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Written by Kwesi McDavid-Arno
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The one elected official who has the most sway over the planned Columbia expansion into West Harlem is City Councilman Robert Jackson, who represents the district. In an interview with BlackBallot.com, Robert Jackson was kind enough to explain the governmental process that Columbia must go through in order to obtain approval for its proposed new campus in West Harlem. Please click on article link to see the video interview.
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Written by Kwesi McDavid-Arno
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Video Interview by Kwesi McDavid-Arno is accompanied
by article reprinted from the September 16, 2007 Edition
The New York Times Op Ed Section
Big Man Off Campus
By Bill Perkins
WE have an affordable housing crisis in New York City. And yet imagine what would happen if a publicly operated affordable housing agency got the goahead to seize a parcel of land on Columbia University s campus to build apartments for lowincome residents of Harlem. |
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Written by Kwesi McDavid-Arno
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Official website www.custrike.blogspot.com
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Statement from the Strikers
Why We Strike...
We are on hunger strike because we want change and because we believe that change is worth sacrifice. We strike against a university that seems not to care for the wellbeing of its students or of its community. We strike because we feel the urgency of a student voice that is continually being marginalized. We strike because we dont want students in the future to have to resort to drastic measures to affect change in this institution.
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Written by Kwesi McDavid-Arno
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I would first like to state that I write this article with great trepidation. I would like to say that I respect the former Mayor David Dinkins as an elder African American. I have crossed his path several times, and he strikes me as an honest and forthright man. However, I must say that my last encounter with the former Mayor was very disappointing. Please click on the article link to see the video interview.
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Written by Kwesi McDavid-Arno
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Columbia University and the Gentrification of Harlem
By Keisha Saul
 Columbia Universitys plan to expand its historic Morningside campus by an additional seventeen acres has met with widespread opposition. So when does the battle for education meet public resistance When a universitys goal of providing the physical space needed to continue to pursue its mission means the immediate gentrification of a historic, Black neighborhood, and the displacement of residents who currently live in three properties along these seventeen acres in order to accommodate the Universitys demands. The residents of West Harlem have long fought a battle for community perseverance  its continuous competition for affordable housing comes threefold as West Harlems many attractions now become known and desired. One of the many attractions is the easy commute to central Manhattan, a priceless amenity included with each of the many renovated apartments now for rent in the area.
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