About 15 people sat in a circle with blank expressions on their faces.

Mary Rose Go, a program assistant for Democratizing Knowledge at Syracuse University, read and sang a poem about her culture. During and after the poem, those in the circle collectively snapped their fingers and waved their hands as a sign of appreciation and support.

The poem was a part of the “Radical Readout” portion of THE General Body’s two-day “Teach In To Act Out” held Friday and Saturday at the Community Folk Art Center, located at 805 E. Genesee St. Over the course of the two days, panels on student and community activism and intersectionality, along with keynote speakers and performances took place.

THE General Body staged an 18-day sit-in in Crouse-Hinds Hall in November 2014 to protest topics listed in the group’s 45-page list of grievances and demands. After the group of protesters left Crouse-Hinds on Nov. 20, organizers of the movement looked to increase its campus presence as it moved into “Phase Two.”

Ben Kuebrich, a graduate student in the composition and cultural rhetoric program and a member of THE General Body, said more than 300 people came to the teach-in at some point during the weekend. Attendees included students, faculty and staff, members of the SU community as well as students from the University of Rochester and Hamilton College. Kuebrich said there were more than 120 people at the keynote events on both nights.

During the readout, attendees shared poems and other written works, some original and some from outside authors. Works varied from poems about experiences during and after the 18-day sit-in to how “revolution is beautiful.”

“Eighteen days of power and resistance,” a poem read. “We only stand for a few and go against the masses.”

A roundtable on community activism followed the readout on Saturday. Representatives from the Workers’ Center of Central New York, National Action Network and Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation served as panelists, among others.

During the roundtable, Walt Dixie of the National Action Network discussed how it’s important to work together to attack issues and how patience is key.

“Change is a slow process,” Dixie said. “It’s always the seed you plant, not necessarily the seed you cultivate.”

Roundtable members talked about the importance of educating others and themselves as activists and learning “from those who came before you.”

Nick Holzthum, a sophomore information management and technology major and member of THE General Body, served as a moderator for the roundtable and said he thought it touched on many important lessons including coalition building and intersectionality.

Valerie Rodriguez, a 2014 SU alumna, is a volunteer at the Workers’ Center of Central New York and decided to go to the panel because she said it was a valuable experience.

“It’s just something that’s really important to me as a person and as an activist. It’s things that matter to me and should matter to other people,” she said. “It’s refreshing and it’s good to hear other peoples’ opinions and the work they’ve been doing and what they’re striving for.”

Liora Sanchez-Villegas, a senior English and textual studies major, said the teach-in was “mind-blowing and refreshing.”

Sanchez-Villegas said the teach-in also taught her about issues that she wasn’t aware of before, including what people with disabilities go through. She added that by attending, she felt like she was making an impact and by taking what she learned at the teach-in, she would be able to educate others.

Kuebrich, one of the members of THE General Body, said the conversation during the teach-in was an important one to have. At times, the discussions were complicated, but he said all of it happened in a productive way.

“I’m excited about the level of conversation,” Kuebrich said. “It was like a two-day conversation about all of us understanding how to create spaces that include everyone, everyone’s interests, everyone’s goals, everyone’s identities.”

By growing stronger together, Kuebrich said THE General Body will be able to achieve “whatever we decide to take on.”

It remains unclear, however, what Phase Two is for THE General Body.

Kuebrich said the teach-in is part of what Phase Two is, but said the group will first have to figure out exactly what it wants to work on specifically and will go through a democratic process to do so.

“We have to think about what our internal work is too and so the sit-in was this bringing together of groups and we had a lot of time in the sit-in to start really understanding each other, but there was more work on that to do and that’s a big part of what the teach-in did,” Kuebrich said.

He added that the group always knew Phase Two was about expanding from just student groups to faculty and community members, and said the teach-in was productive in that it provided that interaction.

Kuebrich said a meeting this week will help determine if and when there will be another teach-in and what issues the group will focus on. He said the group will continue to pursue issues that “weren’t touched during the sit-in.

Said Rodriguez, an alumna who attended the teach-in: “I feel like this kind of event is something that needed to be done a long time ago and I’m glad that it’s happening and hopefully they do it again soon.”

 

Published on February 1, 2015 at 11:01 pm

Contact Justin: jmatting@syr.edu | @jmattingly306