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Higher Ed Workshops at the 2010 U.S. Social Forum
06/15/2010 - 11:19am

Student Power: Organizing and Envisioning Democracy in Higher Ed

The 2010 U.S. Social Forum is almost upon us! The USSF is the next most important step in our
 struggle to build a powerful multi-racial, multi-sectoral, inter-generational,
 diverse, inclusive, internationalist movement that transforms this country and
 changes history.

When I first started compiling this list, I originally wanted it to be all student- & youth-related workshops at USSF. Then I looked at the list. There are literally hundreds of workshops that fall under that category: a hassle for me, but a wonderfu...

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A Few Thoughts on Student Government Stipends
04/21/2010 - 1:01pm

Student Government stipendsMost student governments with large enough budgets pay their members - usually executive positions, but sometimes members of the student legislature are compensated too. Their stated purpose is foremost explained as a way to make sure working class students aren't shut out of student government roles. Stipend use is an easy fix, and as with most easy fixes, it's also a shoddy one.

They are usually too small to be effective, and still wind up as play money for elites

Many of the stipends I've seen are entirely too small to replace even one of the several jobs that most working class students have in order to afford school. And even when they are large enough, stipends are never pegged to the office holder's income and wealth - a task that'd just take a stroll to ...

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Quebec Student Unions: History, Structure, and Strategy
03/21/2010 - 10:35pm

Simon Gosselin, François Carbonneau, Richard Huot & Caroline Bourbonnais came to the Students for a Democratic Society 2009 Northeast Convention to speak about radical student unionism in Québéc.

They make important distinctions between the situations in Québéc and the U.S. - but just as important are the commonalities we all face as students in universities, and it's those commonalities that demand we learn what we can from their past and current struggles (especially because they have a much better knack at winning). Below is the first of 8 segments: you can view them all in a row here on YouTube.

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March 4: Quick Update from Berkeley
03/04/2010 - 6:29pm

5:20pm EST: I just got off the phone with a friend on the ground at a march at Berkeley; she's saying several thousand people are marching right now, down to Oakland. There have been lots of flying strikes - spontaneous mini-rallies in auditoriums, halls, and classrooms.

One of the best stories I've heard from the actions today happened during this march. As the students marched past a local middle school, at least a dozen kids ran out (some climbing over the fence) and joined the procession. They said that the protesters are "defending our future," and that risking a 3 day suspension was worth it, because if things keep up the way they are, they won't be able to afford college at all.

I'll post more as I learn more, particularly about the middle school students. I wish I could say I had the cojones to skip out of school and join a march when I was their age.

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Photos from UMass Boston Rally & March
03/04/2010 - 5:26pm

Dozens of students, faculty and allies held a rally and march today from Noon to 2:00 at UMass Boston. There was a brief session of speakers on the megaphone, a few rounds of circular picketing, and then the march began.

The chanting crowd snaked through several campus buildings, including the student center and two classroom buildings. While inside the classroom halls students chanted "out of the classrooms, into the halls!" and banged on classroom doors. At least a few students obliged and left their classes, joining the march.

A teach-in on the crisis is being held now, from 4:00 - 6:00.

Find out more about March 4 actions and events happening across the country here and here.

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Remembering '68: Students Re-enact Orangeburg Massacre
02/07/2010 - 8:30pm

Orangeburg Massacre (February 1968) Re-enactment at South Carolina State University.Via the Times & Democrat:

The first live reenactment of the Orangeburg Massacre included a mix of humor, sorrow and passion, which students say helped tell the stories of three slain students whose one purpose was to promote justice and equality.

Produced by the Henderson-Davis Players, the original stage play “Taking a Stand” debuted Thursday night in the Martin Luther King Auditorium on the campus of South Carolina State University. Its purpose was to provide a reenactment of the events that led up to what has become known as the Orangeburg Massacre, which ...

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When Reactionary Talking Points are Conventional Wisdom: UC Crisis Edition
12/20/2009 - 5:19pm

Nina Houts, writing for the Oakland Tribune, agrees with the purpose of the UC strikes and occupations but disagrees with their methods.

However, the manner in which these protests were carried out was utterly counterproductive to their cause. I'm sure it started out tame enough: crowded rallies and marchers with picket signs called attention to the issue, and students' contempt was conveyed. But then behavior escalated to more extremes, such as students cutting class, opting to lie in the streets or form human barricades outside of UC Board of Regents meetings, which was the case on Nov. 19. I think this type of "fight for education" was a complete waste of time, effort, and money.

Houts, who is a home-schooled high school senior, is learning quite quickly how to adopt the handwringing liberal style so prevalent in traditional media when people use tactics that actually have a ...

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Occupy Everything Tour hits D.C. Area
11/19/2009 - 5:45pm

Students involved with the New School and NYU occupations are on tour discussing their experiences and viewpoints regarding the trend toward student occupations in the US. From New York to California — to Vienna — students are taking control of their universities to effect social change.

FROM OUR SPEAKERS:

"We will first attempt to orient ourselves within the University by grappling with the radical transformations in higher education over the past decade. We look at the corporatization of private universities like the New School, the privatization of public universities in Europe and the United States, and the backlash against the rising costs of tuition, the lack of employment potentials, and the ubiquitous burden of student debt.

We then describe the specific political ethos of the New School and the series of events leading up to the December and April occupations of 65 Fifth Avenue. This begins with the founding of the New ...

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One Year Later: Hope, Collapse, and Resistance
11/03/2009 - 8:02pm

Barack Obama and George BushOne year ago Tuesday, Senator Barack Obama was elected as the United States' 44th President. For those of us with our ears to the ground on education issues - both primary/secondary and higher ed - we hoped for a change, especially because so much of Obama's primary and general election victory was won on the backs of countless students and youth volunteers.

The No Child Left Behind Act, which passed almost unanimously in the House and Senate, is widely regarded as a failure, and has done much to degrade the learning environment for students everywhere. Obama said much to that effect during the campaign, and one of his chief education advisors on his transition team was Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond, a Stanford education professor and an advocate for actually progressive education reform.

...

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Hundreds of billions available for war, but not for us
10/07/2009 - 2:40pm

Yesterday, the Senate voted 93-7 to approve a $636 billion budget for the Pentagon, including funds to continue President Obama's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Making war is a bipartisan affair, especially in the Senate (it's one of the few things that is).

To put the number in perspective, this amount would pay for all currently outstanding Federal student loans (roughly $416 billion) with plenty left over. Such debt relief would be a massive boost to the economy, by not only encouraging consumer spending, but also by helping to stem the current wave of bankruptcies and foreclosures.

But of course, one couldn't find five votes for that in the Senate, let alone 60 (or 93, for that ...

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