FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Matthew Bruenig, SDS organizer, matthewbruenig@ou.edu, 817-437-1223
WHO: Students for a Democratic Society, Women’s and Gender Studies Student Association, and other students
WHEN: October 7, 2010, 12-2PM
WHERE: East Lawn of the Oklahoma Memorial Union (Student Union), 900 Asp Avenue, Norman, OK
SDS, WGSSA to Demonstrate on the National Day of Action for Education
SDS and WGSSA will demonstrate on the East Lawn of the Student Union on Thursday, October 7, from 12PM to 2PM. This demonstration will be part of a series of demonstrations carried out through the country in support of Education Rights. A similar day of action was held last spring on March 4, and received national media attention, as dozens of students were arrested across the country, campuses were shut down by students in California, and school buildings were occupied.
The October 7th Day of Action for Education is a continuation of this previous Day and has the same levels of participation pledged across the country.
SDS and WGSSA is carrying the torch for the movement on the OU campus. During our demonstration, student and non-student speakers will point out the absurdity of our state’s budget priorities, especially when it comes to prisons.
Oklahoma has the fourth highest incarceration rate in the country, but only the nineteenth highest crime rate, and Oklahoma has the highest rate of incarceration of women in the world. Oklahoma State Senator Constance Johnson and members of her staff have estimated that we spend upwards of 300 million dollars per year imprisoning non-violent drug offenders alone.
At the demonstration, speakers will call on the state legislature to adopt more sane budget policies and cut prisons instead of cutting education. A more sane budget would allow the state to continue funding education even with overall budget shortfalls at the current levels, and avoid more of the budget cuts and subsequent tuition hikes that we experienced this last year.
This kind of reform is not only possible, but essential for the flourishing of our state. Education provides the bedrock for opportunities, advancement, and the productiveness of a state. If we spend more on education, speakers will point out at the event, we could ensure that people have more skills, more opportunities, and that they have a chance to move out of poverty — this will decrease the prison population far faster than the tough on crime sentencing that has helped put the state in the budget crisis it is currently in.
