ACN Volume 4 No 2-3 Spring 1992

Letter To The Editor

(Editor's Note: The following letter by a staff member 
of this newsletter was recently published in the 
Columbia Daily Spectator in N.Y.C.)

To the Editor,
      Probably unbeknownst to many students, the rally 
and entering of Low Memorial Library on Tuesday, 
February 11, 1992, was in the tradition of a glorious 
victory that took place 55 years ago. On February 11, 
1937, General Motors auto workers in Flint, Michigan 
emerged from the factories they had occupied, 
victorious. As part of a long series of strikes 
nationwide, this forty-four day long Sit-Down Strike 
won GM auto workers the right to have the United Auto 
Workers (UAW) represent them as their  bargaining agent 
to GM. This was the beginning of the official 
recognition of the UAW by auto manufacturers.
      The sit-in at Columbia to achieve more of a 
student voice in University decision making is a 
poignant reminder of the similar fight that occurred 55 
years ago in Flint, Michigan. Just as those workers 
fought the auto industry for a voice, the students of 
Columbia are likewise fighting to have their voice heard. 
By learning more of the tradition behind the battle for 
democratic rights, we shall be stronger.

Michael Hauben

=====================================================