Tent State

Tent State

“Tent State University/Students for a Democratic Society is a revolutionary organization dedicated to building a mass democratic social movement.

What is Tent State University (Tent State)?

Tent State University (Tent State) is an international movement that began at Rutgers in 2003 in response to the impending military invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq as well as unprecedented budget cuts to higher education in New Jersey. Several state legislators, members of the Rutgers Board of Governors and University President Richard McCormick publicly acknowledged that Tent State played a significant role in helping restore much of the budget for Rutgers that year. Activists used the momentum generated by the event to push for rent control in New Brunswick, which was passed in 2003.

Since its inception here at Rutgers, there have been over fifty Tent State events in the United States, as well as in the United Kingdom and Australia. All Tent States have a common message — education is a right, not a privilege. Tent State also promotes the idea that democracy and democratic decision-making should be applied to all areas of collective life: at work, at school, in our communities and neighborhoods as well as at the polling station.

We believe our society suffers from a crisis of values and leadership, embodied in state and national spending priorities that favor war and corporate greed over social necessities such as education. Tent State is our response: a grassroots, democratic, alternative institution of learning that challenges the undemocratic decision-making process that dominates our universities and our society.”