This occupation is the culmination of a two-year campaign by the Take Back NYU! coalition, and of campaigns from years past, in whose footsteps we follow.

In order to create a more accountable, democratic and socially responsible university, we demand the following:

1. Full legal and disciplinary amnesty for all parties involved in the occupation.

2. Full compensation for all employees whose jobs were disrupted during the course of the occupation.

3. Public release of NYU's annual operating budget, including a full list of university expenditures, salaries for all employees compensated on a semester or annual basis, funds allocated for staff wages, contracts to non-university organizations for university construction and services, financial aid data for each college, and money allocated to each college, department, and administrative unit of the university. Furthermore, this should include a full disclosure of the amount and sources of the university's funding.

4. Disclosure of NYU's endowment holdings, investment strategy, projected endowment growth, and persons, corporations and firms involved in the investment of the university's endowment funds. Additionally, we demand an endowment oversight body of students, faculty and staff who exercise shareholder proxy voting power for the university's investments.

5. That the NYU Administration agrees to resume negotiations with GSOC/UAW Local 2110 – the union for NYU graduate assistants, teaching assistants, and research assistants. That NYU publically affirm its commitment to respect all its workers, including student employees, by recognizing their right to form unions and to bargain collectively. That NYU publically affirm that it will recognize workers' unions through majority card verification.

6. That NYU signs a contract guaranteeing fair labor practices for all NYU employees at home and abroad. This contract will extend to subcontracted workers, including bus drivers, food service employees and anyone involved in the construction, operation and maintenance at any of NYU's non-U.S. sites.

7. The establishment of a student elected Socially Responsible Finance Committee. This Committee will have full power to vote on proxies, draft shareholder resolutions, screen all university investments, establish new programs that encourage social and environmental responsibility and override all financial decisions the committee deems socially irresponsible, including investment decisions. The committee will be composed of two subcommittees: one to assess the operating budget and one to assess the endowment holdings. Each committee will be composed of ten students democratically elected from the graduate and under-graduate student bodies. All committee decisions will be made a strict majority vote, and will be upheld by the university. All members of the Socially Responsible Finance Committee will sit on the board of trustees, and will have equal voting rights. All Socially Responsible Finance Committee and Trustee meetings shall be open to the public, and their minutes made accessible electronically through NYU's website. Elections will be held the second Tuesday of every March beginning March 10th 2009, and meetings will be held biweekly beginning the week of March 30th 2009.

8. That the first two orders of business of the Socially Responsible Finance committee will be:
a) An in depth investigation of all investments in war and genocide profiteers, as well as companies profiting from the occupation of Palestinian territories.
b) A reassessment of the recently lifted of the ban on Coca Cola products.

9. That annual scholarships be provided for thirteen Palestinian students, starting with the 2009/2010 academic year. These scholarships will include funding for books, housing, meals and travel expenses.

10. That the university donate all excess supplies and materials in an effort to rebuild the University of Gaza.

11. Tuition stabilization for all students, beginning with the class of 2012. All students will pay their initial tuition rate throughout the course of their education at New York University. Tuition rates for each successive year will not exceed the rate of inflation, nor shall they exceed one percent. The university shall meet 100% of government-calculated student financial need.

12. That student groups have priority when reserving space in the buildings owned or leased by New York University, including, and especially, the Kimmel Center.

13. That the general public have access to Bobst Library.

Along with this, students have issued a

SOLIDARITY STATEMENT

We, the students of Take Back NYU! declare our solidarity with the student [sleepovers] in Greece, Italy, and the United Kingdom, as well as those of the University of Rochester, the New School for Social Research, and with future [sleepovers] to come in the name of democracy and student power. We stand in solidarity with the University of Gaza, and with the people of Palestine.

Late, but written nonetheless.

From the Gentrification Panel in 602 Hamilton:





Speakers came together from different groups and regions of NYC, including: Families United for Racial and Economic Equality (FUREE - Brooklyn), Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence (CAAAV - Chinatown), El Movimiento por Justicia del Barrio (East Harlem), Fabulous Independent Educated Radicals for Community Empowerment (FIERCE), and Community Group 9.

When asked what students can do about gentrification, panelists encouraged outreach to the campus body and, more importantly, interaction with members of the community. Near the end, Victoria Ruiz, one of the hunger strikers, stood up and explained that "this is what we're fighting for."

Students trickled out at about 9 pm, a little before the Q&A session, to begin the nightly vigil. Those who peered out their windows could see candles lit and placed atop the sundial. Supporters gathered in (once again) the piercing cold, their hands gripping the melting wax that tapered into Dixie cups. People walked by, bewildered and confused at these actions. Pausing in front of the banners, three jocks read slogans and laughed loudly amongst themselves.

And so it goes on.

"The Blaaag gets full access," Bryan Mercer remarked as I apologetically pulled out a camera and snapped flash photos of our surroundings. At 11:10 pm, the temperature outside was below 40 deg. F (and dropping), thus stiffening bodies that were already layered in coats and blankets. Strikers and supporters debated spending the night in Malcolm X Lounge due to the cold; before David and I left at 12:30 am, everyone settled on staying outside and began undoing their sleeping bags.

Strewn across the grass were articles for warmth. The third tent held rolled up banners that read: "CORE REFORM"; "THE PEOPLE WILL RULE"; "ETHNIC STUDIES NOW"; "EXPAND WITH RESPECT".

Apart from the unchanging group of hunger strikers, students constantly came in and out to help set up, bring blankets, speak to peers, and crack jokes. Some went onto Facebook with their laptops and phones, making updates and reading messages of encouragement. Discussion ensued about Thursday's rally and the nightly vigils. All in all, the setting was enthusiastic, tense, supportive, aesthetically lacking (one supporter observed "this place looks like a shantytown!"), and hopeful. All of the things one might expect from a first night.

Most importantly, some administrators had informally met with students to plan future negotiations. As compared to the nine days that it took for administrators to speak to students in '96, this step shows unprecedented promise. Such progress that has been set in motion by the strike is exactly what participating students are fighting for. Yet it is one minor change and there will always be room for greater ones.

To learn more on how to help, visit:

• Support the Hunger Strikers! on Facebook
• The blog Columbia Hunger Strike!

Tomorrow, six Columbia students will be participating in a hunger strike advocating demands released on October 31 by an ad-hoc coalition of students and activists.

This moment of escalation is not out of thin air. The issues of ethnic studies, expansion and gentrification, and the Core as well as the administrative struggles that have accompanied these movements have brewed too long with zero recognition from those in power. The time to take action is now.

Of course, The Blaaag has the exclusive on this one. Why? One of our writers is hunger striking, another (me) is helping the support and outreach teams for the strikers, and two more will be working negotiations and outreach for these demands while the strike and further escalation occurs.

Read the demands here. Join the Facebook group. ... and here's the campus media.

Join the strikers and all of us at the Sundial on College Walk at noon tomorrow. Wear blue to show your solidarity. Come to vigils nightly at 9pm also at the Sundial.

At the behest of (the always amazing) Mar and David, I've been asked to describe my experience over the summer as a new board member of the National Asian American Student Conference (NAASCon), a.k.a. my life after (sadly) leaving the hallowed ranks of the AAA board.

NAASCon was founded in 2001 as an organization to network progressive Asian American students across the country, to share in the collective strength of various campaigns and movements in different campuses and communities, and ultimately to host a biennial conference where these goals and principles would culminate. Our board, the fourth in NAASCon's history, took hold of the reins in late June, and we've been at it ever since.

Currently we're finalizing a location for the next conference--somewhere in the South, because it's a region that would definitely benefit from having an Asian American organizing presence--which will be held in the fall of 2008, and there will be more info to follow as it arises. But on a more personal level, I'm thrilled to be a part of it all--as someone who's strongly found my identity and pride as an Asian American in the activism in which I take part, NAASCon represents a way to connect the efforts made at Columbia (along with fellow AAA alum and CC'09er Christina Chen, who's NAASCon's co-chair) to campuses all across the country similarly invested in promoting and fighting for Asian American student empowerment and social justice in the world around us.

There's a lot to be done, however, and much more to say in the future (hopefully a little less narcissistic, too)... so until then, peace. And a very big plug for the Asian American Alliance Political Committee, which is awesome. 'Nuff said.