Movement 124

More documents

Recommendations

Info

unruly subiects Student activism and resistance have been part of university life ri$ht from the start, but are we losing touch with the power that students can wield? the most effective student actions achieved their Eloals by workin$ to$ether with other unions and resistance movements F t o rt U G(, -t E o \ o -5 !0 rl- It \ F t r ōo-- \ When my parents were at university in the late sixties, students were synonymous with radical politics and protest. They were at the forefront of protests against the Vietnam War, and at the centre of movements in France and elsewhere working for real social change. lt seems to me that things are rather different now. Peter Selby, Bishop of Worcester, has argued that the authorities responded to the frightening power wielded by students in the sixties by saddling them with growing debt, and ever-increasing pressure to get the best results and become productive workers. The effect is not only to keep students so busy they have no time to save the world; it's also changed the way they perceive themselves and their studies. Many modern students see their degree as a simple contract between themself and an institution. So we're starting to hear of students suing their university if lectures aren't up to standard, or results are late. It's a worrying sign of the way commercialism and individualism is being allowed to permeate university life. Once upon a time, students' response to problems of this kind would have been to band together and work for change democratically, rather than looking for personal financial compensation. Something has been lost here. This isn't just nostalgia for the sixties. lt's about the way students always organised themselves in the past. The very first European universities in the Middle Ages were essentially guilds for students and scholars, allowing them to band much like modern trade unio This understanding students can wield a lTr i I that .,t l* it tF ., more power and influence as a group than individually - was always part of the student experience as universities developed and changed. And it went further than that: the most effective student actions achieved their goals by A student mans the barricades in Paris in 1968. Striking students were ioined by people from all sections of sociely in a m ass ive reslstance move m e n t. working together with other unions and resistance movements. Students have the freedom to contribute time and work to caLrses, and can create and direct new thinking through their studies. They should be a vital part of any movement for social change. Since I think we've lost an awareness of this aspect of the student world, perhaps it would be worth listing some examples of what student resistance can achieve. The iconic example, of course, is Paris in May 1968. Students and workers took over the streets of the city, demanding social and educational reform, and seriously shook their government. But there are other examples. Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution in 1989 was started by a massive student demonstration, and ultimately led to the overthrow of the country's Communist government. Looking back further into the past, in 1B4B students formed an Academic Legion which took over the whole of Vienna for months and forced the Emperor to flee. And there's no room here to go into detail, but students have been instrumental in most of the revolutionary movements which have overthrown dictators in Latin America. I think it's time for students to take pride in this heritage of working for change, take more advantage of the power they can wield, and work together with broader social movements. The article opposite includes some inspiring examples of things that are happening already, but more is needed. The MakePovertyHistory campaign gives us an example of how different agencies and people can work together on a single issue - can we take this further? Students need to make the most of the opportunities available to them, and not buy into the myth that universities are just factories for economic production units. O Liam Purcell is Co-ordinator of SCM and editor of movement. further readin$ lf you'd like to find out more about the history of student activism, the best place to start is a book by Mark Edelman Boren called Student Resisfance.' a history of the unruly subject (Routledge, 2001). Education Not for Sale (www.free-ed ucati on.org. uk) is a group working to encourage more activism within the NUS and the student world in general. srlnrff tt$snmt movement
a resurgence? Signs of hope for student activism from the global justice and peace movements? I ii x I Stroll through any campus in the UK today and mention Stop the War or MakePovertyHistory, and you are likely to receive a passionate vote of support. Certainly everyone will know what you are talking about. But although there is a higher awareness of global issues among UK students today than there has been for several years, to what extent is this awareness translated into committed action, and is it effective in bringing about real change? Certainly there is no shortage of opportunities for students to get involved in social activism and protest on today's campuses. Since the rise of the anti-globalisation movement in the mid-nineties a huge number of student-focused campaigning groups have set up across the UK, tackling a wide variety of issues. Groups such as SPEAK, People & Planet, Student Action on Refugees, No Sweat and many others are now well represented as student societies on many campuses. And many students are making the most of the chance to be involved. ln recent years students have been heavily involved in big national protests and campaign actions such as the CB protests in Scotland in 2005, and the antiwar marches in London and elsewhere. Locally, too, students have been active in raising awareness about campaigns, lobbying their local MPs and doing campaign actions on their own campuses. Campaign-themed gigs and club nights, fairtrade fashion shows and ethical fairs are now common student events, along with more unusual actions. SPEAK activists at the University of Manchester recently organised a 'die-in' outside the students' union involving white t-shirts, lots of fake blood and lying down pretending to be dead to campaign for their university to disinvest in UK arms companies, and succeeded in gaining the union's backing for the campaign. Elsewhere, activists from Student Action for Refugees (STAR) at the University of East Anglia covered their campus in washing lines from which hung hundreds of pairs of undergarments, communicating their message that the UK government's refugee policy is, well, pants. But is this explosion in both awareness and activism producing any meaningful results? Obviously the lraq war still happened; MakePovertyHistory saw some progress with global debt, but painfully little in global trade; and the government's refugee policy is still pants. Perhaps some encouragement can be drawn from the experiences of students outside the UK. Students recently succeeded in bringing about big changes to the French government's employment policy after they organised some of the country's largest student protests in recent history. And in Chile, student protestors as young as 1 3 and 1 4 succeeded in turning around their country's education policies. However, many of the big global issues of today's world are dazzlingly complex and deeply ingrained in society and culture, and the challenge to activists both student and non-student is to be committed for the long haul. So what of the future? Can the student protest movement maintain its current momentum, or will ilfizzle out? Will individual students, so dedicated to the cause while on campus, remain as dedicated once they graduate? An interesting feature of much of social activism on UK campuses today is a renewed interest in what has traditionally been a no-go area for the socially conscious: spirituality. The recent explosion of campaigning and protesting activity has been accompanied by a fresh engagement with various differeni spiritual traditions. This has been particularly marked among environmental activists, but has begun to influence most streams of student activism. As those committed to social and environmental justice begin to realise both the depth of the change required in society and the long-term commitments needed to see those changes, more and more are beginning to look for a deeper source of inspiration and energy for their activism. This is an exciting development for Christians, who find themselves with something meaningful to offer to those searching, and also with much to learn and to gain from student activists' passion for the poor and the environment. It remains to be seen whether th is newfound spiritual awareness will inspire today's student activists to deeper, longer-lasti ng commitment and even greater successes than their forerunners. However, it appears that the long, distinguished history of students involved in radicalprotest and campaigning for social change isnt aboutto end any time soon. O Nathan Thomas works for SPEAK. Pictures (from top to bottom): SPEAK members (Nathan Thomas) Die-in (Kate Coodacre) Lying under burdens (Tint Nafziger) 5 \ S o to h - h tt ff so\o q tl \ o lt rh lt o T movement L7
Page 1 and 2: t. ,.termly maElazine of the studen
Page 3 and 4: editorial 'Value' is a loaded term
Page 5 and 6: scm glrassroots reporl: peak retrea
Page 7 and 8: i gt?#L?g#ffGam working, to set aII
Page 9 and 10: steve collins on alternative worshi
Page 11 and 12: I So, how would he like to see thin
Page 13 and 14: dippin$ toes in the sea of laith a
Page 15: i bursaries is complex and many of
Page 19 and 20: apply. Financial help can sometimes
Page 21 and 22: ties and binds principalities, powe
Page 23 and 24: wood ingham's tales from the world
Page 25 and 26: who were inspired by self-governing
Page 27 and 28: writing about culture (popular and
Page 29 and 30: the latest series of the a0prentice
Page 31 and 32: Da Vinci consPiracY? Well, this sum

Movement 124

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?