***For May Day 2014: please click here to go to the Stony Brook May Day Coalition’s website***

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The schedule is now finalized!

You can download a double-sided, one-page copy of the final schedule here.

Also, check out our May Day Facebook Event Page.

May Day – General Schedule of Events:

8:30am – 7:00pm: Stony Brook Free University @ Main Campus

1:00pm: Rally to Celebrate Campus Labor Unions @ outside of SB Union

4:30pm: Faculty Panel & Discussion: “Why May Day?” @ Wang Center, Lecture Hall #2

6:00pm: Community Dinner @ Staller Steps

7:00pm: Film screening: “We Are Wisconsin” @ Wang Center, Lecture Hall #2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stony Brook Free University – Full Schedule of Classes:

8:30 AM

Community Agreement
Led by: GSEU members
Starts: 8:30 AM
Ends: 9:00 AM
Location: C
Description: What is the Free University? What kind of space do we want to create? How do we ensure that the Free University is a safe space for all peoples—that all feel welcome to attend, to participate, and to express their opinions? Come join in this opening session as we draft a community agreement.

9:00 AM

History & Activism Workshop
Led by: Gregory Rosenthal
Starts: 9:00 AM
Ends: 10:00 AM
Location: A
Description: You’ve probably heard a history teacher say this once: “Studying history is important to understanding our contemporary world.” But is it really? In what ways does our knowledge (or ignorance) of history inform (or fail to inform) our activism? We will put this sentiment to the test in this workshop. Participants are asked to bring to the workshop an issue that they are currently working on / struggling with / care about, and then we will collectively brainstorm the creative and transformative role that history might play in our activism.

9:30 AM

Feminism and Education without Costs
Led by: Jessica Rybak
Starts: 9:30 AM
Ends: 10:30 AM
Location: B
Description: I’ll spend my Free U class discussing my experiences with the Public Education campaign as it’s specifically been applied to Stony Brook University over the past 5 years. I’ll be framing the public education campaign in the context of my recent research about feminism in the institutionalized education system, and will discuss why a truly “feminist” education and academic environment requires that education is free and accessible to all learners.

10:00 AM

EGL 193 – Introduction to Drama
Led by: Allison Locke
Starts: 10:00 AM
Ends: 10:53 AM
Location: A
Description: A discussion of Ben Jonson’s The Alchemist.

11:00 AM

Why the Free University? / Community Discussion on Fees / GSEU’s No Fees Campaign
Led by: GSEU members
Starts: 11:00 AM
Ends: 12:00 PM
Location: A
Description: Public higher education has experienced perpetual cuts to funding in recent years, and SUNY-Stony Brook is once again seeking to raise student fees. The Free University recognizes the inherent value of education to society, and rejects the notion that education is a ‘commodity’ available to ‘consumers.’  As such, the GSEU adamantly opposes any additional fees, which pose a threat to the accessibility of higher education. Read the union’s statement (http://www.cwa1104gseu.com/stony%20brook/graduate-student-employees-oppose-university-student-fees) and come to this community discussion to share your views on how the union can best tackle this issue.

12:00 PM

Who is Musical? We All Are.
Led by: Nicole Calma
Starts: 12:00 PM
Ends: 12:30 PM
Location: A
Description: In this class, I’d like to talk about musical abilities and broaden our thoughts about what we think this means. “Musical ability” does not only apply to the music-makers but also the music-receivers. I’d like to frame this class in two parts– starting with a discussion of our own musical experiences, followed by a presentation of some music cognition data supporting this wide interpretation.

1:00 PM

*****CAMPUS RALLY*****

RALLY TO CELEBRATE CAMPUS LABOR UNIONS
Led by: GSEU & Allies
Starts: 1:00 PM
Ends: 2:00 PM
Location: Outside SB Union
Description: All graduate students should attend! Wear your GSEU union t-shirts! Wear red! Speakers may include: undergraduate students; graduate students; representatives of GSEU, UUP, CSEA, and more!

2:00 PM

Mixed Media – Applied Medium Art Lab
Led by: Elizabeth Carre
Starts: 2:00 PM
Ends: 4:00 PM
Location: **Meet at Free U info hub**
Description: In this class I will offer an art workshop on print-making, painting, paper making, and sculpture with all recycled and/or found objects. This class is meant to teach form and function of materials and how to find substitutes for materials when art supplies are hard to get a hold of. It is open to all.

PHI 105: Politics & Society
Led by: Kevin Jobe
Starts: 2:00 PM
Ends: 3:20 PM
Location: A
Description: Are some men born to rule and others to be ruled, as Aristotle suggests? After reviewing the American Founders’ views on natural aristocracy, we will discuss how, in the words of Michel Foucault, we have still yet to ‘cut off the head of the king’ by being chained to a conception of sovereignty that is inherently hierarchical and authoritarian. Finally, we will discuss strategies of resistance and alternative modes of political communication and production that maintain a radical committment to anti-hierarchical and anti-authoritarian politics.

Introduction to the History of Marxism
Led by: Platypus Affiliated Society
Starts: 2:00 PM
Ends: 3:00 PM
Location: E
Description: Open discussion of selections from texts.

2:30 PM

EGL 193: Intro to Drama – Shakespeare and Film
Led by: Eileen Sperry
Starts: 2:30 PM
Ends: 3:50 PM
Location: **Indoor Class** Physics P125
Description: This session will discuss Kurosawa’s film Ran and its relationship to Shakespeare’s play King Lear.

WST 397 / SOC 394: Globalization, Gender, and Migration
Led by: Melissa Forbis
Starts: 2:30 PM
Ends: 3:50 PM
Location: B
Description: During this class session, we will be discussing immigration post-9/11. We’ll talk about the roots of May Day in the radical labor organizing of immigrant communities in the late 19th century, as well as the contemporary May Day protests by immigrants since 2006, focusing particularly on women’s contributions.

Driving Force: What gets us through it?
Led by: Arianna Warner, Dinosaur Onesie Project
Starts: 2:30 PM
Ends: 3:30 PM
Location: C
Description: The creator of the Dinosaur Onesie Project will hold a discussion-based Free U class that’s inspired by her socially engaging artwork that relates to the power that each of us find within ourselves to persist, survive, and flourish. We all face challenges every day, but what is “it” that gets us through it. Is it our family? Friends? A motivational mentor? And idea that it will get better?

WST 305: Feminist Theories: Sexual Politics of Belonging
Led by: Lisa Diedrich
Starts: 2:30 PM
Ends: 3:50 PM
Location: D
Description: We will be discussing the text Red Dust, a novel by the South African writer Gillian Slovo (daughter of anti-apartheid activists Ruth First and Joe Slovo) about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Sexual Citizens: Sex, Publics, and Space in Twentieth Century America
Led by: Victoria Hesford
Starts: 2:30 PM
Ends: 3:50 PM
Location: F
Description: The class is an upper-level Women’s and Gender Studies seminar called, “Sexual Citizens: Sex, Publics, and Space in Twentieth Century America,” and combines historical, literary, and theoretical analysis of the formation of different kinds of sexual identities and publics in America in the twentieth century.

Challenges and Dilemmas in Occupy Wall Street
Led by: Gianmarco Savio
Starts: 2:30 PM
Ends: 3:30 PM
Location: **Meet at Free U info hub**
Description: In this session, I will provide an overview of the movement in its first year and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of some of its core features: the centrality of occupation, the lack of “demands,” the paradox of inclusiveness, and its decentralized structure.

3:30 PM

Presentation of a short scene from SBU’s recent production of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet
Led by: Valerie Clayman Pye, Director
Starts: 3:30 PM
Ends: 4:00 PM
Location: E
Description: For more info, see: http://stallercenter.com/1213/hamlet.html

Importance of Student Activism
Led by: Gui Yang
Starts: 3:30 PM
Ends: 4:30 PM
Location: C
Description: This teach-in emphasizes the importance of student activism. Using the example of luxury development in specific communities, the Domino’s Pizza franchise lawsuit, and the new minimum wage law, this teach-in will identify how these issues affect college students and new graduates in the economy and why students should join community groups / organizations to prevent them.

4:00 PM

PHI 104 – Introduction to Moral Reasoning
Led by: Nathifa Greene
Starts: 4:00 PM
Ends: 5:20 PM
Location: A
Description: This class will discuss the ethics of eating animals, focusing on “Consider the Lobster” an essay by David Foster Wallace. 

WRT 102 – Introduction to Expository Writing
Led by: Leslie Hunter
Starts: 4:00 PM
Ends: 5:20 PM
Location: B
Description: This is the introduction to expository writing class where writing for academic purposes is emphasized. On May 1st, we will be talking about making claims in the personal essay genre.

4:30 PM

*****FACULTY PANEL & DISCUSSION*****

“WHY MAY DAY?”
Moderated by: GSEU
Starts: 4:30 PM
Ends: 6:00 PM
Location: Wang Center, Lecture Hall #2
Description: Faculty Panelists Lori Flores (History), Liz Montegary (Cultural Analysis and Theory), and Michael Schwartz (Sociology) will each speak to the question: “Why May Day?” Including lots of time for Q &A.

5:30 PM

Social Movements
Led by: Tarun Banerjee
Starts: 5:30 PM
Ends: 6:45 PM
Location: A
Description: How do social movements achieve success? Can we rely on electing supportive candidates to office? We will discuss why even seemingly progressive candidates are unable to affect substantive or radical change, how corporate power limits this, and how people can use their leverage and apply popular pressure more effectively.

6:00 PM

*****COMMUNITY DINNER*****
Hosted by: GSEU
Starts: 6:00 PM
Ends: 7:00 PM
Location: Staller Steps — Picnic style!
Description: FREE FOOD for all May Day participants, friends, and allies! First come, first served. Come meet GSEU leadership, connect with graduate students, and network with like minds.

7:00 PM

*****FILM SCREENING*****

“WE ARE WISCONSIN”
Led by: GSEU
Starts: 7:00 PM
Ends: 9:00 PM
Location: Wang Center, Lecture Hall #2
Description: Check out the film’s website: We Are Wisconsin. See the trailer here: We are Wisconsin.