Facebook

Dear Friend and Neighbor,

As some of you may know, during my time at City College, I took part in an array of student protests ranging from opposing the Gulf War in Iraq to fighting tuition hikes at CCNY. During this time, the administration at the school sought to punish many of us who took part in the protests, lending our freedoms of speech, assembly and expression to these and other causes. In this struggle, I was represented by a civil rights attorney and friend named Ron McGuire who, in addition to this case, has won a slew of cases in which students' rights came under attack from higher ups in school administration.

One of these cases involved students at the CUNY campus of the College of Staten Island, when students sought to maintain journalistic integrity in their school publication by writing independent editorials from the perspective of the paper's ed board. The school sought to curtail this freedom, taking legal action against the students. Ron McGuire stepped in to defend their rights in a case that lasted 19 years, including progressing even to the 2nd Circuit of the US Court of Appeals. Mr. McGuire took this case on Pro Bono, taking the full cost on at his own expense.

After successfully winning the case to maintain the students' freedom as well as setting an important precedent, Mr. McGuire was unfairly stripped of 95% of his legal fees in a rare move by the court. He is now in dire financial straits due to this injustice. Tomorrow afternoon, I will join former student activists represented by Mr. McGuire, as well as several of my colleagues at the Council who value the important work Mr. McGuire has done on behalf of students and civil rights here in New York, to call for these legal fees to be restored so that Mr. McGuire can continue to fight injustice through the legal system.

If you feel so moved, you can join us as we stand up for Ron McGuire and the many students and activists he has defended from injustice in the past. We will gather tomorrow, January 5th, at 1:00 PM on the steps of City Hall. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Ydanis Rodriguez, Council Member District 10
Washington Heights, Inwood, Marble Hill