nmsu groundup 8.28.13 (revision2).pdf

8/13/2019 NMSU GroundUp 8.28.13 (revision2).pdf

1/8


2/8

2 The GroundUp

Tis is the second issue of Te GroundUp. Weare an independent publication of criticism,analysis, culture and politics. While the paperis a brainchild of Aggie Solidarity, it is not thatorganizations mouthpiece and the work and opi-nions included are those solely of the individualauthors. Material is generated by the staff andalso by contributors who submit material. TeGroundUp aims to be:

1) Critical - In our view, there are enough me-dia outlets that repeat and celebrate the viewso authority figures. Tere are enough thathide behind the idea o journalistic objectivi-

ty to avoid uncomortable issues and voicingdissent. Tere are enough that produce inanecontent to satisy and perpetuate the consu-mer demand or garbage. We believe there is anecessity or unrelentingly critical voices bothlocally and in the world at large, and we aim tobe one o those voices. In short, our aim is aruthless criticism o everything existing.*

2) Radical- In order to carry out a valid criti-cism, we recognize the necessity o going to theroot (the radical) o the problems we choose toaddress. Radicalism, ar rom a cultish dogma-tism, requires theoretical and analytical toolsthat allow us to see through the og, past strawman arguments and build a ramework or un-derstanding the world as it truly works as wellas what must be done to build a better one. TeGroundUp is committed to ostering a radicalconsciousness in our community.

3) Sound, accurate and open- We aim to beaccurate in our use o acts, figures and state-

The GroundUp points of principle

Tis is a business organization.-Garrey Carruthers on NMSU athletics (rom the Sun-News, August 25)

I you are not aware o the firestorm (it really amounted to an exchange ocondescending letters and an online petition, but exaggeration is a journalistictradition) that was set off over athletics unding last semester, here is what youneed to get up to date:

Te controversy erupted when then-president-in-waiting Garrey Carruthers

stated in a orum that he would consider dropping the ootball team to a lower,non-bowl-eligible division (Carruthers also proceeded to use bogus inorma-tion and belittle students in response to a question about athletics unding. Helater backtracked about dropping down a division and also admitted to mis-representing the acts on the unding issue.). Apparently, the outcry rom Ag-gie ootball ans was so great that Board o Regents head Mike Cheney elt itnecessary to pen a letter pledging unwavering support or top-notch ootballat NMSU and also taking shots at anyone who dares to question university ad-ministration. Anyone can criticize, our top regent boldly asserted, [But] Ittakes ortitude to be a supporter on our way to achieving the success we desi-re. Te letter was sent out in a university-wide email on the last day o classesand published in local media outlets. It received critical responses rom aculty,community members and members o Aggie Solidarity, and also prompted apetition to stop the annual transer o $4.1 million rom the academic und toathletics, which gained over 1,800 signatures.

Te debate over athletics unding at NMSU is not new and ofen devolvesinto a limited discussion o the cost-effectiveness o the program or inane argu-

ments over the importance o sports or campus lie. Among the issues that de-serve discussion are the role o athletics in public education, how to mitigate thedetrimental effects o big-time sports on campus, and the priorities o universityadministration as expressed by its vision and allocation o resources.

Te administration, on this and other issues, has limited itsel to playing de-ense in the press, instead o engaging in an open, horizontal dialogue with itscritics. Over the summer, members o Aggie Solidarity invited the regents tohelp us organize such a dialogue through emails, hard letters and in the localmedia. Unortunately, our attempts have been met with the evasive and condes-cending attitude that characterizes our administration. Nonetheless, we conti-nue to invite the regents, and particularly Chairman Mike Cheney, to a publicand unrestricted debate over the athletics unding controversy and other issues.

***Since the regents have reused to consider such a dialogue with us, we, students

affi liated with Aggie Solidarity, take the initiative to publicly issue the ollowingchallenge: that any o the regents debate athletics and related administrative is-

sues on Monday, September 23 at 7:00pm in the Corbett Center Auditorium.We guarantee a civil and open atmosphere. Te public is encouraged to attendand join the dialogue. We believe that the university community, and not justupper administrators, should have a say in these matters, and this is the start.

Students challenge regents

to debate athletics funding

Message to new students

Welcome to New Mexico State University where the vital work o student government beginswith handing out lollipops to potential voters.Welcome to NMSU where important decisions shall not be made without the guidance o ahired outside consultant.Welcome to NMSU where games are worth a ew million out o the academic budget everyyear.Welcome to NMSU where Sodexo controls everything but Baltic Avenue and the get-out-o-

jail-ree card.Welcome to NMSU where the regents think I we aspire to be known as one o America'sgreat universities, we are going to need to act like we are one o those universities today! Tat iswhat is called vision! is good writing.Welcome to NMSU where the prudent carry skunk repellent afer dark.Welcome to NMSU where we pay homage to veteran members o the countrys most corruptpolitical institutions unaithul husbands included, o course over and over and overWelcome to NMSU where Your Librarys Collection Does Not Currently Contain Tis itle isnow the most ofen read journal on campus.Welcome to NMSU where banking experience magically opens every door.Welcome to NMSU where the only things keeping this enterprise rom even greater successare a rebranding campaign and an attitude adjustment.Welcome to NMSU one o the best in the country! according to this one list we heardabout...

BYTOPSTUDENTAYNVONHAYSES

Ac

ademics

...when we support ourboard of regents; successwill be ours!-Regent Cheney

It takes fortude to be a supporter

on our way to achieving the success

we desire.

-Mike Cheney

08-09/2013

ments, as we consider commitment to the trutha cornerstone o any sound argument. We hopeto be held accountable by readers in this regard.Te GroundUp, urthermore, is open to all re-asoned criticism or differing perspectives, andwe will not avoid productive debate.

4) Independent and against the dominant

party politics- We are an independent publica-tion without loyalties or obligations to any out-side institution. We aim to not only maintainour independence but also to reject bourgeoisparty politics and the existing institutions oauthority, whose manipulative mechanisms pe-netrate through all levels o our society and de-

end the interests o those with power. With thescrap o power that this paper and our positionas students afford us, we see our responsibilityas challenging authority and privilege, where-

ver we find them. We will be a megaphone orno one other than los de abajo.

5) In solidarity - We stand in solidarity withall those struggling or a just world and againstoppression, tyranny, exploitation and degrada-tion and social exclusion, whatever orm the-se may take. Our idea o solidarity implies theneed to not onlystand with those raising their

voices and taking action within our own com-munities or our own national borders, but alsowith the working classes, the dispossessed, theoppressed, the reedom fighters and the part-

ners in the struggle around the world. Solidari-ty knows no borders.

*Karl Marx, For a Ruthless Criticism of Everything

Existing, in Robert C. Tucker, The Marx-Engels Reader

(1978).

The GroundUpis an alternative publication at New Mexico State University that seeks to provide a space for critical perspectives from the radical left on

current issues both at and outside the university. Writing in The GroundUpreflects the opinions of individual authors, who may or may not be named. We

publish material in English and Spanish as well as encourage submissions in both languages. The paper is self-funded and has no price. Any monetary

contributions will go towards the costs of printing and distribution; they can be arranged by contacting us at groundupnmsu.org.

Con este peridico esperamos crear un espacio en la Universidad Estatal de Nuevo Mxico para perspectivas crticas desde la izquierda radical sobre temas

de actualidad tanto dentro como fuera de la uni versidad. Artculos en The GroundUp reflejan las opiniones de autores individuales, quienes pueden o no ser

nombrados. Publicamos material tanto en espaol como en ingls y damos la bienvenida a contribuciones en ambos idiomas. The GroundUp se autofinancia

y no tiene costo. Cualquier colaboracin monetaria se utilizar para cubrir los costos de impresin y de distribucin.

The GroundUpSubmissions, comments, donations, etc:

An open invitation to:

The Aggie Solidarity

Reading SocietyFall 2013

Our reading group(s) will meet regularly du-

ring the fall semester, starting soon. Tentativetopics this semester are contemporary Marxist/

left writersandpolitical economyincludingcomparative readings from distinct schools of

thought. Open to anyone interested in seriousdiscussion of texts and topics.

Inquiries/join: a [email protected]

BYMEMBERSOFAGGIESOLIDARITY

Ms en / More at:

groundupnmsu.org

Film analysis: Brakhages The Act

of Seeing with Ones Own Eyes

Full text of Chronicle of a poli-

tical prisoner

Texto completo de Crnica de

una presa poltica

Municipal government and theLas Cruces Country Club develo-

pment

Links and past articles

Online: groundupnmsu.orgEmail: [email protected]


3/8

3The GroundUp

...Una vez ah, comenzaron a tomarnos nuestros da-tos, una y otra vez, nombre, edad, ocupacin. Nombre,edad, ocupacin. Nombre, edad, ocupacin. En el ondodel estacionamiento estaban aproximadamente otras seispersonas y, tras nuestra llegada, arribaron ms. odos es-taban golpeados, algunos sangraban o no podan caminarcon normalidad. ras catearnos, nos tomaron otograasy nos ordenaron subir a lo que sera la parte trasera de larecepcin del MP.1Era un espacio como de cinco por siete,con unas nueve sillas, insuficiente para soportar el sensibleaumento de detenidos.

Buscando no separarnos mucho, permanecimos or-mados uno tras otro y nos recorramos conorme llegabanms personas. Al final ramos cerca de treinta gentes entreheridos, personal con libretas tomando los endemonia-dos mismos datos y policas. Eran ya casi las 21:00 horascuando nos ordenaron apagar los telonos y arrib ungrupo de uniormados, el cual comenz a repartirse en-tre los detenidos. A las chicas nos separaron unos pasos ynos asignaron policas mujeres, mientras que a los chicosles colocaron a un lado lo que conoceramos durante todala estancia como su chambeln. Despus sabramos queesos mismos policas que acabbamos de conocer seranquienes en su declaracin nos acusaran de haberlos agre-dido sica, verbal y, por la ambigedad del delito de ata-ques a la paz pblica y el de ultrajes a la autoridad, hastapsicolgicamente.

Nos ormaron de nuevo y nos quitaron cinturones,pier-cings, agujetas, listones de cabello, cordones de sudaderas,

aretes y todo con lo que pudiramos realizar un atentadohomicida o una uga delirante. Comenzaron a registrarnuestras pertenencias en hojas blancas y al terminar, nosormaron de nuevo para pasar al mdico, que no era msque un caballero de bata blanca que no estaba autorizadoa administrar ni una aspirina. Se limitaba a abrir un expe-diente, a pedirte, como todos ah, el nombre, la edad y laocupacin y a llenar ormularios en los que te preguntabasi estabas herido y de ser as, cmo te habas hecho dao.Lo que no deca era que lo que le contestaras poda ser con-siderado para la declaracin, no deca que todo estaba yen-do no slo a tu expediente mdico, sino al del proceso pe-nal. Decir que iramos a ver al mdico nunca ue ms literal.

Luego, papeleo. A todos nos dieron botellas con agua,un sndwich, una barra de amaranto, una ruta y nuestroschambelanes nos regalaron a m y a mis compaeros unpar de latas de reresco y una barra integral sabor a resa.Los policas parecan aburridos, resignados, mi chambelnme cont que haca un par de das haba tenido que per-manecer en el MP toda la noche debido a lo ocurrido enepito2y que ahora tendra que altar de nuevo a su casa.Llam a su madre delante de m no voy a llegar s, otra

vez Por lo de la marcha del Poli,3s con cuidado. Memiraba con lstima y me preguntaba dnde estudiaba. Se

ve que todos ustedes son nios bien, para qu se meten enestas cosas, ya ves? te hubieras ido a tu casa, a nosotrosslo nos mandan como apoyo, no nos metemos a los gol-pes, mira cmo traes la boca!....

Nuestras mochilas les ueron entregadas a los conocidosy amiliares que ya haban comenzado a arribar al MP. Era

ese el prembulo para bajarnos a galeras. Por la recepcinse escuchaban gritos y supe por algn murmullo que yahaba salido la primera concentracin demandando la li-bertad de todxs lxs detenidxs. Ya mandamos gente a Bu-careli, escuch reportar a uno de los uncionarios del MP.

...Once there, they began to take our data, again andagain, name, age, occupation. Name, age, occupation.Name, age, occupation. At the back o the parking lot wereabout six other people and, afer us, more arrived. All werebeaten, some bleeding or unable to walk normally. Afersearching us, they took photos and ordered us up to whatwould be the back o the reception room o the MP.1It wasa five by seven space, with about nine chairs, insufficientor the growing number o detainees.

rying to not separate ourselves rom one another, we

remained in ormation, one afer the other, and made spa-ce as more arrived. At the end we were about thirty peoplecounting the injured, the personnel with notebooks thatwrote down the same damned data and police. It was nownearly 9:00 p.m. when we were ordered to shut off our pho-

nes and a group o officers arrived, who began to divideup the arrested. Te women were separated and assignedto emale officers, while each man was assigned what wedcome to call dates, to stay by their side or the durationo their stay. We would later discover that the officers wehad just met were the same ones who would accuse us inwritten declarations o having physically, verbally and evenpsychologically assaulted them, applying the vague defini-tions o attacks on the public peace and disrespect oauthority.

We were lined up again and asked to remove our belts,piercings, shoelaces, hair ribbons, sweatshirt laces, ea-

rrings and anything else wecould use to carry out a homi-cidal attack or delirious escapeattempt. Tey began to registerour belongings on blank sheetsand then put us in line againto go to the doctor, who wasno more than a man in a whitecoat, not authorized to admi-nister as much as an aspirin.He simply opened a file, asking,like everyone there, your name,age and occupation, and also tofill out a orm asking whetheryou were injured and, i so, howyou had injured yoursel. Whatit didnt say was that whateveryou answered could be used orthe declaration; it didnt say thateverything went not only intoyour medical file but also that o

your penal process. Saying thatwe would go to see the doctorwas never more literal.

Ten, paperwork. We allwere given bottles o water, asandwich, an amaranto bar, aruit, and our dates gave mycompaerosand me a couple ocans o soda and a strawberrycereal bar. Te cops seemed bo-red, resigned; my date told methat a couple o days ago shehad to stay in the MP all night

due to what happened in epito2 and would now haveto spend another night away rom home. She called hermother in ront o me, I wont make it... yes, again... Be-

cause o the march o the Poli,

3

yes... ake care. She lookedat me with pity and asked where I studied: Youre clearlyall good kids. Why get involved with these things, youknow? I you would have just gone home, they only send usas backup, we dont get involved throwing punches. Lookat your mouth!...

Our backpacks were turned over to the riends and rela-tives who had already begun to arrive at the MP. Tat wasthe preamble to our being taken down to the basement.Walking past reception we heard screams and I knew bysome murmuring that the first concentration to demandreedom or those arrested had come out. Were sendingpeople to Bucareli,4 I heard one o the MP unctionariesreport.

One afer another we descended down the stairs and Iwas able to make my personal hypothesis o why they ca-

lled that place the bunker. A long corridor with dozens ocells appeared beore us and I had a terrible premonitiono where Id spend the night. Te floor had puddles o whatmay have been water and there were ood and tetra pack

Crnica de una presa poltica

Chronicle of a political prisoner

June 10, 2013

What shouldnt be told

The author, a student of literature at the National Autono-mous University of Mexico and member of the youth wingof the Liga de Trabajadores por el Socialismo and the re-volutionary-feminist collective Pan y Rosas, was detainedalong with more than 20 other activists on June 10 in Mexi-co City. They were beaten and arrested by city police aftera commemorative march for the anniversary of the Halco-nazoof 1971, an event in which dozens of student protes-tors were killed by a paramilitary group under governmentorders. This years march was marked by a clash betweena group of protestors and police; however, all arrests weremade far from the site of the conflict and nearly all werereleased days later for lack of evidence. Across the country,activists and young people continue to feel the weight ofrepressive force against them including increasingly hostilecrowd control tactics used by police. Here we publish a se-lection from the chronicle that Nancy wrote about her ex-

perience. The selection begins as Nancy and other activistsarrive at a holding pen after being surrounded and arrestedby police. To read the complete text, visit groundupnmsu.org.

10 de junio del 2013

Que no le digan, que no le cuenten

Una vista de primera mano de la represin de la protesta

PORNANCYCORNEJO

An first-hand view of the repression of protest

BYNANCYCORNEJO

La autora de este texto, una estudiante de Letras en la Uni-versidad Nacional Autnoma de Mxico y militante del

grupo juvenil de la Liga de Trabajores por el Socialismo yla agrupacin revolucionario-feminista Pan y Rosas, fuedetenida junto a ms de 20 activistas el pasado 10 de junioen la Ciudad de Mxico. Fueron golpeados y detenidos porla polica capitalina tras retirarse de una marcha para con-memorar el aniversario del Halconazo de 1971, una fechaen que decenas de estudiantes fueron asesinados por ungrupo paramilitar bajo rdenes del gobierno. La marchaestuvo marcada por un enfrentamiento entre policas y ungrupo de manifestantes; sin embargo, todas las detencio-nes se dieron lejos del lugar de la conflagracin y casi to-dos los detenidos fueron liberados das despus por faltade evidencias. A lo largo del pas, los activistas y jvenescontinan experimentando el uso de la fuerza represivaen su contra, incluyendo la creciente utilizacin de tcticashostiles por parte de la polica. A continuacin, publica-mos una seleccin de la crnica que Nancy escribi sobresu experiencia. La seleccin empieza cuando Nancy y otroscompaeros arriban a una instalacin de Ministerio Pbli-co despus de ser cercados y detenidos por los granaderos.Para leer el texto completa, visita groundupnmsu.org.

Left: Police as they attack

and arrest members of the

group with which Nancy leftthe June 10 march. Above:

Students and activists march

through Mexico City streets

to demand the liberation of

the political prisoners.

Izquierda: La polica en el

momento de atacar y dete-

ner a miembros del grupo

con que se retir Nancy de la

marcha del 10 de junio. Arri-

ba: Estudiantes y activistas

marchan por las calles de

Mxico para exigir la libera-

cin de los detenidos.

LS-Mxico

- SIGUEENLAPGINA7 -

- CONTINUEDONPAGE5 -

1 El Ministerio Pblico (MP) es un rgano d e la Federacin mexicana

con responsabilidades que incluyen la investigacin, la acusacin

judicial y trabajo policaco.2 Se refiere a una operacin policaca masiva en el barrio popular

capitalino de Tepito, que se efectu das antes de los eventos

narrados.3 El Instituto Politcnico Nacional (el Poli) es una universidad

pblica en el Distrito Federal. La oficial parece equivocarse a l creer

que fueron estudiantes del Poli quienes dirigieron la marcha.4 La avenida Bucareli, en donde una manifestacin se reuni para

exigir la liberacin de los detenidos.

2

1 The Ministerio Pblico (MP) is a federal agency with duties that

include prosecutorial work, investigation and policing.2 Days before the events narrated here, a massive police operation

took place in the hard-scrabble Mexico City barrio of Tepito.3 The Poli, short for Instituto Politcnico Nac ional, is a university

in Mexico City. The officer seems to mistake the march as being

directed by Politcnico students.4 Bucareli is a major avenue near downtown Mexico City where a

support rally congregated.


4/8

te fields o study have shifed over the past decades romeducation to business and proessional studies, and mosto the growing population o students in these fields or attwo-year schools will never take more than a couple o ba-sic classes in the social sciences. But they may be shyingaway rom history and similar fields or actors other thansimple lack o interest (Do these areas really inspire lesspassion in young people than during the past century, an-yway?): they are being taught less in elementary, middleand high schools in avor o subjects measured by standar-dized testing, or example; and humanities are less prioriti-zed in a job-market and donor-obsessed education system

than the fields o study related to industry or finance. Tisis problematic because the areas o study like history thatpromote critical thinking are vital in a society that aimsto have some semblance o democracy. Conveniently orthose whose ideology leans towards the promotion o bigbusiness, the fields o study students seem to want to gointo just so happen to be those which businesses need wor-kers in!

People are turned off to traditional universities by theirdistant intellectualism, so the argument goes, and the an-swer is to marginalize everything intellectual and trans-orm the role o the university rom allowing individualsto reach their ull potential, understand their society andhelp transorm it, to one o simply giving individuals toolsto fit into the needs o the business world. Instead o pro-posing cultural and structural changes in the universities,bringing students and academics inthe elite fields down rom their ivorytowers into constant and meaningulcontact with wage workers or disa-ffected young people (or even simplychanging the way we teach subjectslike history), the solution is apparentlyto put those subjects on a shel orwhen hobbyists actively search themout. Since this is already a real phe-nomenon, we can already see some othe unintended consequences o thetype o policy Carruthers advocatesor: these include a de facto segrega-tion o the elite subjects and the ple-beian ones in higher education, withstudents at branch campus possibly

never even having to encounter ananthropology or law major, or exam-ple; and a financial starving o certainsubjects (e.g. history, English, philo-sophy) that now have to compete orunding with new branch campuses orexpanded technical programs, alongwith their more profitable traditionalcampus rivals.

We do not argue that the teaching opractical skills undermines the value ohigher education, or that one is moreimportant than the other. On the con-trary, while we appreciate Carrutherspremise that education needs to doa better job o adapting to the interestsand real needs o students we believehis vision o the problem and its solu-tions is narrow. Our discourse mustescape such restrictive contours. Ins-tead o picking technical and proes-sional studies over the humanities, thearts and the traditionally elite fields,we need to find out how to greater in-tegrate these areas o study. We needan education model that doesnt mar-ginalize either practical skills or socialtheory: we should not have to choosebetween mechanical skills and history.

3) eaching methods need to change

Along with whatwe learn in schools, Carruthers pointsout that how we learn also needs to change: convenien-ce and ease are the main actors that must be prioritized.While we believe that this convenience (what we wouldcall accessibility) is indeed important, it is necessary to re-cognize the difference between promoting greater accessto education and diluting its content. Online classes canbe great and need to be part o higher education, but atthe same time, college studies are about more than goingthrough textbooks and completing tests. It may not be en-tirely beneficial that students can receive a degree withoutstepping oot on the campus. We are living through a

partialization o education that is putting more and moreemphasis on the skills needed to perorm a certain job andless on complete, well-rounded courses o study or all. Ins-tead o a prioritization o increasing the number o degree-holders at all costs to boost competitiveness, we need toalso prioritize developing intellectually ull human beings,no matter their job category, and that will involve challen-ging them and introducing them to things they may notinitially find as interesting as a car motor.

Carruthers clearly avors a business model o educationwhich views what goes on in schools as a product that ne-eds to be sold; it seems likely that anyone who believes ineducation with any sort o broader social mission will needto fight tooth and nail to avoid being urther marginalizedunder NMSUs business-minded administration. Organi-zational steps should be taken to do so.

4 The GroundUp08-09/2013

change: I think technical career training may be oneo the most important things we can do to capture thosekids who are thinking about dropping out. Teyll tell you,I dont see what the value o an education is. Why shouldI study history? Its no big deal with me. But i you talkto them about cars: [theyll say] Ah, I like cars.. Id like toknow how to fix my car. You get them into auto mechanics,lets say, and all o a sudden theyre in school... From here,Carruthers says, some o these young students at two-yearschools may graduate and go on to a our-year degree in

mechanical engineering or a similar field. So we have toappeal to them, to show them something that they mightlike to do, and then let them discover themselves.

He returns to a critique o the traditional model, Butjust to send them down the conveyor line, as weve donein the past, just isnt working very well. He then continuesto explain how two-year associates degrees can easily bebe turned into bachelors degrees through online courseso study, citing the Business and Hotel, Restaurant andourism Management schools in particular. Well finishthe last two years online at New Mexico State and theyllhave a [bachelors degree] rom New Mexico State and ne-

ver having set oot on the campus at New Mexico State... Maybe theyd be more encouraged to say, I can geta bachelors degree. I didnt know it was that easy, and Ididnt know it was that inexpensive.

Carruthers discourse can be divided into three parts,and we will briefly address each:

1)the importance of two-year schools in building an in-

ternationally competitive workforceCarruthers is correct to highlight the importance o

community colleges such as Grants. Te enormous growtho community colleges over the last 30 years has broughtthe opportunity to access higher education to many pla-ces and people who were previously largely ignored by theeducation system as a whole, and this access has allowedmany a social mobility they may not have otherwise had.Nonetheless, we believe his idea o these schools overallsocial role is problematic. His assertion that the educationsystem has a responsibility to upgrade the workorce inorder to make it internationally competitive shows who-se class interests he speaks or: the big business owners.

Tey need a more highly-educated labor pool to be able tomake higher profits here, so its ourjob to give it to them,and thatswhy we should develop two-year schools.

Tough the practical degrees or the job market offeredat community colleges are certainly attractive or potentialstudents, accessible costs and convenience o schedule - aswell as the easy availability o credit to finance studies -likely bear more responsibility or the growth at these ins-titutions. Carruthers exaltation o the community collegemodel, moreover, should be tempered by the numerousunresolved challenges posed by their growth, particularlythe need to sufficiently und them, ofen pulling rom thesame pools as traditional our-year colleges (which haventgotten any smaller).

2) Schools have to gear their offerings towards technical

and professional training in order to graduate more youngpeople

Society has changed, and so should education. On thispoint, Carruthers and the writers are in complete agree-ment, though likely not on howit should change. But letus jump straight to Carruthers narrative about history andcars, which is probably the most telling part o the inter-

view. Obviously, he does not simply reer to history, butrather any o the humanities, social sciences or elite fieldsthat do not seem to interest students anymore; and sincethey arent interested, we should find out what they likeand offer that instead.

What is interesting is that Carruthers is not reerringto something that needs to happen, but rather an already-existing phenomenon: the most popular undergradua-

- CONTINUEDFROMPAGE1 -

Carruthers: New president promotes an eduction-as-business model

to market standards.But the most striking moves by Carruthers so ar, as should be expected,

have been his appointments. He quickly gained points with many acultyand the board members who voted against him or president by hiring therunner-up, Dan Howard, as Provost and Executive Vice President. Howardwas the Dean o the College o Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University oColorado-Denver and previously spent about two decades as a biology pro-essor and administrator at NMSU. Te Regents even allowed Carruthers tobypass a university rule mandating a nationwide search to fill the position. Allagreed a nationwide search was unneeded, particularly afer the presidentialsearch committee was heavily criticized in the spring or hiring an outside

consultant to search or candidates at a cost o $90,000 because many sawthe presidential search as a simple ormality without any genuine intention oselecting anyone other than Carruthers.

Eyebrows were raised by Carruthers appointment o ex-Doa Ana Com-munity College President Margie Huerta to a position as special assistant tothe President, in charge o a project to bridge the transer process betweenDACC and the main campus. Only last semester, Huerta notably oversaw thescandal which led to the DACC nursing programs loss o accreditation, orwhich students filed a lawsuit against the college in May. Tough set to retirein January and receiving a salary o $173,000 - paid in conjunction betweenDACC and NMSU - Huertas start date was repeatedly pushed back over thesummer and she remained on approved, paid leave status as o press time,though presidents office spokesperson Justin Bannister gave no hints as tothe justification. Te nursing program at DACC, according to Bannister, isworking towards reaccreditation, and ormer Vice President or Business andFinance Andy Burke has taken over as interim president o the college.

DACC also underwent an administrative reorganization over the sum-mer which gave ormer Small Business Development Center director FredOwensby an effective promotion, putting him in charge o Adult Basic Edu-cation and Workorce Development, which oversees numerous departments.Owensby, interestingly, is Carruthers son-in-law, though Human ResourcesManager Mack Adams said the new president played no role in the hiring andthat the hiring process began beore Carruthers was selected.

Carruthers also created a new position in the athletics department (Depu-ty Athletics Director) or David McCollum, who was previously owner o theLas Cruces Bulletinand publisher o the Sun-Newsbeore that. We are goingto manage the NMSU Athletics Department more like a business enterprise,Carruthers said in an August 21 press release, explaining the hiring o busi-nessman McCollum, mentioning the need to grow the program throughthrough increased attendance, donor participation, sponsorships and mar-keting.

- CONTINUEDFROMPAGE1-

First days of a new presidency

Staff editorial (August 27, 2013). See more at groundupnmsu.org.

NOTO MILITARY INTERVENTION IN SYRIA

A LA INTERVENCIN BLICA EN SIRIA


5/8

5The GroundUp

The Dream 9 and their critics

2

BYALANDICKER

An August 3 New America Media article, Dream 9actics akes Debate Beyond Halls o Congress, illustrateda long-standing divide within the immigrants rights mo-

vement - what we will reer to here as the divide between

theparliamentarians(whose main ocus is working or re-orm in legislatures and legal institutions) and the action-oriented. Te particular issue in question was this: whethera group o undocumented protesters who willingly acedarrest to push or the DREAM Act and an immigrationoverhaul have advanced, or set back, the movement.

On July 22, the nine protesters - all o whom were raisedin the U.S. but lacked citizenship papers - were arrestedat the Nogales, Arizona-Sonora border crossing seeking toenter the U.S. and sent to an immigration detention cen-ter in nearby Eloy. What made this occurrence noteworthy(afer all, more people than ever beore are being arrestedand deported by immigration authorities) was that thenine had publicized their crossing attempt beorehand andexpected to be detained. While they lef the U.S. or di-fferent reasons - to be with an elderly relative, to attendcollege, to maintain their amilies together, or just to take

part in the protest - their organized act brought internatio-nal attention to the youth without legal right to live in theplaces they call home, as well as the deeper-seated issue othe arbitrary nature o national borders and legal citizens-hip distinctions.

As the New America Media article by Valeria Fernndezmade clear, however, many in the immigrants movementare at odds over the methods used to advance the cause:What we ought to be talking tonight is about the politicsin the House and the Republican Party, ormer presidento the American Immigration Lawyers Association Da-

vid Leopold was cited saying; But instead our ocus is onthis action, so it pulls away attention rom the big issue,which is fixing the system so 11 million can get out o theshadows. In a similar article in the New York imes (Ju-lia Preston and Rebekah Zemansky, Demonstration at

Arizona Border Divides Supporters o Immigration Over-haul, August 5), Leopold goes on: o suggest that anyoneshould be able to walk out o the U.S. and turn around andknock on the door and come back in, I dont know anybo-dy who thinks that we ought to have an open border.

Illinois representative Luis Gutierrez, one o Congresssmost progressive members and sponsor o the DREAMAct, spoke along similar, and paradoxical, lines in a state-ment to Te Daily Beast: I do not agree with the actionstaken by the DREAM 9 because current immigration lawis not on their side (erry Greene Sterling, Te Dream 9Ripple Effect, August 4).

Proessor and vocal immigration reorm backer StephanNuo is also quoted in the imes, uncomortably saying,Youre making it much harder or Congress to give you apathway to citizenship when you gamble. Reading Nuosprevious writing, many o his criticisms o the DREAMers

- young activists who specifically push or the DREAMAct - are valid: He ears they divert attention to the unjustsituation affecting them in particular, instead o ocusing

on the brutality o the immigration system as a whole. Healso posits that the Obama administration may push theDREAM Act as a pressure valve in place o pushing acomprehensive immigration reorm (see Dream On: Im-migration Reorm should not ocus on Dreamers, NBCLatino, November 13, 2012).

He also believes the DREAMers travel[ing] around thecountry challenging authority and flaunt[ing] the lawcreate a negative public image o the undocumented: Tisimage is damaging to the prize, he writes.

So, immigration activists, the parliamentarians have amessage or you: Stay in your place. Keep your head down,keep doing the work that bona fideAmericans want you todo, and hope that the polit ical class gives you a pathway tocitizenship, or a guest worker program, or whatever. Mostimportantly,just shut the fuck up, and let the lawmakers,NGOs, journalists, and attorneys do their jobs.

***

Few like to admit it, but there is a battle being oughtwithin the immigrants and workers movement over bothstrategy and tactics. Te problem is that both Nuo andLeopold, and the parliamentarians in general, see a yes

vote on some potential immigration bill as the prize, andthat the way to attain it is to push an image o immigrantsas passive, lowly, and unthreatening. Never mind that thereorm they are currently trying to pass would exclude agreat part o the undocumented population; nevermindthat it would keep much o immigrant labor in an under-class through onerous citizenship pathway requirementsand/or a temporary guest worker program; never mindthat it would leave intact the unworkable immigrationstructure that helped to create the problem o illegal im-migration in the first place; never mind that it would evenstrengthen the security and incarceration regimes thatrepress and terrorize people across borders...

Te comprehensive law that these weak-kneed reor-mers would presumably claim as a victory only promisesto get more and more unsavory as it goes through nego-

tiations in congress, subject to the pressure o businessinterests that need immigrant labor and conservative po-liticians that would rather see immigrants given one-waytickets out o the country. o even begin to move the deba-te in the other direction, towards addressing the economicorces that drive mass migration, workplace exploitationand the inherent flaws o the immigration legal system, theaims and methods o the movement will need to push thepoliticians and business interests back into a corner. Whileits true that even the most minimal reorms would bringconcrete benefits to many o our societys most vulnerable -which makes many settle or begging or table scraps - wellget them and more i we aim our sights higher and pushharder, attacking the problems at their roots.

Te immigrants movement needs to begin to look orlong-term prizes above and beyond reorm laws - morethan citizenship and humane standards. Te inhumani-

ty, blindness, and degradation in the current system havetheir roots in the very existence o national divisions, na-tionalist ideologies, and the economic orces that drive mi-

grations, among other actors - and instead o working toweaken these, activists are ofen ortiying them by wrap-ping themselves in the flag. Te movement needs to turnits attention to overcoming todays problems at theirroots,and it will only be a strong, transormative political agentby taking up systematic, long-term goals and bringing upuncomortable questions.

We should be critical o the DREAMers program - aferall, its long-term strategyis as parliamentarian as that orimmigration reorm (Please seor congresista, be so kind asto give us papers!), and even more narrow. But were hardlyto the point o discussing a more transormative strategy.As the last ew years have shown, the old-hat begging tac-tics o the well-behaved reormers have proven to be bothdemeaning to immigrants themselves and little-effective:the DREAMers and other young people willing to makesacrifices by conronting state power are starting to showus an alternative.

What we want to point out here is that the increasin-gly daring and conrontational methods o the action-oriented - though still largely moderate - sector o theimmigrants movement, including those o the Dream 9,show an increasingly clear understanding o the need ormore radical organizing and conrontational political ac-tions, as well as the limitations o working within the two-party political system. Even i their tactics detracted romefforts to pass a reorm bill (which theres little evidenceor, in any case), the action-oriented activists are taking a

step towards something bigger: directing the movementtowards long-term, radical goals and independent, trans-ormative politics.

Tactics and prizes in a social movement

A poster pressing for the release of the Dream 9, from before their

liberation on August 7. After being held in detention, the nine were

given temporary visas while their cases are processed.

DreamActivist

wrappers everywhere. I was araid whydeny it? when I saw about seventy menlying at the back o the corridor, watchingus attentively. Youre a woman, the tortu-re is different, a compaero had told mein thepatrulla, and at that moment I knewwhat he meant.

Knowing your rights is useless i no onerespects them. Tats how the legal pact and

Political prisoner: Student activist recounts detention after June 10 prostest march in Mexico City


the applicationo bourgeois

justice works.Tey took theront and pro-file mug shotso us, with alabel statingour charges.It wasnt the

same or ever-yone. Some orthef, othersor disturban-

ces, others or damage to the property oothers, all o us there were tacitly obliged totake the blame. When they covered my fin-gers in ink I knew that, without ever beingormally notified o my detention, I wasbeing processed. A police investigator, atough-looking, straight-haired woman, ledthe women towards the end o the corridor.Te men on the ground kept their eyes fi-xed to our trajectory; they were all young,in their twenties. Te officer opened a cell

and stepped aside. For me, this was one othe hardest blows I received in those days:entering that cage by my own volition.

Te lock clicked and she put a padlockon our door. At dawn, when the eeling obeing watched shook me rom my lethargy,I discovered a couple o subjects standing,looking at us through the bars, and I appre-ciated that lock and those walls. Tat is theterrible game o ear. I understood that its

not enough to know that youre innocent,because you rot. I you live thinking o theunairness o the situation, you get rustra-ted, you surrender. For me it was necessaryto fill mysel with rage. Tings are as theyare and wont change even i we bring inhuman rights deenders or i we all studylaw. What happened to me happens to hun-dreds o people in Mexico and the world.Te problem is not the law, or reorms, orthe concessions o the Legislative Assem-bly during election times. Te problem issystemic, economic, political, social and itwill only be resolved by the strong allian-ce o the millions o dispossessed when

they stand up to authoritarianism and takecharge o their own uture.

We knew nothing o the men until ues-day morning, when the cry o We want toeat, we want to eat! let us know not onlythat they were still in the bunker, but thatthey conserved their spirit and hunger, twogood pieces o news. Te nearly seventymen that crammed the hallways were re-leased in their entirety. Tey just let them

all go. I learned later that they had beenarrested during an eviction, but or unk-nown reasons were completely unproces-sed. Capitalism in the government, unableto provide housing or the population, pus-hes vulnerable groups to become criminals,meting out punishment and pitting oneagainst the other. Tats the perverseness oits dynamic; thats why it doesnt serve usand never will.

ranslation by A. Dicker

Read the entire text atgroundupnmsu.org.


6/8

6 The GroundUp08-09/2013

Leaks: While state murders, terrorizes; dissenters criminalized

DONT LET YOUR

CONSCIENCE GET IN THE

WAY OF YOUR DUTIES TO

THE NATION-STATE.

home country. Te journalists subsequent imprisonmenton terrorism charges was reportedly influenced by theObama administration. Afer his July release, a NationalSecurity Council spokesperson told journalist Jeremy Sca-hill it was concerned and disappointed. Also, in Britain,government agents raided the offices o a major newspaperto destroy inormation connected with the Snowden leaks,and held the partner o investigative intelligence journalist

Glenn Greenwald in a 9-hour airport detention.Many prominent commentators have pointed out the

tragic irony behind the use o law and government poweragainst those who conscientiously expose unethical or un-lawul behavior, even while numerous military and gover-nment officials - including presidents - selectively leak se-cret inormation or other political reasons without beingtargeted by a similar campaign o punishment. Moreover,the predominant ocus o the government and media onthe criminality o the leakers stands in contrast to the ra-rity and levity o consequences or the perpetrators o thetype o illegal or barbaric acts exposed by the leakers.

For many commentators, this campaign against whistle-blowers is a shocking development - the Bush and Obamaadministrations, in their view, have progressively usheredin an unprecedented era o government trampling o ci-

vil liberties. Tese commentators, however, need a historylesson that goes beyond the Patriot Act and Bush-era wi-retapping under Michael Hayden. Tere is no reason orsurprise at the governments actions. Government spying- domestically and internationally, aided by business inter-ests - is nothing new. Te U.S. government, at the behesto capital, has spied on and targeted both groups and in-dividuals under highly questionable criteria or decades,including civil rights and anti-war activists, revolutionarygroups, and public intellectuals. Massive corporations o-ten provide the means and serve as an integral orce dri-

ving surveillance and repression o dissent.o cite another historical example, the Espionage

Act, currently in vogue as a weapon against inormationleakers, was largely intended to silence war opponents

and break the radical labor unions o the early twentiethcentury. What is new and disconcerting, though entirelyexpectable, is the growing scope o data mining and sur-

veillance capabilities. apping into phone conversations,monitoring peoples every move, and keeping tabs on theircontacts has never been so effortless. Far rom a charac-teristic o a particular presidential administration or theU.S. alone, the pattern is mirrored across the globe. Tepower o the contemporary capitalist state dwars that o20th century totalitarian regimes. Tis should be reasonenough to spur us towards organized opposition - not onlyto such-and-such president or party but to the world so-cioeconomic system that they represent and protect.

Surveillance and repression o political activity, as italways has, goes ar beyond the ew high-profile cases co-

vered by the mass media. Te Department o HomelandSecurity has been exposed or spying on and disruptingOccupy and anti-Keystone XL pipeline protests, includingin the border region. Even a seemingly innocuous protestin Washington D.C. by United Students Against Sweats-hops activists regarding working conditions in Bangladeshwas recently infiltrated by the police. Te conclusion todraw? Any kind o protest is a potential threat to national

security.Why the need or repression in a supposedly ree, ca-

pitalist society? Te government and the legal system arelargely designed to uphold the class power o those at thetop o the pyramid. Teir primary interest is to avoid thedestabilization o the economic and political systems, the-reby protecting the collective interests o those in power. Ina society o classes, the resources at the disposal o those inpower, including the law, will always be directed towardsminimizing the threat o destabilization; and quite simply,the political and capitalist classes in the US find themselvesslipping towards that precipice afer the economic crisis,popular tiring o its imperialist wars, and questioning ogovernment-corporate alliances. At such a time, those withpower turn to increasingly invasive and brutal mechanismsto maintain their control over the population.

Te persecution o Manning, Assange and Snowdenmust end - but they are only lionized figureheads: We areall aligned in a conflict with the state. Te battle beingplayed out is not simply one between the necessities onational security and the civil liberties o citizens. Whatis also being contested is whether high technology andthe internet are tools or the ree spread o inormationand the empowerment o the masses or, on the contrary,tools or the consolidation o power by the governmentand the great corporations. Tis is a contested terrain inthe fight or social and economic power, with the inter-ests o the great majorities threatened. We must organi-ze against the surveillance state, the militarization o theworld in the name o security, and the criminalizationo dissent.


or dialogue and input between adminis-trators and regular staff regarding projectsor unding in general, according to nearlyall o the staff members we interviewed.Te library staff are used to not beingconsulted, said research librarian MollyMalloy. Generally, its just the dean tellingus whats going to happen, said anotherstaff member. Simpson expressed a simi-lar sentiment. Tats just how things aredone around here, she said, but added thatshe believes this is reflective o university

operations as a whole instead o somethingunique to the library: Were [the universityis] definitely a top-down organization.

Te Jazzmans Ca project comes duringa time o deep budget cuts or the NMSULibrary. Since 1997, the library has cut over$1.5 million rom its buying power or newserials, books, databases, microorms andstanding orders, which has meant the losso 1889 journal titles, according to a docu-ment on the library website. Moreover, aninternal document shows that $92,162.91are planned to be cut rom the materialsbudget during Fiscal Year 2014.

It is disturbing to see the library star-ved and have research needs go unmet,

said Beck. Were at the bare bones. I dontknow how we can continue to call ourselvesa research library and not und it.

Where exactly the money or the caproject would come rom remains an openquestion. In an email to Te GroundUp,however, Auxiliary Dean Lee emphasizedthat any unds used or that project wouldNO (sic) come rom the library materialsbudget, which is used to procure books,periodicals, and other such materials.

Te Auxiliary Services office, the Librarydeans office, and Sodexo representativesare actively involved with the planning othe ca or Zuhl. Ex-ASNMSU President


Zuhl: Caf project raises concerns about administrative priorities, practicesBreeana Sylvas also participated in projectdevelopment last spring and pushed ora bill in the ASNMSU Senate (Bill #191)which would have provided $5,000 or theproject to show student commitment.Te bill claimed the money would be paidback in ull and may include interest asthe ca generated revenue. Te bill was de-eated in the student Senate.

Individuals involved in the planning othe Jazzmans location all mentioned sur-

veys showing support and/or demand or aca in Zuhl. One external review preparedor the library in 2011 emphasized the need

to create welcoming public spaces, particu-larly containing ood services, and affirmedthat it was inormed by patron surveys. Te2011 Dining Services Master Plan, prepa-red by an outside consultant or AuxiliaryServices, also reers to consumer surveysand mentions a library ca as a potentia-lly viable project. Survey results can ofentell us what we want to hear, however, or donot tell us a ull story. A library user surveyrom the 2009-2010 school year, or exam-ple, shows that ood and coffee services wererarely mentioned by patrons as urgent ne-eds in Zuhl and Branson, particularly com-pared to the need or study spaces, electricaloutlets, or an expanded journal collection.

Te ca would add another brand-nameranchise to the growing network o eate-ries around campus operated by Sodexo.Sodexo won an eight-year contract romAuxiliary Services in 2011 that gave the21st largest multinational corporation inthe world near-monopoly power over oodservices. While a ca in the library wouldcertainly be a boon to Sodexo, contributeto library goals o modernizing its space,and satisy many library users, it also mayhave unoreseen impacts.

For example, the ca raises concernsabout drawing business rom other lo-cal coffee shops, including or the CBY/

Coffee Haus in the nearby Frenger FoodCourt (which is not operated by Sodexo) orMilagro on University Avenue. Te privi-leged in-house location o Jazzmans, alongwith the additional pressure exerted by therecent on-campus openings o two Eins-tein Bros. Bagels locations and the Barnes& Noble Ca eaturing Starbucks coffee,could potentially oversaturate the market.I now consider the university my businesscompetitor, Milagro owner Bernie Digmantold Te GroundUp or a story last all, affir-ming that his business had been negativelyaffected by the recent additions to campus.

Jazzmans and the business developmentmodel at NMSU - notes for a critique

Te writers intention is not to takethe side o small business over big name-brands. Nor is it to single out the AuxiliaryServices or the Library administration offi-ce or criticism. We believe that the storybehind the Zuhl ca project - the way inwhich the it is being consolidated and howit reflects larger trends at NMSU such asthe top-down administrative structure andintensive business development on campus- raises a number o important issues thatneed to be considered alongside the jubila-tion that will be portrayed in official com-munications and the mainstream media.

By itsel, the Zuhl ca is simply one moreconsumer space on campus. But the un-derside o the project illustrates a numbero unflattering aspects about library admi-nistration and how private business and theuniversity interact. We believe the strikinglack o communication between librarystaff and the Deans office about the libraryproject signal a non-democratic, hierarchi-cal method o administration, which hasnegative effects on library operations andthe and goes against the spirit o the publicuniversity. Tis is reflective o a broaderculture and structure o non-transparencyand top-down decision-making throug-

hout the university and in our public insti-tutions in general: the trends at the librarysimply mirror those in other departmentsand at all levels. Tese ills are exacerbatedwhen involved with outside, private inter-ests and particularly or-profit ventures.

Further, the library ca demonstrateshow projects such as these are ofentimesadvanced over significant concerns aboutacademic unding and needs, or broadersocial implications. Funding sources areusually different or construction/imageprojects and academics; indeed, specialunding rom the state or construction at

universities is ofen easier to obtain andless restricted than that destined to re-search or materials, and this partially ac-counts or the building boom on campusesacross the U.S. even while overall spendingon colleges decreases and tuition rises). Ithe administration wanted to change this,however, they could work to do so. At theend, it appears certain that there is a prio-ritization o construction, image-boostingand business relationships while significantdifficulties go unresolved and deepen atNMSU - and this gives us ample reason toquestion the administrations overall visionand development model.

University administration is all-too-

happy to submit a public, nominally aca-demic institution to a market logic thatprioritizes growth and the strengtheningo the current global socioeconomic-poli-tical system, instead o working to addressits pitalls and challenge those in power.Moreover, the effective reusal to consi-der the possible negative effects o campusdevelopment or promote alternative mo-dels - in ood services, these could includenonprofits, student-run establishments ormom-and-pop startups - shows a restricti-

ve, short-sighted administrative vision andcould have a number o negative conse-quences in all areas o university lie.


7/8

7The GroundUp

Troughout the years I have had many jobs, but noneas difficult or satisying as that o a home health care aide,more commonly known as a caregiver. Recently I wasable to go back to my town o ruth or Consequences,where I visited a 61-year-old gentleman by the name o

Paul Tompson. For three years I had been both a ca-regiver and riend in the midst o his many battles withepileptic seizures. Fortunately, his seizures were very ew,and we had our share o happy times.

Reminiscing with Paul made me remember back to mybeginnings as a caregiver, when I gained unorgettableknowledge o my client and job. Even then, in the ear-liest o days o my occupation, I began to realize that notonly was it a labor o love, but that I could expect littleelse rom the position; the average pay o a caregiver inNew Mexico is eight dollars per hour. Afer taxes I wasbarely able to pay or necessities, and I was also uninsu-red. In act, there are no basic caregivers I know o, atleast within the Ambercare workorce, that has any kindo health insurance or disability protection.

Tis is not just a corporation flaw. All throughout thecountry caregivers are working uninsured and without

the monetary incentives o other proessions. Te lack obenefits has become such a staple in the care giving worldthat recent articles, such as one written by AARP Vice Pre-sident Nicole Duritz, have started to outline the benefits toboth caregivers and elderly clients that will occur with theimplementation o nationwide healthcare in 2014.

Its important to nurture your own needs and takecare o your own health so that you have the strength,presence o mind and stamina to help those who are de-pending on you, Duritz writes.

Tis is a truism that care giving firms and insurancecompanies are beginning to wake up to; caregivers who

hurt themselves while on the job are a huge liability andcost a ortune in turnover training. A healthy, happy care-giver, according to an article by Humana, a leading healthcare company, gives you additional strength and vigor inyour ongoing role as a caregiver.

Te inability to ocus on their own health needs hasbeen difficult or caregivers, as their problems are con-

sidered secondary not only to their clients, but also inthe ramework o a larger economic crisis. Tis, in turn,makes it difficult or those caregivers who truly enjoytheir jobs to continue and still make ends meet.

Lisa Flack, a 42-year-old woman who has been a care-giver or more than three years, has decided that the jobhas to be its own reward. I think its really a calling, shesaid. Tere is no way that someone could do this or aliving. You have to want to help people, sometimes at theperil o your own financial security.

Ambercare, at the time o my employment, did notallow me to work over my allotted hours or each client,even though there were days when I did so out o com-passion. Sometimes it was even a matter o necessity; cer-tainly I could not be so insensitive as to leave Paul in themidst o a seizure, and they would have terminated myemployment on learning I had done so. Tis meant that

a twenty hour week with a client could easily extend tothirty hours, or more, without pay or any o those extrahours. Tis was blamed on the oversight o the insurancecompanies who keep strict parameters on home healthcare aides.

Tere really was no end to the inconsistencies whencomparing care giving to other proessions. I was notpaid or my gas when I had to run local errands orclients, no matter how many miles that included. Te in-surance company also claimed that i not perorming cer-tain physical tasks while on the jobcooking, cleaning,etc.then I should not get paid or the time. For exam-

ple, companionship, which is a large part o a caregiversjob, is not taken seriously or even counted as a proes-sional duty. Every year the insurance company, in chargeo paying or my service, ound ways to cut my hours byciting how much better Pauls health had become over theprevious months, meanwhile orgetting that my compa-nionship was considered the most important part o my

job, at least to Paul.I used to have a caregiver or 32 hours a week, Paulsaid in an interview while being asked about his waninghome care. Now I only have a person here or ninehours. Without an immediate amily to visit him, Paulsoon became depressed and despondent. Tis is exactlywhat happens to many clients who are vic tims o the insu-rance companys unwilling attitude towards care giving. Itis impossible or a corporate structure to understand thealienation and loneliness o elderly and disabled clients.

Sometimes I eel like a bird in a cage, Paul said. Itsvery depressing to think that these companies are justwaiting or you to die so they dont have to pay anymore.

Despite the darkened past o the care giving proession,there seems to be better days ahead. With the uniormityin health care coming in 2014, caregivers may have moreoptions to choose insurance that will allow them to stay

in their proession. Also, with a looming increase in mi-nimum wage, many caregivers willor the first timebe able to take care o their clients with the comort ofinancial security.

Afer all, the basic belie system underlying the caregiving proession really has nothing to do with money.It is about the basic human understanding o helping so-meone in need and gaining satisaction rom doing so. Itis imperative we keep it that way.

Under the wage: caregiving in a for-profit systemSeries: The world of work

BYMONIQUEANDERSON

Have a work story that should be heard? Send usyours at [email protected].

2

Uno tras otro descendimos por unas es-caleras y pude hacer mi hiptesis personalde porqu le llaman bunker a aquel lugar.Un largo pasillo con decenas de celdas sepresentaba ante nosotros y tuve la terriblepremonicin de dnde pasara esa noche.El suelo tena charcos de lo que pareca seragua y haba envolturas de comida y te-tra pack por doquier. uve miedo, paraqu negarlo, cuando vi a cerca de seten-ta hombres acostados en el ondo delpasillo, mirndonos expectantes. Eresmujer, la tortura es distinta, me habadicho mi compaero en la patrulla ysupe en ese momento a qu se reera.

Conocer tus derechos no sirve denada si no hay quien los respete. Asunciona el pacto de la legalidad y dela aplicacin de la justicia burguesa.Nos tomaron la amosa oto de rentey de perfil, con una hoja rotulada ya con loscargos. No era el mismo para todos. Unospor robo, otros por disturbios, otros pordao en propiedad ajena, todos los presen-tes uimos obligados tcitamente a asumirla culpa. Cuando me llenaron de tinta losdedos supe que as, sin siquiera haber sidonotificada ormalmente de mi detencin,estaba siendo fichada. Una polica de in-

vestigacin, de aspecto duro y cabello lacio,nos condujo a las mujeres casi al final delpasillo. Los hombres del suelo siguieroncon la mirada nuestro recorrido, todoseran jvenes, de entre veinte y treinta aos.Abri una celda y se hizo a un lado. Este uepara m uno de los ms duros golpes querecib aquellos das: entrar por mi propiopie a la jaula.

Corri el seguro y puso un candado anuestra puerta. Por la madrugada, cuandola sensacin de ser observada me sac demi letargo y descubr a un par de sujetosde pie, mirndonos a travs de los cristales,agradec ese candado y esos muros. Ese esel terrible juego del miedo. Descubr queno basta con saberse inocente, porque te

Presa poltica: La detencin de activistas en el DFpudres. Si te la vives pensando en lo injus-to de la situacin, te rustras, te entregas.Para m ue necesario llenarme de rabia.Las cosas son como son y no cambiarn sitodos nos metemos a deensores de dere-chos humanos o si todos estudiamos leyes.Me pas a m como le pasa a cientos enMxico y en el mundo. El problema no esla ley, no es la reorma, no es la concesin

de la Asamblea Legislativa en tiempos deelecciones. El problema es sistmico, eco-nmico, poltico, social y se resuelve con lauerte alianza de los millones de despose-dos que le plante cara al autoritarismo y sehaga cargo de su propio uturo.

De los hombres no supimos nada sinohasta el martes por la maana, cuando algrito de queremos comer, queremos co-mer nos anunciaban, adems de que esta-ban an en el bunker, que conservaban suespritu y el hambre, dos buenas noticias.Los cerca de setenta hombres que atiborra-ban los pasillos, ueron liberados en su to-talidad. A todos los soltaron. Supe despusque haban sido detenidos por un desalojo,pero que por desconocidas razones no en-rentaron proceso alguno. El capitalismoen el Gobierno, incapaz de proveer de vi-

vienda a la poblacin, oril la a grupos vul-nerables a convertirse en delincuentes, loscastiga y los conronta unos contra otros.As la perversidad de su dinmica, por esono nos sirve ni nos servir nunca.

- SIGUEDELAPGINA3-

Encuentra el texto completo engroundupnmsu.org.

On Trayvon, Marissa, Kimani

and unequal power relationsGeorge Zimmermans acquittal in

the death o rayvon Martin, MarissaAlexanders twenty year prison sentence inthe same state or shooting a gun that ki-lled no one, and the police killing o Kima-ni Gray this spring illustrate what shouldbe sel-evident: Racial, gender, and classinequities in the U.S are ar rom resolved,and legal civil rights protections - howeverprogressive - do not completely ulfill theirpromises.

All three cases sparked outrage and pro-tests across the country, but what we needto remember is that there are rayvons,

Kimanis and Marissas all around us. Inti-midation, police brutality, and inequalityin the legal system are a reality or manyAmericans, and our ocus needs to not beon simply liberating the innocent, pickingout the bad seeds, and turning to civilrights protections - but rather attackingthe systemic roots o injustice ound inunequal power relations, historical socialstructures, and the inequities o the currentsocioeconomic system.

Race and gender are certainly not theonly causes behind o the injustices per-petrated by the legal/political system. Weinsist that imprisonment policy, unjust lawenorcement practices, and criminal activi-ty are tied to class in nearly every instan-ce, and should be viewed as class issues.Tey cannot be addressed by civil rightslegislation, prayers, denunciations, or race-specific organizing alone. We cannot beginto solve the underlying problems withoutuniting as an independent political orce oworking people across color, gender, sexualorientation and other identity lines.

Te three cases highlighted above arenot unique. Tere are countless murdersand abuses that go unpunished, whether bypolice, civilians, public officials, soldiers, orbosses protected by their power over othersand/or aspects o the law or social norms.

High profile cases like those o Martin, Ma-rissa and Gray - and others such as those oIsrael Hernandez and Robert Saylor - makeus realize that racism, impunity, classism,mental illness, and sexism are all-too-com-mon determining actors in the rule o law.Tere are sectors o the population that livein ear o those meant to protect them,where the law is little more than a meanso oppression. Tough some certainly eelthe weight o these inequities more thanothers, they cross racial, gender, and cultu-ral lines in every direction.

Our goal should not be to strengthen ci-

vil rights laws or protect vulnerable popu-lations. Instead, we need to work, at everylevel, to dismantle the unequal power rela-tions that make some vulnerable in the firstplace.

***

Our attention must turn to the productso power inequities all around us, not justthe sensational cases on V. Tis past Au-gust 19 in Las Cruces, 23-year-old AlanGolden was conronted by police early inthe morning while apparently sleeping onthe street in a residential area. Accordingto police reports, he was holding a knie,and threatened to kill himsel with it. Aferreusing orders to put it down, he was shotwith bean bag guns and attacked by a poli-ce dog. Afer stabbing the dog, Golden wastasered and subdued. A day later, he wasarrested upon release rom the hospital orassaulting the police canine. Te local me-dia treated the story as an oddity, ocusingmostly on the injuries to the dog and notthe questionable behavior o police. As aras we know, it has not sparked any protest.

One can only imagine whether the po-lice would have fired bean bags (which,despite their nice-sounding name, pack theorce o a punch) and used a dog i the de-ranged man with a knie had been sitting inhis Mercedes-Benz...


8/8

8 The GroundUp

Drone research and New Mexico StateDrones are used as agents of death, surveillance, and terror. NMSU

is doing its part to help the military and contractors develop them.Making a more dangerous world for us allBYFREDDYDEMUTH

Drone warare has become a major component o Ame-rican military operations around the world, and drones arebeing introduced into domestic security operations at anincreasing rate. Te use o drones began in the 1990s, andwas rapidly expanded both in numbers and in the kinds othings drones are used or in the wake o the September 11attacks in 2001. Drones have become the weapons systemo choice or surveillance and assassination operations,allowing military and intelligence orces to carry out theiractivities with little or no risk to human agents.

echnicians in air-conditioned rooms in Florida orother domestic sites guide the actions o drones on screenslike video games, raining down high intensity fire poweron targets on the other side o the world.

In 2001 the US military had 167 drones. By 2009 thatnumber was 5,500, and today the drone fleet is more than7,000. Tese numbers are only going to grow larger. Dro-nes are used to kill human targets in countries with whichthe United States is not at war, sometimes against the wis-hes o governments which are supposedly American allies.Drones are most extensively used or lethal missions in

Aghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and Iraq, and havebeen used in Libya and other countries or surveillance andmission coordination as well. In theory, drones are used totarget identified individuals who are an imminent threatto America or Americans. But the precision o this targe-ting is minimal, both in terms o who the targets are, andwhether there are other individuals in the target area whomay also be killed or injured when the drone strikes. Teexact number o people killed by drones is hard or civi-lians to know, but rom available inormation we do knowthat around 5,000 people have been killed this way over theperiod in which drones have been in use, and most o thosehave been during the last five years under Obama. A lar-ge proportion o those ki lled have been collateral damage,such as the 16 year old son o Anwar al-Awlaki, who waskilled in a drone strike in Yemen two weeks afer his ather

was assassinated by a drone. Indeed, many drone killingsare directed at young men who simply fit a certain

signature or profile, who are considered by military orintelligence decision makers as likely to be, or become, athreat in some vague and ill-defined way. Anyone who isound in proximity to such young men is also consideredexpendable, acceptable collateral damage.

Te net effect o these thousands o killings has notbeen to make us saer, to reduce tensions and hostilities,or to eliminate the dangers which Americans ace. Te lar-ge scale killing o bystanders and the seemingly randomtargeting o people serve to broaden and deepen the ragewhich people in other countries, especially those wheredrones are most widely deployed, eel toward the U.S. go-

vernment. Drone killings create more terrorists than theyeliminate, making us all less sae, more threatened, andperpetuating the supposed need or a massive military andintelligence establishment. Drones breed more drones,more war, and more profits or military contractors, andcontributions to politicians o both parties.

Sadly, New Mexico State University plays an impor-tant part in the drone complex. Te innocuous soundingUnmanned Aircraf Systems Flight Center which NMSUoperates is helping to expand the range o drone opera-tions, especially to American domestic airspace. Drones

are already in use along the border, as part o governmentprograms which drive thousands o aspiring immigrantsinto ever more remote parts o the desert in their effortsto seek better lives in America, finding instead death inthe harsh backcountry o the borderlands. Drones are alsoto be used in urban surveillance, putting eyes in theskies to partner with the NSAs listening programs tocreate a comprehensive surveillance system. NMSU

partners with private corporations in drone development,including a collaboration between the NMSU PhysicalScience Laboratory and AeroVironment. Tese efforts aredirected in part, according to an NMSU Arrowhead Cen-ter press release, to supply data to the Department o Jus-tice about conducting night operations, especially or lawenorcement in urban areas.

NMSU will also be hosting an upcoming conerenceon drone development. Since 1999, NMSU has operatedthe echnical Analysis and Applications Center to help e-deral agencies, including the Department o Deense andthe Department o Homeland Security, with their workin using drones. Tis years conerence, to be held awayrom public view on campus at the Santa Ana Pueblo, willeature both open and classified sessions, presumably sothat sensitive issues about drone use will not be subject topublic review.

Drones are a big problem, and getting bigger. Teir wi-despread use as instruments o killing inflicts terror andsuffering on people in ar-flung parts o the world, andtheir growing role as the visual dimension o the compre-hensive American surveillance state threatens the privacyand security o everyone, both Americans and citizens o

the rest o the world. Tey make ordinarypeople less sae, and serve instead to pro-mote and protect only the interests o therich and powerul.

El desarrollo dedronesy NMSU

Creando un mundo ms peligroso para todos

La guerra de aviones no tripulados (drones) se haconvertido en el principal componente de las operacionesmilitares norteamericanos en todo el mundo, y stos seintroducen a las operaciones domsticas de seguridaden una proporcin cada vez mayor. El uso de drones

comenz en el ao de 1990 y rpidamente se ampli tantonumricamente como en el tipo de tareas en las que seemplearon despus de los ataques del 11 de septiembrede 2001. Los drones ya constituyen el sistema de armaspredilecto tanto para las operaciones de vigilancia comode asesinato, permitiendo as que las uerzas militaresy de inteligencia lleven a cabo sus actividades con pocoo ningn riesgo para sus agentes humanos. cnicos enhabitaciones equipadas con aire acondicionado en Floridao en otros sitios domsticos guan las acciones de losdrones en pantallas como si ueran videojuegos, llevandola muerte por armas de alta potencia a blancos ubicados enel otro lado del mundo.

En el 2001 las uerzas armadas de EE.UU. tenan 167drones. Para el 2009 el nmero ascendi a 5.500, y hoyla fleta drone suma ms de 7.000. Estas cantidades sloaumentarn. Los drones son utilizados para abatir blancoshumanos en pases con los cuales Estados Unidos noest en guerra, a veces contra la voluntad de gobiernossupuestamente aliados con Norteamrica. Los drones seutilizan ms extensamente para misiones morteras enAganistn, Pakistn, Yemen, Somalia, e Irak, y tambin sehan empleado en Libia y en otros pases para la vigilanciay la coordinacin de misiones. En teora, los dronesse utilizan en persecucin de individuos identificadoscomo amenazas inminentes para los Estados Unidos olos estadounidenses. Sin embargo, la precisin de estaspersecuciones es mnima, tanto en trminos de quinesson los blancos como en si hay otros individuos en la zonacolindante que puedan surir la muerte o lesiones en unataque drone. La cantidad exacta de personas asesinadas

por los drones es dicil de calcular para los civiles, perola inormacin disponible alude a unas 5.000 personasasesinadas de esta manera durante el perodo en que sehan empleado los drones, y la mayor parte de estos casosse dieron durante los ltimos cinco aos bajo Obama.Una gran cantidad de las muertes se definen como daoscolaterales, tal como el hijo de Anwar al-Awlaki, quien

ue ultimado en un ataque drone en Yemen dos semanasdespus del asesinato de su padre, muerto bajo las mismascircunstancias. De hecho, muchos asesinatos por dronetienen como blancos a jvenes masculinos simplementepor cuadrar con cierto perfil o firma, quienes sonconsiderados personas con probabilidad de ser, o llegara ser, alguna diusa clase de amenaza por parte de altosmandos militares o de espionaje. Cualquier personacercana a tales jvenes tambin representa un daocolateral prescindible y aceptable.

El eecto neto de estos miles de asesinatos es que no noshan protegido, no han contribuido a reducir tensiones nihostilidades, y tampoco han eliminado los peligros queenrentan los norteamericanos. anto el asesinato a granescala como la seleccin, al parecer aleatoria, de blancos,sirven para ampliar y proundizar la ira que la gente enotros pases guarda contra el gobierno norteamericano,sobre todo en donde los drones son ms utilizados. Estosasesinatos crean ms terroristas de los que eliminan,generando menos seguridad y ms riesgo para todos,adems de perpetuar la supuesta necesidad de un masivoestablecimiento militar y de inteligencia. Los dronesgeneran ms drones, ms guerra, y mayores ganancias paralos contratistas militares, tanto como contribuciones paralos polticos de ambos partidos.

Por desgracia, la Universidad Estatal de Nuevo Mxico(NMSU) desempea un papel importante en el complejodrone. El aparentemente innocuo Unmanned AircrafSystems Flight Center (Centro para Sistemas de AvionesNo ripuladas), operado por NMSU, contribuye a ampliarel alcance de las operaciones de drones, especialmente

dentro del espacio areo norteamericano. Los drones yase emplean a lo largo de la rontera como elemento delos programas gubernamentales para empujar a milesde aspirantes a inmigrantes quienes se esuerzan porencontrar vidas mejores en Norteamrica hacia regionescada vez ms remotas del desierto, haciendo que, alcontrario, encuentren la muerte en la inhspita tierra

ronteriza. Los drones tambin son pensados para suempleo en la vigilancia urbana, creando nuevos ojos enel cielo en conjunto con los programas de escuchas dela Administracin de Seguridad Nacional, para crear unsistema integral de vigilancia. NMSU se relaciona concorporaciones privadas para el desarrollo de los drones,incluyendo una colaboracin entre el NMSU PhysicalScience Laboratory (Laboratorio de Ciencias Fsicas) yAeroVironment. Segn un comunicado de prensa deNMSU Arrowhead Center, estos esuerzos se dirigen enparte a encanalizar datos al Departamento de Justiciasobre el manejo de operaciones nocturnas, especialmenteen cuanto al trabajo policaco en zonas urbanas.

Adems, NMSU organizar un coloquio sobre el desarrollode drones. NMSU opera el Centro de Anlisis y Aplicacionescnicas desde 1999 para auxiliar a las agencias ederales,incluyendo el Departamento de Deensa y el Departamentode Seguridad Nacional en su uso de drones. El coloquio deeste ao ser en Santa Ana Pueblo, lejos de la mirada delpblico en el campus; orecer tanto sesiones abiertas comocerradas, aparentemente para que los temas delicados sobreel uso de los drones no sea oco de la revisin pblica.

Los drones representan un gran problema, el cual vaen aumento. Su uso como instrumento letal causa terror ysurimiento en lejanos lugares del mundo, y su papel cada

vez ms importante como dimensin visual del integralestado de vigilancia norteamericano amenaza la privacidady la integridad de todos, tanto norteamericanos como en elresto del mundo. stos disminuyen la seguridad de la gentecomn, y sirven para promover y proteger los intereses delos ricos y poderosos nicamente.

PORFREDDYDEMUTH

Los aviones no tripulados traen la muerte, la vigilancia y el terror. NMSU quiere poner de su parte.

08-09/2013

nmsu groundup 8.28.13 (revision2).pdf

Documents