Class
Struggle Education Workers and CUNY Internationalist Clubs supporters at May 10
CUNY protest. The demonstration was initiated by student activists from CUNY's
Brooklyn College campus under the slogan "No hikes! No cops!" They called it
to protest against tuition increases and police repression, shown most
recently in the arrest of two student protesters at Brooklyn College on May
2.
CSEW
members gained support for the students' May 10 demonstration against police
repression and tuition hikes from the Hunter chapter of the Professional Staff
Congress (CUNY faculty/staff union), which has been protesting repeated
administration/security interference with union teach-ins, attempted
intimidation of activists on campus, the NYPD's spying on Muslim students at
CUNY, and a recent incident in which a student government member was
interrogated by FBI agents on campus (in an office of the Hunter Department of
Public Safety) about activism related to Occupy Wall Street.
On
May 10, after rallying at Hunter, protesters marched to CUNY's administration
offices on East 80th Street in Manhattan. CSEW and
Internationalist activists linked the struggle against tuition hikes and police
repression to the current mass student strike in Quebec, which is presently at a
crucial juncture. Despite initial resistance from some protest organizers who
argued for "keeping it focused on CUNY," we were able to have our proposal
adopted that the demonstrators take a vote that "we stand in active solidarity
with the Quebec student strike – their fight is our fight." This was approved
by a show of hands at the protest.
Below
is the text of a short flier that CUNY Internationalists produced for
yesterday's protest, and CSEW members helped distribute.
------------------
From CUNY to
Quebec, defeat capitalist war on public education
We
say:
Drop all charges
and sanctions against arrested Brooklyn College students! All cops (and FBI) off
campus! Stop NYPD spying
on Muslim students and campus clubs! No tuition – open admissions! Abolish the
administration and Board of Trustees – CUNY should be run by elected councils of
students, faculty and workers. Students, ally with the power of the working
class to fight capitalism’s attack on public education.
We also want to
bring to the attention of everyone at today’s protest the crucial situation
occurring right now in the massive student strike in Quebec. Though Montreal
is relatively close to NYC (just hours away across the Canadian border by bus or
car), the news media have had a virtual blackout on this struggle. Facing a
75% tuition hike, up to 300,000 students in Quebec have waged this
militant strike, starting in February.
Now the Quebec
students’struggle has reached a crucial juncture. Following
brutal police repression against student protesters at Victoriaville, Quebec
last weekend, the government has tried to saddle the students with a supposed
“understanding” which would actually increase the tuition hike. While students
throughout Quebec are massively voting this down, the strike leaders are under
huge pressure to bring it to an end. A show
of support from us here at CUNY – at this crucial moment in the Quebec struggle
– can really help the courageous student strikers in Quebec.
0 Comments