FEE Galway occupy Brian Walsh TDs office. Photo by @petes-sake

Free Education for Everyone (FEE) Galway is currently engaged in an occupation of Deputy Brian Walsh’s Constituency Office to bring awareness to the fact that students will not accept any hike in the Registration Fee, any cut to the maintenance grant or any austerity measures aimed to make the most vulnerable in society pay for the mistakes of the bankers, developers and politicians that have sold away this country’s economic sovereignty.

We are engaging in non-violent direct action in a bid to make our voices heard. Marches are not enough, the different movements resisting austerity need to unite and engage in tactics that are not ignored. Fine Gael is the majority party in the current government, and next week they will be announcing yet more misery for 1000s of people across Ireland in their IMF-Dictated Budget. Our democratic process has failed us, our demand for change has been ignored, and the economic good continues to be prioritised over the peoples good.

FEE is a broad campaign group which believes and works towards complete free access to education on all levels for all people. We argue and campaign for the abolition of all registration fees/student contributions as well as opposing all recent cuts to the education system including special needs assistants, postgraduate grants and the destructive under-funding of the education system in general. FEE believes in funding of the education system by a central progressive taxation system, whereby a form of wealth tax is created on those earning over a certain amount so as to create an equal society. Education is a right not a privilege. Access to this right should never be limited by economic, social or cultural factors.

FEE Galway stands in solidarity with the 2 million public sector workers on strike today in the UK and in the North. We hope that such an action can be brought to our fight also; a student strike against increasing fees and the commercialisation of education will be a necessary tool in the fight for free education. We also stand in solidarity with the International Students’ Movement, the unemployed, SNAs and their students, pensioners, those suffering due to the inadequacy of our healthcare system, the Travelling Community, Asylum Seekers and Refugees, public sector employees and all those affected by the current austerity measures.

FEE demands:

That Deputy Brian Walsh vote against any rise in the student contribution or any cut to the maintenance grant, as well any proposals to bring in a graduate tax scheme or student loan system.

An end to all University fees

A well-funded grant system that reflects the cost of living

A rejection of the Hunt Report

A legislative review of the Universities Act 1997

An end to the neo-liberal restructuring of our economy dictated by the IMF and ECB and as such the immediate removal of these institutions from our economic affairs.

FEE Galway

Joseph –             087 2729021

William             086 8683390

Senan –             086 0644185

FEE GALWAY OCCUPATION is a post from Free Education for Everyone

Furthermore, we are deeply concerned with the use of pepper spray being threatened by members of the Gardaí present against peaceful protestors. The USI officers occupying the Department of Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation, upon hearing the threat, decided to leave the premises, and relocate to the Department of Social Protection, in fear of their own safety. We also regret, but are not surprised by, the decision made by the Gardaí to batter down the door of the room that the occupiers were holding in the second building, and the arrest of the four SU officers present.  When occupying a Government building, the Gardaí will always use force to remove occupiers, regardless of whether the occupiers are peaceful are not.

Criticisms can be made of the USI’s actions today, in that it will take a lot more than a handful of union officers occupying a building to scare the government, and that a hundred-plus student-occupiers would have been much more effective. FEE believes that in order to beat fees, huge numbers of students on the grassroots level have to be actively involved in organising, protesting and engaging in direct action, in a truly participatory fashion.  Likewise, some members of FEE feel that USI is being hypocritical in its actions today, when only a year ago they condemned a large group of students and USI members for occupying the Department of Finance. In this instance, while we still feel betrayed by that response from USI last year, we show our support for USI’s actions today, and add that this is what real solidarity looks like, which we ask USI to keep in mind in the future. Overall, our criticisms should not be on the forefront of our response today, and that we welcome USI’s actions as a whole.

Signed by:
FEE UCD
FEE Galway
FEE Trinity
FEE DCU
FEE Maynooth
FEE Tralee
FEE QUB
FEE IADT

(Image credited to College Tribune)

Statement of Support with USI Occupations is a post from Free Education for Everyone

The autumn and winter of 2010 saw the sudden and dramatic re-emergence of radical student movements, with mass student uprisings taking place across Europe and the United States in opposition to both the austerity measures being levelled against ordinary people as a result of the crisis in capitalism, and the neoliberal restructuring of education to the needs of capital. Across the Western world, governments are introducing measures to transform universities into “factories of precarious workers” – institutions devoted to the production of graduates equipped with the skills and ideas desired by industries increasingly reliant on immaterial and mental labour, turning ideas into profits, and who are willing to work in increasingly precarious situations, either entirely unpaid, or for increasingly low wages on increasingly short-terms contracts – a transformation that is increasingly meeting resistance from both students and academic staff, and which has only accelerated since the present crisis began. Meanwhile, in the Arab world, students have played a key role in the mass uprisings to topple Western-backed thugs such as Zine Ben Ali and Hosni Mubarak.

Springtime is a collection of writings from those at the forefront of the student resistance in the UK, Italy, France, California, Greece, and Tunisia (with brief mentions Algeria and Egypt) – a kind of scrapbook of resistance, from a diversity of perspectives and political backgrounds – featuring both first-hand accounts of the student protests, and more theoretical writings on the changing character of education, labour and student politics, as well as some historical flashbacks, in which, unsurprisingly, May 68 features heavily.

In each section we get a flavour of the peculiarities of the student movements in various countries. In the UK, we encounter the raw anger of a generation of young people betrayed by the political system – first by Labour and then by the Liberal Democrats – who suddenly find themselves faced with the trebling of tuition fees, the scrapping of the Education Maintenance Allowance, and future of indebtedness and precarious work, if they’re lucky, and unemployment if they’re not. In France, on the other hand, the youth are well aware of their power as political actors, having defeated right-wing government reforms on several occasions; but we also encounter a working-class divided along racial lines, with occasional clashes between the immigrant population of the banliues and the proportionately more white/middle-class student movement. In the US, unlike most of Europe, student occupations of their campuses are met almost immediately with swift and brutal police repression: with beatings and mass arrests. In North Africa, then, we encounter student resistance against the crude and brutal face of capitalist imperialism: the Western-backed thugs and their repressive authoritarian regimes whose role is to maintain Western influence over some of the largest energy reserves in the world.

The Italian section, in particular, merits careful reading. In one particularly excellent piece, we are given quite an in-depth discussion of the Bologna process, which is changing the character of higher education across Europe: directing universities towards the production and normalisation of precarious labour (a process in which students are simultaneously treated as consumers of a product, and raw materials being transformed into commodities), devaluing degrees, turning universities into psuedo-corporations run by business elites, and pushing a greater and greater debt burden onto students and their families. In order to fulfil the dual tasks of producing more graduates for industry and maintaining the university’s role in sustaining class privilege, “diversified inclusion” mechanisms are employed to create a two-tier system,with the best opportunities being made available to the children of the wealthy.

The thread of Counterfire (a UK Trotskyist group that broke away from the Socialist Workers’ Party in 2010) politics runs throughout the book, which brings an unfortunate element of sectarianism into the mix. In the introduction, for example, “fashionable sections of the left” (i.e. anarchists and autonomists) are decried for denouncing the state, while a substantial part of the UK section is devoted to arguing that the successes of the spontaneous, leaderless and decentralised student movement will come to nothing if they fail to adopt Leninist forms of leadership and organisation. Additionally, too much space is devoted to historical contextualisations, which often amount to little more than nostalgia for May 68, Students for a Democratic Society et al., with very tenuous links to the modern day student rebellions, which are beautiful and inspiring entirely in their own right, and not as re-enactments of uprisings from over forty years ago.

But these are minor criticisms of what is ultimately a fascinating, stimulating and inspiring collection of texts. Where Springtime is most powerful is not in the complex theoretical and ideological discussions which the Left so loves to preoccupy itself with, nor in the rhetorical flourishes and analysis-poetry of some of the book’s more stylistically accomplished sections, but in the simple stuff: the individual experiences of betrayal, abandonment, despair, anger, radicalisation, and hope – of a generation abandoned by their supposed leaders both in mainstream politics and the supposed counter-power of the trade and student unions and the official left learning to stand up for themselves together. As one young British Further Education student put it:

“I used to moan at people who said politicians were all liars and were all as bad as each other. I realise now how naive I was. Protesting against tuition fees has not only allowed me to express my opinion, it has allowed me to grow up.”

WORDS: Aidan Rowe

Review: Springtime, the New Student Rebellions is a post from Free Education for Everyone

We managed to wrench the secondary doors to the hallway open, despite the heavy-handed security staff pushing back and demanding our student IDs. One of them grabbed me and a couple of others and tried to throw us back into the corridor but thankfully didn’t manage due to the support from the sitters. We then proceeded to chant and demand a meeting with the vice-chancellor of Queens, who inevitably didn’t show.

The security staff then kettled us, locking all the doors leading to the corridor, including the exit, and locked the doors leading to the toilets, not knowing that there was one protester inside. After fifteen minutes locked in the corridor he managed to force the guard to open the door, and a few protesters sat against them, forcing them open. The security staff decided that as well as kettling us inside they would intimidate us by taking photos and film footage of the participants.

Bit by bit, people started to show up outside the main doors, shouting support, but were denied entry by yet more security staff who had formed a barricade. The protesters inside continued to chant and heckle the delegates inside the main hall, demanding a meeting with Peter Gregson, Vice Chancellor of Queens.

Red and black flags were draped inside the corridor and a red and black banner reading “Fees – £9,000 a year. Gregson earns £200K – Make him pay” was hung up.

After approximately one and a half hours the police turned up and chatted to a few of us, when we explained that we had remained peaceful despite the continued provocations of Queens security and intended to stay that way, they left again.

A short while after this the pro-vice chancellor Tony Gallagher arrived and talked to the protest. He started off by weakly stating that the QUB bureaucracy was against fee hikes, however it was pointed out to him that many of them had already come out in support of the price rises! After a short debate he promised to take our message to the Gregson yet studiously ignored our requests of a meeting directly with him. He was shot down on every statement and could not even begin to justify the fees rise, and was told that this was only the beginning of the fight against the astronomical fees.

After two and a half hours it was decided that we should end the occupation as the delegates’ conference was over, and the area was unheated. We had also managed to force a member of the Queens bureaucracy to come and speak to us, and had laid out our demands. We went outside and joined the group protesting outside in the freezing cold, which by this point had grown to around another 30 people.

The protest then marched through the main quad area of the Queens Lanyon Building and through the separate building of the Students’ Union – mainly to show them how it was done! The SU had organised a ‘sit in’ the previous week which had been sanctioned and rubber-stamped by the university, and was also limited to invitation only. Obviously to keep out the ‘troublemakers’ who might rock their little careerist boats. This never actually went ahead, either, as the university decided at the last minute they weren’t in favour of the idea. How militant…..

Lastly, the protest gathered on the stairs of the SU and draped the banners over the railings, continuing to chant and drawing a lot of support from passers-by and cars driving past.

All in all the protest and occupation took just over three hours, and although may have been small compared to other actions across the UK, definitely raised awareness of the issue surrounding fees.

Photo Report: Queens University Belfast Occupation 30/11/2010 is a post from Free Education for Everyone

The protest against the Con-Dem led hike in university fees began outside the Lanyon building of QUB at 1pm on Tuesday. The protest was called by FEE (Free Education for Everyone), a grassroots group campaigning against the proposed £9,000 tuition fees for higher education. The target of the protest was the Vice Chancellor Peter Gregson, who has been outspoken in support of a dramatic increase in fees. It has recently been revealed that Gregson is paid in excess of £200,000 a year, and is a member of the Mayfair gentlemen’s club in London – paid for by the University! This information certainly provided the protestors with some interesting ammunition.

Events

The protest quickly developed into an occupation. Extra security had been called in and the doors to the Vice Chancellor’s office had been locked. Fortunately, the 50 or so protestors found themselves outside the entrance to the ‘Great Hall’, which happened to be hosting a meeting regarding education… of all things!

The foyer was occupied, with the doors being secured after some brief scuffles with security. There was some heavy-handedness on behalf of security with several protestors reporting bruises to their legs after being shut between doors. One member of security also locked himself inside the entrance to the toilets, so as to prevent any of the protestors using them. However, one protestor had been locked inside with the member of security. When the door was unlocked to try and eject the protestor, other protestors quickly rushed the door and secured it by sitting down in the doorway. After around an hour-and-a-half Police arrived and offered to ‘facilitate’ the protest.

The demand to have VC Gregson come out and explain himself was made and the police left. After some time Pro-vice Chancellor Tony Gallagher came into the foyer with police and security accompanying him. Gallagher repeated the University’s position on the cuts, but was very weak under questioning from the protestors. This was certainly an unsatisfactory exchange of views. Gallagher has promised to take the protestors points to Gregson. After around 3 hours the occupation ended and the protestors, accompanied by a further 30, marched around the Lanyon building and through the Student’s Union building, finishing on the front steps.

Issues

A number of issues were raised and broadcast to a wider audience by this protest. The protest has made clear that many students are extremely angered by the proposed increase in fees. Other protests took place simultaneously in Birmingham, Sheffield, Bristol, Leeds, Oxford, Liverpool, Manchester, Brighton, Edinburgh, and London.

Uniquely for Belfast, though, the Student’s Union at Queen’s has actually distanced itself from the protests! It seems outrageous that the body elected by students to represent students’ interests has failed to support this stand against fees. It might seem less outrageous when we consider that those in the SU probably place more importance on the appearance of their CVs, than they do in fighting to defend the students they supposedly represent.

The protesters were keen to highlight the links between increases in fees, cuts to the public sector, and schemes such as ‘workfare’ under welfare reform. It is clear that the Con-Dem cuts are a nakedly political attack on ordinary people. The neo-liberal agenda demands that everything and anything must be privately operated, and for profit. This is to the detriment of students, workers, claimants, sick people, elderly, young people – and everyone is going to make a stand against this agenda of attack.

What next?

The protest and occupation at Queen’s University represents an important starting point for further action against fees, and against the cuts generally. It is the hope of the protestors that more students and staff and the wider public will join in future actions and make a stand against Con-Dem cuts and attacks, to make their voices heard for Free Education for Everyone!

A Review of the Queen’s University Occupation of 30/11/2010 is a post from Free Education for Everyone

Video: Garda knocks female student unconscious at National Student Protest is a post from Free Education for Everyone

Photo credits to Mindful Youth and GFox

Photos: Gardai leave students bloody and bruised at National Student Protest in Dublin is a post from Free Education for Everyone

I am writing to express my disgust at your statement below:

From The Irishtimes online:

“USI is saddened by the actions of a small minority of people who staged a sit-in protest at the Dept of Finance, shortly after the USI protest march today. This anti-social behaviour was completely separate from USI’s demo,”

In 2002 I was studying for my undergrad in UCD. As you are probably too young to remember, let me remind you that this was the last big battle against Third Level fees. I was not in a position back then to choose whether or not to fight the reintroduction of fees, it was a necessity. Without free education I would have been forced out of education.

I got involved in the student movement then, and despite not ever having been involved as an elected representative of a students union, I ended up on USI actions against the fees.

You may be interested to know that on Tuesday 20th May 2003, I went along with members of USI officer board, and other active students, to occupy the then Department of Social, Family and Community Affairs. This was organised by USI. We went from there to lock-on to the gates of the Dail at around lunchtime (also organised by USI). From there, having dutifully promised the Gardai we would go home and behave ourselves, we went to the Department of Transport and occupied it, overnight. All of these actions were carried out by USI with the Campaign for Free Education (same type organisation as FEE). Do the actions of previous USI officer boards also “sadden” you? Was that also “Anti-social” behaviour?

I will take an educated guess that you have never been on a protest where the Gardai have assaulted the crowd before. Let me tell you that in the last 10 years I have been on roughly 15 of such type protests and never once have I seen a protestor start the violence. I have seen Gardai beat and assault people from the ages of 13 to those in their late 70s, all on what were peaceful protests before Gardai arrived in numbers.

Condemn the Gardai for their brutality, not your members for their bravery.

I am aware that you are young, but if you are naïve to go with it, you should at least have the respect for your members to resign. You are a disgrace to your office. Resign.

Yours truly,

Caoimhe Kerins

Student activism in 2002/3 – the Campaign for Free Education

Remembering the Campaign for Free Education: Basis for the future (By Labour Cllr Dermot Looney)

Beyond Protest To Resistance – An Overview of the Campaign for Free Education

Dublin student activism at the end of the 1980′s

A letter to the USI President from a part-time student is a post from Free Education for Everyone

Click here to view the embedded video.

Video: Gardai baton students in sit-down protest at National student demo is a post from Free Education for Everyone

‎”USI is saddened by the actions of a small minority of people who staged a sit-in protest at the Dept of Finance, shortly after the USI protest  march today. This anti-social behaviour was completely separate from USI’s demo”.

According to USI, a sit-in and occupation protest are ‘anti-social behaviour’. This is despite USI themselves engaging in non-violent direct actions such as occupations and sit-down protests in the past. RTEs news coverage made no mention of injuries inflicted on students.

USI disowns members, ignores Garda violence at National Student Demo Dublin is a post from Free Education for Everyone