To Portland Readers:
Please take the time to read this: nearly absent from any media, an outrageous ifo thAs you may know, 17 undergraduates from the Living Wage Campaign at UVa
began a sit-in outside the office of President John Casteen in Madison Hall
last Wednesday (April 12th). There were large student-led rallies twice a
day in support of the 17, and smaller contingents of supporters sitting
vigil all day and all night in front of Madison Hall. On Saturday evening,
all 17 students were arrested and are currently being held at the
Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail for arraignment on Monday morning.
You should know that the Living Wage Campaign has been raising the issue of
poverty wages for university employees for the past 8 years. The have
followed all of the proper channels by making presentations to the Board of
Visitors, meeting with Casteen and other high ranking officials, and
lobbying for alumni support. It is only after 8 years of attempting to make
headway on this issue that the students took the step of civil
disobedience. They are moved on moral and economic grounds to protest the
fact that for many employees the wages they earn at full-time jobs on
campus are not enough to support their families. Many workers here hold two
jobs to make ends meet. This is why students took the unusual step of
risking their academic careers and began the sit-in. The University's
response has been appalling. They refused to allow food to be brought in to
the students, they refused to allow faculty to enter Madison Hall to confer
with and advise the students. The arrest of the students was captured on
video tape and on cell phone messages, and it seems from this evidence that
the police handled the arresting process without regard to the dignity and
integrity of the students. The Living Wage Campaign web site
( http://www.uvalivingwage.net/) contains a chronology of events as well as
links to various local and national, print and television coverage.
An example of a letter that can be sent to Casteen can be found at
http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/uvaarrest/bexx6i4q7wm6mx. Or, you can
draft your own letter of support.
Please join the chorus of voices in support of both a Living Wage at UVa
and the 17 students who are currently being held pending arraignment.
Best,
Don Lieber
Portland, Oregon
For further information and information on how to support the arrested students, contact:
Wende Elizabeth Marshall
Assistant Professor
Anthropology PO Box 400120
 wendemarshall@virginia.edu
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