Tag: student activism

On-Line Democracy and Social Movements

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As a retired teacher who has heard far too many spurious claims for the educational virtues of technology in the classroom, and a former activist from the thrilling protests of the 60’s, you might call me a skeptic about the revolutionary potential of the internet. Well, I’m not too old to admit when I am wrong. Facebook, which I still refuse to join as a means of personal communication, has just enabled a youth revolution in Egypt that is completely inspiring. To see that this movement, largely led by the young, as were so many of the protests of the Read More …

University of Puerto Rico Student Strikes

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The silence in the English-language press about the student strikes at the University of Puerto Rico stands in stark contrast to the roar produced by the growing number of students who have moved to shut down UPR to protest state disinvestment from public education. The basic terms of the strike: As the state legislature has systematically diverted money from Puerto Rico’s only public university system, UPR has been left with a $100 million budget shortfall. In response, the Board of Trustees wants  to make up that gap on the backs of the students, more than 60% of whom qualify for Read More …

The 40th Anniversary of the Kent State Killings

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My visit to Kent, Ohio for the 40thanniversary of the Kent State killings, when four students were killed (Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandy Scheuer, William Schroeder) and nine injured (with Dean Kahler left paralyzed and in a wheelchair for the last 40 years) was both nostalgic and informative. Although I was not on campus the day of the killings, I did see the burning of the ROTC building and the shattered bank windows over that weekend in downtown Kent.  I also saw the Ohio National Guard occupy my campus, the FBI invade student dormitories looking for weapons and photograph classrooms Read More …