CPC UofT | We Need to Build the Student Movement
COVID-19 is changing the shape of higher education. There are no universal plans in Ontario detailing how universities and colleges should respond, which has left the task to administrators. Some have decided to forego meeting in face-to-face classrooms altogether, while others will meet using a hybrid model involving some physically present classes and some virtual classes. This particular confusion reflects a wider political confusion around how to keep people safe in the midst of the pandemic, but it also reveals the lengths to which some universities are willing to go in order to extract fees and tuition, which includes putting students and educational workers in harm’s way.
Student unions have been speaking out. UTSU and the UCRU called for increased TTC funding. CFS has called for expansions to the Canadian Emergency Student Benefit and more support for international students, and has also circulated a petition calling for more supports for students. Precarious faculty and grad student unions have expressed concerns over safety protocols and expectations around new responsibilities as classes move on and off of virtual platforms. Recently, several unions began circulating a petition to take all UofT classes online, saying “until the safety of students and workers can be guaranteed, in-person learning, teaching, librarianship, and other academic work should be paused.”
It’s important that the organized student movement has made these demands, and are connecting them to wider social issues. We will need to demand even more, and we will need a student movement with the power to realize those demands. That means not only increasing numbers in organized sectors, but finding new ways to engage students, educational workers, and staff in an unprecedented situation. As a club, we’ll be exploring these issues this fall in public educationals and discussion. We invite you to join us as we think through how to fight for students, workers, and the marginalized in these strange times.
In this newsletter, you'll find events and statements related to the struggle. Want to join our club? Apply to join the party today! Follow us on Facebook for announcements concerning our activities this fall.
Events
Lift the US Blockade on Cuba Now! [Virtual Picket]
Interview with Kolin Sutherland-Wilson in Rebel Youth
“So yeah, at this very moment things aren’t over at Wet’suwet’en territory, we need to really up our game, and if we can make this happen by pooling in our resources, our creativity, our knowledge, our experiences, our expertise, I think that will be just one step towards a healthier future for all humanity. So yeah, now is not the time to back down, now is the time to start thinking, to start getting creative, and to find ways to come together stronger as a community and to mobilise that power. That’s my message.”
Statement from the CPC (Ontario) on Doug Ford eroding democracy for landlords:
The Communist Party of Canada (Ontario) condemns the Ford government’s sweeping legislative changes designed to give even more power to his government and their developer and corporate landlord backers. Last week Ontario ended the officially declared state of emergency. However, working people in Ontario are still facing an emergency: a pandemic without a cure and a government that is determined to place the burden of the capitalist crisis on their backs while eliminating democratic rights.
The Communist Party of Canada is a revolutionary party committed to the liberation of working and marginalized people. Apply to join today! Follow our club on Facebook, and find the Party on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
