[Pnews] Black Students United at Cornell Calls for Prison Divestment

[Prisoner News]

  Black Students United Calls for Prison Divestment
  <http://cornellsun.com/2015/11/10/black-students-united-calls-for-prison-divestment/>

November 10, 2015
*http://cornellsun.com/2015/11/10/black-students-united-calls-for-prison-divestment/ 
*<http://cornellsun.com/2015/11/10/black-students-united-calls-for-prison-divestment/#comments> 


*By ZACHARY SILVER*

Twelve students from Black Students United — a student-run umbrella 
organization representing the interests of black Cornellians — entered 
President Elizabeth Garrett’s office Tuesday to submit a letter 
outlining demands for the University to divest its endowment from 
interests based in prisons and mass incarceration.

The letter launches the group’s public campaign to fight Cornell’s 
involvement with organizations related to the “violence of the prison 
industry and mass incarceration,” according to BSU.

“Black students at Cornell and those on campuses across the world have a 
history of holding their universities accountable,” said Amber Aspinall 
’17, political action chair of BSU. “We will continue that tradition.”

In their letter, BSU outlined four major demands of the University. They 
insist that the University cease investments in companies that include 
Corrections Corporation of America, GEO Group Inc. and G4S USA Secure 
Solution; no longer use the G4S security system in the Herbert F. 
Johnson Museum of Art; issue an official University statement on 
Cornell’s involvement with the private prison industry and grant 
organizers a meeting with the University’s Investment Committee.

“We very cordially invite President Garrett, as well as the rest of the 
administration and any interested trustees to help build this very 
important dialogue on campus regarding the private prison industry and 
the prison industrial complex,” said Robert Johnson ’17, a BSU political 
action member.

Highlighting Cornell’s prior involvement with apartheid South Africa and 
JanSport, the letter stated concerns that Cornell’s decision to invest 
in organizations related to prisons and mass incarceration creates 
discomfort for students.

“What we want to know — and what many students, faculty and community 
members want to know — is where our policymakers stand on this issue and 
what common ground we can find to ensure that Cornell’s relationship 
with the criminal justice system is one that truly reflects the values 
and spirit of this University,” Johnson said.

The BSU movement at Cornell was inspired by a similar movement at 
Columbia University, where student activists successfully campaigned for 
the university to become the first college in the United States to 
divest from private prison companies, according to the letter.

“We hope you join us in extending our sincerest congratulations to the 
student activists at Columbia for their dedication, passion and skilled 
organizing,” the letter reads.

While Garrett was not on campus at the time of the letter drop, BSU 
activists cite her inauguration address as a positive indication that 
she will be open to working towards progress, according to the letter.

“Among your most salient words, however, was your call on Cornell to be 
‘radical and progressive,’” the letter says. “We are prepared to answer 
that call. We hope that you are as well.”

BSU is requesting a response from the University by Nov. 23, and hopes 
that a response will increase transparency on the issue of private 
prison investments, according to Abraham Araya ’19, a BSU political 
action member.

“Private prisons turn black lives into commodities,” said Delmar Fears 
’19, a freshman representative. “I don’t want to attend a university 
that says they support and welcome black students, while reaping the 
profits from a corrupt system that disproportionately disenfranchises 
the black community. They can’t say and do both; something has to change.”

-- 
Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 
863.9977 www.freedomarchives.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/ppnews_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20151113/458a2c7f/attachment.htm>