What does it take for a group of people to be listened to — to be heard loud and clear? Riots, rallies, picketing and sit-ins are so ’60s. It is the age of Facebook groups, twittering and blogs; but it should not always have to come to such things.

How would you feel? How would you feel if you were randomly and unexpectedly called into your boss’s office one day and told that you were being moved? No questions asked. You have two weeks to move from the place that you have been working and making a living at for 20 years. I would feel completely disrespected, but at the same time, I would feel powerless. And I would feel powerless because a large institution treated me with so much cruelty, that my 20 years of service to this institution and to an entire community garnered no respect. Not even enough respect to give me any sort of choice whatsoever.

On June 29, 2009, Ken Glover, Residential Housing Director of Ujamaa Residential College was contacted by Cornell University administrators and notified that he had been replaced as Ujamaa’s RHD and had been reassigned to High Rise 5. Mr. Glover, having been the director of Ujamaa for over 20 years, was shocked by his sudden reassignment, as he had no intention of moving from Ujamaa.