Support Antonio Ruiz, GEO Officer Elections, and More!
Table of Contents:
Events:
General Membership Meeting: Thursday, April 22, 5:30-6:30 PM CDT & Officer Elections on the Horizon!
Practicing Abolitionist Unionism: Wednesday, April 28, 6:00-7:30 PM CDT
"La Gente Antes que la Deuda: Reflections from Puerto Rico's 2017 Student Strike": Friday, April 30, 5:00 PM CDT
Announcements:
Support Antonio Ruiz, Grad Student Unfairly Dismissed!
Celebrate and take action for Earth Week 2021
Announcements
Support Antonio Ruiz, Grad Student Unfairly Dismissed!
Image Description: Orange-red flyer has the heading, "CALL TO ACTION" in black text on an orange box with a white megaphone with the GEO logo to its right. Below, text reads: "Join GEO in emailing & calling the University of Illinois Administration to demand the immediate reinstatement of Antonio Ruiz and to call on the University to launch an investigatory review into the unjust treatment that led to his student discipline". The following text is accompanied by an email icon and paper and pencil icon: "EMAIL TEMPLATE: https://tinyurl.com/Antonio-Email-Campaign. SIGN THE PETITION: https://www.change.org/Reinstate-Antonio-Ruiz". The bottom of the poster reads "REINSTATE ANTONIO RUIZ" in black text on an orange background.
After the petition calling for the reinstatement of Ivor Chen went viral in February, the GEO called for an investigation into unfair student discipline and the circumstances that lead to Ivor Chen’s wholly disproportionate discipline and the denial of his appeal. After a groundswell of support, the University ‘re-evaluated’ Ivor Chen’s discipline and reinstated him to the University, but ignored calls for an investigation.
Now, in April, another graduate student has been caught in the University’s opaque and unfair disciplinary system. Antonio Ruiz is a graduate student in the Math department who was medically incapable of complying with the University’s testing requirements on a consistent basis. After being put on probation in October for testing non-compliance, Antonio was not given any medical accommodations for COVID-19 testing, and fell out of compliance again in the Spring semester. While originally charged for COVID-19 testing non-compliance, this charge was not included in Antonio’s final disciplinary letter. Instead, he has been dismissed from the University for ‘providing false or misleading information,’ though the only case where Antonio provided misleading information was when he accidentally changed his student address instead of his mailing address, and this was discussed only briefly during his disciplinary hearing.
Please join the GEO in demanding the University fully reinstate Antonio Ruiz to the University of Illinois!
Sign the petition: https://www.change.org/Reinstate-Antonio-Ruiz.
Participate in the email campaign: https://tinyurl.com/Antonio-Email-Campaign
Celebrate and take action for Earth Week 2021
Image Description: Teal and blue flyer with large, green text that reads “Earth Week 2021” at the top. Also at the top is white text that reads “Students for Environmental Concerns Presents” and below the header, “Coming together to heal our sick planet: April 17th - 23rd.”
In the body of the flyer, dates and event information is provided for each day of the week. At the bottom is additional text that mentions “Week-long environmental challenges” as well as a “list of event sponsors. Cartoon graphics of an anthropomorphized heart with arms hugs a globe with legs at the button of the flyer.
Join Students for Environmental Concerns (SECS) for a week of actions and activities in celebration of Earth Week! See the flyer below for the schedule of events, and checkout the SECS Facebook page for more information.
Events
General Membership Meeting: Thursday, April 22, 5:30-6:30 PM & Officer Elections on the horizon!
During this week’s GMM (4/22 @ 5:30PM), candidates who wish to run for GEO officer positions will be invited to speak, share their goals, and request to be added to the ballot. This is always an important visioning moment for the GEO, so don’t miss out! RSVP for the GMM HERE!
If you are interested in running for an officer position, email geo@uigeo.org with your name, picture and a short blurb describing who you are and why you want to run. These will be added to the electronic ballot that will be sent to the general membership. Here is a list and description of each officer position up for election. Any member can run for any position.
We will also be voting on a change to our constitution for the next academic year. The proposed change to the constitution allows Officers-at-Large to run as Co-Officers-at-Large. This proposed change to the GEO Constitution is designed to increase collaboration on the projects that officers-at-large are working on. This change mirrors the co-officer structure of other Coordinating Committee positions and represents GEO’s vision to “foster a sense of community among graduate employees.” The full text of the amendment can be found here, with edits in red.
Practicing Abolitionist Unionism: Wednesday, April 28, 6:00-7:30 PM CDT
Image Description: In a grey background, black birds descend on a razor-wire fence and begin to dismantle it. In the foreground, bold yellow text reads "Graduate Employees' Organization Presents; Practicing Abolitionist Unionism." Below that is black text with a yellow background with event details. The event will occur April 28th, 2021 from 6-7:30pm CST. Register using this link www.tinyurl.com/abolitionistunionism. This is followed by more details which read "Why should labor unions be concerned with the project of abolition? This event brings together grad workers from across the country to explore this question, and share experiences, challenges, and questions abolition and its relationship to social justice unions. All union members are invited to join the conversation!"
Why should labor unions be concerned with the project of abolition? This event brings together grad workers from across the country to explore this question, and share experiences, challenges, and questions about abolition and its relationship to social justice and unions. All union members are invited to join the conversation! Register to join at www.tinyurl.com/AbolitionistUnionism and follow along with the event on Facebook.
“"La Gente Antes que la Deuda: Reflections from Puerto Rico's 2017 Student Strike": Friday, April 30, 5:00 PM CDT
Image Description: Flyer says in large white text "La Gente Antes que la Deuda” against a black and white background of grass and trees. Below it reads “Reflections Reflections from Puerto Rico's 2017 Student Strike" against a picture with a velvet sepia tone with hundreds of Puerto Rican students protesting in front of the main gate entrance of the Rio Piedras Campus of the University of Puerto Rico. One student is holding a Puerto Rican flag while standing on one of the gates. At the bottom is GEO’s logo and reads “Sign up at: TINYURL.COM/UPRSTRIKE17; 5pm CDT, 6 pm EST, 30th April.”
Please register here. and our Facebook event can be found here.
In 2017, the students of the University of Puerto Rico led a 72 day strike against the nearly 500 million dollar budget cut that the colonial Oversight Board demanded of the University. Join Verónica Figueroa-Huertas, Gabriel Casal-Nazario, Gabriel Díaz-Rivera and our very own GEO member, Karla Sanabria-Véaz, in this interactive talk on how a movement of thousands of students changed the resistance of an entire country. The talk will focus specifically on the communication, organization, mobilization and negotiation practices of students strikers. You can use the following templates to invite your students, colleagues, and friends.
The event is also a fundraiser to pay for the legal defense of some of the speakers who are still being unjustly processed for their political activism in the strike. You can donate via Venmo at @gabriel-diaz-139 or PayPal via paypal.me/vhuertas12. This event has been possible thanks to the financial support of our amazing union. For more information about the event, reach out to Karla at officer2@uigeo.org ¡Ni pa Buitres, ni Corruptos, la UPR es nuestra y punto!
In Solidarity,
Graduate Employees’ Organization
809 S. 5th St., Geneva Room
Champaign, IL 61820
Email: geo@uigeo.org