Category Archives: Protests

Inside Higher Ed: Antioch Protest at 1 Dupont

Some Antioch College alumni, among those pushing for independence for the college from Antioch University, turned up Wednesday at One Dupont Circle — the Washington home of many higher education associations — to seek more support. They passed out leaflets urging people to write to Antioch’s board, which was meeting Wednesday but came to no conclusions about the fate of the college. Larry Rubin, one of those passing out information, said “the issue facing Antioch College is the same as what faces higher education across the country. Should the goal be education or simply to maximize funding for an institution? We’re saying higher education can weigh in and support the transfer to a corporation of alumni who will make sure the right kind of education will continue.”

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Toronto Star: NO-SWEATSHOP ADVOCACY

York University students planned to camp outside the office of president Mamdouh Shoukri all weekend as they continue to protest the school’s delay in implementing a no-sweatshop policy.

Shoukri was unavailable to meet with the students yesterday, but will do so Monday afternoon, said York spokesperson Alex Bilyk.

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BBC: Universities arms trade protest

The protesters want universities to ditch shares in arms companies
Students are set to take part in a day of protest against universities’ links to the arms trade on Wednesday.

Campaigners say anger is growing at universities’ investment in arms firms, as well as their research links.

Protesters will attempt to sell fake weapons at the quad at University College London, while at Lancaster there will be an open-air debate.

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People’s Weekly World: Puerto Rico’s teachers fight for public education

Puerto Rican teachers and their allies took to the streets of San Juan on Feb. 8 to protest the decertification of their union. The decertification happened in reaction to the union’s recent strike vote over the conditions of public schools and low wages. The Puerto Rican Federation of Teachers (FMPR) picketed the Public Sector Labor Relations Commission under the slogan, “You cannot decertify our fight!”

A Puerto Rican appeals court issued a temporary injunction against the decertification last week.

Besides the demands for higher wages (starting salary is $19,200) and better working conditions, the Federation of Teachers is also negotiating for improvements in the education of Puerto Rican youths.

The union’s demands

include:

• Class limit of 15 students so as to give individual attention.

• More teachers in fine arts, physical education, special needs education, health and other areas so as to enrich the academic offerings.

• More psychologists, social workers and other necessary staff.

• That every school has a well-stocked and functioning

library.

• Mandatory health and safety measures be taken to guarantee conditions adequate for uninterrupted study.

• More substitute or itinerant teachers be hired.

• Institute democratic and participatory norms of school organization so that students can have the course offerings and learning conditions that they deserve.

• Enough materials and equipment so that each course can adequately serve the needs of the students.

• Guarantees against the privatization of schools so as to assure a free quality public school education.

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Los Angeles Times: Students, UC regents protest proposed cuts

The prospect of a sharp reduction in state revenues for higher education triggered protests from students and anxiety among faculty and administrators at Thursday’s meeting of the UC Board of Regents.

The 10-campus UC system, which enrolls about 220,000 students, could face hikes in student fees, limits on enrollment and a salary freeze under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposal to cope with the state’s budget gap. Decisions on such actions will be made in the upcoming months even as educators lobby in Sacramento for extra revenue.

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Evening Standard: Oxford students sit-in protest fails to silence Holocaust-denier David Irving and BNP leader Nick Griffin

As student protests go it was a rather tame affair.

At stake were two issues that had ignited the passions of some of our brightest undergraduates – the right to free speech versus the right to demonstrate.

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Inside Higher Ed:

The hunger strike of a small group of students at Columbia University ended Friday night with a joint statement from the protesting students and the university administration. Exactly what was gained from the 10-day strike is unclear. Some of those protesting have talked of new commitments to improve the way some ethnic studies courses are taught, but university officials have noted that those improvements were already on the institution’s agenda. While some of the hunger strikers’ goals — such as the prevention of hate crimes — had broad student support, others did not. An editorial in the student newspaper Friday morning ran an editorial questioning whether the hunger strikers spoke for students as a whole and urging them to stop the strike.

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