The organizational principles of the Vermont Student Union, drafted in 2013, are as follows:
1. Students as intellectual workers. Education as a public good/human right. Education should be FREE (addressing the issue of college affordability).
2. Praxis: Commitment to educating our peers and ourselves- informed by action. Action informs theory and education which informs action. “We make the road
by walking.”
3. Solidarity with labor force and the community: VWC, AFT, VSCFF - amplify our voices. Values based coalition. If there is no education there is no planet.
4. Accountability: commitment to taking action (action pledge), sincerity, respect and trust.
5. Creating a needs based society and economy that respects the basic human rights principles- ultimately striving for these values in our education and on our campuses to reflect outward to society at large.
6. Transparency both in how our organization makes decisions and accountability for decision makers to provide transparency… horizontalism.
7. We recognize that oppression exists within our society and within our own relationships and through our actions we will work to oppose oppression and amplify marginalized voices.
8. Horizontalism- bottom up approach, grassroots/participatory democracy, direct democracy.
9. The kind of education we receive impacts society- society impacts the content, quality and structure of our education.
10. The responsibility of a leader is to create more leaders.
