A New Paradigm

December 2, 2013

A new paradigm is emerging between the University of Pittsburgh and the community of Oakland that will lead to the creation of a new positive future for Oakland residents. As the present paradigm shifts, there will be a dramatic change from our present reality. When our grassroots movement began more than six years ago, we talked about the need for a new consciousness in this relationship. The confluence of changes now occurring across various venues is a forerunner for this new beginning.

One such venue is in the leadership of the city of Pittsburgh. The new mayor-elect, who is presently a councilman for the community of Oakland, now has an opportunity to end the social injustices this community suffers due to the University’s presence. The paradigm is shifting in that his status as a political leader within this community will not be determined by the number of jobs created or the amount of revenue raised for the residents of this community, but by the quality and quantity of the caring and love he gives to this community in the name of ending injustices. As the mayor-elect continues to move forward with courage, conviction, and commitment to put his ideals and principles into action, we are confident he will become an inspiration for others to do the same.

Another change occurring, which is an integral part of the new paradigm, is in the venue of Pittsburgh’s media organizations. In the past, many of these organizations lost sight of their fundamental purpose. They were no longer the champions for people who have lost their voices; they no longer offered honest leadership. These organizations became preoccupied primarily with maintaining their own existence and protecting the University’s image, rather than using their knowledge and skills to expose the University’s wrongdoings toward the community. However, there has been a shift within the media and individuals are now willing to take greater personal responsibility to implement their core values to pursue and reveal the truth, while being willing to face the possible turbulence resulting from those actions.

Oakland organizations are another venue where major changes are occurring and a new paradigm is developing. For far too long, community organizations have allowed the University of Pittsburgh to dictate how residents of the community were able to live. Members of these organizations were either too reluctant or too fearful to vocally support community residents who espoused solutions for the community that university administrators vehemently opposed.

Their inaction alienated residents of the community, leading to some residents’ drastic decision to leave the community they loved. Others who remained in Oakland lost their sense of belonging in the community where they were born and raised. Members of community organizations have masked, denied, and ignored the many problems caused by the University’s presence in the community. They have failed to act toward ending these problems. In doing so, they have created a shameful screen through which their organizations are viewed, diminishing their potential for future results. Fortunately there is a new consciousness developing in these organizations in which members are willing to take back their personal power to confront and end this shame, and to speak out truthfully in articulating the pain and suffering of residents and the numerous problems caused by the University of Pittsburgh’s presence in the community.

The search for a new Chancellor at the University of Pittsburgh is a part of the confluence of changes leading to a new paradigm and a positive future for the community of Oakland. The process of the search is also one of the many indicators of the University’s domination over the community. The days of University administrators dominating the community of Oakland, and of taking power away from political leaders, media, and Oakland organizations, are coming to an end. A paradigm shift is occurring in that the community status of this University will no longer be determined by its ability to dominate others. It will not be determined by how many billions of dollars it has in an endowment or capital improvement fund. It will not be determined by how many hundreds of millions of dollars it has acquired in research funds and in earned profits. It will not be determined by its vast numbers of students and assets. Rather, that status will be determined by the University’s priority for the respect of human dignity, the compassion it has for the community it impacts, and the movement away from fierce independence to inter-dependence with the community in which it resides.

The domination of the University of Pittsburgh and the resultant social injustices against the community of Oakland are well-known and chronicled on the sixty-three links of the website www.oaklanddignity.com. University administrators, trustees, faculty and staff can never repay longtime residents who have passed away without experiencing a new beginning for a community they loved, nor can they repay the longtime residents who gave up hope for any meaningful changes at the University and moved away from this community. However, as the new paradigm emerges, both longtime residents who have chosen to stay and future residents will experience the joy of new beginnings and a positive relationship with the University of Pittsburgh characterized by greater balance and harmony.

Carlino Giampolo