Collection inventory

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THE General Body Collection

An inventory of the collection at the Syracuse University Archives

Finding aid created by: Halsey Van Allen
Date: 2023

Revision history:

Historical Note

THE General Body was a student activist movement that formed in 2014 at Syracuse University. It was a leaderless coalition of more than 50 student organizations and received support from students and members of faculty and staff. The height of the movement was the 2014 fall semester, during which THE General Body released a list of grievances, needs, and solutions and staged an 18-day sit-in. The sit-in took place in Crouse-Hinds Hall, the administrative center of the University and the location of Chancellor Kent Syverud’s office. THE General Body, among other things, alleged that for multiple years the University administration made hasty decisions behind closed doors on certain issues and ignored the input of students, staff, and faculty. These issues included the closing of the Advocacy Center, the sole sexual assault resource center on campus at the time; the significant cutback of the Posse scholarship program, which gives full-tuition scholarships to exceptional high school students from disadvantaged backgrounds in partnership with the Posse Foundation; the change in healthcare options for graduate student workers; and alleged pressure placed on staff to retire. Additionally, THE General Body was vocally against University funds going toward a campus beautification project rather than more essential services. THE General Body’s 45-page "Grievances, Needs, and Solutions" document identified nine main issues that were essential to them for the University to address. The issues included increased transparency in University policy and finances; more support for marginalized identities, international students, graduate students, and commuters; expanded mental health services; and the addition of hate speech as prohibited behavior to the student code of conduct. In the years following the movement, University administration took measures to address each of the concerns, but many continued to be issues for students on campus. In place of the Advocacy Center, the University formed the Sexual and Relationship Violence Response Team in 2016.

Scope and Content Note

THE General Body Collection contains printouts of communications, formal statements, and responses by both THE General Body and Syracuse University administration.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

Born-digital materials remain unprocessed and are therefore restricted.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from the Syracuse University Archives and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

The University Archives contains other collections that highlight student activism and conflicts between students and University administration. Notable examples are the Syracuse 8 Collection, the #NotAgainSU Collection, and the Syracuse University Student Activities Reference Collection, which contains materials related to the 1970 student strike.

Selected Search Terms

Names

Syracuse University -- History.
Syracuse University.
THE General Body.

Subjects

Student movements.
Student protesters.
Students -- Political activity.
Higher education.

Types of Material

Correspondence.
Printouts.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

THE General Body Collection,
University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Collected by University Archives staff between 2014 and 2020.

Processing Information

Materials were placed in acid-free folders and box.

Arrangement

Folders are arranged alphabetically.

Table of Contents

Papers

Inventory