Higher Education

Racialized Austerity: The Case Of CUNY

August 28, 2020 By Michael Fabricant and Steve Brier, Gotham Gazette. Create! Austerity, Higher Education, New York City (NYC), Systemic Racism

In the aftermath of the covid outbreak and in a moment of Black Lives Matter national organizing in response to police brutality the issue of racial justice has lit up cities and towns across the country. Racist policing practices have had a huge impact on public opinion, with polling data showing that even more white suburban voters favor policy reforms. The shift has been public, sudden, and potentially electorally-decisive during this political season. What remains less visible are racialized and racist choices to deepen state disinvestment in institutions critical to the health and welfare of Black and brown communities, what we term racialized austerity.

Graduate Workers: ‘Reopening Endangers Students, Highlights Racial Inequalities’

August 28, 2020 Northwestern University Graduate Workers, Daily Northwestern. Organize! COVID-19, Graduate School, Higher Education, Illinois

It is less than a month before Fall Quarter begins, and despite daily warnings against doing so, Northwestern insists on proceeding with the harmful and dangerous plan of reopening campus. The current fall reopening plan expects students to return to campus while holding most courses remotely. Despite Northwestern’s assurances that they are following best practices, the current return to campus plan will inevitably result in COVID-19 clusters among students, faculty and staff that will lead many to get sick and will only deepen the virus’s spread across the Evanston and Chicago region.

Koch Academic Influence Returns To Massachusetts With New Tufts University Think Tank

August 25, 2020 By Dana Drugmand, DeSmog Blog. Educate! Higher Education, Koch Brothers, Massachusetts, Tufts University

When a new Massachusetts think tank housed at Tufts University launched earlier this year, Boston-based media described it as a “CBO-like center” (referring to the Congressional Budget Office) that would offer an “independent analysis” of proposed state policy and legislation. But one of the main funders of this think tank, called the Center for State Policy Analysis, is a program tied financially to the petrochemical billionaire Koch family. This apparent Koch-linked funding raises questions about just how independent the center’s policy analyses may be. Initial funding for this think tank, as CommonWealth reported, has come from one of the state’s largest private health insurance companies and from a program called Emergent Ventures, which is based at the Koch-funded Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

More Than One Out Of Five College Students Won’t Return This Fall

August 20, 2020 Justine Coleman, The Hill. Create! College, COVID-19, Higher Education, Recession

More than 1 in 5 college students reported they do not plan to enroll in the fall amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to a poll released Wednesday. A College Reaction-Axios poll determined that 22 percent of students said they will not return to college in the fall as the pandemic has flipped the college experience on its head. Those not enrolling are making different plans, with 73 percent saying they will work full time, about 4 percent saying they will take classes at a different university and 2 percent doing volunteer work. Freshmen reportedly make up a “big chunk” of the population not enrolling in the fall, according to Axios, with Harvard University saying 20 percent of the incoming class of 2024 are deferring.

UC Santa Cruz Reinstates Graduate Students After Months-Long Strike

August 12, 2020 Lauren Kaori Gurley, Vice. Resist! Higher Education, Strikes, University of California, Worker Rights and Jobs

The University of California has agreed to reinstate 41 UC Santa Cruz graduate student workers who were fired in March after waging a months-long ‘wildcat’ strike. The strike for a cost of living adjustment galvanized students at nearly every single campus in the UC’s 285,000-student system. Last week, following months of protests, campus negotiations, and outcry from elected officials, the University of California agreed to reinstate the 41 teaching assistants. The university also agreed to offer the 41 students, who had lost their teaching appointments, an additional quarter of funding and an employment guarantee for the upcoming academic year.

Students Across The Country Are Going On Strike

April 25, 2020 Mary Retta, The Nation. Resist! COVID-19, Higher Education, Strike, Students

Since campuses began shutting down across the country in early March, college students have been speaking out about the economic uncertainty, lack of food, and housing insecurity the nationwide upheaval has brought on. Despite this, many colleges have been reluctant to take measures to ensure student safety and comfort—most schools have not changed their grading policies, for example, and many campuses have not provided alternative resources after forcing students to evacuate dorms or cancel meal plans, prompting further uncertainty and stress. In response, college students across the country are going on strike. Striking students at the University of Chicago, Pomona College, The New School, Vassar College, and more are putting pressure on their school administration by refusing to go to classes or pay tuition payments or rent, saying its response to the coronavirus pandemic has been inadequately meeting the needs of the students paying to attend.

The Struggle For A COLA At Berkeley University

April 2, 2020 Jack Wareham and Dylan Burgoon, Counterpunch. Resist! COLA, Higher Education, Strike, Worker Rights and Jobs

California - On March 5, in the midst of a campus-wide march and rally, a student protester at UC Berkeley walked into the bustling Free Speech Movement Café, a study spot that borrows its name from Cal’s legendary 1960s anti-war protests. “Fellow students!” she shouted, climbing on top of the counter. “Today, you will witness the largest protest you have seen during your time at UC Berkeley. We are shutting down the campus in solidarity with the grad students at UC Santa Cruz who were fired while striking for a cost of living adjustment. Please join us in demanding a COLA for all!” The room full of students was uncomfortably silent. During the midterm week at Berkeley, many are studying for difficult courses that prepare them for cut-throat professions.

“Everyone Deserves A Cost-Of-Living Adjustment”: Interview With UCSC Striker Yulia Gilich

March 30, 2020 Jenn Schreiter, Unicorn Riot Resist! California, Class Struggle, Cost of living, Higher Education, Student Activism, Wages

Santa Cruz, CA – Graduate student teaching assistants (TAs) at the University of California in Santa Cruz (UCSC) are fighting for a livable wage. A year of unsuccessful attempts to encourage their employer to re-negotiate a fairer contract, including a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to their pay, has escalated into a full labor strike. In turn, dozens of workers have been fired by the university in retaliation for the Pay Us More UCSC campaign.

Students Sue Harvard For Investment In Private Prisons

March 21, 2020 Staff, Harvardprisondivest.org Resist! Harvard, Higher Education, Lawsuit, Prisons, Student Activism

This is not a decision that our campaign arrived at lightly. Turning to the courts is a last resort. Having tried multiple channels, from protests to petitions to rallies to teach-ins to reports to non-official and official meetings, but finding no relief, we have been forced to file this lawsuit against the President and Fellows of Harvard College, the Harvard Management Company, Lawrence Bacow in his capacity as President of Harvard University, and William Lee in his capacity as Senior Fellow.

Wayne State Teachers Protest Mass Firings

March 8, 2020 Jamie McQuaid, Workers World. Resist! Austerity, Higher Education, Teachers, Worker Rights

On Feb. 26, nearly 100 lecturers, graduate instructors, students and allied workers marched through Wayne State University’s main campus in Detroit to protest the mass firing of lecturers, who are nontenured instructors, announced in February. Chanting passionately and carrying protest signs, teachers and their allies marched in the wind and snow through the campus student center and around the main library. Some historically minded lecturers created signs with nothing on them save illustrations of the traditional French guillotine. The march ended in the atrium of the Faculty Administration Building, where the offices of WSU’s president are located. The atmosphere was one of frustration and uncertainty, but also of solidarity and hope. While a representative of the lecturers’ union, the American Association of University Professors-AFT Local 6123, promised further protests at the next Board of Governors meeting, armed campus police assembled in the area.

Syracuse Students Lead A National Movement To End Oppressive Campus Environments

March 2, 2020 Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, Clearing the FOG. Podcast Higher Education, Homophobia, Racism, Syracuse University

For a long time, students and faculty of predominately-white universities across the country have been experiencing oppressive environments where racism and homophobia are tolerated. This academic year, a group of Syracuse University students who call themselves Not Again SU has taken strong actions to confront this environment. They garnered significant attention last fall when they occupied the Barnes Center and issued 19 demands to the university. The administration agreed to address many of the demands but months later not much has been done and hate incidents continue to occur without consequences to deter them. They are currently occupying the administrative building to press for more action. This time the university responded aggressively by suspending students, denying them access to food and other necessities and unleashing a violent police force against them. We speak with one of the student organizers about what is happening on campus and how their actions have sparked a nationwide movement.

#NotAgainSU Protest Shuts Down 2 Blocks Of City Streets Near Syracuse University

February 29, 2020 Julie McMahon and Chris Libonati, Syracuse.com Resist! Blockade, Higher Education, Protests

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A #NotAgainSU protest shut down two city blocks near Syracuse University for about two hours Wednesday night. Around 100 students, faculty and supporters gathered in the intersection of South Crouse and Waverly avenues. Syracuse police blocked off Waverly Avenue, from Irving Avenue to Walnut Avenue. The protest also effectively blocked Marshall Street to incoming car traffic.

Johns Hopkins students protest speeches by Joshua Wong, Nathan Law

February 25, 2020 Wang Wenwen, Globaltimes.cn Educate! Higher Education, Protests, Students

More than 100 Chinese students at Johns Hopkins University in the US on Thursday night (US time) protested against speeches made by Hong Kong secessionists Joshua Wong Chi-fung and Nathan Law Kwun-chung. Inside and outside the speech hall, the Chinese students held banners that read "Hong Kong is part of China" and "Condemn violence" and also chanted patriotic slogans.

The Rise In Racism On College Campuses

February 24, 2020 By Kyla L. Wright, Essence.com Educate! Higher Education, Racism

In 2018, the FBI reported that hate crimes on college campuses have risen 25 percent from 2015-16 and risen 17 percent from 2016-17. An additional 27.6 percent of the crimes dealt with intimidation tactics. Effecting the mental health of students of color on campuses, many of them have stated they have shifted their focus from their education to looking over their shoulders.

Striking University Of California-Santa Cruz Grad Students Defy UAW, Arrests And Threats Of Termination

February 19, 2020 Stewart Bernays and David Brown, Wsws.org Resist! California, Higher Education, Strikes

Graduate student instructors (GSIs) and teaching assistants (TAs) at University of California-Santa Cruz are beginning the sixth day of their wildcat strike to demand a cost of living adjustment. Like many educators in California, grad students have confronted stagnant wages alongside skyrocketing rents that leave them struggling to survive in one of the most expensive cities in the United States.

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