This week on Chronversations: A conversation with the SGA about the MAYDAY protest.
Transcript:
0:08: Welcome back to the Chronicle Chronversations.
0:10: I’m your host, Aaron Guzman.
0:13: This week on Conversations, the Student Government Association is holding an event where students can learn to protest safely and coordinate safely with their peers as part of the May Day protest where activists around the globe advocate for workers’ rights and other social justice causes.
0:28: May Day got its start in Chicago over labor unions and labor rights, and right now May Day is currently held by the Chicago Teachers Union and this year they’re focusing on immigration.
0:42: Like, you know, preventing the deportations, freedom for Palestine, obviously labor rights, you know, railing against the billionaires.
0:51: There’s a couple of other organizations that have tagged themselves onto May Day.
0:56: So this year, the CTU and coalition with local unions, the AFT, the NEA, the AAUP Unite Here, AFSCME, United Auto Workers, SEIU, and other labor unions and community organizations like Make the Road, State Voices Center for Popular Democracy.
1:14: Move on, the Women’s March, Power People Power United, the Sunrise movement showing up for racial justice and others.
1:21: OK, so where’s the meeting spot for this event?
1:24: They’re starting in Union Park and they’re ending in Grant Park, but I’m leading a group to Grant Park in the hopes that there are, you know, because Union Park is a bit a ways away, and I try to keep student groups within like a 30 minute.
1:41: radius of the campus just for ease.
1:46: Yeah, so they’re starting in, if you check the seats, the Chicago Teachers Union Instagram, they’re starting in Union and they’re ending in Grant and so I’m heading over to Grant to see if there are, you know, people at the end there.
1:59: OK.
2:00: Is there any significance to why it’s being held in Grant or like why it’s finishing there?
2:05: Probably just visibility, a big fountain.
2:10: And what are you hoping are like some of the biggest takeaways for this event?
2:15: I want students to not be afraid to get involved in, you know, protests and civic action, you know, we have a really great community here at Columbia for student justice.
2:27: There’s Students for Justice in Palestine.
2:30: There’s, Columbia Votes, there are a lot of really active groups on campus and I just want more people to not be afraid to engage with those groups and you know when I first moved to Chicago I came from a pretty rural area.
2:50: My first protest was with 4 other people and we had chalk and like 2 signs and we were in front of the mayor’s office and we were declaring climate change a national emergency.
3:01: So you know I started at this really small town.
3:05: And I was afraid of going to bigger protests in Chicago because I just didn’t want to go alone.
3:12: So, and it’s also good to get engaged and, you know, when you’re with a friend, you look out for each other.
3:18: That sort of thing.
3:18: That’s all for this week.
3:20: Make sure to stay up to date with campus and metro news at ColumbiaChronicle.com.
3:24: And sign up for our newsletter at ColumbiaChronicle.com/newsletter.
3:29: Don’t forget to check out our Three C’s podcast where we tell you about the three biggest things you need to know at Columbia for the week.
3:35: I’m Aaron Guzman.
3:36: Thanks for listening.
Copy edited by Patience Hurston
