Tuesday, September 4, 2012
From Faculty Colleagues in Georgia:
Freedom University welcomed 35 new students into our Athens classroom this past Sunday to begin our second ever academic year. While we could share with you our own reflections on the first day of class, we feel our students say it best. Here is what Freedom University alumnus Gustavo has to say about Freedom University:
"Freedom University is, in a way, an expression of what education should be: fun, accessible, conscious and relevant. It came as a response to the ban on Undocumented students from public GA universities, as a form of protest. While many of the white supremacist lawmakers and 'the law is the law' activists would like to see Undocumented youth filling prison cells, we resolved to occupy a classroom instead.
Not just any classroom, but a classroom where education, not subordination, is the main focus. A classroom open to anyone seeking mental stimulation, regardless of economic or immigration status. A classroom that offers transportation even if you live over two hours away. A classroom where thinking critically about history and the present time is embraced and encouraged, not rejected. Freedom University is emblematic because it reflects its name through the direct practice of its ideology..."
In the fall of 2010, the Board of Regents banned undocumented students from Georgia’s top five research universities. In defiance of that ban, a group of students, faculty, and volunteers opened Freedom University Georgia in the fall of 2011. FU is open to all students regardless of their immigration status or ability to pay.
We hope you will take a moment to visit our website and sign the petition against the Regents' ban. Please also consider donating a required course text. We need to secure 25 more copies of When Jesus Came, the Corn Mothers Went Away by the end of the week.
Pamela Voekel, Bethany Moreton, Dana Bultman, Lorgia Garcia-Peña, Betina Kaplan, and Freedom University Students & Volunteers