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DIRECT DEMOCRACY ON CAMPUS!

DIRECT DEMOCRACY ON CAMPUS!. Holding Departmental or Faculty General Assemblies & Creating Departmental or Faculty Associations. Presented at “Organise2013,” SOAS, London. November 1, 2012. http://organise2013.wordpress.com / (accessed Nov. 1, 2012).

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DIRECT DEMOCRACY ON CAMPUS!

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  1. DIRECT DEMOCRACY ON CAMPUS! Holding Departmental or Faculty General Assemblies & Creating Departmental or Faculty Associations Presented at “Organise2013,” SOAS, London. November 1, 2012. http://organise2013.wordpress.com/ (accessed Nov. 1, 2012).

  2. The department or faculty General Assembly: • is directly democratic as it allows everyone to express themselves and have an equal say; • provides local sovereignty for the departmental association; • is an open space for discussion and debate at the local level; • can be called at any time by an association or through petition from membership. Mobilising from the Grassroots

  3. more effective, democratic and participatory than centralized structures. • departments are where people spend most of their time, working and meeting with people in their discipline. • the formation of a mobilised and ideally militant departmental association built upon principles of direct democracy is a very powerful tool, particularly when departments organise together. Why the Departmental Level?

  4. Form a Mobilization Squad (MobSquad); • Start with 1-3 people and be open to growth/participation; • Hold regular MobSquad meetings leading up to GA; • Mobilize for General Assembly; • Get email addresses of all students in department; • Make calendar of all department classes; • Visit every class leading up to GA; • Flyering, postering, banner drops, information desk; • Create facebook group for department. Mobilize for a General Assembly

  5. Class visits and personal discussions • When making class visits to announce the GA, stress why this event is important for students in the department. • Some students will find the prospect of coming together as a department appealing, while others will want to start taking action on (inter-)national issues. • Take time to have one-on-one discussions with people about the GA. It will be a new concept to many, so it will require patient discussion. • Ask questions rather than impose views. For example, how do you feel about the tuition hikes? About austerity? What do you think about a department-wide GA? Mobilize for a General Assembly

  6. Class visits and personal discussions • When making class visits to announce the GA, stress why this event is important for students in the department. • Some students will find the prospect of coming together as a department appealing, while others will want to start taking action on (inter-)national issues. • Take time to have one-on-one discussions with people about the GA. It will be a new concept to many, so it will require patient discussion. • Ask questions rather than impose views. For example, how do you feel about the tuition hikes? About austerity? What do you think about a department-wide GA? Mobilize for a General Assembly

  7. It is very important to thoroughly plan GAs. Things you will need: • Chair/facilitator • Minute-taker • Mood watcher (can interject to insure mood of meeting is positive) • Agenda (printed for those attending or posted on a projector) • Motions (clearly worded motions of action) • DO NOT get discouraged if turnout is low at GAs. The key is to create the structure and to keep holding them. Holding a General Assembly

  8. Appointment of facilitator, minute taker (and mood checker, if possible) • Explaining meeting and voting procedures • Reading and approval of the agenda • Presentation from external speaker(s) • Discussion, committee of the whole (with clear time cap) • Discussion of presentation and current conjuncture (ex. austerity measures, tuition increase, program closure, etc.) • Creation of committee for writing of by-laws • Motions (often comes out of the discussions) • Next GA • Adjournment Example of GA Agenda

  9. General Assemblies will fail in the long-run unless they are institutionalized. This is critical!! • There are three ways of institutionalizing departmental or faculty-level GAs: • By-laws and constitution first: the mob squad drafts a set of by-laws, consulting membership regularly before adopting final version in a GA. • Through a general assembly: acommittee is voted on to write the by-laws and constitution and present at the next GA. An interim executive (a group of people) is also voted to carry out tasks voted at the GA until the by-laws are adopted and a formal association is created. • Through a petition: this method is mostly used for calling a GA when an association already exists but when they are so called “party associations,” meaning they are either a-political or captured by particular interests. • Details on each of these approaches are available in the document “Creating Departmental or Faculty Associations.” http://organise2013.wordpress.com/ (last accessed Nov. 1, 2012). Creating an Association

  10. This document simply contains suggestions. Please adapt or alter these suggestions to suit your circumstances. • For more information: organise2013.wordpress.com • Email: organise2013@gmail.com • Facebook: organise2013 (page) • Email discussion group: to join email uk-student-syndicalism@googlegroups.com • Twitter: @organise2013 Thank you!

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