A walkout is slated for tomorrow to protest the proposed stadium on Main Campus.
“On April 14th, We are calling for thousands around the city and beyond to join us in solidarity,” the Facebook event states. “We are not going to work. We are not going to class. We are going to shut it down.”
According to the Facebook event, roughly 300 will walkout of class and work at 2 p.m., while roughly 380 indicated they are “interested” in doing so.
The organization behind the demonstration, Stadium Stompers, which argues that the stadium is adds to mounting disrespect from the university has for permanent residents surrounding campus.
They plan to walk out of class at 2 p.m., march down Broad St. and Cecil B. Moore Ave. at 3 p.m., and shut down Broad Street at 3:30 p.m.
“We, the residents of this community, are the ones who have been here through the struggles and this is not the first nor will it be the last one with Temple University,” Gail Loney, a block captain and member of the Stadium Stompers, wrote in a letter to the editor. “Between the politicians, the developers, and Temple, our neighborhood is being sold out from underneath us to the highest bidder.”
Other organizations such as 15 Now of Temple University, Students Without Borders, Temple Socialists, Temple University Asian Students Association, and Temple Black Student Union have all endorsed the event.
Wende Marshall, an adjunct professor at Temple, plans on participating in the walkout tomorrow.
“The median price of a house near campus has shot from $17,000 in 2000 to more than $100,000 in 2014,” wrote Marshall. “Temple’s $136 million stadium plan in the middle of a neighborhood staggering from low wages, high rent and property tax increases is a direct attack on an already besieged community.”
[UPDATE 12:59 PM]
Temple University has released the following statement in response to the scheduled walkout:
Temple is committed to being a good neighbor in North Philadelphia. We continue to talk with neighborhood residents about their concerns over a potential stadium. Already, as a result of those discussions, we have adopted stringent new guidelines to reduce the impact of parties and negative student behavior. We remain committed to an ongoing dialogue as the process moves forward.
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