Solidarity at CUNY with Quebec Student Strike

Class Struggle Education Workers and CUNY Internationalist Clubs supporters at May 10 CUNY protest. The demonstration was initiated by student activists from CUNY's Brooklyn College campus under the slogan "No hikes! No cops!" They called it to protest against tuition increases and police repression, shown most recently in the arrest of two student protesters at Brooklyn College on May 2. 

CSEW members gained support for the students' May 10 demonstration against police repression and tuition hikes from the Hunter chapter of the Professional Staff Congress (CUNY faculty/staff union), which has been protesting repeated administration/security interference with union teach-ins, attempted intimidation of activists on campus, the NYPD's spying on Muslim students at CUNY, and a recent incident in which a student government member was interrogated by FBI agents on campus (in an office of the Hunter Department of Public Safety) about activism related to Occupy Wall Street.

On May 10, after rallying at Hunter, protesters marched to CUNY's administration offices on East 80th Street in Manhattan. CSEW and Internationalist activists linked the struggle against tuition hikes and police repression to the current mass student strike in Quebec, which is presently at a crucial juncture. Despite initial resistance from some protest organizers who argued for "keeping it focused on CUNY," we were able to have our proposal adopted that the demonstrators take a vote that "we stand in active solidarity with the Quebec student strike – their fight is our fight." This was approved by a show of hands at the protest.

Below is the text of a short flier that CUNY Internationalists produced for yesterday's protest, and CSEW members helped distribute.

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From CUNY to Quebec, defeat capitalist war on public education

We say:

Drop all charges and sanctions against arrested Brooklyn College students! All cops (and FBI) off campus! Stop NYPD spying on Muslim students and campus clubs! No tuition – open admissions! Abolish the administration and Board of Trustees – CUNY should be run by elected councils of students, faculty and workers. Students, ally with the power of the working class to fight capitalism’s attack on public education.

We also want to bring to the attention of everyone at today’s protest the crucial situation occurring right now in the massive student strike in Quebec. Though Montreal is relatively close to NYC (just hours away across the Canadian border by bus or car), the news media have had a virtual blackout on this struggle. Facing a 75% tuition hike, up to 300,000 students in Quebec have waged this militant strike, starting in February.

Now the Quebec students’struggle has reached a crucial juncture. Following brutal police repression against student protesters at Victoriaville, Quebec last weekend, the government has tried to saddle the students with a supposed “understanding” which would actually increase the tuition hike. While students throughout Quebec are massively voting this down, the strike leaders are under huge pressure to bring it to an end. A show of support from us here at CUNY – at this crucial moment in the Quebec struggle – can really help the courageous student strikers in Quebec.

For these reasons, we call for this CUNY protest gathered here today at Hunter College to vote collectively that we stand in active solidarity with the student strike in Quebec – their fight is our fight.  International solidarity is key to our common struggle.