As thousands of students protested tuition hikes outside the provincial legislature in Quebec City today, they were met with police force and tear gas. The protest was initially peaceful but when a group of students crossed barriers erected around the national assembly, the riot squad pushed back and deployed tear gas.
Photo (Jacques Boissinot / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Read more: CTV News
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Posted in Protests, Student Movement, Students
University of British Columbia Graduate Students Local CUPE 2278, still negotiating the extension of the 2006-2010 Agreement, resolved that they are “tired of struggling year after year against rising inflation and tuition costs while some UBC employees are financially protected from these concerns…. Have we set a date for a strike vote? No. Has there been an official strike vote yet? No. Have we been given the mandate to stop taking crap and use every tool available to us to get taken seriously at the table? You better believe it.” Those in support of bargaining agency will recall the courageous 2278 strike of 2003.
See CUPE 2278 UBC Graduate Students and Ubyssey for more.
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Posted in Protests, Student Movement
Beginning today, students at Concordia University will be moving en masse to the W. McConnell Library and staying for the remainder of the week. The 5-day sleep-in is in protest of pending tuition hikes and increasing burdens trickled and poured down on students within an economy that is failing. About 48,000 students throughout Quebec are boycotting classes, “many indefinitely,” in protest.
Photograph by: Phil Carpenter , Montreal Gazette files. Read more: Montreal Gazette
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Posted in Protests, Student Movement, Students
MONTREAL – About 15,000 students rallied Thursday afternoon at Phillip’s Square to protest tuition hikes.
On Tuesday, about 36,000 students took part in an unlimited strike to oppose tuition hikes – about 16,000 of them from CEGEPs and the rest from departments at the Université de Montréal, the Université du Québec à Montréal and the Université Laval à Québec.
Organizers claim more than 65,000 students are on strike in Quebec.
Read more: Montreal Gazette
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Posted in Protests, Student Movement, Students
Protesters swarm streets of Spain against labour law reforms
Hundreds of thousands of people, many waving red and white union flags, protested across Spain on Sunday against sweeping labour market reforms that make it easier to slash pay and lay off workers.
Spain’s two biggest unions, the CCOO and UGT, organised protests in 57 cities against the reforms which Spain’s new conservative government argues are needed to revive the economy and slash a jobless rate of 22.85 percent, the highest in the developed world.
Union officials said 500,000 people hit the streets in Madrid and 400,000 in Barcelona.
In the Spanish capital, protesters marched under sunny skies behind a large banner that read “No to the unfair, inefficient and useless reform”.
The Chronicle: Will Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Occupy the MLA Convention?
Feeling downsized, disrespected, and exploited, disgruntled members of the Modern Language Association—seeking to capitalize on the Occupy Wall Street movement’s messages about income disparity—have called for action in advance of the group’s annual meeting next month.
Those members, mostly faculty who are off the tenure track, have turned to blogs and a Twitter feed called OccupyMLA to air grievances about deteriorating labor conditions on their campuses for part-time instructors. Among their list of complaints: low wages; no health insurance; lack of access to office space, phones, and computers; abrupt decisions by administrators to cut programs and courses; criticisms of unions; little or no openness about spending; job insecurity; and fear of retribution if they speak out.
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Posted in Conferences, Contingent labor, Protests
Tagged #OCCUPY, Contingent labor, MLA, Protests
The Detroit News: Crowd lambastes Detroit school closure plan
‘These schools mean the world to us,’ says one irate speaker
Detroit— During a contentious meeting interrupted by chants and catcalls Tuesday, students, parents and teachers lambasted a plan to close 14 Detroit schools and convert 45 others to charter schools.
The irate crowd of 300 also objected to the meeting itself, including a one-minute limit on speakers and the announcement that school officials planned only to listen to audience comments and not respond to them.
From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110413/SCHOOLS/104130367/Crowd-lambastes-Detroit-school-closure-plan#ixzz1JWgYQUdU
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Posted in Budgets & Funding, K-12 issues
Tagged Budgets & Funding, Detroit, K-12 issues, Protests, school closures
San Diego Union-Tribune: Protesters occupy building on Sacramento campus
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — More than 100 faculty members, students and staff have occupied a building at California State University, Sacramento as part of a statewide mobilization against pending cuts to higher education.
An early afternoon rally on Wednesday began with more than 600 protesters, who blamed CSU Chancellor Charles Reed for not doing enough to oppose cuts California lawmakers are using to close the state’s $26.6 billion budget deficit.
Gov. Jerry Brown already signed into law a $1 billion reduction to higher education, but that number could grow if taxes are not increased, as the Democratic governor wants.
The protestors marched from the school’s library quad to an administrative building to present a set of petitions. Law enforcement officials were inside, but it is unclear whether university administrators were prepared for the occupation.
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Posted in Budgets & Funding, Faculty, Protests, Students
Tagged Budgets & Funding, California State U, Faculty, Protests, staff, Students
Capitol Confidential: Dozens arrested outside Cuomo’s office (video added)
Thirty-three [updated number per State Police] members of the CUNY Professional Staff Congress and other groups will be charged with disorderly conduct following an orderly but rather loud protest that began just after 2 p.m., when a portion of the 150 or so advocates who had been circling the Mural Room filed into the Senate stairway corridor just outside Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office. A sizable contingent of state troopers were waiting to block the closed security door.
The protesters who had elected to be arrested sat down and continued a variety of chants protesting what they characterized as a war on workers, unions, the poor and CUNY. Methodically, troopers crouched down to read a script in which the protesters were informed that they were creating an unsafe blockade, and asked to move to a different spot. All refused, and stood up to have hands secured behind their backs. They were calmly led away to cheers from the rest of the protesters hanging back at the opposite end of the stairwell.
Midway through the action, Sen. Ruben Diaz stopped to linger by the foot of the steps, and joined in the sloganeering. Sen. Bill Perkins passed by briefly.
Washington Post: After Iraq’s Day of Rage, a Crackdown on Intellectuals
Iraqi security forces detained about 300 people, including prominent journalists, artists and lawyers who took part in nationwide demonstrations Friday, in what some of them described as an operation to intimidate Baghdad intellectuals who hold sway over popular opinion.
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Posted in Faculty, Government, International, Protests
The Chronicle: At Rallies Across the Country, Students Turn Out in Defense of Public Education
Less than a month before midterm elections, students, faculty members, and advocacy groups held rallies on campuses across the country on Thursday to show elected officials their support for public higher education.
At Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge, for example, several hundred people gathered on the campus’s parade grounds for a jazz-inspired “funeral” for higher education. Some participants, dressed in black carried a coffin labeled “education,” while others carried flags representing language programs that the university has cut to cope with shrinking state appropriations.
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Posted in Protests
Tagged Budgets & Funding, Protests, Students
AP: Police arrest more than 500 at Toronto summit
Police raided a university building and rounded up more protesters Sunday in an effort to quell further violence at the global economic summit after black-clad youths rampaged through the city, smashing windows and torching police cruisers. Police said they have arrested more than 500 demonstrators, many of whom were hauled away in plastic handcuffs and taken to a temporary holding center constructed for the summit…Thousands of police headed to Toronto to reinforce security there after the smaller Group of Eight summit ended Saturday in Huntsville, Ontario, about 140 miles (225 kilometers) away. Security was being provided by an estimated 19,000 law enforcement officers drawn from across Canada, and security costs were estimated at more than US$900 million
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Posted in Protests
Tagged G20 Summit, Police, Protests, U of Toronto
Santa Cruz Sentinel: UC-Santa Cruz Hits 36 Students With $34,000 in Fines for Damage at Sit-In
SANTA CRUZ — UC Santa Cruz is charging 36 students $944 each in restitution for their involvement in November’s occupation of the main campus administration building, officials confirmed Monday.
Of the 45 students investigated, 36 were found to have played some role in the protest over student fee hikes, an incident that caused nearly $34,000 in damage, spokesman Jim Burns said. The cost of the repairs was split evenly among the students.
SW Radio Africa News: Over 33 students arrested during countrywide demos
Around 33 students were arrested countrywide on Monday after they staged a series of demonstrations protesting high tuition fees and the political deadlock in the country. The protests were held in Harare, Bulawayo, Gweru and Masvingo in what the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) said was also a way to commemorate the March 2008 elections which ‘marked Zimbabwe’s closest ever shot at democracy.
AP: Protest cancels Coulter speech in Ottawa
OTTAWA — A protest by hundreds of students led organizers to cancel a Tuesday night speech by American conservative commentator Ann Coulter at the University of Ottawa.
A spokesman for the organizers said Coulter was advised against appearing after about 2,000 “threatening” students crowded the entrance to Marion Hall, posing a security threat.
“It would be physically dangerous for Ann Coulter to proceed with this event,” said conservative political activist Ezra Levant inside the hall. “This is an embarrassing day for the University of Ottawa and their student body . . . who chose to silence her through threats and intimidation
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Posted in Free speech
Tagged Ann Coulter, Free speech, Protests, U of Ottawa
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AFP: Students, teachers protest over US education cuts
LOS ANGELES — Students clashed with baton-wielding police as thousands took to the streets across California in mostly peaceful protests against cuts in education spending.
Television reports showed dozens of protesters at the University of California Berkeley scuffling with police as demonstrations against fee hikes of more than 30 percent turned viole
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Posted in Protests, Strikes & Labor Disputes, Students
Tagged Budget cuts, Budgets & Funding, March 4 Strike and Day of Action, Protests
Reuters: U.S. students protest fee hikes at universities
* Protests largely peaceful but some arrests in Oakland (Adds Oakland arrests, San Francisco rally)
SAN FRANCISCO, March 4 (Reuters) – Students and faculty at California’s public universities rallied across the state on Thursday to protest steep fee hikes they say have damaged a system of higher education long the envy of the nation.
More than 100 such events in more than 30 states were scheduled for a “Day of Action” in support of public education, prompted by tuition hikes and program cuts that reflect financial problems affecting nearly every U.S. state.
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Posted in Protests, Strikes & Labor Disputes, Students
Tagged Budget cuts, Budgets & Funding, March 4 Strike and Day of Action, Protests
Now Public: Students Across California and the US Protest Budget Cuts During Day of Action to Defend Public Education
Students across California and other parts of the US took part in a national day of protest against higher tuition fees and budget cuts at post-secondary institutions.
Protest organizers state that they hope to raise awareness about how the recession is affecting universities, calling Thursday a Day of Action to Defend Public Education. Students caused disruptions at the University of California at Santa Cruz UC Berkeley, and other universities across California. Protests also took place at the University of Maryland.
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Posted in Protests, Strikes & Labor Disputes, Students
Tagged Budget cuts, March 4 Strike and Day of Action, Protests
Student protests erupt at South African university
Water cannons, rocks, burning tyres and running battles between rioting students and the police occurred on Thursday at the University of Johannesburg’s Bunting Road campus.
The protest was instigated by Sasco members after the student body called for the closure of nine universities across the country to demand free tertiary education.
Dozens of students gathered at the university’s campus, demanding free education.
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Tagged Protests, South Africa
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