MANIFEST -english version

To Students, professors, members of the administration, technical staff,

We stand in support of struggling architecture and landscape public schools (ENSA(P)), especially the school in Rouen, which saw its start of the school year delayed by a week due to a lack of human and financial resources. We are collectively taking action in solidarity with all the other ENSA(P) in France.

Francois Brouat, director of the school, gave a speech on Friday afternoon during the General Assembly which implies that our school is not affected by the budget deficit and that we are "well off". This affirmation should not challenge the legitimacy of our movement. We are also seeing a decline in the number of teachers. Our non-tenured teachers and doctoral students are also poorly paid. Our teacher-researchers are also poorly considered. Our administrative staff is also overworked. Our schools are gradually moving towards privatization, which we are totally opposed to.

We are a generation that is full of doubts facing the environmental and social crises that run through our society. Most of us fear being useless in a collapsing world or worse, contributing to its collapse.

We question our future status as architects, which is constantly being challenged: Will we be useful to society? We want to believe that architects still have a role to play in society and we want our school to give us the means to take a stand in the world.

Thus, we demand an education that is up to the challenge: offering multidisciplinary courses, dedicated to ecology, to humanism, to feminism, and to alternative and subversive architectures.

- Why is only one rehabilitation studio offered per semester when we know that new construction has no future?

- Why do we never hear about women architects?

- Why do students in financial distress have to pay for all of their equipment?

These questions are legitimate. Debates are necessary between students, teachers, and the administration. We invite everyone to come participate and take action this week. Just like what happening on a national scale, a revolt is underway at our school. Let's not miss it and let's really get involved now.