[GPSCC-chat] Fw: Re: Summer Growth: Making Our Activism Sustainable

[Caroline Yacoub]

I have no idea. I frequently get things out of the blue from people and groups I never heard of. He just appeared in my in-box, and I thought maybe the "Grow the Green Party" Fairy had sent him to me. As to starting my conversation with him--I just thought, "This is a coalition waiting to happen." I'm glad you will work with him. I had fears of people saying, "He's from southern California. What do we want to do anything with him for?" My answer would be, "Do we want to grow the Green Party or do we just want to grow the Green Party in Santa Clara County?" We have U.C.'s in this area. Hopefully, we have people who have connections there. Let's all get together.

--- On Sun, 5/29/11, MKmusic03 at aol.com <MKmusic03 at aol.com> wrote:


From: MKmusic03 at aol.com <MKmusic03 at aol.com>
Subject: Re: Fw: Re: Summer Growth: Making Our Activism Sustainable
To: carolineyacoub at att.net, j.m.doyle at sbcglobal.net, slee23 at gmail.com, tnharter at aceweb.com, andi at wrytor.com, gerrygras at earthlink.net, fredlois2 at gmail.com, spencer.graves at structuremonitoring.com
Cc: MKmusic03 at aol.com
Date: Sunday, May 29, 2011, 10:13 PM



Hi Caroline and All,
 
I am very interested in us keeping an ongoing dialogue with Ankur.  I volunteer to take Carolines's place while she is on her great adventure.  I will gladly take over communication with him.  Just one question.
Caroline, how did you meet him and how did you come to start an email communication with him? 
 
Merriam
 

In a message dated 5/29/2011 8:51:55 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, carolineyacoub at att.net writes:




Okay folks, somebody is going to have to take over communication with this guy. We don't want to lose him just because I'm out of touch for a month.

--- On Sat, 5/28/11, Ankur Patel <ankur.mayur.patel at gmail.com> wrote:


From: Ankur Patel <ankur.mayur.patel at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Summer Growth: Making Our Activism Sustainable
To: "Caroline Yacoub" <carolineyacoub at att.net>
Date: Saturday, May 28, 2011, 11:00 AM


Caroline, 


 Most definitely. I am totally on board with everything you said.


 We are in close contact with the San Fernando Valley Green Party (Kit Crittenden, Eugene Hernandez, Edy Alvarez, Robin Gilbert, Michael McCue, Marlon Stern, and even Jack Lindblad). We have a California State University Northridge math professor that is going to be seeking the Green endorsement for Congress in the 2012 election.


 Glad to hear from you, and if you have any ideas on how to connect campuses in Santa Clara to CSUN that would be great. I really think we need to start identifying candidates (or at least potential candidates). 


 The San Fernando Valley Green Party will be going through that process in its next few meetings. If we could coordinate with the Santa Clara Greens, there would be massive synergy. Each candidate having a specific issue that they became the go to expert on (Community Gardens/Agriculture, Energy, Transportation, War, etc.) with real solutions while acknowledging other candidates on our slate that have real solutions to other issues seems like a logical way to structure a cohesive campaign, as opposed to everyone out for themselves. 


 We also feel that we need to connect with other parties in order to gain legitimacy in the eyes of a broader public that is stuck in a two party binary. Libertarians, Peace and Freedom (Socialists) and American Independents can be valuable allies, and even democrats and republicans if used strategically in certain districts.


 Have you thought about any propositions or ballot measures for the 2012 elections? We have been discussing a reform of proposition  13, what are your thoughts on that front?


 Looking forward to developing a working relationship with you and the Santa Clara Greens.


peace
-Ankur


On Sat, May 28, 2011 at 9:27 AM, Caroline Yacoub <carolineyacoub at att.net> wrote:






Have you thought about creating a coalition with an actual political party that already has ballot status--like, for example, the Green Party? Every one of the projects you mentioned is in harmony with Green goals. There are already channels of communication between all the communities in the state where there are UC campuses. The Green Party is very interested in electing state representatives and senators. You folks are at your universities for a few years at a time. If you joined up with the Greens, you could establish some long-term goals and be around to see them accomplished. The Green Party would be very motivated to work with you. Because of Prop. 14, we need to increase our numbers. We need new ideas and energy. I think this coalition would be beneficial for all of us. The democrats and republicans have done nothing for you. Give Green a chance.
 
Caroline Yacoub
Santa Clara County Green Party 


--- On Fri, 5/27/11, Ankur Patel <ankur.mayur.patel at gmail.com> wrote:



From: Ankur Patel <ankur.mayur.patel at gmail.com>
Subject: Summer Growth: Making Our Activism Sustainable
To: actvist.student.coalition at gmail.com
Date: Friday, May 27, 2011, 10:40 AM 






We can not unlearn what our mistakes have taught us. As we see our friends graduate and the semester coming to an end at California State University Northridge, we will not allow summer to set us back to square one.
 
We had some protests. People showed up. We made noise. We got some media coverage. Did anything happen?
 
We know that we need actionable solutions beyond asking for money.
 
We also know that awareness and education are always part of the problem, but do we still blame Chancellor Reed for budget cuts? 
 
Have we realized that it is the state legislature made up of 40 state senators and 80 state assemblymen that decide on California's budget? [Protests Require Political Action, Not Just Noise]. 
 
Direct political action (voting) is a given, but we need more.
 
We can't be working 8 hours/day at the mall or flipping burgers for $8/hour, be taking 15 units, and still be expected to devote the amount of energy needed to make our activism effective.
 
Our activism should be putting [organic] food on the table, getting us from A to B [by bicycle], paying our electricity bills [with renewable energy]... Our activism should be the work that sustains us. 
 
Activism can't be something that we sometimes have time for.
 
The way we can make this fundamental shift is to make our activism profitable. We have a faith based economy, whatever we decide is profitable, is.
 
It is as simple as asking our elected officials to put money towards a certain project -- and them doing it: 


Lets say it takes 10 hours to do the research, 10 hours to write the proposal, and 10 hours to convince an elected official that CSUN's community garden is worth an investment of $3,000 because it will produce locally grown celery, potatoes, tomatoes, etc. while teaching people how to eat healthy.

That equates to $100/hour. Of course it isn't that simple... we still need to maintain and grow the garden. 

That 30 hours of initial research, writing, and lobbying got the investment of $3,000 -- but it will be the work done after that allows us to go back to that source of funding to say "look at what we did with that small amount of money, give us a job and a secure revenue stream so we can do more."

CSUN's Community Garden has hired a Student Garden Assistant who is getting paid $9/hour for the summer.
Here are two specific projects that can lead to employment right here on CSUN's campus (or any campus for that matter) if we decide to put in the effort:

Safe Routes to School -- $500,000 grants are available for developing a better way to get kids from home to school (K-12). This is an opportunity for almost any discipline, we already have a few Urban Planners and Geographers on board. We are putting together a team to go after these grants (Every elementary, middle, and high school can apply individually, so there is no shortage of opportunity. The more people we get working on this, the more likely we get funded). We already have partnerships with Neighborhood Councils. Local schools are interested, but might not have the ability to put together a proper application, which opens the door for us.  
Resource Collaborative -- As a campus we spend millions of dollars every year on energy and water. Many campus entities recognize this, but haven't done enough. Specifically, the Oviatt Library would be a great testing grounds... How much energy does it take to run those escalators, light bulbs, computers, etc. all day? How much does it cost? Are there alternatives?  These sorts of analyses aren't complicated, but are definitely valuable, and can turn into paid positions. [UCLA is currently doing this sort of analysis for their Ackerman Union]
There are many clubs and organizations that are providing real benefit to the community, but are regularly limited by currency and/or labor -- we can address that by Making Our Activism Sustainable.
 
The reason we have creationism taught in schools [and the Earth is 6,000 years old] is because academia is politically irrelevant. We don't have academics -- lawyers, businessmen, and medical doctors aren't academics -- defending science or even basic factual statements at any political level.  
 
Our plan also includes running candidates for the 2012 elections. We need to create a broad platform of candidates from different universities, political affiliations, and demographics. We currently have 2 CSUN professors (Math and History) who are running for Congress (House of Representatives). I personally feel we should focus on the state assembly as that is the legislative body that decides how much money the state spends on education, but we start wherever we can.   
 

We will be meeting June 6th, Monday at 9am in the Santa Susana Room (3rd floor above the Freudian Sip in the USU Area on the CSUN campus). We have that same space at that same time reserved through December (a total of 25 gatherings).
 

A tentative title is Underground University. I know we are using campus facilities, but we are working on issues that are not taught by the status-quo. Workshops, films, phonebanking, art projects, gardening, planning... just getting together and talking is not what this intends to be.  
 
Any other suggestions are welcome.
 
There are opportunities to make a difference, but we need participation. 
 
Feedback is crucial. Please respond with questions, comments, criticisms, anything that you may have or be interested in getting more information on. 
 
peace
-Ankur Patel
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