Following Up…

March 11, 2009 in Campus Protests, Politics, Students | by | Leave a comment

Chas Freeman, the Obama nominee for chair of the National Intelligence Council has withdrawn his name from consideration. As we noted last week, Freeman once said this about China’s 1989 Tiananmen Square protests:

I do not believe it is acceptable for any country to allow the heart of its national capital to be occupied by dissidents intent on disrupting the normal functions of government, however appealing to foreigners their propaganda may be. Such folk, whether they represent a veterans’ “Bonus Army” or a “student uprising” on behalf of “the goddess of democracy” should expect to be displaced with despatch from the ground they occupy.

Freeman had come under heavy attack in recent days for his ties to Saudi Arabia and his criticisms of Israel, as well as his relationship with the Chinese government.

No New Higher Ed Plans In Obama Speech.

March 10, 2009 in Access, Financial Aid, Politics, Students | by | Leave a comment

President Obama’s speech on education this morning provided few new details of his higher education agenda. He reiterated previously announced plans to raise Pell Grants, create a new tuition tax credit, expand direct lending for student loans, and simplify the FAFSA form, but — as far as I can tell — didn’t add any substantive new information about any of these proposals.

A transcript of the speech can be found here.

Morning Links

March 10, 2009 in Access, Campus Protests, Civil Liberties, Divestment, Environmentalism, Faculty, Financial Aid, Graduate Students, International Students, Politics, Student Government, Student Power, Students, Tuition and Fees | by | Leave a comment

Quick updates on a bunch of stories we’ve been following…

  • The University of North Carolina has become the twenty-first US campus to dump Russell Athletic in response to labor violations.
  • A hundred NYU grad students held a “work-in” at Bobst Library yesterday afternoon.
  • President Obama will be providing major new details of his education plan at a speech this morning.

I’m Going to Need to Buy This Book

March 9, 2009 in History, Politics, Race, Student Power, Youth | by | Leave a comment

Hendrik Hertzberg blogs about Breach of Peace, a new book on the 1961 Freedom Riders. I was going to quote from his piece, but I kept cutting and pasting more and more of it, so go read what he has to say. It looks like an amazing book about an amazing moment in American history.

Editorial on the Oregon Emerald Strike

March 8, 2009 in Campus Press, Campus Protests, Media, Student Power, Students | by | Leave a comment

Saturday’s edition of the Eugene, Oregon Register Guard had a great, lengthy editorial on the Oregon Daily Emerald student newspaper strike. Here’s a taste:

Members of the Emerald’s news staff are student journalists, but they’re more than that — they’re journalists, period. The Emerald is not a practice field or a plaything. It’s a real newspaper where people gather, edit and report the news under daily deadline stress and intensifying economic pressures.

[…]

The Emerald still must find a way to break even or better financially. In that respect it faces the same challenges as other newspapers, large and small. The Emerald must find a way to survive, but its long-term prospects have been improved. They’ve improved because the newspaper’s editors, reporters and photographers have ensured that survival will be worth fighting for.

Go read the whole thing.

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StudentActivism.net is the work of Angus Johnston, a historian and advocate of American student organizing.

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