Communist Web Monday 28th February 2000 9.30pm gmt STUDENT RALLIES BLAST FEDERAL LIBERALS By Darrell Rankin WITH SPIRIT AND DETERMINATION, tens of thousands of students demanded better access to post-secondary education during the February 2 Day of Action organized by the Canadian Federation of Students. Representing 400,000 university and college students across English-speaking Canada, the CFS is demanding that Ottawa restore $3.7 billion in funding to post-secondary education. The protests marked a resurgence of student protests, said a CFS spokesperson. Actions took place in nearly all of the 60 campuses affiliated to the CFS, as well as on some non-member campuses, and in smaller communities. The "strike" tactic was used to shut down several campuses with solid picket lines. Students rallied, petitioned, held all- day soup kitchens, and performed political theatre. "[The Day of Action] was great," said Elizabeth Carlyle, CFS National Deputy Co-Chair in a brief interview. Carlyle said that Human Resources Minister Jane Stewart promised "nothing specific" in a meeting after the protests. Conditions for working class students have grown worse throughout the 1990s, despite a weak economic recovery in recent years. Intensified pro-corporate government policies are at the root of the growing, serious crisis in post-secondary education. The Chretien Liberals and most federal politicians are sticking to pro-corporate policies or mild, ineffectual reforms at best. But support for the student protests is spreading, reaching well beyond the labour, women's and other organizations that have supported CFS protests over the last five years. Some university administrations proclaimed an "amnesty," saying students who participated in the protests would face no academic reprisal. Several city councils passed resolutions of support for the students' demands. Not surprisingly, working class youth, whose conditions have deteriorated dramatically, are playing a crucial role in organizing this resistance to the corporate agenda. Faced with the prospect of massive debt loads and poor job prospects, students from working class backgrounds are... http://www.billkath.demon.co.uk/cw/stu/stu.html
