Update on student strike

The strike continues and the two sides harden their resolve. The headline today is that provincial premier Jean Charest accuses the students of using initimidation similar to what occurs in the (Mafia-controlled) construction industry. It's odd he would say this since the bid-rigging and kickbacks cost provicial tax-payers millions, which is perceived to be a major political weakness for Charest.

The newspaper, le Soleil of Quebec City, says that 65% of students are attending classes, but the other 35% seem to be getting more militant. The schools of forestry, medicine and lab sciences at Laval are unaffected by the strike, while the student organizations in Art, literature, and Sociology are very active in it. They were picketing at the city's major artery this morning as we dropped the kids off at school. The symbol of the movement is the red square, and protesters have put red tape over the mouths of some of the many bronze statues of past heroes that one finds all over the centre-ville.

In Quebec, high school ends with the 11th grade (or 5th year of secondary school, as they call it) and then students go to CEGEP for two years before University. This "community college for all" model sounds like a good one to me. The CEGEPs are small but numerous and can be located closer to the remote rural areas than the universities are. Because tuition is low, housing and travel is a major part of the expense for students. What's more, since all students, rich and poor, dimmest to smartest, go to CEGEP, the rigid socioeconomic segregation that exists, for example, between Lane Community College and the U of O, is avoided. And the universities don't have to teach remedial courses.

I've got to admire the organization and resolve of the student leaders. This article outlines their demands to "cut the fat" in information technology and administrators' salaries so that research and instruction can be maintained without tuition hikes. Ben Eckstein has done great work but he doesn't have the back up from the student body to carry off demonstrations that might get traction for his demands, such as for the Athletic dept. to contribute to all students' education.