Demand Amnesty for the Protestors
Item
STUDENTS OFFERED TO RESUME
CLASSES AND PRESIDENT HARLESTON
REFUSED.
The City College Administration has refused to grant amnesty to the
students who have occupied the NAC building in order to save public
education. The students occupying the building came to a decision carly
Tuesday morning that they would leave by 3:00 Tuesday afternoon. ‘The
students understood that this was-the only way to_insure that the entire
semester would not be canceled for everyone. ‘The only thing that the
students asked from administration was to lift the suspensions and stop
threatening expulsion of students who have been acting out of a deep desire
to save the CUNY system for all students and the future generations of our
communities. President Harleston , by denying any amnesty, has refused to
allow students to end the occupations quickly and peacefully in order to
move on to other ways of fighting for the right of education. Instead of
acting in the best interest of the City University system, he has abandoncd
his position of neutrality and taken the side of Governor Cuomo and the
most reactionary clements in our society. He has acted against the studcnts
of CUNY by encouraging a tiny minority of "counter demonstrators", and
suspending protesting students.
DO NOT LET HARLESTON SEND THE POLICE!!!
SUPPORT YOURSELF BY SUPPORTING THE CUNY STRIKE!!!
CALL ADMINISTRATION RIGHT AWAY! DEMAND
AMNESTY FOR THE PROTESTORS!
President Harleston: 650-7285, 7286
Vice President Mac Donald: 650-5426
CLASSES AND PRESIDENT HARLESTON
REFUSED.
The City College Administration has refused to grant amnesty to the
students who have occupied the NAC building in order to save public
education. The students occupying the building came to a decision carly
Tuesday morning that they would leave by 3:00 Tuesday afternoon. ‘The
students understood that this was-the only way to_insure that the entire
semester would not be canceled for everyone. ‘The only thing that the
students asked from administration was to lift the suspensions and stop
threatening expulsion of students who have been acting out of a deep desire
to save the CUNY system for all students and the future generations of our
communities. President Harleston , by denying any amnesty, has refused to
allow students to end the occupations quickly and peacefully in order to
move on to other ways of fighting for the right of education. Instead of
acting in the best interest of the City University system, he has abandoncd
his position of neutrality and taken the side of Governor Cuomo and the
most reactionary clements in our society. He has acted against the studcnts
of CUNY by encouraging a tiny minority of "counter demonstrators", and
suspending protesting students.
DO NOT LET HARLESTON SEND THE POLICE!!!
SUPPORT YOURSELF BY SUPPORTING THE CUNY STRIKE!!!
CALL ADMINISTRATION RIGHT AWAY! DEMAND
AMNESTY FOR THE PROTESTORS!
President Harleston: 650-7285, 7286
Vice President Mac Donald: 650-5426
Title
Demand Amnesty for the Protestors
Description
This City College memorandum was a call for supporters of the CUNY strike to contact President Harleston and Vice President Mac Donald and "demand amnesty for the [CCNY] protestors." The document explained that the students who had taken over the North Academic Center (NAC) building at City College had decided to leave the building to ensure that the entire semester wouldn't be canceled. Despite this decision the threat of expulsion or suspension of those who had participated had not been lifted by the college administration.
In 1991 a city-wide student coalition worked in solidarity with one another to fight for the right to an education and against austerity or tuition increases. Strikes, demonstrations, teach-ins, and the takeovers of multiple buildings across campuses were among the protest tactics used. The demands included a call for Chancellor W. Ann Reynold's resignation, the elimination of tuition, no state cuts to education, and student seats on multiple CUNY committees. The protestors also called for a restructuring of the CUNY Board of Trustees and implementing a progressive state tax structure.
In 1991 a city-wide student coalition worked in solidarity with one another to fight for the right to an education and against austerity or tuition increases. Strikes, demonstrations, teach-ins, and the takeovers of multiple buildings across campuses were among the protest tactics used. The demands included a call for Chancellor W. Ann Reynold's resignation, the elimination of tuition, no state cuts to education, and student seats on multiple CUNY committees. The protestors also called for a restructuring of the CUNY Board of Trustees and implementing a progressive state tax structure.
The 1991 CUNY strikes were part of the larger story of austerity measures imposed on New York City and the community efforts to resist those measures. On April 16th, students mainly from the Graduate Center Anthropology PhD program occupied the Graduate Center in solidarity with a broader undergraduate mobilization across CUNY against the threat of steep tuition hikes, massive budget cuts, and faculty layoffs. What began as a one-day strike turned into a ten-day take-over in which students and faculty practiced forms of participatory democracy, discussed the root causes of the austerity problems being faced, and debated actions for change. Students often drew on CUNY’s history as the premier urban, public institution of higher education in the United States to argue that education was a right and that the proposed measures threatened working-class New Yorkers' ability to receive an education.
Contributor
McCaffrey, Katherine
Creator
City College
Date
1991 (Circa)
Language
English
Rights
Copyrighted
Source
McCaffrey, Katherine
City College. Letter. 1991. “Demand Amnesty for the Protestors”, 1991, CUNY DIGITAL HISTORY ARCHIVE, accessed March 10, 2026, https://stephenz.tailc22a4b.ts.net/s/cdha/item/1702