[Onthebarricades] Student protests, 3 of 3: global North

[Andy]

ON THE BARRICADES:  Global Resistance Roundup, April-August 2008
https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/onthebarricades
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/globalresistance/

*  US, Miami Dade:  Midwifery course cancellation protested
*  CANADA:  Calgary students pay fees in coins to protest card ban
*  AUSTRALIA:  Students storm council meeting over cuts
*  AUSTRALIA:  Students removed from senate over fee protest
*  FRANCE:  Protests against neoliberal reforms continue
*  CANADA/US:  Students protest New Orleans summit
*  UK:  Manchester students protest over standards
*  US:  Students protest cuts in Florida, Sacramento, California
*  Sacramento students stage "study-in"
*  US, California:  Students call for sacking of torture defender
*  US, Virginia:  Silent protest, handshake refusal over corruption 
accusation
*  US, Oregon:  Jefferson students walk out over resources
*  US, St Louis:  Protesters turn backs as conservative gets honorary degree
*  CANADA, Ottawa:  Protest against "non-academic code of conduct" (moral 
policing)
*  US, Cincinnati:  Protest over closure of halls
*  US, Pittsburgh:  Hempfield students walk out of classes over cuts, 
restructuring
*  US, Florida:  Students sent home as protest over teacher feared
*  SCOTLAND:  Protest over attempt to limit number of student homes
*  CANADA:  Students walk out of classes over dress code, arrested (?!)
*  US, Santa Barbara:  Students protest postponement of student-led assembly
*  CANADA:  Students rally against attack on free speech
*  US, Oregon:  School students walk out over transfer of counsellor
*  GERMANY:  Duisburg-Essen students protest cuts
*  NEW ZEALAND:  Students, Greens protest debt, fees

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/656727.html

MDC midwife students protest program's demise
Posted on Mon, Aug. 25, 2008
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BY ERIKA BERAS
eberas at MiamiHerald.com
About 30 Miami Dade College students and their supporters showed up Monday 
at MDC President Eduardo J. Padron's office to protest the cancellation of 
the midwifery degree program.
The protesters demanded a meeting with administrators. They met at Padron's 
office at the college's Wolfson campus.
Earlier this month, the college suspended the innovative program after 
asking all of their students to pay $7,000 in course tuition and malpractice 
insurance in advance.
The college cited high costs and low enrollment.
Existing students can finish their degrees.
There are two routes to becoming a midwife.
Nursing schools, public and private, offer graduate programs for nurse 
practitioner midwives. Graduates are fully trained nurses who usually work 
in a hospital or birth center under the auspices of a doctor.
MDC trains ''direct entry'' midwives, who are more likely to work outside a 
hospital.
Miami Dade College was the first public institution in the country to 
provide training in direct-entry midwifery.
Experts say midwives and the work they do in predominantly poor areas is 
necessary. They provide low-cost maternity care to high-risk women, many of 
whom cannot afford healthcare.
Since the inception of the Miami Dade College program, 85 graduates have 
come out of the school.
According to the Florida Department of Health, in 2007, there were fewer 
than 140 licensed midwives in the state.

http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/05/12/cgy-payment-protest.html

Calgary student pays tuition in coins in protest over credit card ban
Last Updated: Monday, May 12, 2008 | 3:19 PM ET
CBC News
Student Teale Phelps Bondaroff paid his spring session tuition in nickels 
and dimes to protest the unversity's decision to stop accepting tuition fees 
by credit card. (CBC)
A University of Calgary student paid his tuition with more than 90 kilograms 
of nickels and dimes Monday, protesting the university's recent decision to 
stop accepting credit card payments.
Undergraduate political science student Teale Phelps Bondaroff told CBC News 
that he paid his spring session tuition in nickels and dimes because "the 
government and the university are nickel-and-diming students."
Phelps Bondaroff said his $1,037 tuition payment, to cover two classes, 
weighed more than 90 kilograms and was toted to the finance office in a 
wheelbarrow using "brute strength and determination." He said the weight 
nearly broke the wheelbarrow.
He said the finance office didn't seem to mind taking the payment in change, 
which was rolled rather than loose, and it didn't take very long to complete 
the transaction.
Phelps Bondaroff, who has run for the provincial New Democratic Party and is 
a representative on student council, said he was making a statement as a 
private student to protest both the scrapping of payments by plastic and 
high tuition.
The stunt signals "it’s time for change” in the university policy, he 
quipped.
"If tuition was lower, students could pay with cash," he said. "Essentially, 
what the university is doing with this is they're shifting the transaction 
costs … on to students with money transfer, or bank draft, or whatever."
The government, in turn, is squeezing students by not providing adequate 
funding to the school, he said.
Students first found out on March 18 that effective July 1 the school would 
no longer accept credit card payments for tuition. The school announced the 
change on its enrolment website.
“The fact that the university didn’t consult with the students is probably 
the worst part,” Phelps Bondaroff said, adding that the student council 
wasn't involved in the decision either.
He said the change has been ill-received on campus and that it could put 
students in a real bind. For example, student loan payments do not always 
come in before the date that tuition is due, forcing students to secure 
loans elsewhere or use an overdraft.
The university said scrapping payments by plastic would save more than 
$700,000 per year in transaction fees that it could invest in scholarships.
Phelps Bondaroff said that the scholarships would help a select few 
students, but the change would transfer costs to all students.
Full-time undergraduate students at U of C pay $4,740 in tuition, which is 
being hiked by 4.6 per cent, or about $200 per student, in the next academic 
year.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23688820-5013945,00.html

Students in protest raid over cuts to arts staff
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Andrew Trounson | May 13, 2008
ABOUT 50 Melbourne University students protesting against academic staff 
cuts at the arts faculty yesterday invaded a building in an attempt to 
disrupt a university council meeting, trying at one stage to break through 
security guards blocking a liftwell.
The raid came as vice-chancellor Glyn Davis said the staff cuts were needed 
to counter a funding hole in the faculty following a significant drop-off in 
full-fee-paying international students.
The drop-off had reversed the increases in international student demand 
between 2000 and 2004 that had encouraged the faculty to boost academic 
staff numbers by about 100, he said.
The university had made $20million in special funding available for the 
faculty to help it become more sustainable by 2010.
"It isn't a change that anyone wants, but it has essentially been forced on 
us by external circumstances," Professor Davis said. "We are all committed 
to arts as core to the university."
The staff union said the cuts would only exacerbate the workload of staff 
who were trying to implement the university's new Melbourne Model of 
generalist undergraduate degrees, while teaching out students on the old 
degrees.
Protesting students yesterday were angry at what they claim is a decline in 
teaching standards as stretched academics have less time to tutor students 
and some courses are cut.
Speaking to The Australian, Professor Davis conceded the staff cuts at the 
arts faculty, Australia's largest humanities faculty, risked hurting its 
reputation, but said it was an "awkward transition" that had to be done.
He blamed the fall in international student demand on several factors, 
including a preference among such students for more vocational courses, the 
high Australian dollar and changes in which destinations were fashionable 
among overseas short-stay students, such as those from the US.
“Selling an arts degree to an international student can be hard work,” he 
said.
The arts faculty is going through a second round of voluntary redundancies 
after shedding 24 academic positions last year.
Melbourne has not set a target for reductions, but staff union 
representative Ted Clark said a consultants' report commissioned by the 
university last year had suggested that up to 120 positions might have to 
go.
"The staff are beginning to despair under the pressure of the workload," Mr 
Clark said.
He said the number of students studying arts was increasing, putting 
additional pressure on staff.
The protest by arts students also included students from the Victorian 
College of the Arts, which Melbourne University has absorbed after funding 
cuts by the Howard government undermined the VCA's stand alone future.

The VCA student union is concerned at the prospect of Melbourne University 
introducing its Melbourne Model degrees at the VCA, which they say is at 
odds with VCA's traditional focus on specialised areas of studies.
But while VCA dean Andrea Hull has said the new-style degrees may be 
introduced at the VCA in 2011, no decisions have been made. She has said 
exactly how the Melbourne Model can fit within the VCA is still being 
discussed.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/06/18/1954742.htm

Students removed in uni fee protest
Posted Mon Jun 18, 2007 6:32pm AEST
Map: Sydney 2000
Five student protesters have been removed by security after 30 of them tried 
to disrupt a meeting of the University of Sydney senate.
The senate will vote tonight on whether to increase HECS fees for commerce 
and economics students, after legislation allowing the rises was passed in 
Parliament on Friday.
A group of more than 30 students tried to block senators from entering the 
meeting and five of them were removed by security after they attempted a 
sit-in.
Student Representative Council president Angus McFarland says the fee 
increases would place a further burden on students.
"Our aim today was to bring to light to the university senate and to the 
wider community the fact that these changes have happened," he said.
"Universities are pushing them through as fast as they can to get their 
hands on the cash and as much cash as they can from students."

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/apr2008/stud-a26.shtml

French school students maintain protests against Sarkozy’s education reforms
By Francis Dubois
26 April 2008
Use this version to print | Send this link by email | Email the author
High school students in France continued their protests in recent weeks 
against the education reforms of the right-wing government of President 
Nicolas Sarkozy.
Two central demonstrations took place in Paris on April 15 and 17, attended 
by 40,000 and 30,000 participants respectively, from all over the 
metropolitan area. The majority of the protesters were students from Paris 
and suburban lycées and high schools, but substantial numbers of teachers, 
parents and university students participated as well. Several teachers’ 
unions also called on their members to strike on these two days. On April 15 
striking primary school teachers joined the secondary schools in protesting 
a reform of primary schools.
Smaller demonstrations of high school students took place in other towns of 
the surrounding Ile-de-France region, where protestors blocked many lycées 
and collèges.
The April 17 demonstration was the seventh in three weeks. The Paris area is 
now on Easter holidays for two weeks, and protests have now began in other 
French regions, where schools were on holiday over the last two weeks and 
have now reopened. This week demonstrations have taken place in Strasbourg, 
Lille, Toulon, Rouen, Marseilles and Tours.
State repression and intimidation have increased since protests began last 
month. Gatherings of high school students in front of their schools have 
been regularly confronted by armed police, with headmasters systematically 
calling police as soon as students gather in front of or block a lycée. 
Students have been arrested and sent to court on the slightest pretext; some 
were even DNA tested and registered.
Heavy police detachments have surrounded the protests and police have also 
filmed the demonstrators. Confrontations have occurred between groups of 
youth walking alongside or in front of the marches and the police.
As in previous demonstrations, those protesting on April 17 demanded that 
measures announced last month by Education Minister Xavier Darcos be 
withdrawn. These include the elimination of 11,200 teaching jobs, the 
shortening from four to three years of courses for the baccalauréat 
professionnel (“bac pro,” a vocational version of the general baccalauréat, 
the exam at the end of secondary school allowing entry into university) and 
the elimination of the BEP (Brevet d’étude professionnel, a qualification 
that can be taken after two years of preparing for the “bac pro”).
The trade unions put forward the demand for a “collectif budgétaire,” an 
alternative budget proposal to the finance law already voted in parliament 
last November, which underlay the cuts announced by Darcos.Tthis demand is 
purely symbolic, as the ruling UMP (Union for a Popular Movement) has a 
large majority in parliament.
The government is preparing a whole series of other attacks on the existing 
education system, none of which have been taken up seriously by the unions. 
The so called “Pochard report,” drafted by a commission set up by the 
government last September, has proposed no less than a “fundamental 
reorganisation of the teaching profession.” The commission included leaders 
of the Socialist party like former prime minister Michel Rocard and 
ex-minister of Education Jack Lang. It made a series of free-market 
proposals widely criticised by the profession.
The two main high school student unions, the UNL and the FIDL, both close to 
the Socialist Party, had official meetings with Darcos on April 11 and 16. 
The minister of education reiterated his commitment to imposing the job cuts 
and suggested that some minor modifications could be made to his plans, 
regarding the vocational baccalauréat and the BEP.
His limited remarks were seized on by the student unions, which immediately 
declared that the minister was moving in their direction. FIDL national 
secretary Alix Nicolet said, “We obtained a softening [of the minister’s 
stand],” and in a letter published April 20 on the UNL web site, UNL 
national secretary Florian Lecoultre wrote : “The UNL has taken notice of 
the will of the minister to discuss the reform of the bac pro with high 
school students ...We obtained first encouraging signs such as a guarantee 
to retain the BEP.”
Shortly after the last meeting between Darcos and the student unions, his 
office issued a statement declaring that there would be “no reconsidering 
the principle of a generalised bac professionnel in three years,’ According 
to the ministry, “there never was any talk of eliminating” the BEP.
Since then, these unions have been repeating at every opportunity that they 
want to be “constructive” and seek a dialogue with the government, while 
Darcos maintains his stance, clearly calculating that with the holidays and 
baccalauréat exams approaching he will be able to get his way. The “call for 
dialogue” expresses nothing other than the resolve of the unions to prevent 
a political challenge to the government.
Darcos knows he is not facing opposition from the unions, but can count on 
them as political allies. One day after the April 16 demonstration, Darcos 
stated in a provocative interview that the teaching of some subject matters 
had to be looked at from the point of view of cost and announced the 
possible scrapping of 3,000 jobs on this basis. He used the example of 
 “rare” foreign languages that could not be sustained, because “too few” 
students use them. Education should be judged according to “the service it 
renders the nation,” he said. Le Monde quotes him in its April 18 edition as 
saying: “One has to take an interest in what education costs the nation and 
in what [the nation] gets in return from the expenses it has agreed.”
In parliament, answering Regis Juanico, a deputy of the Socialist party who 
was demanding a “moratorium” on the cuts in education, Darcos declared 
arrogantly: “You say moratorium, I say reform. You say suspension, I say 
audacity. You say let’s wait, I say let’s change,” adding: “progress doesn’t 
need a moratorium.”
These conflicts are taking place under conditions in which the Sarkozy 
government has been destabilised and its crisis is evident. One year after 
Sarkozy won the presidential election, recent opinion polls show that two 
thirds of the French population judge his presidency negatively.
Many taking part in the demonstrations consider the present round to be just 
the start of further attacks over the next weeks and months. One English 
teacher in Paris quoted in Nouvel Observateur April 18 said, “The cuts in 
teachers jobs are a run up to the project of reforming the lycées. This is 
due to be presented in May. It will contain the conclusions of the Pochard 
report. We’re not going to let this one go through.”
Many lycéens as well as teachers are mobilised not just against cuts in 
education, but also against what they regard to be the prelude to a 
privatisation of education. A large proportion of high school students and 
teachers oppose schools being run like businesses, which is summed up in the 
opposition to the “accountant’s approach” of the government. Or as a banner 
appearing repeatedly on demonstrations said, “touche pas à mon école” (don’t 
touch my school).
The main trade unions, all of which have education sections, have called for 
support for the demonstrations. But the union bureaucracies have carefully 
avoided involving any other categories of workers in the protests, although 
the measures directly affect the working population and the attacks by the 
government are directed at their children.
As in previous movements in education the main job of the unions and 
associated political parties is to prevent any real challenge to the 
government and maintain these movements on a limited trade union perspective 
of “putting pressure.” The union bureaucracies want to be part of its 
reforms not oppose them. This pro-business agenda of the unions has already 
led to serious defeats in the recent past.
In 2003 a massive eight-week strike against the reform of the pensions in 
education, the decentralisation of education and the elimination of support 
personnel ended in a defeat with strikers forced to accept wage cuts for 
having taken strike action. In 2005 a struggle by high school students 
against a pro-business law on education called Loi Fillon, after the present 
prime minister and then Education Minister, Francois Fillon, was eventually 
passed in the form of decrees instead of a law after some of the most 
contested aspects of the law were removed.
In 2006 there was again a massive mobilisation of high school youth and 
university students against the CPE (Contrat premier emploi), but after a 
tactical retreat on the part of the government, the Loi sur l’égalité des 
chances, (Law on the equality of opportunities) of which the CPE was a part, 
was maintained. In 2007 there was a long struggle by university students 
against the Loi Pécresse for the “autonomy” of the universities, which ended 
up in a victory for the government.
These movements were each time crippled by a limited union perspective, 
based on an unspoken pro-market programme that opposed any political 
challenge to the ruling elite, and — on that basis — was encouraged by the 
so called “left” and “far left.” The government that led the offensive 
against the gains of the working class was left in place, able to prepare 
another attack or an orderly transition to another, more right-wing 
bourgeois government.
What’s needed is a political movement of the whole working class against the 
Sarkozy government on the basis of a socialist programme. For that to 
succeed, a political break is necessary with the unions and the parties of 
the official left and ‘far left.’ High school students and teachers should 
reject organisations which share the same basic political agenda as this 
conservative government and take the struggle into their own hands.

http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?story=20080422171713230

Canadian Students Protest Security and Prosperity Partnership Summit in New 
Orleans
Tuesday, April 22 2008 @ 05:17 PM CDT
Contributed by: Anonymous
Views: 327
Over 30 students from 5 Ontario Universities and Colleges have travelled to 
attend the New Orleans People’s Summit and participate in various actions 
opposing the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP).

A n t i W a r @ L a u r i e r
AW at L
SOLIDARITY.CREATIVITY.ACTION

PRESS RELEASE

Student activists from Ontario travel to New Orleans to protest the SPP and 
the ongoing marginalization of Hurricane Katrina survivors.

For Immediate Release
April 22, 2008

Over 30 students from 5 Ontario Universities and Colleges have travelled to 
attend the New Orleans People’s Summit and participate in various actions 
opposing the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP).

NEW ORLEANS- On April 17th several Canadian organizations have begun the 
long trek to New Orleans for The People`s Summit which is taking place on 
April 20th-22nd. Its purpose is to counter the meeting of North American 
heads-of-state with the North American Competitiveness Council. The meeting 
is an annual summit as part of the Security and Prosperity Partnership often 
referred to as the “North American Union” or ``NAFTA on steroids.`` Set to 
harmonize standards among the three countries, this Partnership also 
includes such agenda items as continental security, defense, and labour 
regulations. Initial stages of the Partnership have begun in 2001 and are 
set to complete in 2010 with a final summit in Canada.

Student representatives from the Ottawa University Student’s Federation 
(SFUO), Anti-War at Laurier, members of Fanshawe College Social Justice Club, 
University of Guelph, Ryerson University, and the People’s Global 
Action-Block Ottawa (PGA) have united to represent the Ontario Student 
Movement at this year’s SPP summit in New Orleans. Lia Tara of the PGA-Block 
Ottawa notes that “mobilizing against the SPP has strengthened a number of 
autonomous organizations in Canada and has produced a movement that has 
enough skills to asses a situation such as the lack of a local mobilized 
convergence and compensate for it in a locally minded and unobtrusive way.”

Among the more pressing issues arising from this Partnership is the 
immediate escalation in resource exploitation of the Tar Sands in Alberta, 
hydroelectricity in Mexico, water privatization, and migration issues. The 
intent of private enterprises cooperating with national leaders is to ease 
the flow of trade across borders while limiting the movement of people. 
Massive highways as well as over 50 oil and gas pipelines are in the process 
of being built to ease this purpose.

New Orleans has been selected to host this year`s summit due to the 
devastation wreaked upon it by hurricane Katrina which have led to lucrative 
business opportunities. Further, internal gentrification of the city has 
restricted the possibility of dissent making the it a more strategically 
sound choice for the organizers of the Summit.

Local activists have arranged The People`s Summit which includes workshops, 
teach-ins, films, and creative displays but purosefully limits mass 
covnergences. The Canadian contingent, in coordination with numerous local 
organizations has thus taken upon itself the orgnization of a parade-like 
festive march scheduled for the final day of the summit. Planning to take 
off from Jackson Square Park at 9:15 p.m. on April 22nd, the purpose of this 
march is to bring together the local and most poverty stricken communities 
in a spirit of celebration of resistance. It will also focus on spreading 
information about the Security and Prosperity Partnership.

For this purpose, a number of groups have outreached to various parts of the 
city to include and invite local residents to join. An overwhelmingly 
positive support from residents and local organizers has confirmed the need 
for such a convergence.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/education/s/1046327_student_protest_over_standards?rss=yes

Student protest over standards
Exclusive: Deborah Haile
22/ 4/2008

STUDENTS were today protesting about the standard of tuition and facilities 
at Manchester University.

They claim they receive less time with staff than 20 years ago, library 
facilities are so stretched that popular books are often unavailable, and 
the campus is over-crowded with students.

Student leaders are backing a `Reclaim the Uni' campaign launched by 
students to draw attention to the problem.

But university bosses say last year's student satisfaction survey showed 
most were satisfied.

Reclaim the Uni's Facebook site already has more than 500 members and, as 
well as today's demonstration, a public meeting tomorrow will give students 
a chance to have their say.

Tom Skinner, general secretary of the university's students' union, says the 
campaign reflects mounting concerns about the level of provision on offer.

He said: "The university should be run for students and research and 
education and nothing else.

"It is now run like a business. Businesses are always asking themselves two 
questions: how much cheaper can we do things without losing customers and 
how much can we charge without losing customers? Some students are on 
courses where 20 years ago they would have got 200 hours a year - but now 
that's down to 86. This has been brewing for some time."

He said the campaign aims to force university bosses to take a greater 
account of student concerns.

Its Facebook site includes comments that the university provides `horrendous 
value for money' and treats students as `cash cows'.

Students' Union spokesman Dan Lee said the week of events will gauge the 
level of concern among students. And he said there are plans for the 
campaign to continue next year.

He said: "At the moment, people have got their own qualms, but no way of 
venting them. Students are so transient that building up a campaign like 
this is hard. There are a lot of people who are interested and want to do 
something about it."

Officials at the university said they already take significant steps to make 
sure students' views are incorporated wherever possible.

A spokesman said: "Students play a major role in determining university 
policy and are represented on all of the major committees and 
decision-making bodies, via the students' union.

"The SU officers are elected democratically and the university's senior 
management team meets regularly with them to address any concerns.

"In a student satisfaction survey across the campus last year, 74 per cent 
of students said they were satisfied with the experience at Manchester."

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/apr/23/me-usf-students-protest-program-cut-plans/?news-breaking

USF Students Protest Cuts
By ADAM EMERSON
The Tampa Tribune
Published: April 23, 2008
TAMPA - Angry over proposed cuts to their programs, about 175 University of 
South Florida students and others rallied Tuesday to preserve women's 
studies, Africana studies, and the Institute on Latin America and the 
Caribbean at USF.
The catalyst for their protest: A faculty review of USF's academics, which 
found that the three programs seemed "reasonable places" to absorb some of 
anticipated budget cuts.
USF Provost Ralph Wilcox, however, has said he plans to eliminate no majors 
as the university weighs how to cut $55 million from its budget, a grim 
scenario that includes a $34 million cut to academics alone.
Wilcox does, though, plan to consolidate the administration of women's and 
Africana studies. The departments would retain their academic authority, USF 
spokesman Michael Hoad said.
The university has not announced how it plans to cut all the money, though 
it already has eliminated 100 vacant faculty positions throughout the 
university.
USF has not decided how to administrate the programs students rallied to 
protect Tuesday, though officials planned to talk later in the day with the 
marchers about their concerns.
The students marched from the Marshall Center student union to the plaza at 
Cooper Hall, a popular protest destination, and carried signs that read, 
"Rise Up: The System is Broken."
Before the march, Africana studies graduate student Reginald Eldridge spoke 
to the gathering crowd outside the Marshall Center and implored the 
administration to avoid "cutting at the margins."
State budget cuts are no excuse, Eldridge said. "If their hands are tied, 
why aren't they marching on Tallahassee right now?" he said.

http://cbs5.com/video/?id=33344@kpix.dayport.com

Students Protest Education Cuts in Sacramento

April 21, 2008

1,500 college students marched to the State Capitol in Sacramento on Monday 
to protest cuts in higher education.

http://www.cbs8.com/story.php?id=125396

College Students Join in Budget Cut Protest
Watch Video
Last Updated:
04-21-08 at 1:59PM
College students are uniting across the state to protest the governor's 
proposed budget cuts.

In San Diego County alone, more than 1,700 teachers and staff could lose 
their jibs.

Local students at San Diego City College are planning a protest for Monday, 
after high school students rallied in Balboa Park over the weekend.

http://www.nbc11.com/news/16329010/detail.html?rss=bay&psp=news

CSU, UC Students Hold 'Study-In' Protest
POSTED: 10:31 am PDT May 19, 2008
UPDATED: 2:23 pm PDT May 19, 2008
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Even as final exams approach, students at UC and CSU 
campuses are staging events to protest budget cuts and fee increases.
One group called Students for California's Future is helping organizing a 
"study-in" on the Capitol steps in Sacramento Monday.
Students also said they were protesting what they described as "declining 
education equality." Students from UCLA and UC Berkeley were among the 
protesters, NBC11's Mike Luery reported.

"It's a really stressful time right now with finals," said UC Berkeley 
sophomore Debbie Borges. "(And) then on top of that we have to stress about 
how much we have to pay for next year."
As part of the event the students said they would give grades to legislators 
based on their voting for higher education funding.
In recent days, both CSU Trustee and UC Regent boards voted to increase 
student fees by 10 percent and 7.4 percent respectively, according to the 
student group.
That’s over $145 million more that students will have to pay next year, 
group officials said.
The figure breaks down to $276 more per student, Luery said.
While Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's revised budget proposal called for fully 
funding grades K - 12, college students would have to pay even more.
"Well look - we're facing a $17 billion shortfall and higher education gets 
half a billion increase over last year," said Aaron McLear, the governor's 
press secretary. "That's remained the case every year the governor's been in 
office. They get more money."
The students said they planned to bring their books, form small groups and 
study for their final exams on the Capitol lawn.

http://politicom.moldova.org/stiri/eng/120165/

Protesters call for UCB professor's ouster
Protesters at the University of California-Berkeley's law school graduation 
called for the firing of a professor who wrote the U.S. torture policy.
About 50 protesters, clad in orange prison jumpsuits picketed the Saturday 
event, calling for the ouster of Professor John Yoo, the San Francisco 
Chronicle reported Sunday.
We want to see him fired and disbarred for being a war criminal, said Anne 
Weills, an Oakland lawyer who said she was with the National Lawyers Guild, 
one of the groups that protested.
Yoo, who is a tenured constitutional law professor at the school, took a 
leave of absence from 2001 to 2003 to work for the U.S. Justice Department. 
During that time, he wrote what critics call the torture memos that provided 
the legal basis for the use of torture at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and 
at the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Yoo is not likely to be fired, law school Dean Christopher Edley Jr. wrote 
in a memo last month.
My sense is that the vast majority of legal academics with a view of the 
matter disagree with substantial portions of Professor Yoo's analyses, 
including a great many of his colleagues at Berkeley, Edley wrote. If, 
however, this strong consensus were enough to fire or sanction someone, then 
academic freedom would be meaningless.

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/18/9040/

Published on Sunday, May 18, 2008 by the San Francisco Chronicle
Torture Protests at UC Law School Ceremonies
by Carolyn Jones
BERKELEY - Some 50 protesters, clad in orange jumpsuits and black hoods to 
emulate the infamous photos of prisoners in Iraq, picketed UC Berkeley’s law 
school graduation ceremony Saturday, demanding that the university fire 
Professor John Yoo for his authorship of the Bush administration’s policies 
on torture.
“We want to see him fired and disbarred for being a war criminal,” said Anne 
Weills, an Oakland attorney who said she was with the National Lawyers 
Guild, one of the groups that protested. “Academic freedom stops when you 
intend to harm or injure somebody.”
Yoo, a tenured constitutional law professor at Boalt Hall, took a leave of 
absence from 2001 to 2003 to work for the U.S. Department of Justice. During 
that time, he wrote what critics call the “torture memos,” which protesters 
say outlined the legal basis for the use of torture at the Abu Ghraib (Iraq) 
and Guantanamo Bay (Cuba) military prisons.
Boalt Hall officials said earlier last week that Yoo would not attend 
Saturday’s graduation ceremony.
Graduates and their families and friends generally were supportive of the 
protest, held outside UC Berkeley’s Greek Theatre, but they were also 
supportive of Yoo’s right to teach at the law school.
“He definitely should be prosecuted, but he deserves his day in court like 
anyone else,” said Reem Salahi of Los Angeles, who graduated from the law 
school Saturday. “Some people think this protest takes away from a 
celebratory event, but I think it’s a good opportunity to raise this issue.”
William Upshaw of Oakland, who was at the event to see his wife graduate, 
was unhappy with the hoopla outside the theater.
“It’s interesting, but unexpected,” he said as he filed past the protest, 
carrying a bouquet for his wife, “and, actually, I don’t think it’s 
appropriate.”
Protesters toted signs and handed out leaflets. Two protesters knelt in a 
cage meant to resemble a prison cell. Standing guard at the cage was Mary 
Erwin of Oakland, who was dressed in camouflage fatigues and brandished a 
cardboard replica of an automatic rifle.
“I’m here because it’s a good opportunity to pressure the government on this 
issue,” she said. “It feels good to be out here talking about it. Most 
people are saying ‘thank you.’ ”
Airborne demonstration
After the ceremony, protesters and graduation attendees exchanged a few 
barbs as graduates, their friends and family gathered for a reception 
outside Boalt Hall. Some criticized the noise from a plane that circled the 
Greek Theatre for part of the ceremony, pulling a banner blasting Yoo.
Yoo is not likely to be fired for his political views, Boalt Dean 
Christopher Edley Jr., wrote in a memo last month. The memo was posted on 
the Boalt Hall Web site.
While many of his colleagues and students are disturbed by Yoo’s opinions, 
Yoo is protected by the First Amendment and campus policies on academic 
freedom, Edley wrote.
“My sense is that the vast majority of legal academics with a view of the 
matter disagree with substantial portions of Professor Yoo’s analyses, 
including a great many of his colleagues at Berkeley,” Edley wrote. “If, 
however, this strong consensus were enough to fire or sanction someone, then 
academic freedom would be meaningless.”
Yoo and former Attorney General John Ashcroft agreed last week to appear 
before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights 
and Civil Liberties regarding CIA interrogation techniques.
Legal basis for torture
Yoo drafted an August 2002 memo, signed by his boss, former Assistant 
Attorney General Jay Bybee, providing the legal basis to justify torture in 
interrogating terrorism suspects. Among other things, Yoo argued that habeas 
corpus and other legal protections don’t apply to CIA detainees because 
Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib are not on U.S. soil.
Yoo’s torture memo was later rescinded by the Department of Justice and, in 
2004 and 2006, in two lawsuits challenging the legality of the torture 
policy, the U.S. Supreme Court voided many of Yoo’s arguments.
Yoo could not be reached for comment Saturday, but he has defended his 
positions in several newspaper opinion articles.
“In wartime … attacking members of the enemy is not considered assassination 
or murder,” he wrote in a Chronicle essay in September 2005. “Killing the 
enemy is legal in war.”
He’s also said he’s unfazed by protests.
“I’m a conservative professor, so I’m used to people objecting to my views,” 
Yoo said in a 2004 interview with The Chronicle.

http://www.wvnstv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=38749

Some Offer Silent Protest at WVU Honors Ceremony
Posted Friday, May 16, 2008 ; 11:15 PM
Updated Sunday, May 18, 2008 ; 04:14 PM

Some declined to shake Garrison's hand.
MORGANTOWN -- Without detracting in any way from the dignity of West 
Virginia University’s second annual Honors Convocation, a number of students 
and professors declined to shake President Mike Garrison’s hand.
Though visible to those in the audience who paid close attention, these 
individual expressions of disapproval took place privately, between the 
honorees and Garrison.
Honors Convocation recognizes students and faculty who have distinguished 
themselves through outstanding performance in their studies or academic 
careers at WVU. Held in the Coliseum, it begins a weekend of commencement 
exercises for colleges and schools across the university.
Among the seniors honored individually and in groups, more than one gave 
Garrison a wry half-smile, sometimes defiant, usually sad, then passed him 
by to shake the hand of the next university official in line.
Rumors had circulated over the previous week that some form of protest might 
take place over commencement weekend.
The action follows an April report that the Garrison administration last 
October granted Gov. Joe Manchin’s daughter, Heather Bresch, an MBA she did 
not earn.
Resignations of senior officials and calls for Garrison’s resignation have 
colored these seniors’ last year of college.
At least two professors withheld their handshakes, among them Elizabeth A. 
Fones-Wolf and Robert M. Maxon, both in the Department of History.
A gregarious man who would usually be the first to extend his hand, Garrison 
respected each participant’s choice at the ceremony by holding his arms at 
his side or folding his hands until the other’s hand was extended.
Yet to take place on campus this weekend are commencements for nine colleges 
and schools on Saturday and five on Sunday.

http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2008/05/jefferson_students_walk_out.html

Jefferson High students walk out in protest
Posted by Faith Cathcart, The Oregonian May 16, 2008 19:28PM
Categories: Breaking News
Carrying signs and chanting about their desire for Advanced Placement 
classes, more electives and other changes, dozens of Jefferson High School 
students walked out of fifth period about 1 p.m. Friday. Student protesters, 
organized in part by junior Sydney Breazile, took to the streets with their 
message of dissatisfaction with academic resources and the level of academic 
expectations.

http://politicom.moldova.org/stiri/eng/119811/

Students, faculty protest Schlafly honor
Hundreds of graduates turned their backs on conservative leader Phyllis 
Schlafly Friday Washington University in St. Louis gave her an honorary 
degree.
Some faculty members joined the silent protest, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch 
reported. But most of the 14,000 people at commencement ceremonies did not 
protest.
Schlafly, like the five others who received honorary degrees this year, was 
nominated by a member of the community and approved unanimously by a 
committee of students, faculty, trustees and administrators, Chancellor Mark 
Wrighton said. The university board of trustees gave final approval to the 
list.
Five students who served on the board of trustees' honorary degree committee 
wrote Wrighton complaining that they had to vote on the six honorees as a 
slate, giving them no chance to register disapproval for individual 
candidates.
Also receiving degrees were Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC's Hardball; jazz 
great Quincy Jones; Lee Seng Tee, a philanthropist and business executive; 
and two emeritus professors at Washington, Egon Schwarz in humanities and 
Jessie L. Ternberg in pediatrics and pediatric surgery.

http://www.activistmagazine.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=866&Itemid=143

No Code: Ottawa Students Rights Protest

Written by ACTivistMagazine.com
Saturday, 17 May 2008
The University of Ottawa is drafting a non-academic code of conduct, which 
targets students. This code of conduct is part of a trend on Canadian 
campuses of university administrations attempting to criminalize dissent. On 
April 25, 2008, five hundred students rallied to say no to the code and took 
over Tabaret Hall, where the office of the university President is located. 
Get involved.
>> Say no to the code.

http://www.wcpo.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=892f71ac-df5a-42a0-ab4f-4b6ae9837c33&rss=703

UC Students Protest Closing Of Residence Halls
Last Update: 5/13 10:18 pm
UC Grad Students Plan Protest Over Housing Loss
Reported by: Tom McKee
Web produced by: Ian Preuth

Plans to close the Morgens and Scioto residence halls on the University of 
Cincinnati campus drew dozens of students to a protest rally Tuesday 
morning.

The focus of the gathering was the 38 mostly international graduate student 
families that live in the buildings that will have to find new housing by 
August 31.

UC spokesperson Greg Hand said the multi-story structures were built in the 
1960's and are the only residential buildings on campus without sprinklers.

They're being closed for a $10 million two-year remodeling project and will 
be converted to undergraduate housing.

Residents of Morgens and Scioto were told March 3 that they would have six 
months to move.

Ezgi Akpinar, President of the Graduate Student Association said the 
closings are an injustice to families that live in the buildings.

They now have to find new apartments and that might mean changing schools 
for their children.

Graduate student Aravind Ranganathan took issue with the fire safety 
questions. He wrote in a news release, "The truth is these buildings are 
within fire safety regulations of the state and, in fact much more fire safe 
compared to the over 90 percent of the off-campus apartments that UC wants 
the residents to move into."

"The entire decision making process has been surrounded with mystery and 
secrecy and the bottom line is UC does not want to be accountable for its 
actions," Ranganathan wrote.

Hand said the University is working with the students to find other housing 
and has secured legal help from the UC College of Law Tenant Information 
Project for them. UC will also monitor where the students and families 
relocate to see if modifications need to be made in the campus wide bus 
system.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/news/westmoreland/s_566755.html?source=rss&feed=7

Hempfield students protest arts cutback
By Chris Foreman
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, May 10, 2008

A vocal group of Hempfield Area High School students walked out of classes 
for an hour Friday to protest a proposed curriculum restructuring that would 
affect the district's art and music programs and eliminate the high school 
activity period.
More than 200 students filed onto the football field behind the school 
before marching around the building to gather at the front entrance of the 
campus along Route 136 in Hempfield.
Students chanted "Save the arts" while administrators and teachers stood by 
to ensure none crossed the busy road toward Harrold Middle School.
Ninth-grader Jayd Gebadlo carried a sign stating: "Hempfield students care. 
Why doesn't the school board?"
story continues below
 "To have the classes get cut would be a shame," said Tyler George, a junior 
who took credit for helping to organize the protest. "It's really not fair 
for (students) just because the school board spent too much money on stuff 
they don't need."
The administration's suggested restructuring plan preceded a public meeting 
Monday in which officials revealed a proposed 1.68-mill tax increase for the 
2008-09 school year.
Under the proposal, the district would furlough 14 1/2 staff positions; 
reduce the number of art, music and physical education classes in middle 
school; and eliminate the world language program at the elementary level.
Several students said the cuts at the middle and elementary school levels 
would cripple some programs that feed into the high school activities.
"It would definitely damage all of the future students that come up to the 
high school," said 10th-grader Janaye Albright.
Victoria Savko, a ninth-grade student, said the loss of 45 music classes in 
the proposed middle school reorganization would harm the high school band 
program.
In another restructuring ripple, music ensemble rehearsals would have to 
occur during activity periods and after school.
"Hempfield has one of the best bands in the state," Victoria said. "If we 
get rid of music, we're getting rid of what Hempfield's all about."
The elimination of the high school activity period for longer classes would 
limit club participation, intramurals and time for tutoring and make-up 
work, students said.
Senior Sam Stewart said the period often is used by students as a resting 
time before a busy day or a time to finish heavy homework loads.
High School Principal Kathy Charlton twice tried to encourage students to go 
inside during the hourlong protest.
"You have made your point, and hopefully, the school board will listen to 
you," she said.
Superintendent Terry Foriska said administrators met with students for more 
than an hour on both Thursday and Friday mornings to listen to their 
comments and try to answer their questions.
He said only a handful could face discipline for failing to return to their 
classes after the majority of students went back inside.
"For the most part, the kids were orderly," Foriska said. "They were 
respectful. They followed directions from the administrators and teachers 
that were out there.
"They're good kids. We'll certainly listen to their opinions, and they're 
certainly passionate about the cause."
District officials say next year's budget expenses are projected to increase 
by $4.5 million, including $1.9 million for salaries, $764,000 for debt 
service and $438,000 for medical insurance.
With the budget increases equating to 7.82 mills but an inflation-based cap 
of 3.56 mills, Director Tim Miller said reorganization of the curriculum is 
unavoidable.
However, he said he doesn't agree with some of the ideas presented by 
administrators and is circulating some other options to his board 
colleagues.
"The (proposed) restructuring is 100 percent completed by the 
administration, not us," Miller said. "We've yet to decide how to 
restructure."
Randy Stoner, a first-year director, said he would like to consider some 
other ideas when the board meets Monday night.
"I think it'll be a time for lively discussion," he said.
Chris Foreman can be reached at cforeman at tribweb.com or 724-836-6646.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/news/westmoreland/s_566705.html?source=rss&feed=7

Hempfield students walk out to protest proposed cuts
By Chris Foreman
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, May 9, 2008
A vocal group of Hempfield Area High School students walked out of classes 
at noon today to protest a proposed curriculum restructuring that would 
affect the district's art and music programs and eliminate the high school 
activity period.
Hundreds of students gathered on the football field behind the school before 
walking around the building to assemble at the front entrance along Route 
136 in Hempfield. Students returned inside after an hour.
The restructuring plan comes as the administration revealed a proposed 1.68 
mill tax increase for the 2008-09 school year. If adopted as presented, the 
district would furlough 14 1/2 staff positions, scale back the art and music 
programs and cut the world language program at the elementary level.
Ninth-grader Jayd Gebadlo held a sign stating, "Hempfield students care. Why 
doesn't the school board?"
"To have the classes get cut would be a shame," said Tyler George, a junior. 
"It's really not fair for them just because the school board spent too much 
money on stuff they don't need."
High School Principal Kathy Charlton twice tried to encourage students to go 
inside.
"You have made your point, and hopefully, the school board will listen to 
you," she said.
Chris Foreman can be reached at cforeman at tribweb.com or 724-836-6646.
Back to headlines

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/tcoast/epaper/2008/05/08/m1b_slprotest_0509.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=77

High-schoolers sent home as protest feared over teacher
By TERESA LANE
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 08, 2008
PORT ST. LUCIE — Nearly a dozen police officers responded to Port St. Lucie 
High School Thursday afternoon amid rumors of a protest brewing about 
bikini-clad former teacher Tiffany Shepherd, but Principal Terry Davis 
maintained peace by ordering students off campus at 2:15 p.m.
Police Capt. Scott Bartal, one of several undercover officers circling the 
campus, said police were told Shepherd was scheduled to retrieve her 
personal belongings from school at 2:30 p.m. and that some students might be 
on hand to protest her recent firing - one that attracted national media 
attention and alleged photo offers from Playboy magazine. While still a 
teacher, she had a part-time job as a bikini-wearing crew member of a 
charter fishing boat.
When Shepherd hadn't arrived at school by 3 p.m. Thursday, Bartal dismissed 
at least six marked patrol cars and fellow undercover officers. St. Lucie 
County sheriff's officers also were on hand.
School district officials said they fired Shepherd two weeks ago for missing 
too many workdays without adequate documentation, but Shepherd said the pink 
slip came after fellow teachers learned she worked for Fort Pierce-based 
Smokin' Em Charters, which has other crew members that go topless.
Shepherd, who was in New York on Wednesday taping an interview with Fox-TV 
hosts Mike Jerrick and Juliet Huddy that aired the same day, said she never 
told school officials she would retrieve her items Thursday and was unaware 
of protest rumors.
Several students interviewed after school said they heard the rumor but 
weren't sure how it started. They also said students supporting Shepherd 
circulated petitions denouncing her removal last week.
"Some of my students told me they put up posters at school for me," Shepherd 
said. "I don't know whether they got in trouble."
Shepherd, who said she's mulling whether to accept Playboy's offer of 
$25,000 per photo, said she'll have her attorney present when she does drive 
to school to pick up her belongings.
Sophomore Ashley Smith said Shepherd was a good teacher when she showed up 
for class. But Smith said, "I feel like I'm behind in that subject because 
she was absent so much."
One parent waiting for her child Thursday said her daughter complained about 
Shepherd's lack of teaching skills a few months before the district fired 
her.
The woman said Shepherd reportedly talked at length about her private life 
in class and told students she might appear in an edition of men's magazine 
Maxim.
"She got her 15 minutes of fame, but at the kids' expense," the parent said. 
"The kids are way behind where they should be in that class. My daughter 
tried to get switched out of her class, but the school told her there was 
nowhere else to go."

http://news.scotsman.com/politics/Shared-houses-quotas-protest-at.4062280.jp

Shared houses quotas protest at Holyrood

STUDENTS have taken their protest against planned quotas on houses in 
multiple occupancy (HMOs) to the Scottish Parliament.
The demonstrators fear that capping the number of HMOs in some areas would 
have an adverse impact on them, young professionals, immigrants and others 
who share homes.

More than 6000 students and young professionals have joined the Right to 
Rent campaign in a bid to stop the proposals.

The campaign has received cross-party support from Lothians MSPs including 
Margo MacDonald, Gavin Brown, Shirley-Anne Somerville, Sarah Boyack, Robin 
Harper and Mike Pringle.

Josh MacAlister, president of Edinburgh University Students' Association and 
co-ordinator of the campaign, said: "Measures to limit the availability of 
affordable flats and homes, given the state of the housing market, will be 
devastating for people across Scotland." He said it would increase rents and 
house prices.

Ms Boyack has put down a motion in the Scottish Parliament, encouraging the 
Scottish Government and local authorities not to see HMO quotas as the 
"simple solution to ensuring decent housing choices and securing sustainable 
communities". It encourages them to instead "use the powers they have to 
tackle antisocial behaviour".

http://news.scotsman.com/politics/Students-in-Holyrood-protest-over.4056590.jp

Students in Holyrood protest over HMOs cap
STUDENTS from Edinburgh University were set to stage a protest outside the 
Scottish Parliament today.
MSPs from each of the parties were also due to lend their support to the 
students' Right to Rent campaign. More than 6000 students have signed a 
petition against proposed new legislation which would encourage councils to 
draw up quotas for Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMOs).

The students fear that capping would have an adverse impact.

http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_052708_news_dress_code_vancouver.35396c52.html

Vancouver students arrested after dress code protest
07:02 AM PDT on Wednesday, May 28, 2008
By DAVE NORTHFIELD, KGW Staff

Watch the KGW report
Four Vancouver Middle School students were arrested earlier this month after 
a campus protest of the dress code.
The boys, all eighth graders at McGloughlin Middle School, were charged with 
a misdemeanor for disrupting school activities. Police were called after the 
group refused to go to class following lunch.
Parents said the arrests were unnecessary and an extreme form of punishment.
“I told the district that I’m not going to let you just do this,” said Amy 
Proffer, whose son Joey McCostlin was one of the ones arrested. The four 
were suspended from school, along with more than a dozen other students who 
joined in the protest.
McCostlin said all the suspended students are back in class. Some were 
suspended for a week.
The disagreement started at a track meet held at Fort Vancouver High School, 
said McCostlin. He said a group of students were wrestling, and some used 
foul language. An assistant principal told them to stop, and the next day 
one of the boys received a letter stating he would not be allowed to take 
part in any more school activities, including a planned performance by their 
alternative rock band at the 8th Grade celebration.
McCostlin said that sparked the protest of the school’s new dress code. The 
rules say that students must wear shirts that are red, black, gray or white. 
Their pants or skirts must be khaki, black, gray or navy and jeans are okay. 
Also, they can't wear any patterns, stripes or logos that are larger than a 
quarter.
McCostlin said the goal of the dress code, to allow kids to focus on 
schoolwork and not clothes, is backfiring. “It’s not achieving it’s goal at 
all,” he said.
Principal Rich Reeves declined to comment on the situation, referring all 
questions to the Vancouver School District. Spokesperson Kris Sork would not 
comment specifically on the case, but said the actions taken were 
appropriate.
In a published report, Vancouver Police Dept. spokesperson Kim Kapp said the 
dress code has worked, that attendance is up and discipline problems are 
down at the school.
Meantime, Joey said he’s not sorry for taking part in the protest, and he 
also learned a lesson from the experience: “You shouldn’t let other people 
keep you from standing up for what you believe in.”

http://www.katu.com/news/local/19293949.html

Four eighth graders arrested over school protest
Story Published: May 27, 2008 at 2:18 PM PDT
Story Updated: May 27, 2008 at 6:44 PM PDT
By Jeff Jaeger and KATU Web Staff
Video
VANCOUVER, Wash. – Four Vancouver middle school students have been arrested 
and charged with misdemeanors for leading protests at the school this month.
It happened at McLoughlin Middle School when the four started a sit-in 
protest during lunch about the suspension of a fellow student. It then grew 
into a crowd of students and turned into a protest over the school's dress 
code.
Amy Proffer, whose son, Joey, was one of the four arrested, said she didn't 
understand why the arrests were necessary because the student handbook says 
students are allowed to "peaceably assemble to bring attention to the 
district about issues."
But the school district said the students were arrested because they 
disrupted the educational process and did not obey a school administrator.
Parents were also concerned about why police questioned the four students 
without parents there and before the parents were notified.
Vancouver police told the mother that a parent did not need to be present 
when they questioned her son because he was over the age of 12.
The school's principal declined to comment Tuesday as to why police were 
called before parents were notified. And due to federal laws, the district 
could not talk about the discipline the four students faced.
The case has been handed over to the juvenile prosecutor's office.
To read more about the incident, click here to read a story reported by our 
news partner The Columbian.

http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/05/05272008_School-fashion-protest-ends-in-arrests.cfm

School fashion protest ends in arrests

Did you know?
McLoughlin Middle School’s dress code allows boys and girls to wear either 
red, black, gray or white shirts. For pants or skirts, choices are khaki, 
black, gray or navy, including jeans. No patterns, stripes or logos larger 
than a quarter coin (except McLoughlin logos) are allowed.

Steven Lane/The Columbian
Some McLoughlin Middle School students have been protesting their school’s 
dress code over the past two weeks. Since the protest started, four students 
were arrested and about 20 were suspended.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008
By ISOLDE RAFTERY, Columbian Staff Writer
Students at McLoughlin Middle School are learning that civil disobedience 
comes at a cost.

In the past two weeks, four eighth-grade boys have been arrested and charged 
with misdemeanors for leading protests against the school’s dress code. 
About 20 more students have been suspended.
Parents of those students are wondering whether this tough-love approach has 
gone too far — the dress code, after all, was implemented to curb bad 
behavior.
Amy Proffer, whose son, Joey, was among those arrested, said she was upset 
that the principal allowed police to question her 14-year-old son without 
calling her.
“I was concerned that the officer was taking a statement from my child,” 
Proffer said. “They told me that they have a right to question him without a 
parent because he’s over the age of 12.”
The dress code, dubbed “Mac attire,” was implemented at the start of the 
school year after a parent vote of approval. Proffer voted against it.
Principal Rich Reeves referred reporter calls to Vancouver Public Schools 
spokeswoman Kris Sork, who said the district stands by Reeves’ decision to 
call the police.
“I don’t dare talk about the specific case,” Sork said, citing educational 
privacy laws. “It was investigated by Mike Stromme (director of secondary 
education), who found that it was all absolutely appropriate.”
Events unfold
The frustration over Mac attire took root the afternoon before the lunch 
protest, at a Fort Vancouver High School track meet.
According to student and police accounts, several eighth-graders were 
playing in the grass, turning somersaults and using crass language when an 
assistant principal from their school approached. She told them to knock it 
off.
The next morning, one of the boys received a letter saying he wouldn’t be 
allowed to partake in any more after-school functions through the end of the 
school year.
That boy, Sam Ruble, said he nearly started crying. He’s a wiry boy with 
long side bangs and a flair for the dramatic. Sam, 14, said that he was 
upset because his alternative rock band had been planning to perform after 
school next month.
The next day at lunch, the boys fumed. They were angry at administrators 
about their punishment, and that gave way to conversations about the dress 
code, which they said crimps their style.
By the end of the lunch period, a decision had been made: They would protest 
the dress code.
“What made us angry at first was barely a protestable issue,” Sam said. “But 
we realized that many people understand the dress code cause, and we decided 
that we were long overdue for a dress code protest.”
They wanted to show off their “randomness,” student Desirea Allen said 
later. They wanted to draw on their jeans and wear the colors of their 
choice. They acknowledge that they’ve been able to show off their 
personalities in spite of the dress code, which allows them to dye their 
hair any color and write on their shoes.
They believed they would be allowed to protest: Desirea, 13, had checked her 
student handbook, which states students may express themselves so long as it’s 
“not disruptive to other individuals or to the educational process.”
Their ranks grew to about 20 students.
Most involved call their style “emo” or “goth,” a look that tends toward 
black jeans and thick eyeliner.
According to students, Principal Reeves and the assistant principals asked 
the students to go to their fourth-period classes. They refused.
The conversation between adults and students was light-hearted, the students 
said, with adults making jokes about the situation.
Sam and Joey said they were surprised when 20 minutes into their impromptu 
sit-in, Reeves called police.
Vancouver police Officer Julie Carpenter, who is stationed at Fort Vancouver 
High School, arrived with backup.
Four officers escorted the students into the library and arrested the four 
boys, who were later released to their parents. They were suspended for the 
week; 13 other students were suspended for shorter periods, according to the 
district.
The four boys were referred to the juvenile prosecutor’s office on two 
potential charges:noncompliance with a school official and disruption of 
school activity. There was no report of violence, perceived or threatened.
“They were protesting the dress code, but the charges don’t have to do with 
the dress code,” Vancouver police spokeswoman Kim Kapp said. “It was the 
disruption of school activities.”
So what did the students wish had happened?
“They should have just listened to us,” Sam said.
Dress code praised
Days before the protests started, Principal Reeves told school board members 
that students and teachers are pleased with the results of the dress code.
Kapp said her officers, too, say students are causing fewer problems.
“(Officer Carpenter) did share with me that the number of requests has 
declined dramatically in her opinion since they instituted the dress code,” 
Kapp said. “She said she has felt that she’s responded less to that 
particular middle school since the dress code went into affect.”
The students said discipline issues have decreased because the students who 
caused problems have moved on to Fort Vancouver, McLoughlin’s feeder high 
school.
They said that the 50-student fight that broke out at Fort Vancouver High 
School last fall was caused by those same students. That fight led the 
district to pay $100,000 this year to station Carpenter at the high school 
full time.
But ultimately, for the students, the issue is more about feeling 
disrespected than about Mac attire. After all, the students have only one 
more month to go before summer, when they can wear whatever they want.
Sam said: “Teachers have been calling us the troublemakers. Mac attire was 
supposed to create unity, but all we’ve gotten is more trouble because we 
choose gray and black.”
“Yeah,” Desirea said. “Just because we’re strange doesn’t mean we’re 
addicted to drugs.”

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/33620

Students protest postponed assembly
Submitted by davidswanson on Sat, 2008-05-24 10:22.
Nonviolent Resistance
BY ERIC LINDBERG, Santa Barbara Daily Sound
A last-minute postponement of a student-organized assembly at Santa Barbara 
High School rankled students and led them to hold a lengthy sit-in Thursday 
morning in protest of the decision.
Several student groups on campus planned to bring in representatives of the 
local chapter of Veterans for Peace on Thursday for a screening of Arlington 
West followed by a discussion with the film’s producers and the mother of a 
soldier killed in Iraq.
Leaders with Students for Democratic Society and Dons for Real Change said 
administrators pulled the event on Tuesday and offered up poor reasons for 
doing so, including that the film was too biased and political.
Principal Dr. Mark Capritto said a miscommunication between students and 
another administrator led to the outcry and that the decision to postpone 
the event resulted from complaints by teachers about losing class time.
Geoffrey Parker, a senior and one of the lead organizers of the event, 
described how students planned the assembly for more than two months and had 
taken the appropriate steps to receive approval from the administration.
Then, on Tuesday, he said an assistant principal came into his classroom and 
said the screening had been cancelled.
“I was completely shocked,” Parker said. “Just a few days before it had been 
completely acceptable.”
He said the administrator argued that the film was too biased to be shown in 
a school setting. Parker countered by pointing out that military recruiters 
are constantly on campus talking to students.
“Another excuse was that it was too political,” he said. “A school is built 
to teach, to prepare children for the outside world. Without political 
information, how are we expected to vote?”
After being informed of the cancellation, Parker and others organized a 
petition and a sit-in protest, which drew approximately 100 students who 
planted themselves in the main hallway of the school for four hours holding 
signs reading “Let Them Speak of Peace” and “Learning is a Right.”
Dr. Capritto said he met with a group of students, including Parker, and 
clarified a few issues.
“It wasn’t cancelled,” he said. “It was postponed based on an agreement that 
didn’t get through to the kids.”
When the concept of holding the assembly came to him, Dr. Capritto said he 
approved it under the condition that it be optional and that if any 
complaints were made, it would be moved to the lunch period or after school.
“We’re at a very precarious time of year when kids need to be in classes,” 
he said. “…This is the end of the school year and we have a responsibility 
to our students.”
He said worries arose that students would not recognize the optional aspect 
of the assembly and pressure their teachers to let them attend. Following 
complaints about lost class time, he said the decision was made to hold off 
on the screening.
Dr. Capritto added that any consideration of the political nature of the 
film — which explores the display of crosses representing soldiers killed in 
Iraq on beaches around the country, including the original display in Santa 
Barbara — did not enter into the decision to postpone the event.
“I can certainly understand their disappointment based on the information 
they received from one of the assistant principals,” he said.
Parker dismissed the argument that students would lose class time, 
emphasizing the authority of teachers to decide whether or not their 
students would attend the event.
“It was completely controlled by the teachers,” he said. “…We had ways so 
that teachers could allow some students to go and others not to go.”
Others, including Mary Johnston-de Leon, treasurer of the local chapter of 
Veterans for Peace, said holding the event during lunch is not a feasible 
solution. With only 40 minutes for lunch, she argued, kids won’t give up 
their lunch period to watch a 32-minute film.
While she plans to leave any future action, such as more sit-ins or 
protests, up to the students, Johnston-de Leon said she plans to write a 
letter to administrators letting her feelings be known.
“Without barely any warning, they pulled the plug on us,” she said. “…I 
personally don’t think it was warranted.”
Peter Dudar and Sally Marr, the producers of Arlington West, said they 
turned down gigs with three other schools to make the drive from Los 
Angeles, screen the film and participate in the discussion.
Both said they were stunned to learn the event had been cancelled, 
describing the many trips they’ve taken to screen the film since it came out 
three years ago for audiences that have ranged from sixth-graders to 
doctorate students.
“We’ve never had a situation like this before,” Marr said. “It just doesn’t 
seem very fair, to really anybody.”
She said the focus of the film is not to be political or critical, but 
merely to show the emotional impact of war.
“Our most important objective is to get our kids to acknowledge our fallen … 
and to get them to care for the veterans when they return,” Dudar said. 
“…The kids feel so far away from this war, generally. They really need to 
understand.”
Both said a similar assembly and screening at the high school last year drew 
in hundreds, so many that they had to turn away 200 students.
Dr. Capritto, while reiterating that the politics of the film didn’t enter 
into his decision, said he should have examined the content more closely 
from the beginning.
“We need to really look into this and decide whether or not Santa Barbara 
High School, during school time, is the most appropriate forum for this 
film,” he said.
The incident also gives the school the opportunity to examine its role as a 
learning institution as a whole, Dr. Capritto said.
“It really is incumbent upon us to be doing what we are supposed to be 
doing,” he said.
While acknowledging that the film is of an educational nature, he said it’s 
“clear that it is taking away from what we are already doing.”
For now, Parker said he merely wants to facilitate further discussion about 
the situation. He recently sent out messages to other students asking them 
how they want to proceed. Future sit-ins and protests are a possibility, he 
said.
“I think this is really important information,” Parker said of the film. 
“Even if I don’t get to hear it, I think it’s important for other people to 
hear.”
Those who participated in the sit-in received truancy notices, he said. 
Otherwise, the protest went off peacefully and without a hitch.

http://www.cacuss.ca/fr/08-news/details.lasso?nid=2802

Protesters rally behind students charged at March sit-in
Liens de nouvelles: Index | Vieilles nouvelles | Le NewsWire de l'ASEUCC
Soumis: 2008-06-06
Modifié: 2008-06-06
 U of T says "The events of March 20 were not about free speech. They were 
about violence."
Cet article est disponible seulement en anglais.
A story says that "armed with loudspeakers and placards, student protesters 
marched, shouted and sang their way to a downtown courthouse yesterday in an 
attempt to persuade prosecutors to free 14 people charged in an earlier 
demonstration.
"We are rallying to show our support and to demand that the criminal charges 
be dropped, and the academic investigation against the students be dropped 
as well," said student spokeswoman Ahmina Hanif.
But university spokesman Rob Steiner described the protesters as violent and 
said staff were confined to their offices for several hours while 
demonstrators blocked the door.
"Most of what the university does is encourage free speech," Mr. Steiner 
said. "The events of March 20 were not about free speech. They were about 
violence."

http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2008/06/students_walk_out_to_protest_t.html

Students walk out to protest transfer of Madison High counselor
Posted by The Oregonian June 03, 2008 16:35PM
Categories: Breaking News
About 30 students walked out of classes Tuesday afternoon to protest the 
anticipated transfer of David Colton, a guidance counselor at Madison High 
School.
On a warm, breezy day, students wearing signs saying, "Save Dave Please" 
gathered in front of the school at 2735 NE 82nd Ave. and chanted, "Who do we 
want?" "Colton!" "When do we want him?" "Now!"
"Mr. Colton puts students before his job," said Ryan Boileau, 17, a junior. 
"He often says to me, 'If I do this, I might be fired.'"
"He's helped all of us," said Saba Saleem, 17, also a junior. "I couldn't 
imagine a senior year without him."
Colton, 60, remained on the second floor of Madison during the protest. He 
said he been told he would be transferred to a school elsewhere in the 
district. Colton, who has been a counselor at Madison for the last decade, 
said he had run into difficulties with Julie Howland, one of Madison's three 
administrators, over the issue of Madison converting to small schools. The 
high school has split into three small academies but hasn't fully made the 
switch to autonomous entities.
Howland couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday and Portland Public School 
district spokesman Matt Shelby declined to comment on the protest, saying it 
involved a personnel matter.
Colton said he was touched by the show of support.
"This is completely and totally overwhelming," he said. "It's a symptom of 
the general sickness of the building. People are stifled."

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/jun2008/ruhr-j25.shtml

Germany: Students protest planned education cuts
By Parwini Zora
25 June 2008
Use this version to print | Send this link by email | Email the author
On June 5, around 2,500 students and university teachers took to the streets 
to protest against the planned closure of the Romance Studies and Philosophy 
departments at the University of Duisburg-Essen. The widespread anger among 
students at this new round of cuts was manifested in the collection of more 
than 7,000 signatures in about two weeks, which were turned in at the 
chancellor’s office on the same day.
Romance Studies is an umbrella academic discipline that covers the learning 
of Romance languages along with their literature. The planned cuts at the 
university mean that students will no longer have the opportunity to 
complete a degree in French and Spanish or in their corresponding 
literature.
At the campus, there is a widespread fear among students and staff that the 
newly appointed vice chancellor’s plans for “structural optimisation” will 
soon mean further substantial education cuts—especially in the humanities.
For its part, the university administration made absolutely clear that its 
measures were in tandem with management decisions to phase out subjects that 
have “less student enrolment and little profitability.”
In a brief comment reported in the Ruhr-based daily WAZ, Dirk Hartmann, the 
vice-dean for humanities, confirmed that two positions in the Philosophy 
department were insecure and that this will severely affect bachelors (BA) 
students taking these subjects.
During the last couple of years, German universities were compelled to amend 
their traditional degree courses into “internationally competitive” BA and 
masters (MA) programmes, resulting in considerable changes to course 
duration. Recently, the Romance Studies departments at the Duisburg-Essen 
campus were compelled to adopt these new formats in order to make them 
“attractive” for student candidates.
Hartmann commented that “planned cuts in professor positions will mean the 
constant switching of lecturers [who are often employed under limited 
contracts], leaving students with limited options which in turn will have an 
overall adverse effect on the quality of education.”
Helmut Jacobs, professor of Spanish language and literature, was also quoted 
in the only other brief press report on this issue: “We are working with a 
minimum staff—two for Spanish and two for French. And this leaves no room 
for any further cuts. If the professorship for French is cut back as 
planned, it will be no longer possible to ensure qualified teacher training 
at the campus for which the university has made its name since the 
seventies.”
The universities in the Ruhr area were built during the 1970s as part of a 
social-democratic programme of social reforms. Since then, they have been 
subjected to gradual privatisation, especially during the last few years, in 
line with the “reform” of public spending budgets. Following a cost-cutting 
merger, the universities of Essen and Duisburg in the Ruhr were merged in 
2003 with subsequent cuts to university staff and services.
Widely discredited among its popular base, the former coalition of the 
Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Greens was ousted during the last 
federal elections in 2005. In its place, a grand coalition of the SPD, 
Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union took power. The grand 
coalition has basically intensified the same programme introduced by its 
predecessor and in 2007 implemented a €500 per semester tuition fee despite 
considerable student protests (See: “Germany: Students protest 
implementation of tuition fees”)
In this context, appeals made by Hannelore Kraft, the head of the SPD 
faction in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) parliament, “to defend 
minor subjects at universities” are worthless. Kraft evidently thinks the 
electorate suffers from political amnesia and is unable to draw a balance 
sheet of the previous political record and anti-welfare measures carried out 
by the SPD at both a state and federal level.
Confronted with a record historical slump in its popular support, the SPD is 
now seeking to pose as the champion of public education. The SPD student 
organisation JUSOS has initiated a poster campaign bearing the slogan 
“Education is a basic right,” with the poster pasted around the university 
by the student organisation of the Left Party, the SDS. In fact, at the 
grassroots level, the education campaign by the SPD and its backers in the 
Left Party is entirely tame, limited merely to a signature campaign to “put 
pressure on the chancellor” and a possible symbolic day of protest.
“It cannot be that the European cultural city of 2010 [Essen] is doing away 
with humanities,” Kraft thundered at the state parliament recently. She then 
went on to demand that minor subjects be protected and told deputies that 
the Christian Democratic-led state government had brought about a 
catastrophe for education with its implementation of the Law for the 
Independence of the University (HFG). The HFG of October 2006 abolished the 
status of universities as public institutions in NRW. Universities have 
since become “independent,” paving the way for the implementation of tuition 
fees and other deregulatory measures.
According to Pascal Geissler, the student representative of the audit 
committee to ensure teaching and educational quality at the Duisburg-Essen 
campus, there had been virtually no qualitative improvement in the 
conditions at the university—despite the funds drawn from the tuition fees 
during the last three semesters.
Geissler pointed to the problem of overcrowded classes with students waiting 
for months to collect their certificates because younger staff employed at 
the campus could not examine students. “Amidst all this, the chancellor is 
expecting to cut back professorships at the university,” he wrote in 
befog-aktuell.de.
Giessler confirms that the university administration enrolled 3,000 students 
less than in the preceding academic year. Rather than improve the situation, 
the implementation of tuition fees had in fact had an “evident chilling 
impact.”
The official university web site stresses the pressure of financial 
restraints, saying that the campus has “the challenge to be competitive with 
other universities because it is absolutely necessary to win state funds 
that are granted only on performance—in terms of successful graduates, the 
number of doctorates and especially research activity which can secure 
third-party funds [from industry].”
Since being declared “independent,” 20 percent of the minimal state funds 
allocated for universities are dependent on “performance.” During the last 
three years alone, the state government has cut €10 million in funding for 
the Essen-Duisburg University—€6 million due to alleged “poor performance.” 
This sum amounts to the equivalent of funding 200 university posts.
According to the university authorities, the campus budget is running at a 
deficit, with only 92.5 percent of all its current expenses covered, 
notwithstanding the inflow of tuition fees. It is on this basis that the new 
chancellor will decide on the fate of the department of Romance Studies and 
other areas of learning. The university management has already announced it 
will be discontinuing its courses on design technology and Japanese 
socio-linguistics.
Relevant discussion forums make clear that students are increasingly 
confronted with the problem of whether to study a subject that interests 
them or instead pick a topic at university that is considered profitable by 
big business and linked to shifting market trends. Increasingly, students 
are being left with no choice as available courses—especially in the sphere 
of humanities—are vanishing.
University budgets starved of public funds will not only lead to an 
increasingly narrow choice of degree subjects but will renew calls for an 
increase in tuition fees in the coming period. This development is not 
limited to campuses in the Ruhr but is symptomatic of universities 
throughout Germany. Rather than being a right, education in Germany is 
increasingly being subordinated to the dictates of lucrative business 
interests

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0807/S00118.htm

Green MP joins students in protest
Friday, 4 July 2008, 1:34 pm
Press Release: Green Party

4 July 2008
Green MP joins students in protest
Green Party Tertiary Education Spokesperson, Metiria Turei, joined students 
in Auckland this morning in a march down Queen Street against student debt 
and fees.
This Government has failed tertiary students and understandably they are 
angry, Mrs Turei says.
"The meagre tertiary concessions in the 2008 Budget were ridiculous. There 
are not many students celebrating the extra five dollars a week that they 
were allowed to borrow. "Given the rising cost of food and fuel, the 
additional $5 loan shows utter contempt," Mrs Turei says.
"Students on the march were also angry that the Government parental 
threshold level for eligibility for allowances was reduced only to 24 years 
from 25 years. This is tantamount to saying that those aged 24 are still 
children and is extremely demeaning.
"We should be investing in our future leaders and ensuring they reach their 
full potential, instead we seem to be making it increasingly difficult for 
our young people to get the education the want and deserve, Mrs Turei says.