Student Activism

Students Call For Economics To Break From Free Market Theory

May 6, 2014 Phillip Inman, www.theguardian.com Resist! Finance and Economy, Student Activism

Economics students from 19 countries have joined forces to call for an overhaul of the way their subject is taught, saying the dominance of narrow free-market theories at top universities harms the world's ability to confront challenges such as financial stability and climate change. In the first global protest against mainstream economic teaching, the International Student Initiative for Pluralist Economics (ISIPE) argues in a letter to the Guardian that economics courses are failing wider society when they ignore evidence from other disciplines. The students, who have formed 41 protest groups in universities from Britain and the US to Brazil and Russia, say research and teaching in economics departments is too narrowly focused and more effort should be made to broaden the curriculum. They want courses to include analysis of the financial crash that so many economists failed to see coming, and say the discipline has become divorced from the real world. "The lack of intellectual diversity does not only restrain education and research. It limits our ability to contend with the multidimensional challenges of the 21st century – from financial stability to food security and climate change," they say in their manifesto.

Students & Faculty Win As Condi Rice Backs Out Of Rutgers Speech

May 3, 2014 Kelly Heyboer, www.nj.com Resist! Education, Student Activism, Student protest, Youth

Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice backed out of giving Rutgers University's commencement speech today amid growing opposition among the school's students and faculty. Earlier this week, about 50 Rutgers students staged a sit-in inside the campus administration building to protest the selection of Rice to speak. She was scheduled to receive $35,000 for her speech and an honorary Rutgers doctoral degree. The students called for Rutgers to disinvite Rice, echoing the sentiments of several campus faculty organizations that said the former U.S. Secretary of State was an inappropriate choice because of her involvement in the Bush administration’s support of the Iraq War, waterboarding and other controversies. Rutgers officials had declined to rescind their invitation to Rice, saying the university welcomes debate on controversial issues. Until today, Rice had remained silent about the growing protests. Rutgers faculty members who opposed Rice’s selection were scheduled to hold a "teach-in" on the New Brunswick campus Tuesday to discuss the controversy with students and the public. "Attending the teach-in will be a strong signal that we will not sit quietly while a small group of irresponsible people dishonor our beloved university," said Rudolph Bell, a veteran history professor and one of the faculty members organizing the opposition, in a letter to the campus earlier this week.

Quebec Students Continue Fight against Austerity

May 3, 2014 Roshan Bliss, www.PopularResistance Resist! Austerity, Canada, Student Activism, Youth

ASSÉ - a union of student unions boasting a membership of over 80,000 students in Quebec - has earned a reputation as one of the most militant student groups in North America. Through a sophisticated structure of grassroots, direct democracy, it has created a sustained student movement on campuses across Quebec with a culture of what is known as "confrontational syndicalism" - a political orientation that acknowledges that political elites and university administrations alike have interests that are often opposed to average people or students and that building power to directly challenge those institutions is a requisite for maintaining and advancing their rights. . . It is what has led the students and youth of Quebec to take their fights off campus, beyond student issues, and into the streets to deliver a clearly articulated message in solidarity with other sectors of Quebecois society - "make the rich pay their fair share".

7 Students Arrested Protesting Peabody Coal

May 3, 2014 Jeff Biggers, www.ecowatch.com Resist! Peabody Coal, Student Activism

On the heels of an earlier arrest of a student at a growing divestment blockade at Harvard University, seven Washington University students were arrested today in St. Louis, as they sought to enter the quarterly meeting of the Board of Trustees. Today’s action followed a historic 17-day sit-in at the St. Louis campus, where hundreds of Washington University students have joined in a campaign to remove Peabody Energy CEO Greg Boyce from the Board of Trustees, as part of other demands to cut university ties with the coal industry giant. World renowned author Margaret Atwood, appearing yesterday to accept the Arts First award at Harvard, summed it up best at an open forum when asked about the protest: “Any society where arrest is preferable to open dialog is a scary place.” According to Washington University student Caroline Burney, nearly 100 students rallied in front of the Knight Center, where the Board of Trustees meeting was being held, and then marched to the main doors of the building. Students were faced by a line of police, locked arms, and stated that they were not leaving until they were let into the building to speak with Greg Boyce about his role at the University and on the Board of Trustees. After about forty minutes of singing and chanting, seven students were arrested by St. Louis County Police

More Universities Turn To Ranked Choice Voting

May 1, 2014 Ben Petit, www.fairvote.org Create! Elections, Student Activism

Humboldt State University became the latest university to elect student leaders using ranked choice voting last week. In a three-way race that brought over one thousand students to the polls, Humboldt more than doubled voter turnout since last year’s runoff election, and set an example for universities nationwide. After two rounds of counting, Jerry Garcia Dinzes was elected President of the Associated Students, the university’s main student government organization. Student leaders decided to take action after a runoff election last May brought only 7 percent of voters to the polls. “Run-off elections have always been an issue,” said Elections Commissioner Elijah Poppers. In addition to reducing turnout and reportedly confusing voters, many candidates claimed that the two-round runoff also placed a heavy burden on campaigning. “We’re all really busy, like any student,” then-presidential contender Jennifer Alejo told the student newspaper The Lumberjack.

Students At Portland State Kick Off Divestment Campaign

April 30, 2014 Global Climate Convergence, www.globalclimateconvergence.org Resist! Climate Justice, Divestment, Student Activism

In celebration of Earth Day and to mark the beginning of the Global Climate Convergence, students and alumni at Portland State kicked off their campaign to end PSU’s ties to the fossil fuel industry and Wall St. With their endowment, foundation, and board of trustees deeply connected to the destruction of our communities at home and abroad, PSU can no longer brand itself as a “green” or “sustainable” university. PSU’s branding is handled by Gard Communications, who market PSU as a green university while also doing PR for coal exporting proposals along the Columbia. Even one of PSU’s buildings, the Peter Stott center, is named after a profiteer from the tar sands infrastructure-shipping company Omega-Morgan. We as students, alumni, and community members are waging a campaign on all fronts to ensure that the university claiming “Let knowledge serve the city” can no longer greenwash its image and is truly dedicated to putting People, Planet, and Peace over Profit.

Rutgers Students Protest Condoleezza Rice Speech

April 29, 2014 Kelly Heyboer, www.nj.com Resist! Protest, Student Activism, War Criminal

Rutgers University students are staging a sit-in at the Old Queens administration building in New Brunswick to protest the selection of former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as commencement speaker. About 50 students marched into the building this afternoon and refused to leave, according to student accounts posted on Twitter and other social media sites. Photos and videos of the protest show students lining the Old Queens staircase outside the doors leading to President Robert Barchi's outer office on the second floor. Some students are holding signs protesting the choice of Rice to speak at commencement, including signs reading "No honors for war criminals," "War criminals out" and "RU 4 Humanity?" A Rutgers spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the protests or reports that campus police are barring people from entering Old Queens, which houses university administrative offices.

Youth Demand Court Order Climate Recovery Plan

April 29, 2014 Kevin Zeese, www.PopularResistance.org Resist! Climate Change, Student Activism, Youth

Five individual teenagers, and two non-profit organizations representing thousands more young people, Kids vs. Global Warming and WildEarth Guardians, partnered with OUR CHILDREN'S TRUST to file this federal lawsuit now pending at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The youth seek to require the federal government to immediately plan for national climate recovery according to the scientific prescription of Dr. James Hansen and other leading international climate scientists that will restore our atmosphere to 350 parts per million (ppm) of CO2 by the end of the century and avoid the disastrous scenarios of 2°C of warming. This lawsuit relies upon the long-established legal principle of the Public Trust Doctrine, which requires our government to protect and maintain survival resources for future generations. At oral argument on May 2, 2014, youth will ask the U.S. Court of Appeals to recognize their constitutional right to a healthy atmosphere and stable climate system.

University Of New Mexico Students March To Demand Accountability

April 28, 2014 La Jicarita, www.lajicarita.wordpress.com Resist! Cuts in higher education, Education, Student Activism

This past Wednesday, over 100 UNM students, faculty, staff, and community members came together in protest to demand accountability from President Bob Frank and UNM. The Peaceful Demonstration and Press Conference was called for by the newly formed coalition of students and faculty OurUNM. According to organizers, the coalition was born in response to student’s frustrations about the lack of transparency around decision-making, the lack of inclusion of students in important decisions, and the ever-increasing cost of tuition. According to one of the organizers, Manuel Lopez, the three central issues the coalition has are: communication with students, accountability for past actions, and involvement of the student body. The event started with a press conference at the UNM bookstore on Central Avenue where undergraduate and graduate students shared their experiences being slighted by the administration, the issues they had, and the changes they would like to see implemented on campus.

UT Students Arrested During Sit-In Protest Against Staff Cut-Backs

April 26, 2014 Lizzie Jespersen, www.austinchronicle.com Resist! Protest, Student Activism

Eighteen UT students stepped out of Travis County Jail yesterday morning, where they spent 14 hours after being charged with criminal trespassing during a sit-in demonstration at UT President Bill Powers’ office. The student activists, who staged the sit-in to protest the university’s "Shared Services" plan to eliminate staff jobs and consolidate responsibilities, were arrested around 5 p.m. Wednesday. Among the students were representatives from campus organizations University Democrats, University Leadership Initiative, and United Students Against Sweatshops. According to activist leader Bianca Hinz-Foley, student groups have attempted to meet with Powers for the past 14 months, and went to UT’s tower to “sit and wait there until President Powers actually responded to all of the people who have spoken out against this plan.” Hinz-Foley said Powers did not make an appearance during the demonstration. A rally against the "Shared Services" program kicked off the sit-in demonstration, during which several staff members spoke, along with faculty members and Councilman Mike Martinez.

Condoleezza Rice Protested At University Of Minnesota

April 24, 2014 Staff, www.PopularResistance.org Resist! Student Activism, Student protest, Wars and Militarism, Youth

Hundreds of students and community members protested a speech by Condoleezza Rice at the University of Minnesota. Coleen Rowley explains why: "Not even a year after 9-11, Rice began giving fear-mongering speeches that falsely alluded to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s alleged possession of and intent to use nuclear bombs. Rice knew there was no evidence for her “mushroom cloud” speeches but numerous firsthand accounts and memoirs, along with the “Downing Street Memo,” provide evidence that she, along with other key Administration figures, signed onto “fixing the intelligence around the policy” of their previously agreed-upon goal: Launching war on Iraq."

Wash U Sit-In Against Peabody Energy Reaches Moment Of Truth

April 24, 2014 Jeff Biggers, www.ecowatch.com Resist! Peabody Coal, Student Activism

In an emerging public relations nightmare for Washington University officials, the sit-in against Peabody Energy ties entered a historic third week, as students continued to press demands after a faltering statement released yesterday by Chancellor Mark Wrighton. “We want to make it clear that we are not satisfied with this statement,” the Wash U Students Against Peabody countered. “We plan to continue to pressure Chancellor Wrighton and Provost Thorp until they end Washington University’s relationship with Peabody.” Let’s face it: With growing national media attention, growing outrage over Peabody violations, and growing plans for nationwide rallies against Peabody on its shareholders meeting on May 8, the moment of truth for the Chancellor and the Board of Trustees about Peabody’s toxic relationship with Washington University has arrived. And this Peabody moment of truth has been years—even decades—in the making.

Portland Student Union Plays Key Role in Faculty Union Win

April 23, 2014 Roshan Bliss, www.PopularResistance.org Resist! Education, Student Activism, Student protest, Youth

The effectiveness of Portland students' support of their teachers is part of an important trend on US campuses. Despite the fact that they pay thousands of dollars in tuition each semester, students often find themselves with little to no substantive representation on campus, and in recent years, many have turned to building student unions (no, not the confusingly named "student union" buildings on campus). And especially since the widely celebrated, though little publicized, success of the 2012 student strike in Quebec, a veritable student unionism movement been spreading across the country - a trend which bodes well not only for students themselves, but also for teachers increasingly being squeezed by austerity policies in education.

We Can Overcome Capitalism

April 20, 2014 Sam Gindin, www.jacobinmag.com Organize! actvism, Environment, Student Activism

Looking back to the defeat of the labor movement since the early 1980s, three lessons seem especially important. First, any gains made under capitalism are temporary; they can be reversed. Second, the kind of unionism we developed in that earlier period of gains was inherently limited; it left us in a poor position to respond to the subsequent attacks. Third, absent new forms of working class organization and practices, fatalism takes over and worker expectations fall. Raising Expectations (And Raising Hell), newly out in paperback from Verso, is part memoir, part organizing manual, and part rejoinder to that fatalism. Jane McAlevey is a long-time organizer in the student, environmental and, over the past two decades, labor movements.

USF Students Demand “Hands Off Ukraine”

April 19, 2014 Gage Lacharite, www.fightbacknews.org Resist! Student Activism, Ukraine

Tampa, FL - Tampa Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and anti-war activists from the community protested U.S. interference in Ukraine at Senator Marco Rubio's office, April 16. Marco Rubio supports efforts in the U.S. Senate to increase U.S. intervention and spend billions of taxpayer dollars in Ukraine. Students made three demands at Rubio’s office on the University of South Florida campus: No more U.S. intervention in Ukraine or Crimea; Stop U.S. aid to the illegitimate Ukrainian regime; and Oppose U.S. sanctions against Russia. Students gave fiery speeches denouncing Rubio's support for U.S. intervention. Dani Leppo of Tampa SDS said, "For far too long, the imperialist aggression of the U.S. has caused bloodshed throughout the world. From Colombia to Venezuela, Iraq to Afghanistan, resources and lives are stolen in the name of spreading so-called ‘democracy.’ We must respect the people of Ukraine and Crimea.” When they finished speaking, the protesters marched into Rubio's office to present their demands. The office was closed off and locked however, so protesters left a letter to Rubio listing their demands.

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