MONDAY April 8th, 1996 News Release from the Student Labor Action Coalition (SLAC) Contact Gabriel Snyder (203) 436-0584 7:10 PM EST or Greg DiBenedetto (203) 436-0390 31 YALE STUDENTS ARRESTED IN PRESIDENT'S OFFICE UNDERGRADUATES CALL ON PRESIDENT TO SETTLE STRIKE Undergraduates charged with trespassing and obstructing free passage At 7:00 PM this evening, 31 Yale University students were arrested for sitting in at the Office of Yale President Richard Levin. The students were taken to the Yale University Police Depatment to be booked on charges of criminal trespass. Levin, who was in his office when the sit-in began, was seen hurrying out the back door of the building before University Police arrived on the scene. Nine students who were inside the building were charged with trespassing while 22 students who sat on the outside steps were charged with obstructing free passage as a result of the peaceful protest. Court hearings on the charges have been set for April 19th, 1996 at 10:30 AM. Members of the Student Labor Action Coalition (SLAC) began a sit-in at Yale's Woodbridge Hall at 4:15 this afternoon, following a meeting with a member of the President's staff in which they called on Levin to support binding arbitration as a means for settling the two month old labor conflict at Yale. SLAC members announced that they would remain overnight in the President's Office. Immediately following this announcement, Presidential Assistant Nina Glickson called the Yale Police, who arrived in force shortly afterward. Student members of SLAC had initially planned to meet with President Levin to discuss the recent strikes on campus, how they have adversely affected student life at Yale, and ways in which the labor disputes could be resolved quickly. But, when students arrived for the 4:00 PM meeting, they were informed that President Levin was unable to make the meeting. President Levin had met with several other student groups throughout the day. No reason for the cancellation was given. According to Valerie McCrory, who was present at the meeting but came outside to announce the results of the meeting, the group presented an undergraduate petition calling for the shift of Yale's temp labor hiring from a for-profit agency to a non-profit social service organization, a statement of support for Locals 34 and 35 from the Black Student Alliance at Yale, and letters of union support from members of the Liberal Party of Yale'sPolitical Union. "I think this just shows the Yale administration's refusal to deal with the issue of the strike in any constructive manner," said SLAC member Francis Engler, a junior. "The administration has embarked on a mission to break its unions and it is willing to pay any cost, including the arrest of their own students." Earlier in the day, students rallied in front of Sterling Memorial Library at an announcement of a trust fund to allow students to hold next semester's tuition payments in escrow until the contract negotiations are resolved. Students then marched to Beinecke Plaza to hear the results of the meeting with President Levin. "We went into this meeting looking for a sign that Yale was negotiating these contracts in good faith and that normal services would be restored as soon as possible," said SLAC member Gabriel Snyder, a sophomore. "If Levin is not even willing to talk to students, it is difficult to believe that the administration is negotiating with our best interests at heart." Yale students have increasingly shown concern for the lack of university services due to the strikes, including closed dining halls, curtailment of custodial and maintenance services, and limited access to many other university facilities.
