| | Welcome to our March newsletter! There is a lot happening over here at UnKoch My Campus, so please take a moment to check out our new campaigns, save the date for our upcoming Earth Day event, review our updated Model Funding Policy, and so much more. |
| ALERT: SAY NO TO KOCH CASH! |
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| Now, more than ever, is the time to break ties with Koch cash and name the Koch network for what they are: anti-democracy profiteers who place profit over the well being of people and the planet. Large corporations from Starbucks to VISA, Amazon, Ikea, and more are ceasing business in Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine. In fact, over 400 companies have withdrawn from Russia. However, Koch Industries has released a public statement that they are staying put in Russia, where it has multiple subsidiaries. Despite a speech from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Congress urging global businesses to exit Russia, Koch Industries remains steadfast. This latest decision is just one more example in a larger pattern of Koch Industries and the larger Koch network placing a corporate agenda and profit over the common good. Anyone who continues to align themselves with the Koch network and accept donations becomes complicit in this dangerous and harmful wake. Join us in urging Koch-funded politicians and schools to divest immediately and refuse to accept any more Koch cash! |
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| Our Executive Director, Jasmine Banks is up at The Progressive, writing about what we've always known: College students have been some of Charles Koch’s fiercest opponents. And they are one reason that bills are being created and pushed at the state level to protect the fossil fuel industry. |
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| | APPLY FOR OUR STUDENT FELLOWSHIP |
| At UnKoch My Campus we believe that when it comes to disrupting the Koch network, nothing is more powerful than students leading the charge. That’s why we are pleased to announce our 2022 Summer National Student Organizer Fellowship! Selected fellows will be trained to agitate and activate student-driven and community-supported power to achieve the removal of Koch-funded research centers from institutions of higher education. We’ll do so by utilizing an anti-oppressive analysis, building relational power on and off campus, and investing in new leadership identification and development. Before the fellowship is over, fellows will have the opportunity to apply what they’ve learned with the support of the UnKoch My Campus team. The Fellowship is intended for students who are newer to organizing and who may not have leadership positions in their campaigns yet, but are ready to become more involved. Please share with your networks this amazing opportunity for students to gain new skills and support on-going campus efforts to break ties with Koch funded research centers and donor influence. Applications are due by March 31, 2022 |
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| | | TUESDAY, APRIL 19th! We're using April's network call for something special. Join us on Tuesday April 19th as we partner with Greenpeace and others to bring you a webinar focused on climate, democracy, and corporate responsibility. Stay tuned for more details as well as a link to our sign up page! |
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| | | Through decades of funding university activity, the Koch network has developed an expertise in navigating university funding structures in order to maximize their influence through donations. The Koch Network has taken advantage of inadequate funding policies to influence programming, dictate research outcomes, and gain hiring power. Robust funding policies that protect academic freedom and guard against conflicts of interest are one of the most effective means of preventing the Koch-network from co-opting higher education. Inspired by the successful efforts of students and faculty at universities across the country, and rooted in our conviction to preserve our democracy through the prediction of higher education, we are pleased to release our updated higher ed model funding policies document. We begin by unpacking Koch’s strategy toward higher education, complete with relevant examples of how faculty have fought back. This document also includes four model policies, supplemented by helpful guidance for determining which model policy is the right fit at your university. |
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| | Join over 400 students and supporters who have already signed on to demand that George Mason University rename Buchanan Hall on their Virginia campus. It's no secret that Koch influence runs rampant at George Mason University. Charles Koch has donated over $119 million since 2005, resulting in dangerous campus think tanks and much more. But did you know that it was economist James Buchanan that helped bring Koch money and influence to Mason? In 2017, George Mason University re-named Mason Hall to Buchanan Hall, reflecting the tenure of right-wing economist James Buchanan, and the message sent was clear: the administration was choosing to honor Buchanan’s role in bringing the Koch network and their corporate agenda to Mason. As part of our efforts to remove Koch influence from Mason, we need to rename Buchanan Hall. |
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| | | The student debt crisis is worse than ever before. A total of 45 million Americans are weighed down by $1.7 trillion in student loan debt, hitting marginalized communities the hardest. As Americans continue to grapple with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic – 30% of the population can’t pay their housing payments, food insecurity runs rampant, and medical costs continue to rise – President Biden is set to unfreeze student loan repayments on May 1st, despite having the power to cancel all federal student loans with the stroke of a pen. To meet this moment, UnKoch My Campus is co-sponsoring the Debt Collective’s National Day of Action on Monday, April 4th, in Washington D.C. The success of the Koch-funded capture of higher education is inextricably linked to the present debt crisis. Not only were the Kochs among the first to normalize the concept of student debt, but as federal funding for education continues to plummet and tuition prices skyrocket, the resulting vacuum is filled with Koch money. |
| | | SOMETHING GOOD IS COMING... |
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| Good governance and a multiracial democracy is possible. Zine for the Common Good is a magazine reporting on the current state of democracy in the US and what a future world can look like when it is built upon uplifting the common good. This is a huge undertaking and we’d love for you to be a part of it! We’re done with corporate control over the media and democratic institutions, so we’ve launched a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign to help launch Zine for the Common Good. If each of our supporters is able to raise a little, we’ll be able to fund the creation and production of at least two print copies each year. Imagine a bold, colorful magazine full of op/eds, features, interviews, profiles, campaign and grassroots organizing strategy tips, and so much more. |
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| Zine for the Common Good will cover an array of topics crucial to our democracy and tell stories from perspectives that may not typically receive platforms in mainstream media. From broader issues like education, politics, climate, free speech, and to more introspective questions like what does it mean to be safe in our society, we’ll walk the line of personal and political, since they are inextricably linked. But we need your help to do it! Creating a personal fundraiser to support the creation of Zine for the Common Good will make a big impact. You can spread the word about this exciting project and get your friends and family to rally behind a cause close to your heart. |
| | | | Invite Our Experts to Come Speak We know that the Kochtopus has its tentacles in everything and we are here to provide the political education needed to move your campaign strategies as you join us to #UnKochEverything. Looking to have an UnKoch team member or partner to speak to your group about the Koch network? We're available for digital presentations and workshops. Contact us and let's set something up! |
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Get Support With Media and Press Writing an Op/Ed is a powerful media tool that can help get information out about your campaign or cause. Your voice and your story are important and deserve to be shared. Need help figuring out the right outlet to pitch? Have a draft written and want someone to review it before you submit? Want to write something but are unsure where to start? Get in touch and let us know what kind of support we can provide! |
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| | | | Essential Information C/O UnKoch My Campus (EIN 52-1299631)
P.O. Box 19405, | Washington, District of Columbia 20036
+1 210-343-1797 | [email protected] |
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