Inside Higher Ed: Why we were arrested
By Cary Nelson and Jane Buck
Today most of those arrested at the April demonstration at New York University have their day in court. We though it an appropriate moment to explain why we participated.
Never before in its 91-year history have the officers of the American Association of University Professors heard the call to be arrested in the line of duty. But there we were — Cary Nelson and Jane Buck, incoming and outgoing AAUP presidents and close friends — on a New York street on April 27 waiting to be handcuffed and taken to a police station and booked. The AAUP, adding a professional to a basic human right, long ago joined the United Nations in recognizing that all employee groups have the right to choose for themselves whether to be represented collectively. It is not the responsibility of university administrators to decide what is best for their employees. The employees have the right to decide for themselves. NYU graduate employees have twice voted to affirm their decision to engage in collective bargaining.
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