We’re always in the mood to hear some great college student demands.

Lots of college kids are protesting at lots of colleges these days. Lots of these kids have formed lots of groups that made lots of these demands. Some of them are just very fun to read, is all. And we happen to have some right here. Today: a few demands from the Student Assembly for Power and Liberation at Western Washington University.

  • “[We] call for the creation and full implementation of the College of Power and Liberation... In order to give the college, the resources it needs to be successful we demand a cluster hire of ten tenure track faculty to teach at the college. Until those searches are approved and complete, we demand faculty buy-outs to fulfill CPL class needs that will continue as part of the CPL budget once the cluster hire searches are completed. The Student Assembly for Power and Liberation will have direct input and decision-making power over the hiring of faculty for the College.”

The fact that we enjoy laying back and reading some nice strong student demands doesn’t mean the issues these students are concerned about isn’t real. It doesn’t mean that these issues should not be taken seriously It doesn’t mean that there are not real problems with the way that many institutions are run. It doesn’t mean that protest is bad, or that it is morally superior to scoff at these student movements. It just means that there is nothing more satisfying at the end of a long day than taking in some real student demands of the very highest caliber.

  • “Though many students, staff and faculty members are committed to doing the important yet difficult work of confronting racism, misogyny, trans- and homo-phobia on this campus, the reality is that students have continuously been expected to live in and address these systems of disempowerment while simultaneously being exploited in order to uphold this image of an ‘active mind changing lives’. This work is often done without recognition or compensation for labor, time, and effort. The College of Power and Liberation demands an annually dedicated revenue of $45,000 for compensation of students and faculty doing de-colonial work on campus.”

It’s just fun to read these and enjoyable overall.

  • “We demand the creation and implementation of a 15 persxn paid student committee, The Office for Social Transformation, to monitor, document, and archive all racist, anti- black, transphobic, cissexist, misogynistic, ablest, homophobic, islamophobic, xenophobic, anti-semitism, and otherwise oppressive behavior on campus... The committee will employ a three-strike disciplinary system that corresponds to citations that are processed.”

It’s good to see students getting involved.

[The full petition via Inside Higher Ed. Photo: WWU/ FB]

Contact the author at Hamilton@Gawker.com.