Tent State presents varied demands list

By Mike New, The Daily Targum (Rutgers University), April 14, 2005

Although its destination will be the green grass of Voorhees Mall next Monday, Tent State University made a brief pit stop on the steps of Brower Commons on the College Avenue campus yesterday to announce the coalition which will make up the heart of the mock university.

More than 55 University and local organizations are now committed to supporting Tent State, several of which made statements, including Latinos Unidos en Poder, the Italian Club, Rutgers Against the War and the National Organization for Women.

Graduate student Robert Negron, a former executive board member of LUEP, said there was little hesitation from the members as to whether or not to help.

"We feel by helping Tent State, we are bringing the organization back to its roots," Negron said.

LUEP will be most involved in the week through its Sweatshop Fashion Show but will also help with the day-to-day running of the event, "any way we can," Negron said.

While all the members of the coalition support the general message of Tent State -- for funding for higher education -- each club had its own reasons for joining as well.

For example, the Italian Club is looking to ensure the future of the foreign studies curriculums.

"These programs are our windows on the world and allow the students to be able to learn about our neighbors, near and far," the club said in a statement yesterday. "In today's world, we need to be opening new doors and not closing them."

RAW, as its name suggests, is looking for an end to the war in Iraq, which it feels is receiving money that could be supporting the University.

Still, different viewpoints don't bother Xavier Hansen, who runs the public relations committee for Tent State.

"At its core, [it] is a place for free expressions," Hansen said. "We make room for everyone, even groups that are overlooked and disregarded."

Besides the groups that spoke yesterday, the coalition also includes: the American Association of University Professors, the Bisexual, Gay and Lesbian Alliance at Rutgers University, the Graduate Student Association, the Livingston College Governing Association, the New Jersey Public Interest and Research Group and the Women's Center Defense Coalition.

Along with that list, Tent State organizers also released a list of their demands.

In it, Tent State seeks commitment to higher education from both the federal and state governments, an intervention in the rise of tuition and changes in the spending of government funds. From the University, Tent States demands a fair and equal community.

As part of that, it is requesting a student representative to vote on the Board of Governors, a termination of the exclusive beverage contract, an end of unlimited military recruitment in high school and college and improvements to the size and locations of the Women's Center and the Center for Latino Arts and Culture, among other things.