Students organize for a democratic Yale

EUGENE WONG/YH

Yale Herald: What inspired you to form this union?

Julianna Bentes: When the issue of financial aid reform came to the forefront, I got involved with that. From there it was clear what was happening. Nothing has been done in regard to financial aid, no matter what the YCC has said, no matter how many people have written articles. No matter what has been going on, the Administration has yet to make a coherent response to even let us know that we are being heard. I have come to realize that there was nothing students could do with the way things are structured to get anything done on campus.

Alek Felstiner: When I got here, I was mainly working on issues dealing with Yale-New Haven workers. I felt sympathetic to the concerns of workers at Yale who were fighting to have a democratic voice on the job. It had yet to occur to me that maybe students could do a similar thing.

Cathy De La Aguilera: I'm a freshman. I came here looking at all the different organizations, and I wanted to see how I could make a difference. In all the organizations I went to, there was the same problem. They tried to change something and it failed because Yale wouldn't listen to them.

YH: Often the issues that get a lot of attention on campus are "small issues," like soap dispensers in the bathrooms, two-ply toilet paper, or the choice of Spring Fling band. Are these the type of projects the YCC should focus on in lieu of focusing on more weighty problems?

Andrew Allison: I think that the student government should be addressing pertinent issues, regardless of size. If there is a demand for soap in the bathrooms, we should be addressing it. If there is a demand for increased financial aid options, we should be addressing it. The student government has the resources to tackle all of these issues simultaneously. It should be soliciting the input and the help and the resources of other groups that have similar interests.

YH: What are some specific tactics that should be used to increase student power?

AA: I think a lot of the Administration's decisions aren't made public. The groups that have a stake in these issues should be writing editorials and letters, and definitely protesting if necessary. We shouldn't just have one person arguing for something in a student body of 5,000.

AF: Rather than emphasizing particular interests, we have attempted to deal with the imbalance of power between student groups and the Administration. Students have no say in what goes on here. That's the thing that we're able to find in common, between Yale Dancers, environmental coalitions, social justice groups: our voices aren't listened to. If we consolidate our power, it makes an expression of student support more effective, because it comes from a stronger base.

Nicolette Franck: The idea is to get more power and to help the YCC and all undergrads try to voice that democratic power. We want to be heard by the Administration, and be taken seriously, and include the community and the other unions to make Yale better live up to its reputation.

YH: There is a vocal conservative minority on this campus, and it appears that you will be addressing mostly progressive issues. Will your union alienate certain groups who like things the way they are?

JB: We actually have several conservative members in our ranks, people who oppose having abortion covered in the Yale Health Plan. We have a lot of clergy members who tend to be pretty conservative as well. The issue is not what the specific issues addressed are, but the fact that we have had no means of addressing them.

YH: Would you say that one of your goals is to create negative publicity for Yale?

JB: No. The reason that we're willing to put so much energy into this is that we love Yale. It's not about creating negative publicity, it's about getting Yale to live up to its name. Yale is amazing. It could be even better.

YH: Do other comparable schools have these problems?

JB: Nearly every other Ivy League school has students, faculty, workers, and community members on its board. Actual administration members are in the minority. Students get input on the budget plans. They have voting power. That just doesn't happen here.

YH: You have referred to yourself as a student "union." Are there any labor union tactics that you plan to employ?

Cathy: I think that the main union model is based upon reaching out to people and organizing together. What we are trying to do is reach out to all of the undergraduates and let them know what's going on, and like the union model, pay attention to what the other student groups are doing and make a coalition with them.

YH: How has the YCC responded to the student union movement?

AA: We've been looking at ways of motivating students towards common goals and increasing student [input]. Anything that brings students together will be well-received by the YCC. I can't speak for everyone on the YCC, but I think we all look forward to seeing how this plays out.

YH: How do you predict that University President Richard Levin, GRD '74, will receive your group?

AF: Judging from previous experience, I assume that he is going to respond negatively. He thinks that a 17-member corporation is the best way to run the University. We hope that by demonstrating a degree of student support, we can make him reconsider his viewpoint.

CD: With this united front, we hope that he will see very quickly how it is in everybody's best interest to see what we have to say.

YH: Are there larger implications to this imbalance of power between the students and the Administration?

AF: There are numerous Yale graduates holding political office on the national level. Yale is providing such a poor model of democracy. I have no idea how they plan to develop democratic leaders.

JB: When Yale first incorporated itself, its mission was to create the leaders of the country. That's still the rhetoric, but the only people who have any ability to act as leaders are people on the board.

YH: Yale has been the way that it is for 300 years. It is a multibillion dollar corporation. What makes you think that you can change anything?

NF: Yale claims to be one of the top academic institutions in the world. So far, being here, all I've seen is that it invests in research, but it really doesn't live up to academic standards in terms of pleasing its students. Other Ivy League schools have a student voice. The other schools have students really involved with the administration. If Yale doesn't change, it's eventually going to become widely known that students have no voice here. There is going to be a backlash, and it's going to happen soon.

AF: It's going to happen next year, when top students start applying to colleges and wonder which school is going to offer them the best financial aid package. It won't be Yale.

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