Actions and Events on 23/04 [Thursday] (GWA)
Submitted by Mo on Thu, 04/23/2009 - 10:48
23/04/2009
All groups are asked to list their reports (incl. videos and pictures), that took place today, inside here!
Planned actions for today (as far as I know):
- Germany (Berlin): General assemblies at the "Freie Universität" ("Free University")
- Germany (Marburg): public lecture with profs + "soup kitchen"
- Germany (Münster): final day of public camping with programme in front of the castle
- U.S. of A. (Vermont): Sit-in at the University of Vermont
(UVM) student center in protest of budget cuts, layoffs and administrative
mismanagement beginning on April 22nd until the university reverses its
cuts and reinstates laid off faculty and staff.
- Croatia (Zagreb): Various groups in Zagreb
will occupy the university building of one faculty, consisting of about
5,000 students. They will offer an alternative programme, inform about
the Global Week of Action and its development and promote the global
perspective of our struggle against the commercialization of education.
(20 - 26/04 or longer)
- Finland: week of action in Finland, which will be part of the "Reclaim your Education - Global Week of Action" (20 - 24/04)
Zagreb, Zadar, Rijeka, Osijek & Split (Croatia)
occupations + updates
Zagreb: The Faculty of Arts joined the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Law, while others are organized and are taking steps towards the blockade and further faculties
Zadar: 3 University buildings are blocked by students, yesterday's meeting was attended by 1000 students
Rijeka: 3 University buildings are blocked by students
Osijek: students are protesting and planning to take over the University during the day
Split: Decides tonight for further action
Source: Email
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2nd Update:
The students are continuing to occupy the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (in Zagreb), demanding free education for all. On Wednesday (22/04), the Faculty Council decided to support their demands and their occupation, and has cancelled classes for the rest of the week. The Council has joined the students in demanding from the goverment the elimination of all tuition fees. The students continue with their own alternative education programme, which consists of lectures, public discussions, film screenings and workshops and which are open to everyone, not just the students. Every evening they hold plenary sessions which every one can attend. At those plenary sessions they discuss and vote on what further actions they will take and whether they will continue with the occupation the next day. A number of students sleep at the Faculty every night. Some photos can be seen here.
At the same time, students in Zadar are also continuing with the occupation of their University. They too hold lectures, public discussions and film screenings instead of normal classes. Some students spent the night at the university last night. Unlike their colleagues in Zagreb, who got the official support of their professors on the third day of the occupation, professors at the University of Zadar expressed support to their students on the very first day of the occupation which started on Tuesday (21/04/2009) at noon. The University in Zadar is not as fragmented (situated in too many different buildings) as the universities in other cities, which has resulted in the fact that by today the students have managed to occupy the whole of the University. At the plenary session tonight, they'll decide on furhter actions. Events at the University of Zadar are documented here (in Croatian).
Occupation in Hamburg (Germany)
In the University of Hamburg Students of the faculty of pedagogics have occupied the wing of administration of the main-building and blocked the way to the presidential office. The president, who is not only critisized for the cutting of funds for pedagogic by 11% but also for selling universitarian knowledge to weapon-manufacturers (therefore she is called rocket-moni), is rejecting every attempt to negotiate, yet called the cops which are now also inside the building. Till now the cops are trying to get people out through dialoging but the protestors made clear that they will stay at least till the demonstration tomorow.
greetings in solidarity to all comrades,
the struggle continues
Trondheim (Norway)
Activists distributed flyers and hanged up banners on the two major campuses.
Source: Email
Münster (Germany)
As part of the protest camp in front of the castle students arranged
workshops discussing basic questions like "What is education?" and
focussing on topics such as "social selection by the education system".
There is also a soup kitchen and the camp will go into its third day in a row.
Source: bildungsstreik-muenster.de (in German)
occupation in Hamburg (Germany) ended
the occupation in hamburg ended quickly after the president tried to escape:
the president ran through the university-entrance-hall with the help of police officers - but the students followed her.
she went inside an hotel, where police tried to stop the students by blocking the entrance. the students overthrow the police by number and broke through the police-line. the president ran outside, getting a cab/taxi and tried to escape with that. but students were faster and blocked the taxi.
after a while the police was succesfull in getting the people away from the taxi and the president escaped.
no arrests so far, but some id-checks.
a spontaneous demonstration was held with more than 150 people, going around the campus without much happening. in the afternoon everyone went to the festival on the campus by the autonomous cafe knallhart, listened to good music and some capoeira-show.
Jyväskylä (Finland)
Various smaller actions on campus, such as banner displays, soup kitchen and information booth with music.
Lewisham (UK)
(not co-ordinated as part of the GWA)
o c c u p a t i o n
Today, in an important display of solidarity, 6 Visteon workers joined the parents on the roof of the primary school. The protest has even appeared in the national media!
news.bbc.co.uk
At a successful meeting held at 3pm this afternoon, a group called Hands Off Lewisham Bridge was formed. Another planning meeting will be held outside Lewisham Bridge Primary School on Monday at 3pm.
Protesters will be staying on the roof until their demands are met.
Source: Facebook
Town unknow (Catalunya/Spain)
The occupation at the Menéndez y Pelayo college was evicted at around 9pm. The students still resisted for an hour but later left after threats of expulsion. The police beat the students inside, partially protected by nightfall, as passers-by heckled at the repressive forces to stop. Between 20 and 30 students were evicted.
Source: interuni-bcn.blogspot.com
Gdańsk (Poland)
On Thursday, the 23rd, the Polish Minister of Higher Education visited the University of Gdańsk to talk about the new plan for higher education reform, which will make universities more dependent on the business life and instead of making scholarships bigger, will make credits more available to students. During the meeting students and
PhD researchers demonstrated against the reform and unfurled two banners - "odZYSKaj Edukację" ("Reclaim Education", literally also: make it "off-PROFIT", Zysk=PROFIT) and "Wiedza nie jest towarem" ("Knowledge is not a commodity"). At the end of the meeting they gave the minister a T-shirt with the logo of "Reclaim your education" at one side and a question at the other: "How much are Social Sciences worth?".
On the same day at the Faculty of Social Sciences, where the meeting was taking place, fake surveillance cameras were installed in toilets. The goal of this action was to draw attention to the issue of more and more surveillance cameras inside university buildings and the rules of the security guards which say, that they should especially focus on people weirdly dressed. Installations were removed by the security guards after two days and the perpetrators were spotted and threatened with police and trials... ;)
More here
Poznań (Poland)
At the University of Adam Mickiewicz there was a direct action against the commercialisation of university space. Vending machines with pseudo-food owned by private corporations were covered with statements about the condition of the university.