The students gathering in the HUB-Robeson Cultural Center received more support yesterday as the Classroom Without Walls joined them in a show of solidarity.

The Classroom Without Walls is a program created by Green Destiny Council, a student ecological group, that provides a forum for students, professors and staff members to meet and discuss issues affecting students.

According to Laura Silver, a Green Destiny Council member, the decision-making process at Penn State has become corporately motivated, and the process for making these decisions does not involve many students.

"The issue is the university losing sight of its mission — to serve the common good," Silver said. "There is a huge corporate role affecting curriculum and research here on campus."

Originally scheduled for noon on the Old Main steps, the Classroom Without Walls moved to the HUB where speaker Andrea Galinski (senior-human ecology) addressed the crowd of students on the floor.

"Are we getting our money's worth?" Galinski asked. "The goal of Penn State is to usher us through a four-year training program to become members of a corporate workforce."

Galinski focused on a common theme for the day. She asked for more funding in the Department of African and African-American Studies and blamed the administration, saying that African and African-American and women's studies "aren't valued because they don't produce a profit."

Galinski accused the administration of being out for corporate profit and singled out Penn State President Graham Spanier for thinking within a corporate framework. Galinski emphasized that it is not entirely the fault of Spanier, as he needs to work within his bounds as an administrator, but that everyone needs to be held accountable.

According to Galinski, the students are showing their willingness to communicate by meeting at a responsible university event.

Another student from the Classroom Without Walls group read aloud the student's bill of rights, composed by a Penn State English class. The bill outlined what students here have the right to expect in a higher-learning institution.

A pamphlet passed out by the Classroom Without Walls group said "Penn State needs to make a conscious effort to provide its students with a more diverse education."