It is all related. It was always related. Take the time and show the people and they will come to understand . . . and they will do what is right.

—Author Unknown

I think when all this is over, there will, God willing, be two things that I would very much like to accomplish.

The first thing will be to break 25 minutes for the five mile. (I came close once in fall 1992. The race was at S.U.N.Y. Albany. Great course.) Lastly, I’d like to get my motorcycle in good order and ride ’til I run out of road.

But for the moment, there is urgent business to attend to.

On September 22, 1997, I will begin a hunger strike that will last for as long as my body can go without food. Once I have reached that point, the inevitable will obviously take place.

My diet will consist of water and water only. Towards the end of this activity when my body starts to break down to the point of immobility, the water I consume will have minor traces of lemon in it.

The reason(s) why I am going on this hunger strike are presented in the following text. Ever since I moved to Ames, Iowa, Iowa State University, through its president, Martin Jischke, has been voicing its commitment to promoting diversity at this institution. Unfortunately, this commitment has not manifested itself in a tangible and long-lasting form.

Because of this, I am making the following requests to President Martin Jischke, who has the ability to see to it that these requests are met.

1.) A large increase in funding to all cultural studies programs targeted at increasing tenured faculty and program curriculum.

For quite some time, ISU’s cultural studies programs have been funded in poor fashion.

For example, Native American Studies has been very poorly funded since its inception and if any steps have been taken to improve this pattern of funding, they have been minor. If we are serious about becoming the best land-grant institution in the nation, then we must strengthen and nurture all of our academic disciplines regardless of the point that this is an institution originally founded on science and technology.

And let us not assume that the study of other cultures has no place in science and technology, because throughout history, there have been numerous scientific and technological advances that have been made by other cultures that directly affect the science and technology that we build on today.

Perhaps that point makes it very clear that not only will increased funding to cultural studies programs enhance ISU graduates’ abilities to understand others and communicate in an ever growing global community, but it will also build upon the outstanding technological and scientific reputation of ISU.

This commitment of funding should be made available for the start of the fall 1998 semester.

2.) The creation of an Asian/ Asian-American studies program. Justification/funding commitments (start-up costs will need to be researched) for this are the same as the previous request.

3.) A large increase in funding to Carver Academy aimed at:

* Recruiting larger numbers of low income (as defined by the Department of Education), first- generation and minority students.

* Hiring needed staff to assist with larger number of students. In a nation where one of the fastest growing groups of people are Spanish-speaking or have immigrated from Spanish-speaking countries (specifically South America, Central America, Mexico and parts of the Caribbean), it is vital that educational institutions reach out to these groups in an effort to welcome and include them in our society.

The same is true for the disproportionate number of black and Native American peoples who live at or below the poverty level. By increasing MSA’s ability to reach out to these groups of young people, ISU will be doing its part to begin a trend of educational inclusion where by a larger number of students who are eligible to participate in Carver Academy can be given a chance to succeed.

Such a plan would also greatly help diversify our ISU campus community, which I think is something we would all like to accomplish. Increased funding should be made available for fall semester 1998, keeping in mind that new staff will need to be hired during the preceding semester to accommodate the larger number of students.

4.) A large increase in all MSA programs whose purpose is the retention and graduation of the students that MSA serves. Once students have been recruited to ISU and begin their academic journey, it is very necessary to have strong retention programs that continually nurture and command academic excellence from the students they cater to. Without this component, it is safe to say that we would create a revolving door of failure that would not contribute to our diversity efforts at ISU.

This funding should be available for fall 98, keeping in mind that new staff will need to be hired over the summer semester to accommodate new students.

5.) Re-open the naming process of Catt Hall. The past two years have been filled with marches, speeches, rallies and an overall atmosphere of activism regarding the naming of Catt Hall. Most of this energy has manifested itself in the form of research, research and more research done by faculty and students.

Time and time again, this research shows that Catt did not utter only one regrettable phrase but acted continually in a fashion that promoted the hatred of others based on their ethnic, economic and geographic background.

Enter the question: why wasn’t this topic addressed before her name was “officially” put on the building when there were people who were openly calling for such discussion? After all that we have learned (or chosen to ignore) from the research that has been done, it is time to correct this mistake of not allowing various voices to be heard. I hereby request that ISU reopen the naming process for Carrie C. Catt Hall.

I also request that a committee be created to reopen this process and decide if Catt’s name should remain the name of the building in question. I request that this committee be made up of ten people: five that have continually shown unyielding support for numerous diverse student/faculty/staff groups: Mariama Hodari, Karen Donaldson, Mary Sawyer, Carlie Tartokov, and Dr. George Jackson. ISU, perhaps through President Jischke, can choose the other five people.

This committee can meet publicly and privately, gather information/input, do whatever needs to be done for a period of five weeks and decide whether or not President Jischke should go to the Board of Regents and recommend a name change.

The last part of this request is this: if the committee decides that the name of the hall should not be changed, then The September 29th Movement would agree to stop calling for the renaming of Catt Hall. If the committee decides the name should change, then president Jischke agrees to recommend a name change to the Board of Regents before March 1, 1998.

This request is the closest thing to a compromise that can be reached as far as this issue is concerned. I also think the idea of this committee allows many voices, which were silenced at the start of this process, to now be an integral part of the process.

I recognize that this committee may be taking over the responsibilities of another group, but I would hope that ISU would recognize the important need to revisit this issue at its highest levels and suspend whatever guidelines are followed for the naming of streets, buildings and other entities. Rules have been suspended before in light of specific circumstances; surely, it wouldn’t be a stretch to do it for an issue as important as this one.

This issue is forever tied to the issues listed above and below because the process of intended or unintended exclusion of differentiating opinions in the naming of Catt Hall is directly related to ISU’s so- called desire to promote diversity but failure to do it in any long lasting and substantial manner. This committee should be set up as soon as possible.

6.) A commitment by ISU to renovate Morrill Hall into a Multi-Cultural Center. To be the best land- grant university in the nation, it is imperative that such a university have a center located in the middle of its campus that researches, discusses and celebrates a multiplicity of cultures.

Here and now, we have the opportunity to create such a place and, if proved fitting by the ISU community, the building could keep the name it currently has, which seems to be a symbol of equal access to higher education. This commitment should be finalized before the end of the fall 97 semester.

7.) Funding for the Kuumba Multi-Cultural School. This request is based on ISU’s desire to branch out its diversity goals into the surrounding Ames community. (ISU has begun minor funding of Kuumba.) This program is currently being operated by Professor Karen Donaldson, and its function is to educate a diverse group of students, ranging from elementary school to sixth grade.

One of the missions of Kuumba is to provide these students with anti-racist education through studies in science, math, social studies and entrepreneurial exercises. As one can tell, this is a very revolutionary idea which is also very detailed. If there are questions about the specifics please call Professor Karen Donaldson. Her number can be found in the ISU directory.

In order to operate in the fashion this school was designed to operate in, its funding level needs to be raised. Therefore, I request that ISU raise its current funding of this program to $15,000. Currently, the program is funded at $5,000. Once again, please call Professor Donaldson. She would be more than happy to answer any questions.

8.) Improve the recruitment and retention of LGBT faculty in order to create a less hostile environment for LGBT students. The health insurance provided to unmarried couples costs $110 per month more than that provided to married couples. This is due only to an ISU policy decision, not requirements of the insurance company.

The city of Iowa City offers health insurance to unmarried couples at the same rate as married couples. Thus, there are no state or federal laws that prevent such a policy from being implemented.

This statement has been quoted from a memo written by LGBTAA to an ISU administrator. I request that ISU take the necessary steps to see to it that eligible unmarried and/or same sex couples pay the same health insurance amounts as married couples.

None of the groups listed here have requested me to do this.

The end of this hunger strike will come when ISU, through President Jischke, signs a document which, for the most part, states that ISU will meet the requests and time frames listed above. Or, the end of this hunger strike will come with my passing. Most likely, because nothing in this life is certain, it will end one way or the other.

It is important to note that I have entered into this activity without notifying The September 29th Movement of my actions. This was a most difficult decision to make. It is my hope that The Movement will support the requests listed above.

I also have a request directed towards The Movement, and it states that they agree not to take over any buildings or parts of buildings as a form of activism so long as this hunger strike continues.

The reason for this request: I have watched and been a part of all the activities, trials and tribulations that this movement has gone through. During the hearing process that took place last semester, I watched an institution of higher learning specifically target some of its best and brightest students for punishment due to their participation in non-violent protest. The only thing that saved us from expulsion was our ability to persevere and hire good lawyers.

I do not wish to see students put in a position like that again. If we come to that point, so be it, but first let this hunger strike serve as a moral symbol and activity that there are students on this campus who want to promote changes in diversity through the implementation of badly needed monetary, human and programmatic resources.

And we are willing to champion this goal through supporting a hunger strike, the ultimate form of non-violent activity, before pursuing other efforts. This should send the message that we are dedicated to peacefully creating an atmosphere at ISU that fosters inclusion over exclusion, that values every voice rather than a few voices and that works to assist the needs of the many instead of the desires of the few. And right now, we are in dire need of such an atmosphere.

All the requests listed above should help us achieve this. Surely, this act will help ISU to do the right thing and, at the very least, commit to the requests and time frames above.

For the past two years, The September 29th Movement has been my life, my thought, my change, my heart. I hope they are with me on this one.

All this being said, each one of us now enters the twilight of our experience at this institution, a time where we can choose to support substantial steps towards creating diversity on this campus or turn away from such goals.

And 9/29 is not the only group I would ask to support this. From TKE to AFA, GSB to BSA, DZ to SLB, P&S Council to the Black Cultural Center, Knapp Hall to Storms Hall, all of us can show support by writing letters, voicing opinions and continuing to create new ways to promote the idea that the ISU administration adopt the needed requests listed above.

This is a mighty struggle that we are watching unfold. And its mountain top is not out of reach. When we come to realize that inclusion was the key element missing in the naming of Catt Hall, then we must also realize that inclusion is missing in many parts of our ISU community, and we can fix that.

No, the mountain top is not far. If anything, it is within our sights. Now is the time for all of us, together, to reach for that which is clearly attainable. None of these requests are unreasonable or unattainable given the current status of the entities listed therein. Join me in this effort to make ISU an even better university. Everyone is invited to partake. “We are not stopping for no red lights tonight. There is no guest list tonight …”

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Allan Nosworthy is a graduate student in creative writing