Arizona Regents Draw Huge Budget Protest

January 25, 2009 in Access, Administration, Campus Protests, Finances, Politics, Student Government, Student Power | by | Leave a comment

Nearly a thousand students and others gathered at a Thursday meeting of the Arizona board of regents on Thursday to protest planned budget cuts to the state’s public universities.

The proposal, announced in the legislature the previous week, would slash $600 million in funding, imposing cuts ranging from 4% to 12% on universities’ budgets.

The Associated Students of the University of Arizona (ASUA) and the Arizona Student Association (ASA) are planning a trip to the state’s capitol in Phoenix this Wednesday, January 28, to protest the cuts directly at the state legislature. Details on the protest can be found at the ASA website.

Gaza Protests Spread Across UK

January 25, 2009 in Campus Protests, Divestment, International Students, Student Power | by | 3 comments

A bit over a week ago we brought you news of a sit-in at the London School of Economics protesting the Israeli military offensive in Gaza.

Since then, the LSE sit-in has ended in a qualified victory for the student protesters, and more than a dozen other sit-ins have begun in Britain around the Gaza issue.

The LSE protesters have set up a blog that they’re using to get out word about the other student protests going on, and it’s being updated several times a day.

York University Strike Ending?

January 24, 2009 in Faculty, Labor, Politics, Students | by | 1 comment

The York University strike appears to be nearing an end, but the timing of any resolution remains unclear.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty will recall the provincial legislature to session at one o’clock tomorrow afternoon to take up back-to-work legislation aimed at ending the York University strike.

In a statement this morning, McGuinty said he had been advised by the strike mediator “that there is no reasonable prospect of a negotiated settlement between York University and CUPE Local 3903.” He is asking the legislature for unanimous consent to the measure, and is hoping to have classes resume “this week.”

2:14 pm Update: News outlets are reporting that if the legislature unanimously approves the bill tomorrow, classes could resume as soon as Monday. If any legislators vote against it, passage could take as much as two weeks.

3:05 pm Update: Initial responses to McGuinty’s action from York and CUPE are online.

3:08 pm Update: The Globe and Mail is reporting that the New Democratic Party will not agree to unanimous consent to the back-to-work legislation, delaying passage until “at least Wednesday.”

January 24 Update: Our coverage continues here.

Massive Irish Protests Planned Against Tuition Fees

January 24, 2009 in Access, Campus Protests, Finances, Financial Aid, Politics, Student Power | by | Leave a comment

Ireland’s public universities have been tuition-free since the mid 1990s, and the country’s national student union is organizing to keep it that way.

More than two thousand students marched in an anti-fee protest in the city of Waterford on Wednesday, and the Union of Students in Ireland is predicting 30,000 will join a march in Dublin on February 4.

According to the USI, the planned fees could be as high as eight thousand Euros a year, the equivalent of more than $10,000.

York University Strike Milestones

January 23, 2009 in Faculty, History, Labor, Students | by | Leave a comment

Just for the record, and because I haven’t seen the specific numbers anywhere else…

The York University Strike hit a milestone today: At 79 days, it became the longest strike in York history, and the third-longest in the history of Canadian higher education.

The second longest strike in Canadian higher ed history was the Laval University strike of 1976. A bunch of online sources say it lasted for “four months,” but I’ve been able to confirm that it clocked in at exactly 108 days.

The longest such strike was the 1976-77 strike at the University of Quebec, at 123 days.

To sum up:

  • On January 23 the 2007-08 York University strike became the third longest university strike in Canadian history.
  • On February 22 it will become the second longest.
  • And on March 9 it will enter the record books as the longest higher education strike in the history of Canada.

Mark your calendars, kids.

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

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