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Board of the IEA publishes open letter about the depredations of USP’s central administration and the institute premises

by Richard Meckien - published Dec 04, 2013 05:35 PM - - last modified Jan 09, 2014 10:58 AM

Board of the IEA publishes open letter about the invasion and occupation of USP's administrative complex by students in the period from October 1 to November 12, 2013.

At an extraordinary meeting held on November 19, IEA’s board reviewed the events related to invasion, occupation and depredation of USP’s central administration and the IEA by students and wrote the following open letter on the past events.

 

Open letter of the Institute of Advanced Studies’s board regarding the invasion and occupation of USP’s administrative complex by students in the period between October 1 and November 12, 2013.

The board of the Institute of Advanced Studies (IEA) of the University of São Paulo hereby expresses its condemnation of the acts of vandalism committed at its headquarters by students that stormed and occupied the premises of the university's central administration in the period between October 1 and November 12, 2013. These acts are an affront to common sense and violate USP’s code of ethics.

Apart from significant harm to public property and emotional distress to USP’s employees working there for the benefit of everyone (including the students), the invaders have caused the disruption of academic activities and blocked several administrative procedures, including urgent ones.

IEA’s schedule for the fourth quarter of this year has been severely affected, as well as future activities in the planning stages, including the ones in partnership with national and international institutions.

Given the reported facts, IEA’s board reaffirms the commitment of the institute to continue its mission, free from constraints on its activities, to ensure the continuity of its unique role as a place for interdisciplinary dialogue, always contemplating the best academic values, management and coexistence .

Additionally, the board emphasizes the importance of the following immediate actions:

  1. to formalize, within the IEA, a program that without reducing in any way the liability for mismanagement and destruction promotes broad discussion on the roots of this malaise and proposes institutional policies to USP in order to generate subsidies that contribute to the performance of managers and deliberative forums of the university in proposing initiatives and decision-making;
  2. to host the IEA provisionally at other facilities, with more appropriate conditions, inside or outside USP’s main campus, until the permanent headquarters of the institute (still in its bidding stage) is completed.

 

Board of the Institute of Advanced Studies of the University of São Paulo

São Paulo, November 19, 2013

More on this issue: The result of 42 days of occupation