Dear Professor,

The members of the Occupy Columbia University General Assembly, in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street, are holding a Week of Action beginning Monday, November 14th in the hopes of expanding the dialogue among students, faculty, and the local community over issues such as rising tuition rates, student debt, inequity in salary and benefits among faculty, and the intersections of oppressions (race, class, gender, sexuality, citizenship, and more). This Week of Action, which will take place in many New York City universities (NYU, The New School, CUNY), is organizing around the theme of education as a right rather than a privilege.  

As part of the Week of Action, on  Thursday, November 17 there will be a city-wide student strike and student convergence at Union Square at 3PM. In solidarity with our fellow students, we are encouraging Columbia students to participate as well. We would like to ask you to excuse those who do choose to strike on that day. We also ask you to pledge not to retaliate against any TA or graduate student instructor who chooses to cancel classes or discussion section on that day. For those who do not choose to strike, perhaps you may wish to consider having open discussions about these issues or the movement in class.
 
These are the beginning steps to a better future for our immediate and greater community. We ask professors in solidarity with the movement and the November 17th Student Strike to sign this petition, and by signing to pledge not to penalize students or TA's. We also ask faculty, if they are willing, to include their title and affiliation. Thank you in advance for your support!

Solidarity!
Columbia General Assembly
Occupy Columbia University

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