March on Whitmore

As many of you may have heard, today was the first day of the general student strike at UMass. Our demands are:

1. student fee rollbacks
2. funding and accountability for diversity
3. cops out of dorms
4. and student control over student space

We had a rally at noon, holding signs, chanting, getting worked up. Then we exited the Student Union and marched all the way to Whitmore, through the doors, and up the stairs. We sat along the walls, making noise, chanting, banging sticks. Ben Stein was there with his horn. Jack was there with a drum made out of a water bubbler. The procession was so long, people were still leaving the Student Union when we were entering Whitmore. And everyone had an umbrella. A few students had made a giant effigy of Gargano holding a "$" sign and a night-stick with the word "control" on it. I hit his big ol' papier mache head on the way past... Some of the students responsible for organizing the strike wore orange armbands to direct people where to go and what to do. They walked up and down the halls between the rows of students and led chants and reported what was happening. Graduate and undergrads were all together. In fact, I sat across from my TA from my Myth, Folk, and Child Lit class.
Over the course of an hour, we got the following reports:

• Gargano is on vacation (bull!)
• We can't get him on the phone (way to turn off your phone!)
• The administration agreed to meet with leaders (but we want a public forum!)
• Police read us the picketing code, we need to leave Whitmore to avoid being arrested

Curious! I thought...weren't we going to stick around 'til we got what we wanted? hmmm.
Then, the students marched around the campus some more, shutting down the roads for a period of time.
While that was going on, however, Corey and I had retired to Earthfoods for some grub. Then home for a marathon cosleep-fest.
But, tomorrow, teach-ins for me, and a celebration party!
I wonder, however, if these polite, semi-radical acts of student solidarity will amount to anything. I honestly think we should have stayed and tested the legitimacy of the picketing code. Civil disobedience isn't something you can do and then quit for political safety. So in that way, I was actually quite frustrated with the rally.
Also, I chatted with Tyler in Earthfoods and he brought up a good point: isn't a strike defined by workers refusing to go back to work until their terms are met? Are students workers? no...we pay them... Are we going to refuse to hold classes until our terms are met? no...we are only striking for two days... So is this really a strike? Perhaps for the graduate students, but perhaps not at all.
Regardless, the intentions were good. And after all, protesting is by far my favorite campus activity...Besides, of course, hanging around the Student Union with Lissa :)

A Word on Cosleeping

Cosleeping is a term that Lissa has brought to my attention.
In the medical world, cosleeping is:

"the practice of having your infant in your bed with you during sleep. Cosleeping promotes breastfeeding and bonding, and it is safer than crib/cot sleeping when practiced correctly."
- cosleeping.org (not making it up. that's a real website)

But we have appropriated the word into our daily vocabulary. AND! We have a different definition!

COSLEEPING - The act of sleeping with one or more people in order to cuddle/spoon/hold one another. Periods of sleep alternate with periods of consciousness and semi-consciousness. Cosleeping is best performed naked, but is equally effective when participants are clothed. The act is not sexual in nature, but may have sexual undertones. Participants may experience feelings of closeness, euphoria, comfort, and/or safety.

Dark Days

November is the darkest month of the year. I was talking to Lissa today about the panicked feeling I get when I look out the window at 4 and see the sun setting. I think, "wait, I'm not ready! I just started this day!"
So what are some good activities to do during the month in which we are above the arctic circle? Here are ten things I suggest:
1. sleep (always a favorite of mine)
2. spend all possible daylight hours outside - but seeing how cold it is...
3. purchase a full-spectrum lamp and sit under it for an hour or two - sounds bogus, but worth a shot
4. turn on all the lights in the house and jack up the heat. walk around in your bathingsuit and sunglasses.
5. grow fur and remain motionless on the couch for the entire month.
6. put on all black and prance around silently in the dark. Sometimes whisper "children of the night" or gibber like a bat.
7. go about blindfolded. you can't miss the light when you can't see it at all right? right?
8. set fire to your neighbors house. The light from the inferno will make your home cheery.
9. claim you have mono and then slip out of the country and down to mexico. Mexicans never have seasonal affective...when you get back with a tan, claim you have jaundice.
10. and last but not least, complain! Gosh! I love to complain! It really takes the sting out of your situation...and puts it on someone else!

life lessons I have learned from playing too much solitaire...

1. don't be superstitious. no matter what, you can always lose
2. consider all your options
3. don't procrastinate
4. make your moves early
5. it's ok to lose, it's not the end of the world
6. don't trap yourself in a situation you can't get out of
7. stay focused and don't forget what you're doing
8. don't consider anything won until it's all over
9. sometimes you just need to quit