COMMUNITY COALITION TO SAVE HOSTOS

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MARCH TO SAVE HOSTOS

May 10 at 10:30 A.M.
From 116th Street and Lexington Ave.

Demonstrate at:.. EMERGENCY FINANCIAL CONTROL
BOARD

56th Street and 6th Avenue

1:00 P.M.



History of a Struggle

What is Hostos Community College?

Hostos is a community college, located in the
South Bronx, which serves a 98% minority
student body, 55% of which are Latin Americans
(Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, etc.) taking English
as their second language. This is the only bilingual
college in the east coast of the United States and
one of two, in the whole country, to serve the
Spanish speaking population that would not,
otherwise, have an opportunity to get a higher
education and learn English. Adults of over 25
years of age compose 51% of the student body.
Hostos Community College operates at less than
1% of the entire City University of New York
(CUNY) budget.

How the college came to be?

In 1968, demonstrations, hearings, and direct
pressure was put on the Board of Higher
Education (BHE) to dramatize the need to have a
bilingual college in New York City. There was a
need for the young adults to have the opportunity
to get a better education and meaningful
employment. It was two years of this continued
mass mobilization which forced the BHE to
consider and ultimately decide on Hostos
Comr unity College.

Ficstos Community College and the new
Lincoin Hospital were visualized as part of a
complex to provide education, employment and
health care to the South Bronx. Hostos would
provide education, particularly bilingual and in
the health services field, Lincoln Hospital the jobs
and the services. The existence of both
institutions depended on each other.

Hostos began operating in September 1970.
Today, Hostos is in line for closing and the new
Lincoln Hospital is operating at one third its
potential. In the process, thousands of jobs,
services and educated people are lost.

What is the Kibbee Plan?

The Kibbee Plan, named after Chancellor
Kibbee for having been the originator of the same,
proposes two things:

—Elimination through mergers of certain schools
(including Hostos)
—Imposition of admission criteria for students

The three minority representatives members of
the Board of Higher Education saw clearly what
the proposal meant and casted their votes (the
only votes) against said proposal which, in turn,
lead to the resignation of Franklyn Williams, vice
chairman of BHE, one of the three that voted
against it.

Along with the Kibbee Plan, there is a proposal
at the BHE that, if approved, would eliminate free
tuition, a policy in existence in this city for the
past 127 years.

What does this mean to Hostos
and the community?

The closing of Hostos is the beginning of a
devious plan that will eventually wipe out
education from our future and our children’s
future. Closing Hostos is the wedge that they need
to open the way for the complete elimination of
what already are poor services in minority and
poor communities. It is blatant discrimination
against Latins and Blacks, and an outright denial
of our democratic right to an education.

The closing of Hostos means taking away these
same services which were planned and never came
about. The education and health complex were not
given a chance. It meas a loss for those adults who
wanted and needed a first, and for many a last,
chance at a meaningful education.

It means the end of a bilingual education for
those who need it, something that will not exist at
Bronx Community College.

The Kibbee Plan also proposes to merge Staten
Island Community College with Richmond
College, to lower Medgar Evers College
heavily minority populated college—from a 3-year
senior college toa 2-year junior college. No matter
which way you look at it or where the cuts are
made, the effect will be the same: the denial of
education to the people who really need it.

Ultimately, it means that most of the displaced
student body will be lost with no place to go or
study and will return to the streets.

What is the Community Coalition to save Hostos?

The Community Coalition to Save Hostos
originated out of an Hostos student coalition
which made a call to all organizations and
individuals within the college and in the
community, to unite in order to struggle to save
this very important institution.

This move became necessary when it became
obvious that the college administration, led by its
president Candido de Leén, would not take any
serious steps to save the college. That, in fact, De
Leon was selling out the college and the
community because of his interest in becoming
president of Bronx Community College, a much
larger institution.

The Community Coalition to Save Hostos is
presently composed of 14 organizations ranging
from the Hostos Student Government to the
community churches. We have received support
from people such as Congressman Herman
Badillo, Bishop Moore, State Assemblyman Sy
Posner, State Senators Bob Garcia and Joseph
Galiber, Manhattan Boro President Percy Sutton
and many others.

The Coalition upholds the position set forth by
Eugenio Maria de Hostos, the great educator and
Puerto Rican patriot (after whom the college was
named), to struggle and fight for the right to an
education.

What is the Community Coalition
doing to save Hostos? /

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We launched a campaign which is geared at
informing the community of the situation at
Hostos. A number of demonstrations have been
held at the school, in the community and at the
enemy camp (Kibbee’s home, city Hall, etc.). The
Board of Higher Education was taken over on

March 12th in order to set forth our demands:
Save Hostos, Medgar Evers
Save open admission
Save free tuition
On March after exhausting all other
alternatives, Hostos Community College was
taken over in order to use the resources of the
college to save it, something which had been
refused by the Administration.
We demanded:
1. Save Hostos
2. Restoration of open admission
3. Assured permanence of free tuition
4. No more cuts in our budget, reinstatement
of funds eliminated from the college’s budget
5. No mergers of any CUNY unit

For 19 days we held the school opened to the
community. We attempted to continue the
educational process, something openly sabotaged
by the Administration.

On Monday, April 12, the takeover ended when
40 people were arrested in the school, which
sparked spontaneous mass demonstrations imme-
diately following the arrests, from the colleges to
the Bronx Ciminal Court.

Who is our enemy?,

We know that our main enemy, at this moment,
is the Emergency Financial Control Board, a
conglomeration of bankers, industrialists and
financiers who are, today, an unelected govern-
ment controlling our lives. These people imple-
ment absurd economic policy in an extremely
racist fashion. The results are cutbacks affecting
Black, Latin and poor communitiee,such_as in
Hostos Community College;iedgar Evers, the
closing of Fordham and Morrisania Hospitals, the
firing of thousands of city workers, etc.

What can you do?

—You can support the Community Coalition
through the distribution of our literature,
financial or material donations.

—Write letters of support for Hostos to the
Emergency Financial Control Board.

—Join the Coalition and do active work
—Participate in our activities.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: 585-4310