08) FREE SPEECH ON CAMPUS!

(The following article is from the April 16-30, 2008 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St. Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

People's Voice Editorial, April 16-30, 2008

University administrations and police on several campuses have launched a wave of injunctions and arrests to stifle student protests.

     The latest incident saw mass arrests of protesters at the University of British Columbia following an April 4 rally and concert, KnollAid 2.0, against plans for an underground bus loop and the commercialization of the centre of campus. The UBC administration has long ignored any opposition to its massive development schemes, but this police assault on non-violent student protesters took the university's actions to a shocking new level.

     Last fall In Québec, college and university students conducted a huge struggle against tuition fee increases, facing unprecedented police repression. More than 100 students who peacefully barricaded themselves inside CEGEP Vieux-Montréal to protest tuition hikes were arrested by police using pepper spray and Tasers, sparking wider protests. And in March, the administration of UQAM (l'Université du Québec à Montréal) banned political actions aimed at its plans for fee increases. A UQAM injunction approved by Québec Superior Court barred 14,000 striking students from demonstrating on campus, with threats of $50,000 fines.

     Meanwhile, officials at McMaster University in Hamilton recently tried to ban the use of the words "Israeli apartheid," in a transparent attempt to derail Israeli Apartheid Week events planned by student clubs.

     These are not incidents isolated from the rest of society. Ordering students to "sit down and shut up" reflects a rising militarization of our society, including threats by Harper's Tories and top military officers that Canadians who do not support their policies are "unpatriotic." We urge full solidarity with students by the labour and all democratic movements. Unity can help defeat these dangerous attacks on campus free speech!