Post by johnb on Feb 9, 2009 7:58:28 GMT -5
For a radical coordination of the student struggles in Britain
The past few weeks have seen an explosion of student organisation most notably in occupations against Israel’s war on the Gaza strip. Much of the organisation has taken place outside of and alongside existing student union structures. Many of the occupations saw new networks formed among students which even took on something of a national and international character as blogs, social networking groups and email lists were set up to aid cross campus coordination. Some of the occupied spaces used international links to publicise the actions to students and other youth activists across Europe, the Middle East, Palestine and beyond.
As students from different societies, departments and political groups worked together, some of the occupied spaces starting inviting speakers and holding meetings on a whole range of different subject issues from anti-racism to trade unionism, to education.
Throughout the occupations students have often experienced harsh repression as a response on the part of the university administrations. Denied freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, many students have felt that universities are no longer public educational spaces. From this, many students saw the need to go beyond Gaza and reclaim their rights to voice political concerns about their own conditions.
With the recession deepening in Britain we are likely to see increases in education cuts, student unemployment and poverty, even racism and war. Education is no longer free in the UK and at a time when we need it most. In addition the NUS governance review has now passed destroying all the remaining democracy in an institution dominated by bureaucrats and careerists which has sold out all genuine campaigning and the fight for free education.
All these things point to the need for the networks of activists formed around the Gaza movement to form a national coordination to bring all our struggles to the next level.
Such a coordination could bring together the networks formed around the Gaza occupations from over 20 universities including SOAS, KCL, Sussex, Birmingham, Newcastle etc. It could bring together existing student and youth organisations such as Education Not for Sale, Another Education is Possible, ISR, YCL, SWSS, Revolution, Communist Students, Socialist Students, Antiwar groups and many other student societies interested in this coordination initiative, and seek to draw in further a host of other student organisations and individual students.
It could allow us to better coordinate with students internationally in struggle against other forms of injustices, particularly those fighting the ‘Bologna process’ in Europe. It could be open and accessible and draw in school and college students who face many of the same problems as students at the universities. It could encourage coordinations at a local level, drawing in all these students and allow cross-campus organisation in cities and towns. It could provide an alternative avenue for campaigning both alongside existing student union executive where possible but without them where necessary. It could provide a space to assess and debate what our education should look like and challenge the increasing corporatisation and privatisation of our education system.
Student activists met up on 7 February to discuss issues in this statement. We called for a national meeting for the provisional date of 18 April. We ask all student activists to attend and to add their contact details to this statement by emailing studentcoordination@gmail.com
The past few weeks have seen an explosion of student organisation most notably in occupations against Israel’s war on the Gaza strip. Much of the organisation has taken place outside of and alongside existing student union structures. Many of the occupations saw new networks formed among students which even took on something of a national and international character as blogs, social networking groups and email lists were set up to aid cross campus coordination. Some of the occupied spaces used international links to publicise the actions to students and other youth activists across Europe, the Middle East, Palestine and beyond.
As students from different societies, departments and political groups worked together, some of the occupied spaces starting inviting speakers and holding meetings on a whole range of different subject issues from anti-racism to trade unionism, to education.
Throughout the occupations students have often experienced harsh repression as a response on the part of the university administrations. Denied freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, many students have felt that universities are no longer public educational spaces. From this, many students saw the need to go beyond Gaza and reclaim their rights to voice political concerns about their own conditions.
With the recession deepening in Britain we are likely to see increases in education cuts, student unemployment and poverty, even racism and war. Education is no longer free in the UK and at a time when we need it most. In addition the NUS governance review has now passed destroying all the remaining democracy in an institution dominated by bureaucrats and careerists which has sold out all genuine campaigning and the fight for free education.
All these things point to the need for the networks of activists formed around the Gaza movement to form a national coordination to bring all our struggles to the next level.
Such a coordination could bring together the networks formed around the Gaza occupations from over 20 universities including SOAS, KCL, Sussex, Birmingham, Newcastle etc. It could bring together existing student and youth organisations such as Education Not for Sale, Another Education is Possible, ISR, YCL, SWSS, Revolution, Communist Students, Socialist Students, Antiwar groups and many other student societies interested in this coordination initiative, and seek to draw in further a host of other student organisations and individual students.
It could allow us to better coordinate with students internationally in struggle against other forms of injustices, particularly those fighting the ‘Bologna process’ in Europe. It could be open and accessible and draw in school and college students who face many of the same problems as students at the universities. It could encourage coordinations at a local level, drawing in all these students and allow cross-campus organisation in cities and towns. It could provide an alternative avenue for campaigning both alongside existing student union executive where possible but without them where necessary. It could provide a space to assess and debate what our education should look like and challenge the increasing corporatisation and privatisation of our education system.
Student activists met up on 7 February to discuss issues in this statement. We called for a national meeting for the provisional date of 18 April. We ask all student activists to attend and to add their contact details to this statement by emailing studentcoordination@gmail.com