 "Photo: Courtesty of Civil Rights/Flickr")
For years, when people talked about a "student movement," they referred to something that was perhaps more theoretical than tangible, a force that was more wishful thinking than reality. That is no longer the case.
Throughout the country and especially in California, students are becoming mobilized, having been jarred out of their apathy by an combination of fee increases, predatory loan practices and assaults on their access to higher education that have become even more unacceptable in recent years.
In California especially, we have seen this in action. In September, tens of thousands of students participated in actions across the state, joining with faculty, staff and other community members to send a message to the state government and the University of California administration that the situation was unacceptable. In October, hundreds gathered at UC Berkeley to plan further moves through the spring. Through the fall, actions were organized, Regents' meetings disrupted and thousands of students mobilized in the wake of tuition and fee hikes. Throughout that time, California saw some of the largest campus protests in a generation.
Now, at the beginning of a new spring, students from across the state and the country are gearing up for several months of intense action and advocacy. This coming week will see national actions in support of the DREAM Act, which would ensure educational access and a path to legalization for undocumented students who, under the current system, are denied the opportunities that their peers enjoy.
Additionally, March 4 will see strikes and marches in California and across the nation, with actions reportedly planned in other states such as Rhode Island, Michigan and New York. Later in March, students from across the country will attend the United States Student Association Legislative Conference to discuss possible solutions to the problems that college students face and meet with national legislators to advocate for them.
Already, this rising tide of student activism is having its effects. In January, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed an amendment to the state constitution to ensure greater funding for state's public higher education system. Schwarzenegger's chief of staff said that the Sept. 24 actions had influenced his thinking. President Barack Obama has recently proposed major reforms to the US financial aid system, with greater relief given to those currently suffering under tremendous student loan burdens. Increasingly vocal protests certainly were a major influence on these reforms.
What is clear from all of this is that we are at the cusp of a new era of student activism, of the kind of youth engagement that hasn't been seen in this country for more than a generation. A variety of stresses and assaults have combined to make it abundantly clear to many that the quality and accessibility of higher education throughout this country is in a potentially terminal decline. Already, a response to these trends is in the making. Already a backlash is growing, emanating from campuses and students throughout the country. In the end, it will hopefully result of substantive reform and empowerment, in a change to the way this country treats education. It is something both desperately needed and desperately overdue.
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