Tent State University is a national movement at various universities in the United States and England in which students, staff and community members set up tents and build an alternative university. This model is used to facilitate collective activism and student organizing. [1]
The main lobbying focus is on policies which harm higher education. This includes taking funding away from education at the federal and state level, the lack of democratic influence in school governance, and rejecting the annual excuse of a budget crisis. It also calls special attention to the war in Iraq which consumes a large amount of resources which could be spent on higher education.
Tent State is distinct in its emphasis on democracy at all levels of society: "People who work together make decisions together, and people who make decisions together work together." It also places a tactical emphasis on coalition building across diverse communities.
The movement started at Rutgers University in 2003 and has spread to many other schools. [1] Universities involved include the University of California, as well as the Madison campus of the University of Wisconsin, the University of Missouri, campus of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the University of Connecticut, SUNY, Rowan University, [2] and Tent State UK at the University of Sussex. [3] Even though its main focus is higher education and democracy in the United States, an increasing number of left-wing organizations have used Tent State as a forum for discussions on a broad range of issues.
The University of Brighton is a public university based on four campuses in Brighton and Eastbourne on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achieved university status in 1992.
Rutgers University, officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was affiliated with the Dutch Reformed Church. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States, the second-oldest in New Jersey after Princeton University, and one of nine U.S. colonial colleges that were chartered before the American Revolution.
The State University of New York at Albany, commonly referred to as the University at Albany, UAlbany or SUNY Albany, is a public research university with campuses in Albany, Rensselaer, and Guilderland, New York. Founded in 1844, it is one of four "university centers" of the State University of New York (SUNY) system.
A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, organizational activities, representation, and academic support of the membership.
Rowan University is a public research university in Glassboro, New Jersey, with a medical campus in Stratford and medical and academic campuses in Camden. It was founded in 1923 as Glassboro Normal School on a 25-acre (10 ha) site donated by 107 residents.
The University of Johannesburg (UJ) is a public university located in Johannesburg, South Africa. The University of Johannesburg came into existence on 1 January 2005 as the result of a merger between the Rand Afrikaans University (RAU), the Technikon Witwatersrand (TWR) and the Soweto and East Rand campuses of Vista University. Prior to the merger, the Daveyton and Soweto campuses of the former Vista University had been incorporated into RAU. As a result of the merger of Rand Afrikaans University (RAU), it is common for alumni to refer to the university as RAU. The vice-chancellor and principal of UJ is Professor Tshilidzi Marwala who took office on 1 January 2018. Between 2005 and 2017, UJ's vice-chancellor and principal was Prof Ihron Lester Rensburg.
Richard Levis McCormick is a historian, professor and president emeritus of Rutgers University.
Rutgers University–Camden is one of three regional campuses of Rutgers University, a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. It is located in Camden, New Jersey. Founded in 1929 as the South Jersey Law School, Rutgers–Camden began as an amalgam of the South Jersey Law School and the College of South Jersey. It is the southernmost of the three regional campuses of Rutgers—the others being located in New Brunswick and Newark. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".
Civic engagement or civic participation is any individual or group activity addressing issues of public concern. Civic engagement includes communities working together or individuals working alone in both political and non-political actions to protect public values or make a change in a community. The goal of civic engagement is to address public concerns and promote the quality of the community.
Northland College is a private college in Ashland, Wisconsin. Founded as the North Wisconsin Academy in 1892, the college was established in 1906. Originally affiliated with the Congregational Church, the college remains loosely tied to the Congregational Church's descendant, the United Church of Christ. It enrolls 526 full-time undergraduates and employs 60 faculty members and 99 staff members. Northland College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
In the United States, higher education is an optional stage of formal learning following secondary education. It is also referred as post-secondary education, third-stage, third-level, or tertiary education. It covers stages 5 to 8 on the International ISCED 2011 scale. It is delivered at 4,360 Title IV degree-granting institutions, known as colleges or universities. These may be public or private universities, research universities, liberal arts colleges, community colleges, or for-profit colleges. US higher education is loosely regulated by the government and by several third-party organizations.
Sussex County Community College (SCCC) is a public community college in the town of Newton in Sussex County, New Jersey. It is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and several of its programs are further accredited or approved by state government agencies and national occupational standards associations.
Rowan College of South Jersey (RCSJ) is a public community college with two campuses in the South Jersey region of New Jersey. The first, Gloucester Main Campus, is in Sewell. The second, Cumberland Branch Campus, is in both Vineland and Millville. The college was established in 1966 as Gloucester County College (GCC). In 2014, the college changed its name to Rowan College of Gloucester County when Rowan University and Gloucester County College entered into a partnership. The college then expanded in 2019, combining Rowan College at Gloucester County (RCGC) and Cumberland County College to become Rowan College of South Jersey.
180/Movement for Democracy and Education or MDE was a U.S. national campus activist organization active from 1998 to 2004. Its mission was
"dedicated to helping build a campus-based movement for political empowerment and participatory democracy. Through education and organizing we hope to encourage a radical political presence in our schools to transform them and our communities into truly democratic spaces."
A state university system in the United States is a group of public universities supported by an individual state, territory or federal district. These systems constitute the majority of public-funded universities in the country.
Multicultural education is a set of educational strategies developed to provide students with knowledge about the histories, cultures, and contributions of diverse groups. It draws on insights from multiple fields, including ethnic studies and women studies, and reinterprets content from related academic disciplines. It is a way of teaching that promotes the principles of inclusion, diversity, democracy, skill acquisition, inquiry, critical thought, multiple perspectives, and self-reflection. One study found these strategies to be effective in promoting educational achievements among immigrant students.
Student governments in the United States exist in both secondary and higher education. At the collegiate level, the most common name is Student Government, according to the American Student Government Association's database of all student governments throughout the United States. The next most common name is the student government association. Other names are student senate, associated students, or less commonly students' union. There was one instance of a government of the student body, at Iowa State University. At Yale University, the undergraduate student government is known as the Yale College Council. High school student governments usually are known as Student Council.
In the United States, community colleges are primarily two-year public institutions of tertiary education. Community colleges also offer remedial education, GEDs, high school diplomas, technical degrees and certificates, and a limited number of 4-year degrees. After graduating from a community college, some students transfer to a four-year college or university to continue their studies. Community college is tuition free for selected students in 47 states, often under the name College Promise. Most community college instructors have advanced degrees, but serve as part-time low wage employees.
The School of Art, Architecture and Design, formerly the Sir John Cass School of Art, Architecture and Design, abbreviated as The Cass and nicknamed the Aldgate Bauhaus, is an art school in Aldgate that forms part of London Metropolitan University. It was established in its present form in 2012 from the merger of Sir John Cass Faculty of Art, Media and Design and the Faculty of Architecture and Spatial Design at London Metropolitan University, though it has a history stretching back to the 1800s via its various predecessor institutions. The school took its former name from philanthropist Sir John Cass (1661–1718), who helped establish funding for education in Aldgate and whose statue is displayed in the University: however, his name was removed from the institutional name in June 2020 because of his associations with the slave trade. The school is presently based at the University's refurbished Aldgate Campus which comprises three buildings, Goulston Street, Calcutta House and The Calcutta Small Annexe in Aldgate, London.