A Message to America's Students from Ralph Nader
Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2004 14:45:32 -0400 Subject: Nader for President: A Message to America's Students from Ralph Nader List-Subscribe: http://lists.6is9.org/mailman/listinfo/updates, mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] List-Id: The general updates list for the Nader for President 2004 Campaign updates.lists.votenader.org MESSAGE TO AMERICA'S STUDENTS FROM RALPH NADER Nader: The War, The Draft, Your Future We have been down this road before. U.S. troops sent to war half a world away. American foreign policy controlled by an arrogant elite, bent on projecting military power around the globe. A public misled into supporting an unconstitutional war founded on deceit and fabrications. As the death toll mounts, we hear claims that the war is nearly won, that victory is just around the corner. But victory never arrives. As the public loses confidence in the government, the government questions the patriotism of any who express doubt about the war. When a presidential election arrives, both the Democrat and Republican nominees embrace the policy of continued war. The military draft comes to dominate the lives of America's young, and vast numbers who believe the war to be a senseless blunder are faced with fighting a war they do not believe in, or facing exile or prison. The year was 1968. Because voters had no choice that November, the Vietnam War continued for another six years. Hundreds of thousands of Americans like you died, were maimed, or suffered from diseases like malaria. A far greater number of Vietnamese died. Today, the war is in the quicksands and alleys of Iraq. Once again, under the pressure of a determined resistance, we see an American war policy being slowly torn apart at the seams, while the candidates urge us to stay the course in this tragic misadventure. Today's Presidential candidates are not Nixon and Humphrey, they are now Bush and Kerry. Once again, there is one overriding truth: If war is the only choice in this election, then war we will have. Today enlistments in the Reserves and National Guard are declining. The Pentagon is quietly recruiting new members to fill local draft boards, as the machinery for drafting a new generation of young Americans is being quietly put into place. Young Americans need to know that a train is coming, and it could run over their generation in the same way that the Vietnam War devastated the lives of those who came of age in the sixties. I am running for President, and have been against this war from the beginning. We must not waste lives in order to control and waste more oil. Stand with us and we may yet salvage your future and Americas' future from this looming disaster. - Ralph Nader How You Can Get Involved: We, the young organizers of Nader for President in 2004 campaign, need your help to make Ralph Nader's voice part of the national debate in 2004. Here is what you can do: 1. Forward this email to every list and young person you know, or go to http://www.votenader.org/sfn/message_on_iraq_war.php and send a link to the page out to them. 2. Help get Ralph on the ballot. Go to our ballot access webpage at http://www.votenader.org and connect with students and organizers statewide to obtain the necessary signatures. 3. Join the effort in Texas and North Carolina. We need BIG help in the next 5 weeks to get Ralph on the ballot in Texas and North Carolina (we need to collect 80,000 signatures in each state.) Please contact anyone you know in those two states and urge them to join our petition drives. [http://www.votenader.org/roadtrip/]. 4. Start a Students for Nader Chapter and begin organizing students at your school. Get started by logging onto our students for Nader webpage [http://www.votenader.org/sfn/index.php]. 5. Register to Vote: If you're 18 or will be 18 by Nov. 2, 2004, please register to vote by clicking on this link [http://www.rockthevote.com/rtv_register.php]. P.O. Box 18002, Washington, DC 20036 http://www.votenader.org -- Yoshie * Bring Them Home Now! http://www.bringthemhomenow.org/ * Calendars of Events in Columbus: http://sif.org.ohio-state.edu/calendar.html, http://www.freepress.org/calendar.php, http://www.cpanews.org/ * Student International Forum: http://sif.org.ohio-state.edu/ * Committee for Justice in Palestine: http://www.osudivest.org/ * Al-Awda-Ohio: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Al-Awda-Ohio * Solidarity: http://www.solidarity-us.org/
GWU Students Arrested! Take Action Now!
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 2004 21:11:57 GMT Subject: GWU Students Arrested! Take Action Now! At 2pm today, the DC Metropolitan Police arrested 13 student activists as they urged George Washington University to take a stand on workers' rights! Please tell GW President Steven Joel Trachtenberg to support worker's rights and drop the charges against the students, today, by clicking here now: http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/GW13 As part of the National Student Labor Week of Action (see www.jwj.org/SLAP/A4/2004.htm), the students were occupying the student union building (the Marvin Center), demanding that the university put workers' rights in writing in the form of a labor code of conduct, and affiliate with the independent monitoring agency - the Worker Rights Consortium - to help ensure that GW does not employ sweatshop labor. If GW -- the largest private employer in D.C. -- is allowed to trample on workers' rights, the rights of workers throughout our nation's capitol are jeopardized. Urge President Trachtenberg to drop the charges against the students, today! Please send the fax below to President Trachtenberg and express your outrage at the arrests of students' peacefully protesting the exploitation of workers on their campus. Demand that George Washington University adopt a worker rights code of conduct and affiliate with the Worker Rights Consortium immediately! You can see photos of the student rally at GW (prior to the arrests) at www.jwj.org/SLAP/A4/2004/index.htm . Please urge President Trachtenberg to drop the charges against the students today! Please fax and e-mail President Trachtenberg and express your outrage at the arrests of students peacefully protesting the exploitation of workers on their campus. http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/GW13 You can take action on this alert via the web at: http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/GW13/5sg5k4vm7tji Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this. http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/GW13/forward/5sg5k4vm7tji We encourage you to take action by April 28, 2004 GWU Students Arrested - Take Action Now! INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA THE WEB: If you have access to a web browser, you can take action on this alert by going to the following URL: http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/GW13/5sg5k4vm7tji
Sacramento: Community college students march to protest planned fee hikes
Hey PEN-L: I think the students' demo against fee increases was the largest protest at the state Capitol since the anti-war rallies last spring. Seth Sandronsky Community college students march to protest planned fee hikes By Lesli A. Maxwell -- Bee Staff Writer Published 3:46 p.m. PST Monday, March 15, 2004 Get weekday updates of Sacramento Bee headlines and breaking news. Sign up here. Community college students from across California marched by the thousands to the state Capitol on Monday to denounce Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger -- the most celebrated alumni of the state's two-year schools -- and his bid to raise their fees. Students decked out in anti-Arnold T-shirts and toting signs staged a boisterous two-mile march from Raley Field in West Sacramento to the west steps of the Capitol, and rallied for more than two hours in the midday sun. They were undeterred in their noisy cries for Schwarzenegger to come address the crowd, despite knowing the celebrity governor was conducting business in Los Angeles and would not see them. It feels like betrayal by one of our own, said Patrick Tuminaro, a 26-year-old student at Antelope Valley College who voted for Schwarzenegger and worked on his campaign to oust Gray Davis. He should understand that the average community college student is struggling to pay the fees now. Many of us voted for him, but we are not happy with him now. Schwarzenegger, an immigrant from Austria, attended Santa Monica College and often credits his education there as crucial to his success as a bodybuilder, movie star and politician. The governor -- who must solve California's continuing budget crisis -- is asking lawmakers to raise fees for community colleges to $26 per unit from $18, a 44 percent increase. full: http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/8529091p-9457792c.html Seth Sandronsky _ FREE pop-up blocking with the new MSN Toolbar get it now! http://clk.atdmt.com/AVE/go/onm00200415ave/direct/01/
Ernest Mandel remembers: fascism and the students (excerpt from a lecture given in Bonn, 29 January 1969)
The first advances which the fascists made, were mainly among student movements and in student milieus. Hitler gained majority support at German universities, many years before he actually had a significant proportion of the German electorate behind him. The same applies to an even greater extent to Italy and Spain. When the Popular Front battled at the polls in 1936, the Latin quarter of Paris was, ironically, dominated - immediately before and after the general strike of June 1936 - by the semi-fascist Action Francaise, i.e. by an organisation on the far-right of the French political spectrum. ATOMISATION An important characteristic of fascist dictatorships, both in Italy, in Hitler's Germany and in Spain, was the total atomisation of the working class, and the smashing of workers organisations, which serves to disable well-organised resistance of the working class right from the very start. So long as broadly organised resistance persists, there can be no question of a truly fascist dictatorship. The role and historic peculiarity of fascism was precisely to smash this resistance, and realise the total atomisation of the working class. Dictatorships have emerged in the most diverse forms - the history of capitalism is, in a certain sense, the history of all kinds of dictatorships - but a dictatorship in and of itself is not yet fascism. Military dictatorships can be found, as in Greece, which by their very nature are not in any position to atomise the worker's movement. In most imperialist countries, the working classes comprise tens of millions of people, and you cannot stop them from mobilising with 10,000 policemen or soldiers. Definitive of fascism is that, beyond the military and police apparatus, the fascists have available mass organisations which can terrorise and repress, which can keep the entire working class in a modern, industrialised country behind bars so to speak. This fascist terror network has practical-technical presuppositions. The state must have at least one spy in every neighbourhood, in every office, factory and school, in each of its departments, and often, even inside people's residences, which makes it possible to crush even the most elementary forms of mass organisation and mass resistance. RESISTANCE At the same time, there are psychological and socio-political reasons to do with workingclass consciousness, that prevent an active, resolute proletariat, aware of its historical and immediate political tasks, from being atomised and leg-ironed in this way. A devastating political and psychological defeat, the wholesale destruction of the political self-confidence of the proletariat and their acquiescence, demoralisation or resignation, must therefore precede any struggle and stabilisation of fascist political power. However, once this terrible situation has occurred, the organised resistance by the working class becomes impossible for quite some time. This is proved by the historical experience of classical fascist dictorships. Spanish fascism eventually broke up through its internal development, and became a decadent military dictatorship, which failed to prevent mass resistance by the working class, and in fact does not prevent it. In the three classical fascist dictatorships I mentioned (Germany, Italy, and Spain until about 1953), there were to be sure thousands upon thousands of resistance actions by communists, social democrats and revolutionary socialists from all sorts of different currents. The point however was, that they could agitate only as individual groups, as small islands in the broad movement, but not as an organised workingclass movement. So the resistance against fascist rule therefore by definition has this atomised, relatively individualistic character. Yet, and this is the key point, from the moment there is no longer any question of organised mass resistance, but only of resistance by individuals, i.e. from the moment that individual consciousness and even just pure moral outrage becomes a prominent, immediate source of motivation for action, the intelligentsia is without doubt much better equipped than other social strata to engage in it. It was easier for the intellectuals to get worked up about genocides and fight them, than for isolated workers lacking access to all the facts. Through the effective atomisation of the workingclass wrought by a fascist dictatorship, the subjective preconditions for individual revolt were reached with much greater difficulty among workers, than among intellectuals. That's why the intellectuals assumed such an important place, when mass resistance against the consolidated power of fascism took off again. ITALY AND YUGOSLAVIA In Italy, the first political organisation produced by the new resistance movement was the Giustizia e Liberta group. This group didn't actually form part of the old Communist Party or the social democrats; it consisted exclusively of students and intellectuals. Later, it founded the so
Re: Ernest Mandel remembers: fascism and the students (excerpt from a lecture given in Bonn, 29 January 1969)
Ernest Madel wrote: The first advances which the fascists made, were mainly among student movements and in student milieus. Hitler gained majority support at German universities, many years before he actually had a significant proportion of the German electorate behind him. The same applies to an even greater extent to Italy and Spain. When the Popular Front battled at the polls in 1936, the Latin quarter of Paris was, ironically, dominated - immediately before and after the general strike of June 1936 - by the semi-fascist Action Francaise, i.e. by an organisation on the far-right of the French political spectrum. interestingly, in the 1960s US, a lot of pro-war conservatives who had been more radical in their youth (such as Seymour Martin Lipset) used this fact against the student anti-war movement. The rudeness of the SDS was equated to that of the SS. The nugget of truth here is that student movements can go either way, depending on whether or not they're allied with the working class and other anti-establishmentarian movements. Here at Loyola Marymount University, the most active student movement seems to be the anti-abortion folks. But it's possible that the young Democrats are rising. Jim D.
Re: college students again and a question
So, I really don't know what the best answer is -- except that it is a good idea to try and be conversant in orthodox Marxism, modern economics, etc., and not to reject others on the basis of terminological preference. Julio I don't know what exactly you mean by modern economics Julio but if it is what is currently being taught at the main stream universities, I have no objection to learning that and indeed it is easier for me to learn that since it is quite (pseudeo-)mathematical. And, I am doing just that. But I don't think the difference is a matter of terminological preference. I am sure most of my Marxian friends will not like to hear this, but the difference is ideological. Both are belief systems, in my view. For example, I am not as deeply in love with Marxian theory of value as Jurriaan is, nor I am as deeply in love with contract theory as who knows whom? All theories are based on assumptions, including mathematics. Like, if you reject the Axiom of Choice or, equivalently, Zorn's Lemma, much of mathematical analysis, and everything else that goes with it, collapses. Life is about choices in my view, or beliefs if you like. Best, Sabri
Re: college students again and a question
For example, I am not as deeply in love with Marxian theory of value as Jurriaan is, nor I am as deeply in love with contract theory as who knows whom? It makes absolutely no sense for a socialist to be in love with a theory, because a theory is only a means to an end. The only thing I can personally be in love with in this sense is sustainable human progress at the fastest pace possible for me. From my personal point of view, your pattern of choices is just weird, but then, you could say the same for me I guess. While you're at it, why don't you sort out Arnold's accounting problem, so that we can get on with more interesting stories. J.
Re: college students again and a question
While you're at it, why don't you sort out Arnold's accounting problem, so that we can get on with more interesting stories. J. Hi J., I will respond to you in a language you seem to understand best. I don't give a fucking shit to Arnold's accounting problems or to you. You called for it, so don't blame me. Not best, S.
Re: college students again and a question
Would you give the citation for these? At 12:40 2/12/03 -0600, you wrote: Given this conversation, people on this list might want to look at a couple of papers I have written on the history of heterodox economics. It confirms Michael's story in part because he is part of the story. Fred Lee -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of michael a. lebowitz Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2003 12:00 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: college students again and a question I agree with Ahmet: radical economists were repressed in the 50s in US universities, and in the early 60s there were no faculty in economics there to teach people who were starting to ask questions. (So, people were self-taught, holding many reading groups.) The enormous upsurge in political activity stimulated by first the civil rights movement and then the opposition to the war created an environment which made demands on economics departments and made possible the hiring of left faculty. Departments actually thought they could be more attractive to students if they hired a few tokens--- in the case of UMass at Amherst, the decision was to create a critical mass to rescue a declining department. But, even the conservative departments of that period seem pretty benign and pluralistic compared to the state of economics departments now. With very few exceptions, it's hard to recommend graduate programmes, and I find myself increasing recommending political science and geography departments because of the possibility of doing political economy within them. I think it will take the combination of mass activity (which will lead even economics students to question again) and declining enrollments in economics (which will direct those instantaneous calculators of pleasure and pain to be guided by their self-interest) to create the environment for the hiring of progressive economists in economics departments. in solidarity, michael Re: college students again and a question by E. Ahmet Tonak 02 December 2003 14:58 UTC Thread Index Radical economists cannot get teaching positions at those universities respected or otherwise if there is no demand for them. The demand itself is always created by the general political and cultural mood. Sometimes, certain segments of society signal/provoke those mood swings, e.g. youngsters in the 60's and the landless peasants in contemporary Brazil, etc. I think, what happened in the US universities (as I was told by American friends) in the 60's is one concrete illustration of this connection between academia and society at large, i.e. radicals infiltrated to all kind of programs throughout, including economics departments: Marglin of Harvard, Harris of Stanford, Foley of Barnard/Columbia, etc. Am I making sense as an outsider--as another Turk? Ahmet Tonak - Michael A. Lebowitz Professor Emeritus Economics Department Simon Fraser University Burnaby, B.C., Canada V5A 1S6 Office Fax: (604) 291-5944 Home: Phone (604) 689-9510 Robert Scott Gassler Professor of Economics Vesalius College of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel Pleinlaan 2 B-1050 Brussels Belgium 32.2.629.27.15
Re: college students again and a question
Robert asks: Would you give the citation for these? There's a good paper at http://www.ccsr.ac.uk/staff/wkolsen/ahe2002/GT1.docalthough how appealing Californians would find the notion of "grounded theory" I do not know. I was born in a cross-fire hurricane And I howled, at my ma in the driving rain, But it's all right now, in fact, it's a gas! J.
Re: college students again and a question
Thanks, but I mean Fred's chapters. At 13:58 3/12/03 +0100, you wrote: Robert asks: Would you give the citation for these? There's a good paper at http://www.ccsr.ac.uk/staff/wkolsen/ahe2002/GT1.doc although how appealing Californians would find the notion of grounded theory I do not know. I was born in a cross-fire hurricane And I howled, at my ma in the driving rain, But it's all right now, in fact, it's a gas! J. Robert Scott Gassler Professor of Economics Vesalius College of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel Pleinlaan 2 B-1050 Brussels Belgium 32.2.629.27.15
Re: college students again and a question
Radical economists cannot get teaching positions at those universities respected or otherwise if there is no demand for them. The demand itself is always created by the general political and cultural mood. Sometimes, certain segments of society signal/provoke those mood swings, e.g. youngsters in the 60's and the landless peasants in contemporary Brazil, etc. I think, what happened in the US universities (as I was told by American friends) in the 60's is one concrete illustration of this connection between academia and society at large, i.e. radicals infiltrated to all kind of programs throughout, including economics departments: Marglin of Harvard, Harris of Stanford, Foley of Barnard/Columbia, etc. Am I making sense as an outsider--as another Turk? Ahmet Tonak - Original Message - From: Sabri Oncu [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2003 1:30 AM Subject: Re: college students again and a question Many of the students seemed convinced that neoclassical economics was an inadequate tool for analyzing production and distribution. But several of them wanted to know why it was so popular and dominant in the schools. Why weren't most students presented with alternatives? What would pen'lers have told them? Michael Yates Hi Michael, Once on PEN-L I claimed that one of the reasons for that was that most of the economists on PEN-L, as well as others like them, had not resisted hard enough to keep their rightful places at the respected universities. Whether we like it or not, it is at these respected universities that one can outshout the others. Those who outshouted the alternative views did that from their posts at these respected universities. Whether PEN-Lers and others like them had any chance to find a place at such universities is a question to which I am not qualified to provide an answer. I simply do not have enough information to do that. But it is my belief that it is time for those who have the knowledge and ability to present alternative views to reclaim their rightful places at these respected universities. Otherwise, they will continue to be outshouted or so I believe. Sabri
Re: college students again and a question
On Tuesday, December 2, 2003 at 09:59:16 (-0500) E. Ahmet Tonak writes: Radical economists cannot get teaching positions at those universities respected or otherwise if there is no demand for them. The demand itself is always created by the general political and cultural mood. Sometimes, certain segments of society signal/provoke those mood swings, e.g. youngsters in the 60's and the landless peasants in contemporary Brazil, etc. I think, what happened in the US universities (as I was told by American friends) in the 60's is one concrete illustration of this connection between academia and society at large, i.e. radicals infiltrated to all kind of programs throughout, including economics departments: Marglin of Harvard, Harris of Stanford, Foley of Barnard/Columbia, etc. Am I making sense as an outsider--as another Turk? As I understand it, at least in the U.S., you need to look back further: to the G.I. bill and the resulting influx of many of the lower orders into higher education. Also, the manipulation of the makeup of faculty personnel by powerful insiders is nothing to sneeze at: sort of a hidden election that proceeds no matter what the public mood may be. Bill
Re: college students again and a question
What happened at American universities in the 60's was 1) anyone who didn't want to be drafted headed for a graduate program -- and many of these folks were radicalized by the war. 2) the universities had to hire and give tenure because teachers were in short supply when universities were trying to process the baby boomers and those who stayed in college to avoid the draft. So, it was a seller's market that was skewed leftward by the war and increasing prosperity. By the seventies, this was finished. Joanna E. Ahmet Tonak wrote: Radical economists cannot get teaching positions at those universities respected or otherwise if there is no demand for them. The demand itself is always created by the general political and cultural mood. Sometimes, certain segments of society signal/provoke those mood swings, e.g. youngsters in the 60's and the landless peasants in contemporary Brazil, etc. I think, what happened in the US universities (as I was told by American friends) in the 60's is one concrete illustration of this connection between academia and society at large, i.e. radicals infiltrated to all kind of programs throughout, including economics departments: Marglin of Harvard, Harris of Stanford, Foley of Barnard/Columbia, etc. Am I making sense as an outsider--as another Turk? Ahmet Tonak - Original Message - From: Sabri Oncu [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2003 1:30 AM Subject: Re: college students again and a question Many of the students seemed convinced that neoclassical economics was an inadequate tool for analyzing production and distribution. But several of them wanted to know why it was so popular and dominant in the schools. Why weren't most students presented with alternatives? What would pen'lers have told them? Michael Yates Hi Michael, Once on PEN-L I claimed that one of the reasons for that was that most of the economists on PEN-L, as well as others like them, had not resisted hard enough to keep their rightful places at the respected universities. Whether we like it or not, it is at these respected universities that one can outshout the others. Those who outshouted the alternative views did that from their posts at these respected universities. Whether PEN-Lers and others like them had any chance to find a place at such universities is a question to which I am not qualified to provide an answer. I simply do not have enough information to do that. But it is my belief that it is time for those who have the knowledge and ability to present alternative views to reclaim their rightful places at these respected universities. Otherwise, they will continue to be outshouted or so I believe. Sabri
Re: college students again and a question
I'd add that the Vietnam war and the social movements it spawned forced the more empirically-oriented economists to face new questions. Some of the more socially liberal of them were pushed to the left. Some of these were New Deal liberals; some were economists from third-world countries. The internal dynamic of the economics profession involves a consensus being pushed using the sticks and carrots of the job-search/publication/tenure/promotion/raise process. (It's sort of a Darwinian process, where those who agree most with the consensus rise to the top -- while others are being conditioned to agree with it.) The consensus seems to be one that values abstract mathematics über alles, as long as it doesn't contradict the societal _status quo_ and provides enough pro-business propaganda to keep business groups happy. External shocks such as the Great Depression and the war against Vietnam shake up this process, allowing new ideas to be heard and (rarely) even respected. Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine -Original Message- From: joanna bujes [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2003 8:17 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [PEN-L] college students again and a question What happened at American universities in the 60's was 1) anyone who didn't want to be drafted headed for a graduate program -- and many of these folks were radicalized by the war. 2) the universities had to hire and give tenure because teachers were in short supply when universities were trying to process the baby boomers and those who stayed in college to avoid the draft. So, it was a seller's market that was skewed leftward by the war and increasing prosperity. By the seventies, this was finished. Joanna E. Ahmet Tonak wrote: Radical economists cannot get teaching positions at those universities respected or otherwise if there is no demand for them. The demand itself is always created by the general political and cultural mood. Sometimes, certain segments of society signal/provoke those mood swings, e.g. youngsters in the 60's and the landless peasants in contemporary Brazil, etc. I think, what happened in the US universities (as I was told by American friends) in the 60's is one concrete illustration of this connection between academia and society at large, i.e. radicals infiltrated to all kind of programs throughout, including economics departments: Marglin of Harvard, Harris of Stanford, Foley of Barnard/Columbia, etc. Am I making sense as an outsider--as another Turk? Ahmet Tonak - Original Message - From: Sabri Oncu [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2003 1:30 AM Subject: Re: college students again and a question Many of the students seemed convinced that neoclassical economics was an inadequate tool for analyzing production and distribution. But several of them wanted to know why it was so popular and dominant in the schools. Why weren't most students presented with alternatives? What would pen'lers have told them? Michael Yates Hi Michael, Once on PEN-L I claimed that one of the reasons for that was that most of the economists on PEN-L, as well as others like them, had not resisted hard enough to keep their rightful places at the respected universities. Whether we like it or not, it is at these respected universities that one can outshout the others. Those who outshouted the alternative views did that from their posts at these respected universities. Whether PEN-Lers and others like them had any chance to find a place at such universities is a question to which I am not qualified to provide an answer. I simply do not have enough information to do that. But it is my belief that it is time for those who have the knowledge and ability to present alternative views to reclaim their rightful places at these respected universities. Otherwise, they will continue to be outshouted or so I believe. Sabri
Re: college students again and a question
I agree with Ahmet: radical economists were repressed in the 50s in US universities, and in the early 60s there were no faculty in economics there to teach people who were starting to ask questions. (So, people were self-taught, holding many reading groups.) The enormous upsurge in political activity stimulated by first the civil rights movement and then the opposition to the war created an environment which made demands on economics departments and made possible the hiring of left faculty. Departments actually thought they could be more attractive to students if they hired a few tokens--- in the case of UMass at Amherst, the decision was to create a critical mass to rescue a declining department. But, even the conservative departments of that period seem pretty benign and pluralistic compared to the state of economics departments now. With very few exceptions, it's hard to recommend graduate programmes, and I find myself increasing recommending political science and geography departments because of the possibility of doing political economy within them. I think it will take the combination of mass activity (which will lead even economics students to question again) and declining enrollments in economics (which will direct those instantaneous calculators of pleasure and pain to be guided by their self-interest) to create the environment for the hiring of progressive economists in economics departments. in solidarity, michael Re: college students again and a question by E. Ahmet Tonak 02 December 2003 14:58 UTC Thread Index Radical economists cannot get teaching positions at those universities respected or otherwise if there is no demand for them. The demand itself is always created by the general political and cultural mood. Sometimes, certain segments of society signal/provoke those mood swings, e.g. youngsters in the 60's and the landless peasants in contemporary Brazil, etc. I think, what happened in the US universities (as I was told by American friends) in the 60's is one concrete illustration of this connection between academia and society at large, i.e. radicals infiltrated to all kind of programs throughout, including economics departments: Marglin of Harvard, Harris of Stanford, Foley of Barnard/Columbia, etc. Am I making sense as an outsider--as another Turk? Ahmet Tonak - Michael A. Lebowitz Professor Emeritus Economics Department Simon Fraser University Burnaby, B.C., Canada V5A 1S6 Office Fax: (604) 291-5944 Home: Phone (604) 689-9510
Re: college students again and a question
Michael Yates described his success in addressing Jim Craven's classes. A certain degree of his success probably had to do with the fact that Jim had already laid the groundwork. I wonder how well he would do after students had finished nearly a semester of neoclassical indoctrination. I'm not saying that he couldn't have broken through with some of the students, but the task would be much more difficult. My own situation supports Ahmed's interpretation of the academic market for left economists. Here at Chico, my application had been passed over by the faculty. I guess it was sort of flippant. Students, at the time, had some input in personnel matters. Could you imagine that today? The students pushed for my recruitment, but the key factor was that the conservative chairman thought that I would be useful in recruiting students to the economics program. If I were to subtract 40 years from my age, I suspect I would have difficulty in getting a job today, just as many more capable graduates do. If I were to market myself as a conservative, I do not think I would have much difficulty. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University [EMAIL PROTECTED] Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901
Re: college students again and a question - reply to Michael
My own situation supports Ahmed's interpretation of the academic market for left economists. Here at Chico, my application had been passed over by the faculty. I guess it was sort of flippant. I a really surprised at that, because, beyond a bit of humour, you're basically not a flippant person (but even humour has its class differentiations). You've got to be among the most industrious, steadfast and creative economics teachers there are, as far as I can see ! And you have every right to be. At the very least, your books don't put me to sleep, in fact, I ended up staying awake focused on the issue, learning new things, you get people to think, which is quite possibly the best thing you could say about a teacher. You definitely ought to put in a new application, asking for MORE resources than you did previously, and not hesitate about it. You open up new fields of inquiry for people, and that is a magnificent gift. I am not trying to grease you up here, I sincerely think so. I have my foibles, I make mistakes, I'm not the best, but people who are objective can surely distinguish between your characteristics and mine. The strength of radical economics, or heterodox economics, is that it seeks to probe problems to the root (L. radix = root), the heart of the matter, if you like. They can state what the problem is, which is why management like them. But... that means, among other things, that the creation of wealth and the distribution of wealth are not things we can discuss separately, they need to be discussed together, and when we do so, we arrive at an understanding of economics which accords much better with the actual reality of business practice, than neoclassical economics can accomplish, in its constructive side and its seamy side. Aha, but then the authorities want to know what specific solutions can be derived from this activity for policy purposes. And there the radical, heterodox stance is clear: they are partisan, they are in solidarity with the creative potential of the have-nots, the direct producers, the dispossessed, they seek the transformation of property relations and the redistribution of wealth, they are resolutely opposed to the despoilation of people and the environment, against a massive disallocation of human resources which spend more on military industries and prisons, than they do on education and ecological health, they are against forms of competition which promotes racist poison and searches for scapegoats. That can be a bit threatening. Heterodox and radical economists try to be as objective as possible, but never fall into the illusion that they are not partisan, the wealthy have their constituency, and the heterodox economists have theirs. The basic absurdity inherent in the economics profession is that at the end of the day, the economics profession is concerned about whether the economics profession makes money or not. You know, we want to get laid, own homes, have a life and that. Fair enough. But the heterodox, radical economist has a concern which has nothing to do with whether the economics profession makes money; it has a critical acumen and a stake in scientificity which has nothing to do with whether or not it makes money, i.e. it accepts that to do economics in an objective and scientific sense, you need to be able to step out of economics, and be able to consider the entire edifice of the discipline from another angle. And thus heterodox economics defines the limits of the discipline. Then, of course, the neoclassical species will say yes, but we can do all that too. But the point is, they didn't think of it, they just appropriated what somebody else created from somewhere else and then assert private intellectual property rights, and in the end, it's just about making the most money in the quickest way with the least effort, never mind the societal relations involved here, which have disappeared from sight and are excluded from economics. Neoclassical economics is a self-justifying profession which is problem-blind: a billion people unemployed worldwide, environmental destruction, gigantic irrationality in the allocation of the world's resources, God knows how many people hungry or starving, massive military expenditure, and all neoclassical economics can do is shoot demand and supply curves at it, and talk about how the market will sort it out in the medium term, if the equation is right. Whereas in reality they need heterodox economics more than ever, to take a good hard look at objective reality here. The puzzling thing about neoclassical economics is: why create a fight where is none ? Why foment a scramble for resources when it's not necessary ? Why not admit that heterodox, radical economics can complement neoclassical economics ? Why not admit that all the important new ideas in economics have come from outside neoclassical economics ? The question is really whether neoclassical economists want to bore people to death, or admit heterodox
Re: college students again and a question
Ahmet: Radical economists cannot get teaching positions at those universities respected or otherwise if there is no demand for them. The demand itself is always created by the general political and cultural mood. I don't debate this Ahmet. But there seems to be a chicken and egg issue when it comes to demand for ideas. Not always, but sometimes, supply of ideas may create its own demand, especially if it is of high quality and hence influence the general political and cultural mood, however small its influence may be. In any event, not only I am too young to know what went on in the sixties and seventies in the US but also I am an outsider. So I stop here. Best, Sabri
Re: college students again and a question
My friend James Craven invited me to speak in three of his economics classes at Clark College in Vancouver Washington, just a few miles north of Portland. Jim is using my new book as a supplementary text in his courses. It was an interesting experience to talk to students who had read my book as a textbook. And fro them it must have been interesting to get a chance to "talk back" to the author of their textbook. I had some prepared notes, but I began by asking if anyone had questions. Yes, indeed, they did, and in each of the three classes we had a lively discussion. I was both pleased (and felt more hopeful than when I spoke at my alma mater a few weeks ago in Pennsylvania) and reminded of how hard it is to teach a lot of classes every day. Many of the students seemed convinced that neoclassical economics was an inadequate tool for analyzing production and distribution. But several of them wanted to know why it was so popular and dominant in the schools. Why weren't most students presented with alternatives? What would pen'lers have told them? Michael Yates
Re: college students again and a question
Many of the students seemed convinced that neoclassical economics was an inadequate tool for analyzing production and distribution. But several of them wanted to know why it was so popular and dominant in the schools. Why weren't most students presented with alternatives? What would pen'lers have told them? Michael Yates Hi Michael, Once on PEN-L I claimed that one of the reasons for that was that most of the economists on PEN-L, as well as others like them, had not resisted hard enough to keep their rightful places at the respected universities. Whether we like it or not, it is at these respected universities that one can outshout the others. Those who outshouted the alternative views did that from their posts at these respected universities. Whether PEN-Lers and others like them had any chance to find a place at such universities is a question to which I am not qualified to provide an answer. I simply do not have enough information to do that. But it is my belief that it is time for those who have the knowledge and ability to present alternative views to reclaim their rightful places at these respected universities. Otherwise, they will continue to be outshouted or so I believe. Sabri
My working class students
I have read with interest recent posts under the heading "Step into the Classroom." I have been a labor educator since 1980. I have taught working class students, mostly local union activists, through labor studies programs at Penn State University, West Virginia University, The University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Cornell, University of Indiana, Community College of Baltimore County, the University of Oregon, and the University of Hawaii. I have also taught course and seminars under the auspices of specific unions including the UnitedFarm Workers (for whom I worked in 1977), the United Steel Workers, the Aluminum, Brick and GlassWorkers (now part of the Steelworkers), the United Auto Workers, ThePennsylvania State Education Association, the Oil, Chemical, and AtomicWorkers Union, theInternational Longshore and Warehouse Union, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees, the Service Employees International Union, and probably some others I cannot remember. Over these 23 years, I have noticed a sea change in the things it is possible to discuss in these classes. In the early 1980s I had to be careful about my own politics. I had to sneak Marx in through the back door. I called Marx's economic theory the "workers' theory"! I was criticized because Philip Agee appeared in a film I showed. I had to be careful about the issue of union democracy. This is not to say that the students weren't very liberal in their thinking (with the exception of race and genderin some of the classes), even radical in some ways. But the leadership was still stuck in the cold war, so to speak. The first time I taught at UMass, some labor leaders were apparently leery aboutmy radical writing; as one person told me a "red flag" went up when certain folks saw my application. But in the 1990s and today, things are dramatically different. Students always saw through the class bias of neoclassical economics, that it was largely an ideological construct aimed at getting people to accept all sorts of bad things. But now radical ideas can be discussed as a mater of course. Marx's name can be freely mentioned, and his ideas can be praised for the remarkable insights they give to working people. I can talk about the Soviet Union, China, and Cuba and explain the may things these nations accomplished through socialism, as well as their problems. I have used two of my books in these classes, and both have been extremely well-received. My current book, "Naming the System: Inequality and Work in the Global Economy" would have marked me as a communist and unsuited for labor education twenty three years ago, but today, whileit might mark me as a red, elicits a very positive response. This is not to say that the top leadership would like it. They probably would not. I sent copies of my book "Why Unions Matter" to several union presidents, along with offers to speak to union members for free, and never got a response, much less a thank you note. But among more grassroots leaders, radical ideasand books are gobbled up (a big problem is getting adequate publicity, especially when you publish with a small left-wing press like MonthlyReview--which I do as matter of principle). Let me give two examples of recent receptivity of worker students to radical ideas.In my last UMass class, students were upset that I didn't get to Marx sooner than I did! One student kept whispering to a classmate, "He's not there yet." And in a class I did just yesterday here in Oregon, a student asked "Are you going to talk about alternatives to capitalism. Are you going to talk about socialism?" No one batted an eye, and we had a great discussion. I had developed a Marxist explanation of how a capitalist economy functions and discussed capital accumulation could be regulated to the benefit of workers. We discussed this, and everyone agreed that it would be extremely hard to sustain progressive regulation over the long haul.All agreed to that some sort of democratic control of production and distribution were ultimately necessary. Of course the students I get are especially motivated (the most recent classes were on Friday evening and all day Saturday). But they will take back what they learned and share it with coworkers, just as the students in my old prison classes would use what they had learned to teach other inmates. I have had classes recorded or videotaped on many occasions. Most working people are woefully ignorant of many aspects of the economy, so knowledge is a powerful weapon. I urge radicals to do labor education. There are programs all around the country, usually affiliated with a college or university. Make contacts with unions too and offer your services. I still believe that there can be no fundamental change in society unless a lot of ordinary working peop
Re: My working class students
That's great news. Thanks. Joanna MICHAEL YATES wrote: I have read with interest recent posts under the heading Step into the Classroom. I have been a labor educator since 1980. I have taught working class students, mostly local union activists, through labor studies programs at Penn State University, West Virginia University, The University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Cornell, University of Indiana, Community College of Baltimore County, the University of Oregon, and the University of Hawaii. I have also taught course and seminars under the auspices of specific unions including the United Farm Workers (for whom I worked in 1977), the United Steel Workers, the Aluminum, Brick and Glass Workers (now part of the Steelworkers), the United Auto Workers, The Pennsylvania State Education Association, the Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers Union, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees, the Service Employees International Union, and probably some others I cannot remember. Over these 23 years, I have noticed a sea change in the things it is possible to discuss in these classes. In the early 1980s I had to be careful about my own politics. I had to sneak Marx in through the back door. I called Marx's economic theory the workers' theory! I was criticized because Philip Agee appeared in a film I showed. I had to be careful about the issue of union democracy. This is not to say that the students weren't very liberal in their thinking (with the exception of race and gender in some of the classes), even radical in some ways. But the leadership was still stuck in the cold war, so to speak. The first time I taught at UMass, some labor leaders were apparently leery about my radical writing; as one person told me a red flag went up when certain folks saw my application. But in the 1990s and today, things are dramatically different. Students always saw through the class bias of neoclassical economics, that it was largely an ideological construct aimed at getting people to accept all sorts of bad things. But now radical ideas can be discussed as a mater of course. Marx's name can be freely mentioned, and his ideas can be praised for the remarkable insights they give to working people. I can talk about the Soviet Union, China, and Cuba and explain the may things these nations accomplished through socialism, as well as their problems. I have used two of my books in these classes, and both have been extremely well-received. My current book, Naming the System: Inequality and Work in the Global Economy would have marked me as a communist and unsuited for labor education twenty three years ago, but today, while it might mark me as a red, elicits a very positive response. This is not to say that the top leadership would like it. They probably would not. I sent copies of my book Why Unions Matter to several union presidents, along with offers to speak to union members for free, and never got a response, much less a thank you note. But among more grassroots leaders, radical ideas and books are gobbled up (a big problem is getting adequate publicity, especially when you publish with a small left-wing press like Monthly Review--which I do as matter of principle). Let me give two examples of recent receptivity of worker students to radical ideas. In my last UMass class, students were upset that I didn't get to Marx sooner than I did! One student kept whispering to a classmate, He's not there yet. And in a class I did just yesterday here in Oregon, a student asked Are you going to talk about alternatives to capitalism. Are you going to talk about socialism? No one batted an eye, and we had a great discussion. I had developed a Marxist explanation of how a capitalist economy functions and discussed capital accumulation could be regulated to the benefit of workers. We discussed this, and everyone agreed that it would be extremely hard to sustain progressive regulation over the long haul. All agreed to that some sort of democratic control of production and distribution were ultimately necessary. Of course the students I get are especially motivated (the most recent classes were on Friday evening and all day Saturday). But they will take back what they learned and share it with coworkers, just as the students in my old prison classes would use what they had learned to teach other inmates. I have had classes recorded or videotaped on many occasions. Most working people are woefully ignorant of many aspects of the economy, so knowledge is a powerful weapon. I urge radicals to do labor education. There are programs all around the country, usually affiliated with a college or university. Make contacts with unions too and offer your services. I still believe that there can be no fundamental change in society unless a lot of ordinary working people embrace it. It is great to write articles and books
Re: My working class students
Michael Yates has a particularly good aptitude for connecting with students, judging from his book and other writings that he has posted. Ian said that I sounded preachy in my post. Perhaps so. He said that we must convey trust in others when communicating. Certainly so. The more that we can do to develop a vision -- I insist that vision is an important component of all political work -- and the more that we can learn how to communicate that vision, the more we will succeed. Back in the 60s, I was very impressed with what Saul Alinsky seemed to accomplish -- even though I recall something about red baiting with him. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: My working class students
- Original Message - From: Michael Perelman [EMAIL PROTECTED] Ian said that I sounded preachy in my post. Perhaps so. He said that we must convey trust in others when communicating. Certainly so. === I apologize if I conveyed that, Michael. You're not preachy in any way I can think of. By the same token, arrogance/know-it-all-ism is one of the many reasons lefty ideas don't play well in Peoria. [And, please, forgive my US-centric choice of metropole]. Ian
Re: My working class students
Eubulides wrote: - Original Message - From: Michael Perelman [EMAIL PROTECTED] Ian said that I sounded preachy in my post. Perhaps so. He said that we must convey trust in others when communicating. Certainly so. === I apologize if I conveyed that, Michael. You're not preachy in any way I can think of. By the same token, arrogance/know-it-all-ism is one of the many reasons lefty ideas don't play well in Peoria. [And, please, forgive my US-centric choice of metropole]. Actually, lefty ideas play fairly well in Peoria - Bloomington/Normal - Champaign/Urbana / Decatur - Springfield. (All in easy driving distance from each other.) Michael is right about a vision of the future -- but he focuses on too distant a future. The vision that empowered the '60s to some extent, and that I can already see empowering the new core of people (20 to 40) here in B/N, is the vision of collective movement of resistance. Visions of socialism for the present belong in the classroom, not in the political arena. However expressed, they are too abstract, too distant, until to some extent they become embodied in current activity. In the '70s I was remarkably successful in generating enthusiastic _classroom_ (and conference time) response to historical materialist and socialist ideas, but that went nowhere because there was not a living movement _outside_ the classroom and _off_ the campus in which those ideas could be transplanted into practice. Classroom ideas of even the best teachers are for the most part dead ideas, even in the minds of the best students. (That's not quite right -- but I think it points in the right direction.) Carrol Ian
Re: Critical Speech analysis for College students: learning from chairman Bush about Althusserian silences
It's amazing how the 1950s Cold War rhetoric has come back with a vengeance (along with Reagan-era Cold War rhetoric). The Dulles brother also talked of liberating the enemy.[*] The big change is that the USSR has been replaced by a terrorist phantom. People in the US interpret Bush's rhetoric in their own terms, for example, filling the phantom with meaning based on racist assumptions about the Middle East (e.g., al Qaida = Saddam = camel jockeys = rag heads). I believe that Rove and Bush's other handlers are aware of this phenomenon. [*] It's possible that the neo-cons assumed that it would be easy to run Iraq after the conquest -- oops, I mean liberation -- because the countries of Eastern Europe were relatively easy to run after the fall of the USSR. Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine Jurriaan writes: BUSH'S SPEECH On 16 August I posted a report on PEN-L on a pulpit speech that Bush held in California. One way to look at this text is to say well, it's all bullshit, GWB is at it again, waffling along in the predictable manner, I am going to switch to another channel. But another way to look at it, is to say, what is really going on here, and what can I learn from this, for socialist politics. Let's explore this second option for a moment. In this case, we start out from the hypothesis, that Bush is not trying to fool people and is deliberately talking bullshit, that he is trying to be sincere in his convictions, on the basis that he genuinely believes he is doing the right thing. 1. PRAISE The first thing to notice then, is that Bush is praising and positively rewarding his own troops. He says You served with honor. You served with skill. And you were successful. Qualities he likes to see. He is saying, you are good at something, you are good people (positive reinforcement). And because you are good people, you will fight for me, presumably (loyalty factor). He then gives an explanation for this: Before you went in, Iraqis were an oppressed people, and the dictator threatened his neighbors, the Middle East and the world, Today, the Iraqis are liberated people, the former regime is gone, and our nation and the world is more secure. So the military have successfully done their job already, they've done something good already, there is no indication that they have to do some work in order to be good
Critical Speech analysis for College students: learning from chairman Bush about Althusserian silences
BUSH'S SPEECH On 16 August I posted a report on PEN-L on a pulpit speech that Bush held in California. One way to look at this text is to say well, it's all bullshit, GWB is at it again, waffling along in the predictable manner, I am going to switch to another channel. But another way to look at it, is to say, what is really going on here, and what can I learn from this, for socialist politics. Let's explore this second option for a moment. In this case, we start out from the hypothesis, that Bush is not trying to fool people and is deliberately talking bullshit, that he is trying to be sincere in his convictions, on the basis that he genuinely believes he is doing the right thing. 1. PRAISE The first thing to notice then, is that Bush is praising and positively rewarding his own troops. He says You served with honor. You served with skill. And you were successful. Qualities he likes to see. He is saying, you are good at something, you are good people (positive reinforcement). And because you are good people, you will fight for me, presumably (loyalty factor). He then gives an explanation for this: Before you went in, Iraqis were an oppressed people, and the dictator threatened his neighbors, the Middle East and the world, Today, the Iraqis are liberated people, the former regime is gone, and our nation and the world is more secure. So the military have successfully done their job already, they've done something good already, there is no indication that they have to do some work in order to be good. 2. LIBERATION You see here, that he is talking like a revolutionary. There were these people, oppressed by a dictator (who is not named however), and they had to be liberated from that (how ?). Implicitly, though not explicitly, he suggests that the US military has liberated Iraq (how ?). Now, the Iraqis are liberated people. In what way ? It's a stunning achievement, whatever it is, but anyhow, he adds that the former regime is gone (really ?). The implied reasoning seems to be here that SINCE the former regime is gone THEREFORE the Iraqis are liberated people. No mention is made at all, however, of any liberation process in itself, or evidence for it, it's like magic, pow, a few bombs, a few shots, and wham ! people are liberated. But the positive result is our nation and the world is more secure. But how ? He doesn't specify that. In fact, people do not feel more secure at all, now that Americans are fighting Iraqi's. Rather they are more worried. The president said furthermore that America is at war, with people who hate what we stand for. But who are these people ? What do we stand for ? Implicitly, America is at war with anybody that hates America. We love freedom, and we're not going to change. Here, the dichtomy is between the lovers of freedom, and the enemies of freedom. America stands for freedom. Therfore America loves freedom. Therefore America stands for freedom. Therefore, also, if you do not like America, you do not like freedom. You do not love freedom, and quite possibly you do not love at all. The idea, that freedom may involve change, is not admitted, or that change might mean freedom etc. His idea is, that America makes a resolute, fixed stand for freedom (what evidence is there for that ?). This being the case, America depends on the military to protect our freedom, and as a rider, he adds and every day, you depend on your families. In other words, protecting the freedom of America, by serving in the army, is analogous to guarding the protective atmosphere of the family. But what does this family dependence consist in ? The fact that the wife and kids have to do paid work to pay for all the extra bills that have to be met as a result of the Bush government's policies ? 3. IDENTITY In fact, you might as well assume, following Bush, that America IS the family, sort of like I-marry-car. This kind of social analysis has the advantage, that you don't have to talk about difficult things like politics or social/political institutions, never mind social classes, we are all one big happy family. A nation according to Bush, is sort of a large kinship system. Americans are all brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, uncles and aunts, and cousins and nephews and nieces, fathers and mothers and grandfathers and grandmothers, altogether, united. Families could of course also refer to mafia organisations, but presumably Bush does not intend this. Bush is feminising the nation, and the military is the masculine force, which serves to protect the nation. The semantic linkage is soldier=family=America=defence of the nation=liberation. If you are a soldier, then you care for your family. If you care for your family, you want to protect your family. If you want to protect your family, then you want to protect America. If you want to protect America, then you are prepared to defend America. If you are prepared to defend America, then you are prepared to attack Iraq. And you are prepared to
Conservative UNC Students and Ehrenreich's 'Nickel and Dimed'
Published on Tuesday, July 8, 2003 by the Raleigh News Observer (North Carolina) New Book, New UNC Controversy Group Says 'Nickel and Dimed,' the Assigned Reading for Freshmen, Has a Liberal Bias by Jane Stancill UNC-Chapel Hill officials might have thought a book about the economic struggles of America's low-skilled workers would be a safe pick for their freshman summer reading assignment. But the summer book choice is stirring up trouble again, a year after the emotional debate over an assigned book about the Quran. A coalition of conservative students calling itself the Committee for a Better Carolina is protesting UNC-CH's assigned book, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, by Barbara Ehrenreich. The book chronicles the experiences of its author, who traveled to three U.S. cities and worked low-paid jobs as a waitress, cleaning woman, nursing home assistant and Wal-Mart employee. The Committee for a Better Carolina says the book has a liberal bias and presents a radical perspective of the U.S. economy. It's intellectually dishonest to present only one side, said Michael McKnight, a senior from Roanoke Rapids and a leader of the student group. That's not what education is all about. The students said that they would buy a full-page advertisement in The News Observer for Wednesday and that they plan a news conference at the General Assembly the same day. Incoming freshmen are expected to read the book and attend discussion sessions during the first week of the semester in August. UNC-CH Provost Robert Shelton said a group of faculty, staff and students chose Nickel and Dimed as a way to get students talking about the issue of the income gap in this country. That's a topic very worthy of discussion, he said. He said he's glad students are already debating the book publicly. I'm pleased that a group of students is looking at it and formulating their views, he said. That's exactly what the program is designed to do. The students say they're not looking for a repeat of last summer's Quran battle, when several students filed a federal lawsuit against the university and the legislature moved to strip funding from the reading program. They say they just want the university to present freshmen with a balance of viewpoints in future reading assignments. McKnight met with Republican representatives and senators on Monday. He said he expected about a dozen legislators to join students at the news conference. The group also bought a full-page ad in the June 27 campus newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel, which was mailed to all incoming freshmen and transfer students. McKnight said the ads are financed by donations from the John William Pope Foundation in Raleigh. McKnight and his fellow protesters point out that Ehrenreich is listed as an honorary chairman of the Democratic Socialists of America on its Web site. She describes Wal-Mart in horrible terms, he said. She really bashes Wal-Mart, and Wal-Mart does so many good things for communities. Zach Clayton, a freshman from Raleigh, said the university would have been smart to require both Nickel and Dimed and Sam Walton: Made in America: My Story, the autobiography of the Wal-Mart founder. I think it's silly to ask students to engage in meaningful discourse without examining both sides, he said. There's a difference between doing something to indoctrinate students and giving students the opportunity to examine two different approaches to the economy or social issues.
fink on your students, now.......
FBI Taps Campus Police in Anti-Terror Operations Student, Faculty Groups Fear a Return of Spying Abuses Against Activists, Foreign Nationals By Dan Eggen Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, January 25, 2003; Page A01 Federal authorities have begun enlisting campus police officers in the domestic war on terror, renewing fears among some faculty and student groups of overzealous FBI spying at colleges and universities that led to scandals in decades past. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the FBI has strengthened or established working relationships with hundreds of campus police departments, in part to gain better access to insular communities of Middle Eastern students, government officials said. On at least a dozen campuses, the FBI has included collegiate police officers as members of local Joint Terrorism Task Forces, the regional entities that oversee counterterrorism investigations nationwide. Some officers have been given federal security clearance, which allows them access to classified information. Their supervisors often do not know which cases these officers are working on because details cannot be shared, officials said. The FBI and many campus police officers view the arrangements as a logical, effective way to help monitor potential terrorist threats and keep better tabs on the more than 200,000 foreign nationals studying in the United States. Several of the Sept. 11 hijackers were enrolled as students at American flight schools, and one entered the country on a student visa but never showed up at the school. Campus law enforcement is starting to get a lot more recognition from the FBI and other federal agencies now, because they're realizing we do have police departments and we can play a vital role in stopping terrorism, said H. Scott Doner, police chief at Valdosta State University in Georgia and president of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators. Everybody's got to have their eyes and ears open to make sure something doesn't happen again. But the effort has touched a nerve among some faculty and student groups, as well as Muslim activists, who fear that the government is inching toward the kind of controversial spying tactics it used in the 1950s and 1960s. With few restrictions, the FBI at the time aggressively monitored, and often harassed, political groups, student activists and dissidents. Faculty leaders and administrators argue that U.S. colleges and universities are unique places devoted to the exchange of ideas, and that even the hint of surveillance by government authorities taints that environment. This type of cooperation is perfectly valid if it's based on criminal activity, but the danger with the FBI is that it doesn't always limit itself to that, said Sarah Eltantawi, spokeswoman for the Muslim Public Affairs Council. Given the FBI's history, there's a definite concern that they will go too far. Closer ties between the FBI and campus police are the latest example of the government's determination to keep better tabs on foreign students and faculty in the United States. The efforts have met resistance at many colleges, which are accustomed to a fair amount of independence from government scrutiny and which often are home to activists suspicious of the FBI. This month, the Immigration and Naturalization Service is launching a computerized tracking system for all foreign nationals studying in the United States, a program that was stalled for years, in part by university complaints. Some FBI field offices have also asked local universities and colleges for detailed lists of foreign students and faculty, prompting objections from academic groups and several U.S. senators. There is a concern on the part of universities to balance on this tightrope in the post-September 11 world, said A. John Bramley, provost at the University of Vermont. On the one hand, no one wants to do anything that is not entirely supportive of national security. On the other hand, universities are open places that want to encourage dialogue and diversity. Distrust of the FBI runs high among some faculty who remember the counterculture demonstrations of the 1960s. Under J. Edgar Hoover's 15-year COINTELPRO program, the bureau engaged in broad and questionable tactics aimed at monitoring and disrupting student activist groups. FBI agents infiltrated leftist antiwar and civil rights groups with informants, tapped into radio frequencies to disrupt protest plans, stole membership rolls and compiled dossiers on student political leaders. The FBI even produced bogus student newspapers, one conservative and one liberal, to spread inaccurate information and sow dissension among student groups. The COINTELPRO programwas halted in 1971. The FBI has long had liaison relationships with police and security departments at some universities, particularly larger institutions with higher crime rates or heavy involvement in sensitive research areas, officials
Non-US Students Jailed over Class Load
Non-U.S. students jailed over class load Friday, December 27, 2002 Posted: 10:23 AM EST (1523 GMT) DENVER, Colorado (AP) -- At least six Middle Eastern students studying in Colorado have been jailed in the past 10 days for failing to take enough college classes as required by their student visas. The students ran into trouble when they showed up to register with U.S. immigration officials, as required by new rules to track foreign students. When they reported, they were jailed and required to post $5,000 bonds for enrolling in less than 12 hours of college credit. The Immigration and Naturalization Service says the students are being detained because under-enrollment is a violation of their student visas. The students are not suspected of any other offense. We're concerned about the heavy-handed nature of the enforcement and their lack of understanding of their own regulations, said Chris Johnson, director of international education at the University of Colorado at Denver. Students are being detained unfairly and callously. One University of Colorado at Denver student was jailed last week because he was one hour shy of a full load after receiving college permission to drop a course, Johnson said. I don't believe this is helping us with the war on terrorism, said Mark Hallett, director of international student services at Colorado State University. We're alienating people who could be our best friends and ambassadors once they return to their countries. The Middle Eastern students were jailed for up to 48 hours before posting bond. Three attend UCD, two study at CU-Boulder, and one attends Colorado State University. College officials expect more to be detained during a second round of January registrations at the INS district office in Denver. Congress ordered federal registrations by December 16 for males 16 and older carrying temporary visas from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya and Sudan -- countries identified by the State Department as having ties to terrorism. A January 10 deadline is for men from the United Arab Emirates, North Korea, Morocco, Afghanistan and nine other countries. Two more rounds of registrations will follow with the goal of tracking most foreign nationals by 2005. As far as the INS is concerned, this system was put in place in Congress to combat the war on terrorism. We're carrying out their wishes. This is a policy issue, said Nina Pruneda, INS regional public affairs officer. The INS wants to ensure that international students are diligently pursuing a degree, she said. http://www.cnn.com/2002/EDUCATION/12/27/foreign.students.ap/ -- Yoshie * Calendar of Events in Columbus: http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/calendar.html * Anti-War Activist Resources: http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/activist.html * Student International Forum: http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/ * Committee for Justice in Palestine: http://www.osudivest.org/
college students
Someone wrote the other day: In any case, I doubt that any of this will mean anything to you because you are one of those postmodernist leftists who refuse to be burdened by historical grand narratives. I myself think that this might be intimately linked to the undergraduate malaise described so frequently in the media as historical illiteracy. For example, the Princeton University website says that 5 out of 43 students in a group selected at random from Ivy League colleges could not identify Germany or Italy as enemies of the USA during WWII. Do you suppose this comes from reading too much Derrida? Some interesting data on U.S. undergrad attitudes is at http://www.avot.org/stories/storyReader$72: 37% of Students Say They Would Evade the Draft 37% of all college students said they would be likely to try to evade the draft, while another 21% would be willing to serve but only if stationed in the United States. Only 35% of college students today would be willing to serve and fight anywhere in the world. College Students Do Not Believe American Values Are Superior to the Values of Other Nations College students do not see America as representing superior values. A barely measurable 5% strongly agree that the values of the United States are superior to the values of other nations (20% somewhat agree). By comparison, fully 71% disagree with the statement that U.S. values are superior, and 34% strongly disagree. Students Evaluate the War Against Terror While President Bush receives very high marks for his handling of the presidency (70% approval), a majority of college students (57%) believe the policies of the United States are at least somewhat responsible for the September 11th terrorist attacks. A clear majority of college students (60%) believe developing a better understanding of the values and history of other cultures and nations that dislike us is a better approach to preventing terrorism than investing in strong military and defense capabilities at home and abroad (33%). -- 66% of arts humanities students would embrace the understanding option while 28% would prefer the military option. By comparison, 55% of economic and business majors would chose the understanding option while 41% would prefer the military option. -- Despite a very limited willingness to serve in the military and fight overseas, fully 66% believe the U.S. government has the right to invade Iraq because Saddam Hussein is still attempting to build weapons of mass destruction and 79% believe the U.S. has the right to overthrow Hussein. Although the questionnaire wording does differ, support for removing Hussein from power is at least as great, if not actually greater, among college students than among the adult population. That support for such an invasion is 58% among those who acknowledge that they would personally evade the draft is particularly noteworthy. Attitudes About Western Culture College students are known for their tolerance and occasional practice of alternative beliefs, value systems and cultures. But this tolerance has led to a state of belief where American college students are unwilling to make a moral judgment about their value systems and culture. -- American students intensely and overwhelmingly disagree with the statement that Western culture is superior to Arab culture. Only 16% believe Western culture is superior to Arab culture but 79% do not. -- Just 3% of college students strongly agree that Western culture is superior to Arab culture, while 43% strongly disagree. Attitudes Toward Israel the Palestinians The college population's support leans toward the Israelis in the current conflict, but the results are definitely not overwhelming. In most national surveys, Americans tend to take the Israeli side over the Palestinians by ratios of 2 or 3 to 1 and margins of about 25%. Among college students, the ratio is only 3 to 2 and the margin is just 13% (35% pro-Israeli; 22% pro-Palestinian). No national poll of adults conducted since 9/11 has shown such a close ratio or margin. The only two college sub-groups that are more pro-Palestinian than pro-Israeli are private college students and students from Northeastern colleges. Fully 34% of private school attendees back the Palestinians, while 26% support the Israeli position. The Northeastern regional difference is even greater: 38% support the Palestinians while 23% back the Israelis. Only a bare majority (53%) believe the recent Israeli military action against Yasser Arafat and the PLO is no different than the U.S. taking military action against Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda, while 38% reject the comparison.
Re: college students
Someone wrote the other day: How amusing. Doug is afraid to mention my name like in Beetlejuice. Everybody knows that if you say Proyect 3 times in rapid succession, the gates of hell will open up and engorge the U. Mass economics department. In any case, the news he posted on undergraduates is reassuring. It is their flag-waving liberal professors, however, who I really worry about. BTW, here's what one of the vanguard elements of the undergraduate population has to say on the good Toni Negri. --- First of all, I don't even understand what the hell language Negri is speaking. In terms of exodus and multitudes and molecular characters and bio-power his responses read like Scripture on steroids. If you pick up an article by say Zinn or Chomsky (with some concentration), you can quickly understand their points, examples, overall arguments, all of that. Instead with Negri, he seems to be stuck on the theoretical-masturbationist plane of thought; he practically doesn't even mention any concrete events of the war on terror, their weight and impact, anything. I suppose I should be used to this now, especially as I have a friend in Texas who takes classes with Harry Cleaver, but it never ceases to amaze me. What is absolutely new with respect to the book's structure is the fact that the American reaction is configuring itself as a regressive backlash contrary to the imperial tendency. It is an imperialist backlash within and against Empire that is linked to old structures of power, old methods of command, and a monocratic and substantialist conception of sovereignty that represents a counter tendency with respect to the molecular and relational characters of the imperial bio-power that we had analysed. Translation: we were wrong about the death of imperialism, we were wrong about the (un)importance of the state, we were wrong to hold 'globalization' as a messiah that 'transcended' capitalism as a whole. But to think that Bush's government is America does not make any sense. Despite all that is happening, American society is still a completely open machine. Therefore even if Bush's project is monocratic and imperialist it is wrong to regard the United States as such as monocratic and imperialist. This is like tautology in reverse. How is American society an open machine in any social or political sense of the word in regards to tolerance of radical opinions? Earlier he says there is no countervailing tendency to the media. If it is open in the sense that there are better capitalists out there who are more farsighted than Bush that can take over, it is not at all clear how this waves away imperialism. It seems to me that reality has contradicted Empire's thesis, so Negri has invented a 'contradiction' whereby his principle stands on one side, with the full weight of postmodernism behind it (read: none), and some especially reactionary and unsavory group of capitalists just happen to currently occupy the other side, the removal of which will end imperialism. This obsession with 'transcending' the boundaries of the nation-state as an assumption for all analysis leaves something to be desired. In the Cold War, the West formed supra-national organizations to strangle the birth of socialist movements whenever and wherever possible. But in the absence of a big countervailing power, the most powerful Western country, on a political level, has no real reason to tie itself down. In a sense America is maneuvering against Europe to gain further control of energy and oil reserves, though Negri treats this as if it is a very strange occurence. This trend called autonomist Marxism sounds like the GQ and Croquet Club of anarchism. M. Junaid Alam Louis Proyect www.marxmail.org
Re: Re: college students
Please, let's not get started. On Tue, Sep 17, 2002 at 03:54:06PM -0400, Louis Proyect wrote: Someone wrote the other day: How amusing. Doug is afraid to mention my name like in Beetlejuice. Everybody knows that if you say Proyect 3 times in rapid succession, the gates of hell will open up and engorge the U. Mass economics department. In any case, the news he posted on undergraduates is reassuring. It is their flag-waving liberal professors, however, who I really worry about. BTW, here's what one of the vanguard elements of the undergraduate population has to say on the good Toni Negri. --- First of all, I don't even understand what the hell language Negri is speaking. In terms of exodus and multitudes and molecular characters and bio-power his responses read like Scripture on steroids. If you pick up an article by say Zinn or Chomsky (with some concentration), you can quickly understand their points, examples, overall arguments, all of that. Instead with Negri, he seems to be stuck on the theoretical-masturbationist plane of thought; he practically doesn't even mention any concrete events of the war on terror, their weight and impact, anything. I suppose I should be used to this now, especially as I have a friend in Texas who takes classes with Harry Cleaver, but it never ceases to amaze me. What is absolutely new with respect to the book's structure is the fact that the American reaction is configuring itself as a regressive backlash contrary to the imperial tendency. It is an imperialist backlash within and against Empire that is linked to old structures of power, old methods of command, and a monocratic and substantialist conception of sovereignty that represents a counter tendency with respect to the molecular and relational characters of the imperial bio-power that we had analysed. Translation: we were wrong about the death of imperialism, we were wrong about the (un)importance of the state, we were wrong to hold 'globalization' as a messiah that 'transcended' capitalism as a whole. But to think that Bush's government is America does not make any sense. Despite all that is happening, American society is still a completely open machine. Therefore even if Bush's project is monocratic and imperialist it is wrong to regard the United States as such as monocratic and imperialist. This is like tautology in reverse. How is American society an open machine in any social or political sense of the word in regards to tolerance of radical opinions? Earlier he says there is no countervailing tendency to the media. If it is open in the sense that there are better capitalists out there who are more farsighted than Bush that can take over, it is not at all clear how this waves away imperialism. It seems to me that reality has contradicted Empire's thesis, so Negri has invented a 'contradiction' whereby his principle stands on one side, with the full weight of postmodernism behind it (read: none), and some especially reactionary and unsavory group of capitalists just happen to currently occupy the other side, the removal of which will end imperialism. This obsession with 'transcending' the boundaries of the nation-state as an assumption for all analysis leaves something to be desired. In the Cold War, the West formed supra-national organizations to strangle the birth of socialist movements whenever and wherever possible. But in the absence of a big countervailing power, the most powerful Western country, on a political level, has no real reason to tie itself down. In a sense America is maneuvering against Europe to gain further control of energy and oil reserves, though Negri treats this as if it is a very strange occurence. This trend called autonomist Marxism sounds like the GQ and Croquet Club of anarchism. M. Junaid Alam Louis Proyect www.marxmail.org -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
FW: Students Against Sweatshops
Title: FW: Students Against Sweatshops NEW Book on Student anti-sweatshop organizing!! to order go to: http://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/Sweatshops.html Students Against Sweatshops By Liza Featherstone and United Students Against Sweatshops Verso (available now) This book tells an inspiring story of how students are making history today. Their battle against sweatshops reveals how the globalization of capital is creating a globalization of conscience. --Tom Hayden, Students for a Democratic Society cofounder/former California state senator As vividly as any documentary film, Students Against Sweatshops captures the gusto and political savvy of a student movement that has made its impact in every corner of the global economy. Nor does this indispensable book pull any punches; its bold commentary will hit home where it needs to be heard. -- Andrew Ross, editor, No Sweat: Fashion, Free Trade and the Rights of Garment Workers Campus activism lives! This inspiring and lucid account of the work of United Students against Sweatshops proves it. Blending commitment and analysis, Featherstone tells us why USAS is about much more than caps and t-shirts -- it's about worker's rights, women's rights, challenging the corporatization of the university, and establishing a fair world order. -- Katha Pollitt, Nation magazine columnist Everybody wants to have a living wage. Everybody wants to be able to take care of themselves and their family. Everybody wants to retire and feel good, enjoy life. Breathe. Live. Eat. Sheri Davis, Ohio State University United Students Against Sweatshops heads a wave of anti-sweatshop organizing that has reached over two hundred American campuses in the past four years. From New England to New Mexico, at colleges and universities public and private, large and small, students have chained themselves to administrators' desks, fasted for days and disrupted football games, making one demand: clothing bearing school logos must be produced under healthy, safe and fair working conditions. Their campaigns have terrified multinational companies like Nike, whose profits depend on young consumers. They have also brought the global economic justice movement to the corporate campus, and provided a model for transnational student/worker solidarity. Student agitation has also, in a short time, led to some startlingly concrete improvements in overseas workers' conditions. This lively book combines sharp analysis from a seasoned journalist with narratives from both sweatshop workers and student activists, creatively blurring distinctions between author and subject. Students Against Sweatshops provides an overview of a new campus radicalism, as well as a tool for the realization of its goals. Here are the inspiring voices of our democracy -- young people daring to question authority and confront power. These are the Thomas Paines, Sojourner Truths, Fredrick Douglasses, and Mother Joneses of our times. America needs them more than ever. -- Jim Hightower, radio commentator Liza Featherstone is a New York City journalist who has written extensively about student, youth and labor organizing. A frequent contributor to The Nation, Newsday and The Washington Post, she is now writing a book about Wal-Mart workers.
URGENT APPEAL from Students for Justice in Palestine, UC Berkeley
Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 00:06:51 + From: Snehal Shingavi [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [justiceinpalestine] URGENT APPEAL from Students for Justice in Palestine -- UC Berkeley To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Mailing-List: list [EMAIL PROTECTED]; contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY *** Dear friends: As you may have heard, Students for Justice in Palestine at UC Berkeley helped to plan and organize a demonstration on April 9th, 2002 in solidarity with the Palestinian people and to demand that the University of California divest from all of its assets connected to Israel and the Israeli military. More than 1200 students participated in this rally and demonstration -- one of the most exciting events on Berkeley this semester. During the course of the demonstration, students and community members also took part in a non-violent sit-in in Wheeler Hall. Seventy-nine people were arrested for sitting-in. All face criminal charges; students will face student conduct charges. A few of the students may also face suspension for up to one year, according to the Office of Student Life at Berkeley. Furthermore, as a consequence of organizing the demonstration and sit-in, the University of California at Berkeley has decided to suspend Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) as an organization on campus pending an investigation. This means, that as long as the investigation continues, SJP is functionally barred from holding events on campus, tabling, distributing literature, and organizing. It could also potentially mean that SJP may be banned as a student organization at Berkeley. Please note, that while the University of California is investigating and only considering suspension, these measures are a prelude to worse sanctions, not to mention only applied to SJP (even though many student groups have participated in and conducted civil disobedience on campus). These actions against SJP are unique and unjustified. No other student group that has participated in non-violent civil disobedience has been suspended and no students have faced charges of this severity in the past several years at UC Berkeley. We believe that this is a systematic attempt to silence pro-Palestinian voices on campus and to intimidate students from being activists. In fact, the policy that makes SJP subject to these charges (the Chancellor's so-called zero tolerance policy) was implemented only a few days before the protest, specifically to make SJP subject to higher standards and harsher consequences. It is also an attempt to attack one of the strongest pro-Palestinian student organizations in the country in order to make it easier to attack other pro-Palestinian students organizations across the country. We need your help. Please take a few moments and write to the Chancellor and the Student Judicial Affairs Office (addresses and phone information below) and tell them that you believe that these penalties are unwarranted and unjust. Especially at Berkeley, where there are memorials to Free Speech movement of the 1960s all over campus (the Mario Savio steps and the Free Speech Movement Café), these kinds of attacks on free speech and civil disobedience are not only an attempt to roll-back the activist gains won on this campus, but also in defiance of the universitys mission to promote free speech and debate. We have included some talking points below that you may want to include in your conversation or correspondence with the administration at UC Berkeley. Please do email us at [EMAIL PROTECTED] with any correspondence that you send so that we can keep a record of the letters that the administration receives. We urgently need your help. Please lend your support to pro-Palestinian student activists and activists who are fighting for social justice by letting the administration know that their actions are not supported by members of the community, students, alumni, faculty, and staff. Sincerely, Students for Justice in Palestine at UC Berkeley [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please contact: Chancellor Robert Berdahl MAIL: 200 California Hall #1500 Berkeley, CA 94720-1500 TEL: (510) 642-7464 FAX: (510) 643-5499 Assistant Chancellor John Cummins EMAIL: [EMAIL PROTECTED] MAIL: Office of the Chancellor 200 California Hall Berkeley, CA 94720-1500 TEL: (510) 642-7516 FAX: (510) 643-5499 Vice Chancellor Genaro Padilla EMAIL: [EMAIL PROTECTED] MAIL: Undergraduate Affairs 130 California Hall Berkeley, CA 94720-1504 TEL: (510) 642-6727 Student Judicial Affairs Officer Rajmaira EMAIL: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 326 Sproul Hall Berkeley, CA 94720 TEL:(510) 643-9069 FAX:(510) 643-3133 TALKING POINTS 1) Students should not face charges or suspension for participating in non-violent civil disobedience. 2) Activists should be allowed, freely, to speak and protest on campus without harassment from the University or its officers. 3) Pro-Palestinian groups are unfairly targeted for higher
Students Rally for Palestinians
As usual, reporters underestimate the number of protesters in the article below, but here's news about rallies for Palestinians, including one at OSU. http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Mideast-Campus-Protests.html April 10, 2002 Students Rally for Palestinians By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 6:34 a.m. ET Marching and handing out fliers, students who sympathize with Palestinians under siege from Israel rallied on some of the nation's campuses. Most events during Tuesday's loosely organized protests were modest and peaceful, though some demonstrators were heckled. A rally for the Palestinian cause drew about 1,000 supporters and spectators at the University of California, Berkeley, including pro-Israel demonstrators who shouted their disapproval while police kept watch. After the rally, campus police arrested 79 pro-Palestinian protesters who stormed into a classroom building. Some students hung a Palestinian flag from a third-story window, while others marched in the hallways of the building, which houses classrooms for Middle Eastern studies. Students for Justice in Palestine likened the current Mideast violence to the Holocaust -- only with the Palestinians as the victims. They also called for the university to divest any Israel-related investments. ``This really should be Holocaust prevention day,'' said Sarah Weir, a 23-year-old cognitive science major. As speakers made their case during the rally, counter-demonstrators tried to drown them out crying ``Stop the suicide bombings!'' They also booed, cursed and chanted ``Shame!'' At the same time, a small knot of people in a tent nearby read aloud the names of people killed by the Nazis, part of a 24-hour vigil for Yom Hashoah, the Jewish Holocaust remembrance day. ``They are trying to subvert language used in the Holocaust,'' said Eddan Katz, 26, a third-year law student and Israeli-American. ``I hear no one in Israel politics today talking about the eradication of all Palestinians.'' At the University of Michigan, about 50 protesters, some with arms tied and mouths gagged, paraded mutely through the Ann Arbor campus. A group called Students Allied for Freedom and Equality said in a statement their demonstration was ``to draw attention to the brutal tactics used by the state of Israel in its illegal occupation of Palestinian lands.'' One young man, clad only in underwear, bore a sign saying he was representing the ``Palestinians who were asked to strip naked by the Israeli Army, lie on their stomachs and then taken on to an unknown location.'' At Ohio State University, about 60 protesters lined a campus sidewalk that faces a busy Columbus thoroughfare and chanted: ``Stop the hate. Stop the crime. Help save Palestine.'' Some also wore yellow armbands in memory of those who perished in the Holocaust. Ora Wise, 21, a junior and rally organizer, was born in Jerusalem and raised to support Israel by her American parents but decries Israel's current policies, she said. ``I've always been taught my Jewish heritage is one of fighting for social justice,'' Wise said. ``It's abhorrent to me, my people would be enacting such brutality, such atrocities, on the Palestinian people.'' At one point, a van passed and a young man leaned out a window to shout: ``Go, Israel! Go!'' At Columbia University in New York, several members of Students for Justice in Palestine manned a card table handing out informational fliers. ``The issue is enormously complex. It's not an issue you can categorically oppose or support,'' said Nadim El Gabanni, a 21-year-old junior who holds dual citizenship in Egypt and Canada. At the University of Minnesota, about 75 people turned out to demonstrate. One was Hussan Mahmoud, a 28-year-old graduate engineering student from Egypt. ``I just hope this makes a difference,'' Mahmoud said, ``but I don't see how it will. You can have all your Bill of Rights and freedom of speech and freedom of the press, but it doesn't make a difference if the leaders don't want to make it happen.'' -- Yoshie * Calendar of Events in Columbus: http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/calendar.html * Anti-War Activist Resources: http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/activist.html * Student International Forum: http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/ * Committee for Justice in Palestine: http://www.osu.edu/students/CJP/
RE: Students Rally for Palestinians
www.sfgate.com Return to regular view 79 held as Cal rally turns rowdy Palestinians' supporters storm building, demand UC divest from Israel Tanya Schevitz, Michael Pena, Chronicle Staff Writers Wednesday, April 10, 2002 ©2002 San Francisco Chronicle URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/04/10/MN168301.DTL Opponents of Israel's occupation of the West Bank carried out their own occupation at the University of California at Berkeley yesterday, taking over Wheeler Hall for several hours until police dragged them out, arresting 79 protesters. Comparing Israel's slaughter of Palestinians to the Holocaust and calling for UC to divest from Israel and companies that do business there, about 1,500 students and community members rallied on Sproul Plaza, then marched across campus and stormed the building. Jewish students, who were holding a 24-hour vigil in a small tent on the corner of Sproul Plaza, commemorated the Jewish Holocaust by reading the names of its victims. Tension erupted as pro-Israeli students called for an end to suicide bombings and responded to the rally's speakers. How dare you take such a day and use it for your own political purposes, said Micki Weinberg, an 18-year-old freshman. Weinberg was angry that Palestinian supporters chose to hold an event at the same time, but the rally's sponsoring group, Students for Justice in Palestine, said it had planned in February to hold a nationwide day of action for divestment, commemorating the anniversary of the 1948 massacre at Deir Yassin, where more than 100 civilians were killed by Jewish paramilitary fighters. Mostly peaceful pro-Palestinian events were held across the country yesterday at the University of Michigan, Ohio State University and the University of Minnesota. Will Youmans, 24, a Berkeley law student and a member of Students for Justice in Palestine, said, The primary lesson from the Holocaust is that ethnic cleansing must be stopped wherever and whenever it happens. As the group approached Wheeler Hall just before 1 p.m., students waiting inside held open the doors, waving the demonstrators inside. They then locked arms and declared they would not leave until they were granted negotiations for divestiture. The building houses classrooms for Middle Eastern studies. Junior Maryam Gharavi, 20, said some of the companies produce the tools of violence used against Palestinians. UC divested from South Africa to protest apartheid. But yesterday, regent chairman John Moores said in a statement that the regents' first responsibility is the security of the pension and endowment funds. Police started pulling students out at 2:47 p.m. UC Berkeley Police Capt. Bill Cooper said 79 people -- including about 60 students -- were arrested and cited for trespassing and released. Six also were cited for resisting arrest. UC student Roberto Hernandez, 23, was arrested and accused of assaulting an officer. Karen Kenney, director of student activities and services, said the university had directed police to arrest students and had warned the students they could face suspension for disrupting classes. Students from the same group had taken over the building last April, and 33 people had been arrested. The protesters were hissed at and forced out when they tried to enter one classroom. As the protesters sat inside the building, hundreds more rallied outside, banging on the doors. Israel supporters stood quietly, holding an Israeli flag. They definitely have the right to be out here saying what they need to say, and so do we -- supporting Israel and Israeli security, said a senior who would give only her first name, Charlene. After all the students were taken out of Wheeler, about 200 marched down to the Berkeley Police Station and collected $500 to get Hernandez out on bond. At San Francisco State University, several hundred students marched on 19th Avenue in support of the Palestinian struggle. People are beginning to see that there's a pro-Palestinian movement in America, said student Nabeel Silimi, 24. It's rooted in international law and human rights. Chronicle staff writer Charles Burress contributed to this report. / E-mail Tanya Schevitz at [EMAIL PROTECTED] and Michael Pena at [EMAIL PROTECTED] ©2002 San Francisco Chronicle Page A - 19
Summer fun for students
UNITED WORLD COLLEGES YOUTH ACTION SUMMIT 2002: Getting ready for Johannesburg! University College Utrecht, The Netherlands July 19 - August 12, 2002 www.uwcyouthsummit.org - --- What do you want this summer? See other young people, taste their cultures, hear and speak their languages, get a feel for what makes them tick? New experiences, activities and tons of fun? Then Utrecht is your destination this summer. ATTENTION! Application Deadline for international applicants is March 30, 2002! Utrecht, your summer trip this year Utrecht, the UWC Youth Action Summit 2002. Young people from all over the world get together. People like you. People who want to have a good time, who are set on sharing experiences, and who see that working together is the only way to make the world go round. Your world: your neighborhood, your school and your fun. But also: a clean environment, no hunger and no racism. You will meet people who already made a difference. Pop stars, sports heroes, religious leaders and politicians. They will show you that everyone can make a difference, however small and however close to home. It's your world It damn well is! Here's your opportunity to stand up for yourself, and to show the world that today's young generation is not idly sitting about. You may not be a world changer, an idealist or a rocket scientist. But somewhere inside you there is the necessary inspiration to do just that to start small changes. Call it mental bungee jumping, call it a step towards being a better individual, call it building a lasting network. What it all comes down to is that we kick some ass. Next stop: Johannesburg But seriously, what we need at the end of the day is to initiate change, and to make ourselves heard. To people who make decisions on big issues such as peace intervention, human rights, and the distribution of food. You may be part of the official Dutch delegation at the UN Earth Summit in Johannesburg in September. Voicing the opinions and presenting the actions of the youth, who attended the Youth Action Summit 2002. You? Yes, because you can make that difference! Information: The UWC Youth Action Summit 2002 NGO Youth Forum - Eligibility criteria: 17-25 years old. Actively involved in an organization/institution whose activities and mission statements are closely related to the main themes of the YAS 2002 and to the WSSD agenda. Funding: The United World Colleges Youth Action Summit 2002 is committed to ensuring that all selected participants can take part in the YAS2002 regardless their financial situation. Full funding is available if truly needed. Dates: Each applicant can apply for one of the three one-week long thematic sessions only. Session 1 (Environmental Issues Sustainable Development): July 20-27, 2002, Session 2 (Globalization and Global Governance): July 28-August 3, 2002, Session 3 (Migration and Security): August 4-12, 2002. Application Deadline: March 30, 2002. (Applications are available online at www.uwcyouthsummit.org in the section titled Get Involved) Summer Academy - Eligibility criteria: 16-19 years old. Currently residing in The Netherlands. Funding: The United World Colleges Youth Action Summit 2002 is committed to ensuring that all selected participants can take part in the YAS2002 regardless their financial situation. Full funding is available if truly needed. Dates: The Summer Academy is a three-week long educational programme accompanying the NGO Youth Forum.It shall commence on July 19, 2002 and end on August 12, 2002. Application Deadline: April 30, 2002. (Applications are available online at www.uwcyouthsummit.org in the section titled Get Involved) Contact: Jan Kozak, Program Director, United World Colleges Nederland, Silodam 188, 1013 AS Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Tel.: (+31) (0) 20 422 2331, Cell: (+31) (0) 650 877 204, Fax: (+31) (0) 20 422 3831, E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED], Web: www.uwcyouthsummit.org This event is supported by: Staatsloterij, International Youth Parliament, African Youth Parliament, Amnesty International (NL), European Youth Summit, Move Your World, NCDO, Dutch Youth Council / NJMO, Norwegian Red Cross, Novib / Oxfam Netherlands, Search for Common Ground, Radio for Peace International, The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, University College Utrecht, Youth Against AIDS and others... Jan Kozak Program Director Youth Action Summit 2002 United World Colleges Nederland Silodam 188 1013 AS Amsterdam The Netherlands Tel.: (+31) (0) 20 422 2331 Cell: (+31) (0) 650 877 204 Fax: (+31) (0) 20 422 3831 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: www.uwcyouthsummit.org
polling US college students
Published on Monday, January 28, 2002 in the Los Angeles Times Poll Says College Freshmen Lean Left UCLA Survey Finds Highest Percentage of Politically Liberal Students Since Early '70s by Rebecca Trounson More college freshmen today describe themselves as politically liberal than at any time since the Vietnam War, a nationwide survey by UCLA researchers has found. A resurgence of liberalism among U.S. freshmen also is reflected in their shifting attitudes on a range of hot-button political and social issues, according to survey results released today. It's a real change, a broad-based trend toward greater liberalism on almost every issue we look at, said Alexander W. Astin, a UCLA education professor who started the survey, the nation's largest, in 1966. The researchers measured liberalism by asking students to describe their political views and to take positions on certain benchmark issues. For instance, a record proportion--57.9%--believe that gay couples should have the legal right to marry. The highest portion in two decades--32.2%--say the death penalty should be abolished. And more than a third--the highest rate since 1980--say marijuana should be legalized, although 75% also say employers should be allowed to require drug testing of workers and applicants. Still, about half of the class of 2005, in line with their recent predecessors, view themselves as middle of the road politically. And 20.7% consider themselves conservative or far right, while 29.9%--the highest figure since 1975--say they are liberal or far left. The latter figure has risen steadily since 1996, said Linda Sax, an education professor and director of the 36th annual survey. But it pales compared with the peak year in 1971, at the height of the anti-Vietnam War fervor, when 40.9% of those polled called themselves liberal. The American Freshman Survey, based this year on responses from 281,064 students at 421 four-year colleges and universities, is the nation's oldest and most comprehensive assessment of student attitudes. It is a joint project of UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute and the American Council on Education, based in Washington. Freshmen usually fill out questionnaires during orientation or the first week of classes, so their answers often reflect more on their high school experiences than on those in college. Almost all of this year's forms were completed before Sept. 11, so any changes in student attitudes as a result of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon would be reflected in next year's results, survey directors said. Among the more striking findings of this year's poll was a reversal in a long slide toward political apathy on college campuses, probably attributable to the dramatic 2000 presidential contest, Sax said. A growing, though still small, percentage of students now say they frequently discuss politics and that it is important to them to keep up to date with political affairs. And a record 47.5%--three times greater than when the question was first asked in 1966--said they participated in organized demonstrations in the previous year. Contrary to common perception, Astin said, there are more demonstrations now--albeit smaller protests--than during the era best known for student activism. They feel freer [to protest], and there's an environment that's acceptable, he said. UCLA freshman Ricardo Gutierrez, who took part in a recent campus rally to support lower tuition for illegal immigrants, explained that students need to be involved if we want laws passed that we agree with. It's important to show people what we think, said Gutierrez, 18, who is from Lamont, near Bakersfield. He said he tries to keep up with political issues. Not all agreed. UCLA freshman Nate Skrzypczak said he paid close attention during the presidential race, then quickly returned to what he called his usual disinterested self. I don't see that [politics] really directly affects anyone, said the 18-year-old from San Diego. It just doesn't have that big an impact on my life. Whether or not they are politically involved, many college freshmen are anything but disengaged when it comes to community service. This year's class reported record levels of volunteerism, with 82.6% saying they had done some volunteer work in the last year. Although many high schools require community service for graduation, and it can boost the prospects for a college applicant, Astin said the desire to help appears to go well beyond that. Despite continuing evidence that today's students are relatively materialistic--73.6% said they want to be very well off financially--they also seem to want to find an outlet for what Astin called their higher selves. They're much more inclined to express their concerns about other people, he said, in contrast to previous generations of students. Volunteering helps get your mind off yourself, said Christie Tedmon, a UCLA freshman and a member of its top-ranked
Students
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/money/53910_debt10.shtml College grads hit by double whammy: huge debts, few jobs Thursday, January 10, 2002 By MARTHA IRVINE THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Christian Miller can't get a car loan and, at age 27, has returned to his parents' New Jersey home, forced back by the double load of credit card debt and student loans. Like other twentysomethings across America, he's found that graduating from college means having to face tens of thousands of dollars in debt. Some even drop out before they finish school, while a growing number are declaring bankruptcy. It stinks, says Miller, who arrived on his parents' Livingston, N.J., doorstep on New Year's Eve two years ago. Financial experts predict this year's graduates will have an even tougher time. Never has a generation entered a recession-weakened job market so debt-ridden. I have a negative net worth of $14,000 -- it's great! Jessica Lopez says sarcastically. In some ways, the Lopez, 24, considers herself lucky. A senior at Florida International University in Miami, she's saved money by living with her parents and has about $2,000 in credit card debt -- tiny compared to some people I know. Still, she's already been turned down for a small business loan to start a clothing company, even though she works a part-time job and actually owes less than the average college grad. But the average graduating University of Washington senior is no better off than Lopez, according to figures gathered by the UW student financial aid office. The average student loan debt carried by last year's graduating class at the UW was $14,850, says Kay Lewis, director of the UW student financial aid office. And that does not include credit card, mortgage and other types of debt. The federal General Accounting Office says students are graduating with an average of $19,400 in student loans. Average student credit card debt rose from $1,879 in 1998 to $2,748 in 2000, according to the student loan agency Nellie Mae. It is the growth of the latter statistic that has financial experts most worried, especially since bankruptcies filed by those under 25 grew to a record 94,717 in 2000, according to a Harvard Law School study. A third of students have four or more credit cards, picked up everywhere from phone solicitations to the Internet. And some universities have signed deals with credit card companies, giving them exclusive rights to market on campus and use school logos on their cards. Delaware-based MBNA American Bank has such deals with about 600 colleges and universities, with about half a percentage point of interest earned on the cards going to the schools. The company says it targets alumni and upperclassmen, keeps its lines of credit at $1,000 or less and offers campus seminars about responsible credit card use. The last thing we want to do is give a college student a credit card (when) they can't handle it, says MBNA spokesman Brian Dalphon. Officials at Capital One, another major credit card provider, offer a high school credit card to teens, 16 to 18, who get the card guaranteed by a parent or guardian. Diana Don, a spokeswoman for the Virginia-based company, says parents use the cards to teach their children how to be responsible before going to college. But some are wary. Marketing credit cards to young people before they have the experience to understand what the ramifications are can have some pretty devastating consequences for them, especially with increasing reliance on credit reports, says Robert Pregulman, executive director of WashPIRG, a Seattle-based consumer advocacy group. Increasingly, young people find themselves denied jobs, rental housing and insurance, based on credit reports, Pregulman says. Ruth Johnston, assistant controller of student fiscal services at the UW, says her office has been offering free classes to freshmen, and even middle school students, on managing their finances, with a heavy emphasis on credit cards. Bob Doyle, of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, says students should be learning about financial responsibility from their parents well before buying on credit. He advises parents to lend money to their teenage children, and then make them find a way to pay it back. Too often, he says, parents forgive loans or continually bail out their children. That is doing more harm than good, Doyle says. Sandie Rosko, manager of the UW office in charge of collecting debts from current and past students, says her office is focusing on educating students against taking out a larger student loan than they really need. You're a freshman, you come to the university, you find out you're eligible for a loan of $15,000. Are you educated enough to say that's wonderful but I don't need $15,000, I need $6,000? Rosko says students have more credit card debt than they used to. Those already in debt and graduating into a recession may have to learn some tough lessons
How Chico State students respond
The below message was forwarded to me today. It is from one Chico State student to another. Pearl Harbor is a long, long way away. tim Hello! Well Jennifer and I received some very bad news from Bill yesterday afternoon. . . The Navy, of which he has been out of for the last 3 years, called him back to service yesterday! Can you believe this shit?? He has to report to the recuiter's office Friday morning, from there he will go to MEPS in Sac to have his physical and then he will be shipped to Salt Lake City UT for re-conditioning training and from there . . . well he doesen't know. This totally sucks guys!! On the one hand, he should go, because what the terrorists did to us is horrible and we need to do something about it, but on the other hand. . . why do they need my friend??? Oh well not much we can do about it!! So Anyway as a result, Jen and I are looking for a roommate, so if anyone needs a place to live or knows someone who needs a place to live please let me know. Our Landlord has given us a month to find someone. . . (big of him eh??) We live in a 3 bedroom 2 bath house in a very quiet family neighborhood. It is a cul-de-sac. We have a big back yard. our rent is 1200.00 per month, so 1/3 of that would be 400.00 to our 3rd renter plus utilities. We have a washer and dryer. So let me know if you have any suggestions or know any one who needs a place to live. Have a great day! Machelle = Check out the Chico Examiner listserves at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DisorderlyConduct http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ChicoLeft Subscribe to the Chico Examiner for only $40 annually or $25 for six months. Mail cash or check payabe to Tim Bousquet to POBox 4627, Chico CA 95927 __ Terrorist Attacks on U.S. - How can you help? Donate cash, emergency relief information http://dailynews.yahoo.com/fc/US/Emergency_Information/
Students for peace vigils and listserve / National Day of Action
Below are two e-mails from American students. Sabri + Subj:students for peace vigils and listserve Date: 01-09-16 14:37:20 EDT Hey All, Peace rallies and vigils are being planned on campuses across the country on Thursday, Sept. 20. Dozens of campuses have already signed on. there will be a vigil for peace at Hunter on the 20th at 4:30 in front of the West Building. A student anti-war listserve has been set up. Students can subscribe by sending an e-mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Spread the word. Christopher Day ++ Subject: National Day of Action Against Scapegoating Arab Americans and to STOP THE WAR *** NATIONAL EMAIL -- FORWARD WIDELY!! *** -- National Day of Action Against Scapegoating Arab Americans and to STOP THE WAR Thursday, September 20 1. Stop the War! 2. No racist scapegoating! Defend the Arab American, Middle Eastern, and Muslim communities! 3. Defend civil liberties! ** OVER 200 ANTI-WAR ACTIVISTS MEET AT UC BERKELEY, CALL FOR A MARCH AND RALLY AT NOON AT UC-BERKELEY ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 ** VOTE TO AGREE ON 3 POINTS OF UNITY ** WEAR GREEN ARM BANDS TO SHOW UNITY -- Exploiting the widespread grief and horror at the tremendous loss of innocent life in the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington, the U.S. government is preparing to embark on what they are saying will be a massive, protracted military campaign. They are now saying that this war effort will last at least a year and involve probably more than one poor Middle Eastern country. We must do everything possible to stop this bloody U.S. military retaliation and escalation. Many more innocent people -- citizens and soldiers -- stand to die if we do not stop this war drive. A truth that is being hidden in the media coverage and the political speeches is that these attacks are the result of a situation created by the U.S. government and its wealthiest, most powerful allies. U.S. military and foreign policy has reaped hatred -- any U.S. retaliation will escalate the hate of the U.S. and worsen an already bad situation. The U.S. government is using last week's tragedy to cause an even more devastating human tragedy across the globe. The military offensive being prepared abroad has been accompanied by a wave of racism, xenophobia and threats to basic civil liberties at home. Already, some of the ugly face of American chauvinism and racism has come out: a violent, racist, xenophobic, backlash has begun against Arab Americans, Muslims and South Asians across the country. A September 14 mass meeting (organized in less than 24 hours) of over 200 students and activists at the University of California Berkeley, voted for the 3 Points of Unity and called for a mass rally and march as part of a September 20 National Day of Action Against Scapegoating Arab Americans and to STOP THE WAR. On campuses throughout the nation, we call for rallies, teach-ins, marches, and other events to show solidarity and opposition to the war drive on this day. Within months of the attack on Pearl Harbor, racist hysteria against Japanese Americans led to the internment of nearly one hundred twenty thousands people solely on the basis of race -- we must never allow anything like that to happen again. Now is the time to act. Join many thousands across the country Thursday, September 20 for the National Day of Action Against Scapegoating Arab Americans and to STOP THE WAR. Contact us at: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * At UC-Berkeley, we call on everyone to join us: UC-BERKELEY RALLY TO STOP THE WAR In solidarity with the National Day of Action Against Scapegoating Arab Americans and to STOP THE WAR Thursday, Sept. 20 12 noon rally + march Sproul Plaza Contact us at: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * *NATIONAL GREEN ARM BAND CAMPAIGN* Cut out green arm bands with this Green Arm Band Pledge attached to them to pass out and wear across the country! (Green is a traditional Muslim color for peace and unity.) THE GREEN ARM BAND PLEDGE: - I oppose scapegoating -- I stand in solidarity with Arab, Muslim and Middle Eastern people. - I will speak out against scapegoating and offer to escort and come to the aid of any Arab, Muslim or Middle Eastern person facing racist harassment or attacks.
Scamming my students
Here's an idea that I posted to lbo-talk a couple of days ago. Michael Perelman suggested I post it to pen-l. I've also included a response from Doug Henwood with a valuable resource. --Michael McIntyre International Studies DePaul University Here's the scam. For a course called States, Markets, and Societies I plan to walk in on the first day, have each student roll a pair of dice, take her/his name, and put the name and roll of the dice up on the board. Then, with some suitably vague reference to Howard Becker's forty-year-old study of students and grades at the University of Kansas, I'll announce that since it's clear that grades are an impediment to learning, I've decided to get around the grading problem by assigning grades randomly. Then I'll reveal the grading scale. A roll of 12 is an A; a roll of 2 is an A-, 11 is a B+, 3 is a B, and so on down to 7, an F. Barring some very strange throws of the dice, then, F will be among the most common grades. This, I predict, will piss my students off. After letting them vent for awhile, I'll tell them that the only way they are going to get me to change my policy is to convince everyone in the room that an injustice has been done. Everyone will include the people lucky enough to roll for high grades. We'll see if they have sufficient ingenuity to demonstrate that random, arbitrary distribution of a valued good is unjust. At that point (maybe the following class, depending on how time goes), I'll introduce them to the notion of a birth lottery - the random and arbitrary assignment by birth of one's valued goods at least for the first couple of decades of life (and, substantially, for much longer than that). Having just conclusively proved to their own satisfaction that this arrangement is unjust, the class, centered on the theme of inequality on a global scale, can proceed. So how can you help? Well, I'm looking for a little technical support here. To make the second part work, it would be good to have data on the world distribution of income fine-grained enough to allow me to interpoate per capita incomes at specified percentile levels (17, 31, 44, 56, 67, 75, 83, 89, 94, and 97 to be exact). If that data is out there, I haven't seen it. I'm willing to go with relatively unrefined data (non-PPP adjusted, based on median national incomes, etc.) as long as I can use it to make a dirty ball-park interpolation. Any ideas where I can get data like this? Michael McIntyre PS - If you want to know the reading list: Robert Bates, Prosperity and Violence Gianfranco Poggi, The Development of the Modern State Charles Tilly, Coercion, Capital, and European States Ellen Meiksins Wood, The Origin of Capitalism Kenneth Pomeranz, The Great Divergence Mike Davis, Late Victorian Holocausts [and from Doug Henwood] World Bank economist Branko Milanovic has a paper on world income distribution http://wbln0018.worldbank.org/research/workpapers.nsf/(allworkingpapers)/8DEA74BC10A97DCF8525683300663553?OpenDocument that blends national household surveys into what he claims is the first true attempt at measuring the beast. Here's a percentile table (1993 figures, using PPP US$): percentile income 5238 10318 15373 20432 25496 30586 35658 40742 45883 50 1,044 55 1,165 60 1,505 65 1,857 70 2,327 75 3,006 80 4,508 85 6,563 90 9,110 95 13,241 99 24,447 So, world median income is about US$1,044. Someone with a poverty-level income in the U.S. is at the 95th percentile of world income. Doug [This paper can be directly downloaded from the site as a pdf file. I've taken a look at it - it's just the thing - MM]
Cambridge U. students re econ
-- Forwarded message -- 27 PhD-students at Cambridge University support the following open letter: Opening Up Economics: A Proposal By Cambridge Students As students at Cambridge University, we wish to encourage a debate on contemporary economics. We set out below what we take to be characteristic of today's economics, what we feel needs to be debated and why: As defined by its teaching and research practices, we believe that economics is monopolised by a single approach to the explanation and analysis of economic phenomena. At the heart of this approach lies a commitment to formal modes of reasoning that must be employed for research to be considered valid. The evidence for this is not hard to come by. The contents of the discipline's major journals, of its faculties and its courses all point in this direction. In our opinion, the general applicability of this formal approach to understanding economic phenomenon is disputable. This is the debate that needs to take place. When are these formal methods the best route to generating good explanations? What makes these methods useful and consequently, what are their limitations? What other methods could be used in economics? This debate needs to take place within economics and between economists, rather than on the fringe of the subject or outside of it all together. In particular we propose the following: 1. That the foundations of the mainstream approach be openly debated. This requires that the bad criticisms be rejected just as firmly as the bad defences. Students, teachers and researchers need to know and acknowledge the strengths and weaknesses of the mainstream approach to economics. 2. That competing approaches to understanding economic phenomena be subjected to the same degree of critical debate. Where these approaches provide significant insights into economic life, they should be taught and their research encouraged within economics. At the moment this is not happening. Competing approaches have little role in economics as it stands simply because they do not conform to the mainstream's view of what constitutes economics. It should be clear that such a situation is self-enforcing. This debate is important because in our view the status quo is harmful in at least four respects. Firstly, it is harmful to students who are taught the tools of mainstream economics without learning their domain of applicability. The source and evolution of these ideas is ignored, as is the existence and status of competing theories. Secondly, it disadvantages a society that ought to be benefiting from what economists can tell us about the world. Economics is a social science with enormous potential for making a difference through its impact on policy debates. In its present form its effectiveness in this arena is limited by the uncritical application of mainstream methods. Thirdly, progress towards a deeper understanding of many important aspects of economic life is being held back. By restricting research done in economics to that based on one approach only, the development of competing research programs is seriously hampered or prevented altogether. Fourth and finally, in the current situation an economist who does not do economics in the prescribed way finds it very difficult to get recognition for her research. The dominance of the mainstream approach creates a social convention in the profession that only economic knowledge production that fits the mainstream approach can be good research, and therefore other modes of economic knowledge are all too easily dismissed as simply being poor, or as not being economics. Many economists therefore face a choice between using what they consider inappropriate methods to answer economic questions, or to adopt what they consider the best methods for the question at hand knowing that their work is unlikely to receive a hearing from economists. Let us conclude by emphasising what we are certainly not proposing: we are not arguing against the mainstream approach per se, but against the fact that its dominance is taken for granted in the profession. We are not arguing against mainstream methods, but believe in a pluralism of methods and approaches justified by debate. Pluralism as a default implies that alternative economic work is not simply tolerated, but that the material and social conditions for its flourishing are met, to the same extent as is currently the case for mainstream economics. This is what we mean when we refer to an opening up of economics. Support or comments? E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Bronx medical students in Cuba
NY Times, June 12, 2001 Pursuing a Medical Career, All the Way to Cuba By DAVID GONZALEZ HAVANA - The brave, the proud, the few. The Marines? Not for Mirtha Arzu, though the lure of scholarship money almost led her to enlist a year ago in the Bronx. Instead, she joined an even more select group of adventurers: the first Americans to study medicine in Cuba courtesy of President Fidel Castro. Ms. Arzu and another student from the Bronx are among eight young people from the United States who received scholarships to the Latin American School of Medical Sciences. They are undergoing a six-year course of study alongside aspiring doctors from 24 Latin American, Caribbean and African nations. Chosen from more than 100 applicants from disadvantaged families, they intend to return to the United States and practice medicine in the same poor communities where they grew up. The scholarships, which will be extended to another group that is scheduled to arrive in September, are the latest twist in Cuba's longtime emphasis on not only healing hearts and minds, but also winning them over. Mr. Castro has long sent medical workers overseas to help struggling nations, and Cuba's own medical system - though beleaguered by shortages - has been praised by some experts as a model for community and preventive medicine, especially in the third world. Showing up the United States has also been one of Mr. Castro's passions, which is most likely another reason he suggested the scholarship program last year to members of the Congressional Black Caucus who were visiting Havana. American students are participating with the permission of the United States government, which recognizes the program as a cultural and educational exchange. Conservative critics, however, say the students are being used as mere propaganda tools. Ms. Arzu disagrees. I'd rather be used for something positive than something negative, she said. At least I'm going to go back and show my community what I was used for. The application and screening process for the program was carried out by members of Pastors for Peace, a group based in the United States that has opposed the trade embargo against Cuba and has itself sponsored caravans to take medicine to the island. Applicants had to be high school graduates, 18 to 25 years old, from disadvantaged backgrounds. While the ability to speak Spanish helped, it was not required. Upon joining about 5,000 students already at the school, the students began intensive studies in basic science. Five of them were also placed in Spanish classes; Ms. Arzu, 22, whose parents are Honduran, was able to skip that. Full: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/12/nyregion/12CUBA.html Louis Proyect Marxism mailing list: http://www.marxmail.org
Berkeley Students Demand Divestment from Israel
From: MER [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Berkeley students demand divestment from Israel Date: Wed, 25 Apr 2001 14:02:26 -00 MID-EAST REALITIES c - www.MiddleEast.Org - STUDENTS FOR JUSTICE IN PALESTINE, UC BERKELEY, OCCUPY UNIV BUILDING Group Demands Divestment from Israel By Will Youmans BERKELEY, CA - 24 April: Wheeler Hall is an ordinary University building. Full of classrooms and students adorned with stuffed backpacks, it can be especially busy during the end of the semester. Berkeley's semester is now coming to a close, but activism here is far from resting. Today, Wheeler Hall was transformed to Muhammad Al-Durra Hall. A banner announcing the new name flew from the second floor of the building. Around noon, the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), took action as two groups: the insiders and the outsiders. The outsiders began the heavily advertised rally near the center of campus, with an initial group of roughly 50 students. The insiders proceeded to enter the designated hall, and chained the doors shut, except for one that was used to evacuate students from inside. After receiving word, the rally proceeded to the front of the building. With a picket line outside, and numerous banners, signs, petitioners, and literature distributors, the crowd swelled. Chants, such as D-I-V-E-S-T, divestment spells equality, attracted on-lookers. Speakers, such as Richard Becker of the International Action Center, Alison Weir, a freelance journalist who recently returned from the West Bank and Gaza, Elias Rishmawi, of ADC-Sacramento, and Hatem Bazian, of the Al-Qalam Institute, gave stirring and supportive speeches. A marginal band of Israel supporters armed with banners and flags stood at the side, chanting as well. Clearing out all the students from inside proved difficult as was limiting their entrance at the turn of the hour. Swarms of them forced their way in, and some instructors called the event disruptive. Speakers responded that many Palestinian students are closed off from the schools and students have been shot on their way to school. The police made an early appearance, but did not take action against the occupiers until around 5 pm, when roughly 35 people were issued citations and photographed on the spot. By 6 pm, when the event was over, nearly 100 people remained. It is estimated that almost 300 people participated throughout the course of the day. SJP issued a proposal to the UC Regents on April 12th. It demanded divestment by April 22nd. The Regents did not respond at all despite the immediacy of the acceleration of Israel's war on the Palestinian people. Like most human rights situations, the need for action is immediate. SJP organized a follow-up forum for the next day, Wednesday. It is set for 7pm on the fourth floor of the MLK Student Union.
Fwd: [mayday2k] Six College Students Occupy Sikorsky Corporation Conference to Protest Plan Colo
Subj: [mayday2k] Six College Students Occupy Sikorsky Corporation Conference to Protest Plan Colo Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2001 5:27:57 PM Eastern Daylight Time From: "Peace Activist Coalition" [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Six College Students Occupy Sikorsky Corporation Conference to Protest Plan Colombia Washington, DC Six Oberlin College students disrupted the opening session of a Sikorsky Corporation suppliers conference at the National Guard Memorial building in Washington, DC. To protest the Sikorsky Corporations profit from the war in Colombia, at 3:45pm, the six women locked their arms together inside pipes in the conference room. The six students are Sarah Bania-Dobyns, 22, from Denver, CO; Rebecca Johnson, 21, from Cincinnati, OH; Jacqueline Downing, 21, from Topsfield, MA; Laurel Paget-Seekins, 20, from Philo, CA; Sarah Saunders, 20, from Lake Orion, MI; and Kate Berrigan, 19, from Baltimore, MD. Last summer the US Congress approved a $1.3 billion package, of mostly military aid, to Colombia. $221 million of the taxpayer money is going to Sikorsky for 30 Blackhawk helicopters. Sarah Saunders, one of the students who visited Colombia this January, said, Blackhawk helicopters will not bring peace and economic development to the Colombian people or end the supply of drugs in the US. Instead, helicopters will fuel Colombias violent 40-year civil war. The people of Colombia did not want helicopters and military aid from the US. After Plan Colombia was written in Colombia, the corporate lobbying of the Sikorsky Corporation, among others, drastically altered the aid package before it passed the US Congress. We are here to let the Sikorsky Corporation know that they cannot profit off war and the suffering of the people of Colombia without opposition, said Kate Berrigan. There is growing opposition in the US to Plan Colombia and to military solutions to the drug trade. This independent action took place during a week of actions and lobbying in Washington DC, organized by School of the Americas Watch, to bring attention to Plan Colombia and the training of Latin American military personnel at the newly renamed School of the Americas. This evening, a vigil organized by Amnesty International is planned for outside the Colombian Ambassadors residence in Washington, DC. For more information on Colombia, go to: www.colombiasupport.net www.witnessforpeace.org www.americas.org ### April 2, 2001 Statement for Blackhawks Do Not Bring Peace Action We, the Peace Activist Coalition of Oberlin, OH, are here today to take a stand against Plan Colombia. We are women of nonviolence. We believe that our presence will make a difference in the hearts and minds of those who profit from the war in Colombia. Plan Colombia, the $1.3 billion US aid package, is being used to enrich private corporations in the US and fuel the violence in Colombia, not to being peace or to end the drug trade. We target the Sikorsky Corporation today because the Sikorsky Corporation is making $221 million on 30 Blackhawk helicopters that will be sent to Colombia. We believe that helicopters and military aid will not bring an end to the 40-year civil war or the drug trade in Colombia. The people of Colombia did not want helicopters and military aid from the US. After Plan Colombia was written in Colombia, the corporate lobbying of Sikorsky, among others, drastically altered the aid package. Two of us have been to Colombia, and we have seen the effects of the violence of Plan Colombia. We have seen devastation and, as young people, we have hope and love for the children of Colombia. We are here to nonviolently show our opposition to the Sikorsky Corporations role in Plan Colombia. By locking ourselves together in the room of the Sikorsky Corporations conference, we hope that our commitment and dedication will make our voices and the voices of the people of Colombia heard. We take this risk because we know that whatever the consequences, we are speaking the truth to power. We are young people who have a vision of peace and justice for the world, and we will continue to work for this vision. - Sarah Bania-Dobyns, 22, from Denver, CO; Rebecca Johnson, 21, from Cincinnati, OH; Jacqueline Downing, 21, from Topsfield, MA; Laurel Paget-Seekins, 20, from Philo, CA; Sarah Saunders, 20, from Lake Orion, MI; and Kate Berrigan, 19, from Baltimore, MD - For more information on Colombia, go to: www.colombiasupport.net www.witnessforpeace.org www.americas.org __ Do You Yahoo!? Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/?.refer=text
AFEE Summer School Call for Students
Call for Students AFEE/UMKC Economics Summer School June 23-28, 2001 Theme: Institutionalist Perspectives on the "New Economy" and "Globalization" The world economy is undergoing dramatic transformations. Volatile Stock and Currency Markets! Growing Gap Between Rich and Poor! Increasing Concentration and Monopoly Power! Global Warming! Possible Recession/Depression! Go beyond General Equilibrium Theory and Empty Formalism and get to the source of these changes–economic evolution, institutional adjustments and lags, technological change and POWER. At the AFEE/UMKC Economics Summer School we will highlight what orthodox economics programs leave out: the REAL WORLD! Not since the 1930's has there been such a need for economic theory to be grounded in economic reality. Institutional Economics is the tradition that explains (and foresaw) these economic catastrophes. The AFEE/UMKC Economics Summer School will introduce students to this exciting and relevant body of economic theory. The AFEE/UMKC Economics Summer School, sponsored jointly by the Association for Evolutionary Economics (AFEE); the University of Missouri - Kansas City; and the Center for Full Employment and Price Stability at the University of Missouri at Kansas City, will provide participants with an introduction to the ideas and modern applications of institutional economics. Taught by leading Institutional Economists, the 2001 Economics Summer School will concentrate on the following topics: Institutional Economics and Economic Change; Global Labor Market Flexibility; Financial Fragility and Globalization; Macroeconomic Policy for 21st Century (How to Combat Recessions); Winners and Losers in the "New Economy" and Corporate Capitalism. The Summer School will be held on the campus of the University of Missouri - Kansas City in Kansas City, Missouri. The dates of this year's summer school are June 23-28, 2001. Admission is open to graduate students and recent Ph.D.'s. Tuition and room and board will be provided to all participants. AFEE also will make available a number of travel stipends that will cover most of the costs of travel to and from the workshop, if participants take advantage of advance airfare bookings and Saturday stay-overs. Applications should include four copies of: a CV; a 1-2 page statement of what each student hopes to get out of the Economics Summer School and a statement indicating familiarity with heterodox and institutional economics. These materials will serve as the application for both the summer school and for the travel stipends. Send the materials to AFEE's Graduate Education Committee will screen all applicants and notify participants no later than April 1, 2001. For more information contact: Professor Charles M. A. Clark Department of Economics St. John's University Jamaica, New York 11439 Fax: 718 990 1868 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
FW: AFEE Summer School Call for Students
Includes missing line about who to send applications to. == Call for Students AFEE/UMKC Economics Summer School June 23-28, 2001 Theme: Institutionalist Perspectives on the "New Economy" and "Globalization" The world economy is undergoing dramatic transformations. Volatile Stock and Currency Markets! Growing Gap Between Rich and Poor! Increasing Concentration and Monopoly Power! Global Warming! Possible Recession/Depression! Go beyond General Equilibrium Theory and Empty Formalism and get to the source of these changes–economic evolution, institutional adjustments and lags, technological change and POWER. At the AFEE/UMKC Economics Summer School we will highlight what orthodox economics programs leave out: the REAL WORLD! Not since the 1930's has there been such a need for economic theory to be grounded in economic reality. Institutional Economics is the tradition that explains (and foresaw) these economic catastrophes. The AFEE/UMKC Economics Summer School will introduce students to this exciting and relevant body of economic theory. The AFEE/UMKC Economics Summer School, sponsored jointly by the Association for Evolutionary Economics (AFEE); the University of Missouri - Kansas City; and the Center for Full Employment and Price Stability at the University of Missouri at Kansas City, will provide participants with an introduction to the ideas and modern applications of institutional economics. Taught by leading Institutional Economists, the 2001 Economics Summer School will concentrate on the following topics: Institutional Economics and Economic Change; Global Labor Market Flexibility; Financial Fragility and Globalization; Macroeconomic Policy for 21st Century (How to Combat Recessions); Winners and Losers in the "New Economy" and Corporate Capitalism. The Summer School will be held on the campus of the University of Missouri - Kansas City in Kansas City, Missouri. The dates of this year's summer school are June 23-28, 2001. Admission is open to graduate students and recent Ph.D.'s. Tuition and room and board will be provided to all participants. AFEE also will make available a number of travel stipends that will cover most of the costs of travel to and from the workshop, if participants take advantage of advance airfare bookings and Saturday stay-overs. Applications should include four copies of: a CV; a 1-2 page statement of what each student hopes to get out of the Economics Summer School and a statement indicating familiarity with heterodox and institutional economics. These materials will serve as the application for both the summer school and for the travel stipends. Send the materials to to Professor Charles M. A. Clark at the address below. AFEE's Graduate Education Committee will screen all applicants and notify participants no later than April 1, 2001. For more information contact: Professor Charles M. A. Clark Department of Economics St. John's University Jamaica, New York 11439 Fax: 718 990 1868 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
News: CIA directed to spy on foreign students
Published on Monday, June 5, 2000 in the Times of London Congressional Task Force: CIA Should Spy On Every Foreign Student In U.S. by Ben MacIntyre TO TACKLE the threat of international terrorism, the US should monitor every foreign student within its borders, encourage CIA agents to recruit more "unsavoury" informants and impose sanctions on friendly states who fail to act against terrorists, according to a Congressional report published today. The US National Commission on Terrorism, set up by Congress two years ago after the bombing of US embassies in East Africa, gave warning that US anti-terrorism policies were "seriously deficient" and recommended a series of drastic measures that have angered its allies accused of tolerating terrorism. The most radical element in the report is a proposal to begin surveillance of every foreign student on US soil, since "a small minority may exploit their student status to support terrorist activity". To keep track of potential student-terrorists, government officials should be made aware whenever a foreign student changes academic course suspiciously, say, "from English literature to nuclear physics", the commission said. If the proposal is taken up, Laura Spence, the British schoolgirl rejected by Oxford and now heading to Harvard, could find herself monitored. The report, a blueprint for future counter-terrorism policy that is expected to prove influential on Capitol Hill, argues that Greece and Pakistan, close allies of the US, should be listed with Afghanistan as "not fully co-operating on counter-terrorism". That would bar those countries from buying American military equipment. "The threat is changing, and it's becoming more deadly," Paul Bremer III, a former anti-terrorism expert at the State Department and the commission chairman, said. The investigation found the CIA had become unnecessarily cautious and gave warning that "this has inhibited the recruitment of essential, if sometimes unsavoury, terrorist informants". While not giving the agency "carte blanche to hire thugs and murderers", agents were too restricted by human rights guidelines on recruiting informants, Jane Harman, a former member of Congress and a panel member, said. Bill Harlow, a CIA spokesman, said: "CIA headquarters has never turned down a request to use someone - even someone with a record of human rights abuse - if we thought that person could be valuable to our overall counter-terrorist programme." The ten-member commission, made up of senior security and intelligence officials, singled out Pakistan for providing "safe haven, transit, and moral, political and diplomatic support to several groups engaged in terrorism", and Greece, a Nato ally, for being "disturbingly passive in response to terrorist activities". The US has made inadequate preparations for a "catastrophic terrorist threat or attack" involving biological, chemical or nuclear weapons, the panel concluded. President Clinton should officially designate the US military, rather than the FBI or the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as the body prepared to respond to such an attack, the report said. "We need to take better steps to get ahead of the curve on biological terrorism. We need to be ready, and we're not," Mr Bremer said. Pakistani officials insisted Islamabad was providing "extensive co-operation" on anti-terrorism measures, while Greece rejected the report's allegations as "totally unfair". Copyright 2000 Times Newspapers Ltd.
Re: News: CIA directed to spy on foreign students
This, of course, is why the US is called the "land of the free, home of the brave."[*] At 07:20 AM 6/6/00 -0400, you wrote: Published on Monday, June 5, 2000 in the Times of London Congressional Task Force: CIA Should Spy On Every Foreign Student In U.S. by Ben MacIntyre TO TACKLE the threat of international terrorism, the US should monitor every foreign student within its borders, encourage CIA agents to recruit more "unsavoury" informants and impose sanctions on friendly states who fail to act against terrorists, according to a Congressional report published today. The US National Commission on Terrorism, set up by Congress two years ago after the bombing of US embassies in East Africa, gave warning that US anti-terrorism policies were "seriously deficient" and recommended a series of drastic measures that have angered its allies accused of tolerating terrorism. [*] for the irony-challenged, this is an example of irony. Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://liberalarts.lmu.edu/~jdevine
Little interest among Chinese students one year after NATO bombing(fwd)
Friday, May 5 10:28 AM SGT Little interest among Chinese students one year after NATO bombing BEIJING, May 5 (AFP) - For many students who took part in the violent anti-US protests after the NATO bombing of China's embassy in Belgrade anger has given way to study, job hunting and the dream of living abroad. The atmosphere on the campus of Beijing's People's University during this week's MayDay holiday week was relaxed and students expressed little interest and almost no anger over the May 7, 1999 bombing. "As far as I know there are no activities on our campus planned to commemorate the anniversary of the bombing," student He Beifang told AFP. Students studying international affairs or foreign languages might have special discussion sessions, but few students were thinking about the bombing despite the tremendous anger they unleashed last year, he said. "Of course we were very angry about it last year, but the US paid compensation to China and to the families of the victims, so right now I don't think many students are angry about it," said Wei, an English major. "We still don't believe the US explanation that the bombing was a mistake, so it is still up to the US to give China a satisfactory explanation," she said. In the aftermath of the bombing which killed three Chinese journalists, Chinese students erupted into four days of angry protests throughout China -- smashing windows at the US Embassy in Beijing and torching the US Consulate in Chengdu, Sichuan province. Police largely declined to intervene as students rained stones, bottles and paint bombs on the US missions and chanted anti-American slogans. Wei and He said they attended the huge demonstrations, but denied the protests only occured because the government allowed them to. "Yes, the government and university leaders encouraged us to go down to protest at the US Embassy, but everyone was really angry so you can't say that it was only the government who organized the protests," Wei said. The protests were the biggest in China since the six-week-long 1989 Tiananmen democracy protests which were crushed by the Chinese military. Other students said the granting of permanent normal trade relationsto China by the US Congress in a vote later this month, would go a long way towards showing that the United States was not trying to contain China, but was willing to work with China. "PNTR will show that the US wants to work with China and stop using power politics to interfere in China's internal affairs," said a law student from Hebei University who was visiting the People's University. "A lot of students were happy to see the statements by Vice President (Al) Gore that supported PNTR and improved relations between China and the US," he said. In a foreign policy speech on Monday, Gore, the Democratic presidential nominee in this year's elections, called China a "vital partner" and pledged to build stronger relations. His statements were widely reported in the Chinese press, as were statements made Tuesday by President Bill Clinton which said failure to pass PNTR would be "very unwise and precarious" from a national security point of view. With China's probable entry into the World Trade Organisation, most students looked forward to better ties with the West and many shied away from discussing politics. "Students here are only concerned about finding good jobs after college, so we concentrate on our studies and pay little attention to politics," one student said. "I would think that every college student in China studies English and many are hoping to go abroad to study," he said. "Study in the US is still the first choice." The US Central Intelligence Agency took the blame for the NATO strike by saying out-dated maps resulted in laser guided bombs hitting the Chinese embassy instead of a nearby Yugoslav military depot. China still insists the attack was deliberate.
[PEN-L:7837] Support Needed for Washington Students asking Mumia to speak at Graduation
- The following message is forwarded to you by Paul Zarembka [EMAIL PROTECTED] - From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] STUDENTS AT EVERGREEN COLLEGE IN WASHINGTON STATE NEED SUPPORT Students at Evergreen College in Washington State are being intimidated and harrassed regarding their decision to have Mumia Abu-Jamal as the Honorary Speaker at their commencement ceremonies on June 11. Since that time Maureen Faulkner has taken out expensive newspaper ads urging people to boycott the graduation in protest of a "convicted cop killer" speaking there, or even to attend the ceremonies but then walk out when Mumia's portion of the event happens. Recently Ronald Reagan's son joined in the fray by condemning the students on his nationally broadcasted radio program, describing the students as thinking it is "cute" to have a cop killer as a speaker at their graduation ceremeony. Most college students graduating from institutions of higher learning have been instructed in the ways of critical and analytical thinking, yet when they speak out regarding controversial issues are told that they don't know the "facts", are trying to be "cute", etc. The only thing these students are guilty of is evaluating the case of Mumia vs. the System independently and feeling strongly enough about their conclusions to arrange for Mumia to have a key presence at these exercises. We are asking folks nationwide, and particularly in the Washington state area, to support these students in whatever way that they can. Those who can attend the exercises and give out information on the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal and the reason why it is important to keep the "Voice of the Voiceless" ringing LOUD and CLEAR are STRONGLY URGED to do so. BACKGROUND INFO: From: Steve Bloom [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Mumia controversy at Evergreen State College From: Sonja Sivesind [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- For Immediate Release Prison Action Committee The Evergreen State College Olympia, WA 98505 (360) 866 6000 ext 6879 Contact: Stephanie Guilloud or Summer Thomas - Controversy Surrounds Evergreen State College Graduation Ceremonies - Governor Gary Locke refuses to speak at 1999 Graduation because Mumia Abu-Jamal, US political prisoner on death row, chosen as Honorary Speaker In an attempt to stifle freedom of speech and student representation, Washington Governor Gary Locke decides to comply with the wishes of the state trooper association and law enforcement bodies rather than respect his decision to speak at the Evergreen State College. Details: Through months of meetings and process, the Graduation Committee chose to have two speakers at the June 11, 1999 Graduation Ceremonies at the Evergreen State College. Gary Locke was elected by the students in the fall but was mistakenly thought to have declined. During the confusion, Mumia was elected as the speaker and taped a thirteen-minute speech to be played at the event. Administrators unearthed the error, and Locke, once again, was invited to deliver the commencement address. He accepted the offer. In order to respect the students' vote for Mumia and the work that the death row inmate completed for the school, the committee decided to allow both speakers to be represented in the ceremonies. Last week, state troopers and local law enforcement associations pressured Locke to rescind his acceptance of the invitation to speak so as not to share the stage with the controversial figure. Who is Mumia?: Mumia Abu-Jamal is an award-winning radio journalist who has written two books, Death Blossoms and Live from Death Row. Imprisoned and sentenced to death in 1982, Mumia continues to report not only on the significance of his case within the context of an unjust and racist prison system but also broader social justice issues that face struggling people in the US and around the world. The court proceedings that led to his conviction have been declared unconstitutional by many, including American Bar Association lawyer Stuart Taylor and international courts. The significance of choosing this man as graduation speaker: Evergreen chose to accept the unprecedented opportunity to hear this man speak at graduation. In an historic moment that denies particular people their rights to speak and be heard, Mumia represents the voice of struggle and strength despite the shackles of imprisonment. Committee members cited Mumia's reflections on education and freedom as parallel to the philosophy of Evergreen. The students also wish to publicize his case in order to raise public awareness of the case and the prison crisis in this country. Racism in death penalty sentencing
[PEN-L:6875] Fwd: FYI: Chengdu Students' Apology (fwd)
Early this morning, students in ChengDu, a Southwest city of China, send an apology letter to President Clinton and the American people for the accident of burning down the US consulate in that city days ago: We, the students in ChengDu, hereby sincerely express our deep sorrow to the US goverment. We were participating a rubbish-cleaning campaign in the last few days, and wanted to burn some trash. But because of an outdated intellegence, we burned your consulate by mistake. The city map of Chendu of 1972 shows that your consulate location was a trash dump. This accident was caused by inaccurate information and false operation. Please trust us, it was not our intention to burn your consulate. We will look forward for a good relationship between us in the future. However, we still have to carry on our rubbish-cleaning campaign in a deeper order. we will try our best to avoid such accidents happen again, and we appologize for this terrible mistake, we are deeply sorry. This is abolutely a tragic mistake. Sincerely, Student representive html font size=3Chinese students have some humors. --xpbr br gt;Date: Tue, 11 May 1999 14:41:43 -0700br gt;From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Fabian Fang)br gt;Subject: FYI: Chengdu Students' Apologybr gt;To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]br gt;Organization: CSU Bakersfieldbr gt;X-Gateway: NASTA Gate 2.0 beta 3 for FirstClass(R)br gt;br gt;Early this morning, students in ChengDu, a Southwest city of China,br gt;send anbr gt;apology letter to President Clinton and the American people for thebr gt;accidentbr gt;of burning down the US consulate in that city days ago:br gt;br gt;We, the students in ChengDu, hereby sincerely express our deep sorrow tobr gt;the US goverment.nbsp; We were participating a rubbish-cleaning campaign inbr gt;thebr gt;last few days, and wanted to burn some trash.nbsp; But because of anbr gt;outdatedbr gt;intellegence, we burned your consulate by mistake.nbsp; The city map ofbr gt;Chendubr gt;of 1972 shows that your consulate location was a trash dump.nbsp; Thisbr gt;accidentbr gt;was caused by inaccurate information and false operation. Please trustbr gt;us, it was not our intention to burn your consulate.nbsp; We will lookbr gt;forwardbr gt;for a good relationship between us in the future.br gt;br gt;However, we still have to carry on our rubbish-cleaning campaign in abr gt;deeper order. we will try our best to avoid such accidents happen again,br gt;and we appologize for this terrible mistake, we are deeply sorry.nbsp; Thisbr gt;isbr gt;abolutely a tragic mistake.br gt;br gt;Sincerely,br gt;Student representivebr gt; /fontbr /html
[PEN-L:6534] Chinese students protest
China Outraged Over Embassy Bombing ..c The Associated Press By JOHN LEICESTER BEIJING (AP) -- Several thousand students marched in front of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing today to protest the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia, while the government accused NATO of a ``barbarian act.'' With police looking on, the students march in front of the embassy in well-ordered ranks that represented at least five universities. Some students held posters and red flags, shouting ``Down with Americans,'' while other pelted the Embassy with eggs and stones. The Chinese Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, summoned U.S. Ambassador James Sasser and lodged the ``strongest protest,'' the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported. Earlier, China called an emergency meeting of the Security Council to condemn the attack. A cheer of ``Hao,'' meaning ``Bravo,'' went up whenever a plastic water bottle or piece of pavement landed on the Embassy building. Police joined hands in a chain to block the embassy gate. Some of the protesters sang the Chinese national anthem, and others shouted ``Protect sovereignty, protect peace,'' and ``We don't want war.'' Signs hung on a bus that brought students to the embassy said ``Nato Nazis.'' Some police applauded the students when they sang the national anthem Wang Zhihai, a retired worker who was throwing lumps of pavement at an Embassy building, shouted, ``What are we scared of? There are 1.2 billion of us.'' A U.S. official walked out of the embassy in Beijing several times to receive protest statements from the demonstrators. He expressed ``sympathy and condolences'' for those killed in the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. The protest was highly unusual for China, where authorities generally have banned any large gatherings or demonstrations for fear of unrest. Demonstrators said they had asked school authorities for permission to march, and it had been granted. Several hundred people with banners also demonstrated outside the U.S. Consulate in Shanghai, and several dozen protested in Hong Kong. The Chinese government has strongly opposed the NATO air strikes in Yugoslavia since they started. At least three people were killed and more than 20 injured when NATO missiles struck the embassy in Belgrade, the state-run Xinhua News Agency said. One person was missing. A Xinhua reporter, Shao Yunhuan, was among the dead, it said. NATO said it did not intentionally target the embassy. The U.S. Embassy advised its staff and Americans living in the Chinese capital ``to raise their security awareness,'' said Bill Palmer, an embassy spokesman. An embassy notice said there was ``the possibility for acts of retaliation against Americans and American interests worldwide'' following NATO actions in Yugoslavia. In a statement, China's government said U.S.-led NATO fired three missiles from different angles at its Belgrade embassy, in ``a gross violation of Chinese sovereignty.'' ``The Chinese government and people express their utmost indignation and severe condemnation of the barbarian act and lodge the strongest protest,'' said the statement reported by Xinhua and broadcast on nationwide television. ``U.S.-led NATO should bear all responsibilities,'' it said. The bombing also angered ordinary Chinese. ``It's not right, not right at all,'' said Cai Jin, a 50-year-old restaurant cashier in Shanghai. ``The U.S. government should not be attacking Chinese. The Chinese government should send troops to Yugoslavia to fight back. They should attack the Americans.'' Beijing's statement today said NATO has been ``wantonly bombing'' Yugoslavia, ``killing and wounding large numbers of innocent civilians.'' Chinese news media, all controlled by the government, have given a one-sided view of the conflict in Yugoslavia. They have heavily reported civilian casualties from the NATO strikes, but have not reported on attacks by Yugoslav forces on ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. With restive ethnic regions of their own, Chinese leaders fear that NATO has set a dangerous precedent by attacking a sovereign nation without U.N. authorization. Copyright 1998 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without prior written authority of The Associated Press.
[PEN-L:3343] Re: teaching and students
G'day all, My suspicions that primary school kids work very hard (far harder than I was asked to in the mid-sixties) are vindicated in today's *The Australian* (see at bottom). Why is this? Mebbe because parents are so drenched with all this talk of competition and the rise of the 'knowledge worker' (most of whom will probably find what knowledge they have to be way more than will either be needed or paid for) that they simply demand maximum suffering for their little 'uns? Mebbe it's because the teacher-per-student or contact-hours-per-year ain't what they were under the welfare state - so ever more yakka is being externalised to parent and weary child? Mebbe it's because teaching in a class situation is a lot harder than it was for our teachers. 'Bad boys' in my day did stuff like pinch Rosemary Baker's lunchbox, or pass 'rude' pictures from *National Geographic* under the desk. Maybe the institutional grip that confined our assaults on authority no longer has that prehensile (pre-neoliberal stratification) legitimacy. Mebbe only kids with educated and unexhausted parents can hope to learn while they go through their childhoods? Mebbe part of the problem with the young people we meet at uni is that they are much less likely to have had a rewarding learning experience? That and the fact that here we have 'democratised' tertiary education - meaning not so much that anybody can go (they can't - our so-called social democrats made sure of that by reintroducing fees - industry didn't like the idea of having to share the cost of preparing tomorrow's 'factors of production'), but that everybody must - no matter what career (if I may employ an old-fashioned term) they have in mind. Mebbe the world is now so royally stuffed that even middle-class infants are being ground into the mire. I dunno. Cheers, Rob. Homework drives kids to despair By RACHAEL TEMPLETON 14feb99 CHILDREN as young as five have telephoned a counselling service for help with the stress of school and homework. Some call in tears saying they have no time for play or activities outside school. Nearly 1500 Queensland children phoned the Kids Helpline last year. The service's research and publications manager Wendy Reid said one in 20 calls was from a child aged from five to nine. Nearly half were 10 to 14. She said more than 20 per cent were stressed because of their school workload or study pressures. Kids Helpline counsel lor "Libby" said children often called in tears. "It's always a challenging time at the beginning of the school year with kids trying to get back into the routine," Libby said. "Already (this year) there's been people saying: there's so much to do and we've just started and I'm swamped. "They feel like they have little quality out- of-school time. They're generally just overwhelmed and increasingly frustrated by that. They're indicating through their comments that they wish life was simpler." Some parents have reported that their 10-year-old children have been given three hours homework a night, and eight-year-olds, between one and two hours. The Education Department has no set guidelines on how much homework students should do each night, but leaves it up to individual school to set their own policy. Queensland University of Technology education lecturer Tania Aspland said three hours homework a night for primary school children was excessive. She said that could be expected of high school students, more for senior students, but primary school children especially needed time for play and sporting activities. She said the Kids Helpline data was worrying. "If that many children are ringing in with those sorts of complaints, they could have too much homework, but it could be they're not managing their time efficiently. "(But) it says to me that there is far too much homework being set." Ms Aspland said some parents placed too much pressure on their children to perform. She said it was also true that private schools often demanded more homework than state schools, but because parents expected it. She said children in Years 1-4 should be doing up to 30 minutes, Years 5-7, up to an hour and high school students three hours or more a night. The Kids Helpline is funded by the Boystown and Art Union Lottery and also receives financial support from the Federal Government and Kellogg Pty Ltd.
[PEN-L:3354] students
Friends, Romans and Countrymen:Here's another confessional. I spent 7 years on and off in academia at Simon Fraser U. in Vancouver(89-96, 17-24) accumulating a nice stack of diplomas one of which was in economics. Did some grad work on the top floor of the ivory tower in the philosophy dpt. Most undergrads are generally quite intelligent but their sensibilities and priorities are dull from the anti-intellectual and anti-critical culture we live in. Most attend universities in hope that a diploma will get them a high paying white collar job. If someone told them that a B.A. or BSc isn't going to help you one bit in the labor market, 90% of the students would drop out. Most are not at university for the sake of learning and intellectual curiosity. Some don't want to be there at all since their parents force them to go. Most econ majors are cast-offs from the Business Admin. dpt who couldn't cut the mustard there for various reasons, puzzling since the "turkey filter" is the same in both dpts: calculus and stats. The "turkey filter" in the phil. dpt is always symbolic logic. Most undergrads are really young which limits what they can get out of university. Being a student is one way of avoiding unemployment and the dole. As was said on a delightful episode of The Simpsons "Now unemployment lines aren't just for philosophy majors!" People on student loans( about 60% here in Canada) would otherwise be on welfare. 1 in 5 persons between 1725 is in some form of higher education in the Vancouver area. The avrage student debt load is C$30,000. I was fortunate in that I accumulated no (monetary) debts at university. University here is still open to the working class since tuition at all Can. universities is about C$2000 per year. The way things are going this is not going to last long. One of the best teachers I had was the token radical( and former pen-l'er) in the SFU econ dpt Mike Lebowitz.( two rads is a conspiracy as Mike would say). I was the only Marxist among over 500 other econ majors. One of the best courses I took was Mike's Comparative Economics. We read Kornai, BrusLaski, Nove's History of the USSR, Bukharin, Preobrazenskii,Michael Ellman on planning and a host of NEP era Soviet economists in one semester. I quite frankly don't know how radical economists do it. Isn't there a lot of professional isolation? Mike began the class with Rawls' thought experiment. Either everyone in the class gets a B or half get A's and half get F's( drawn from a hat). The libertarian econ majors came to a unanimous decision that everyone would get a B.Kind of funny. Most leftish students are attracted to more sexy dpts like English lit. or Communication studies. An old prof/friend of mine Kathleen Akins just recieved a 1 million dollar Macdonnell Douglas grant to study the connection between neuroscience and the phil of mind. Generally I am really down on young people, but the nineties are an awful time to be a young person(I'm 26). Sam Pawlett "history is the graveyard of aristocracies" --Rumpole of the Bailey
[PEN-L:3252] Education and Students
I wrote this last night, but it bounced. 150 years ago school children were generally elites who memorize Latin and Greek. In the interim, we have been moving more toward changing universities into trade schools. The sort of experience that Bill Lear described about learning about Chomsky was more common in the 60s and 70s than at any time in history. Because of the turmoil in society and because the trade school system had not become so firmly implanted yet, we got to teach courses like ethnic studies, Marx . Today, such course appear as absurdities to the general public. Some schools still tolerate them, but fewer and fewer do so. Today, my students work around 15 hours per week to support themselves. They have poor preparation, and they realize what lies ahead for them. Even if they were be able to memorize all the information we feed them, the recruiters that go to Stanford will still not come up to visit my students. My job is comparable to a USDA beef inspector. If I get to make a couple of students excited each semester, I consider that to be a sucess. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University [EMAIL PROTECTED] Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901
[PEN-L:3250] Re: Re: students
On the political economy of schooling, I can't think of any book since Bowles Gintis' SCHOOLING IN CAPITALIST AMERICA, which was published more than 20 years ago. But I'm sure that others on pen-l can remember other books. BG (who later changed their opinions on a lot) analyze schooling in terms of the posited contradiction between aggressive capitalist accumulation and the requirements for societal reproduction. I think that that's a good way to look at a lot of questions, but at least in California it's too abstract. Here in the "Golden State," the contradiction that shapes schools seems to be between (1) the need to produce students who are obedient and have sufficient "human capital" to serve business; and (2) the fiscal restrictions imposed by Proposition 13 and its kin. The former is what I've seen emphasized in pen-l, but since it is endorsed by most parents, I wouldn't say that it's just a matter of "capital" doing getting its way. Universal public education was in many ways a creation of the grass-roots efforts by the working class, middle class, and farmers. And the need to teach children to obey (emphasized by BG) is something that parents want, too. So the first prong of the contradiction seems a matter of an uneasy alliance between business and the community. The second prong is a hangover of the 1970s stagflation crisis. Homeowners, especially the aged, suffered from the way in which the paper value of their houses soared, causing them to pay higher and higher property taxes even though they hadn't realized the paper gains. Many workers were suffering (and still are) from stagnant or falling real wages, so that they voted for limits on taxes as a way to raise take-home pay. Then along come the demagogues and we get Prop. 13 and its kin, which put the state in a fiscal strait-jacket. (Then-Gov. Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown, Jr. inadvertently encouraged this by running budget surpluses.) Business, especially Big Business, opposed this trend, though maybe without enough enthusiasm. It seemed that those folks who didn't have school-age children (or weren't going to have them) or already planning to send them to non-public schools were more likely to support Prop. 13 and the like. Here in Los Angeles, the bungling (and perhaps pernicious) way in which bussing to create racial integration was organized encouraged "white flight," which helped to create a burgeoning private school sector (something that has existed for decades in NYC, I believe). This has encouraged greater support for defunding the public schools via such methods as vouchers good at parochial and private schools. The bottom line is that we have a lot of public schools that are underfunded but emphasize discipline. A lot of the educational functions have been slighted. Some of this has been encouraged by faddism among the education experts, who impose one-size-fits-all educational techniques on the schools (as with "whole language" reading methods, which aren't all bad, but just don't fit all student's needs). The faddism has encouraged an antagonism toward the schools. Strangely enough, the only really positive thing to happen in public schools in recent years has been the work of ex-Gov. "Pete" Wilson, who in general is a bad guy. He pushed the schools to radically reduce class size. I think that's not only good for students, but for teachers. The above is impressionistic and I would appreciate any corrections or amendments. Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://clawww.lmu.edu/Faculty/JDevine/jdevine.html
[PEN-L:3238] Re: students
Tom, You're a sick guy!!! michael Yeah you're right, just a touch of the flu though, nothing life threatening. Thanks for asking. But, seriously, I think it does help to put the very real *pain* of your heart-breaking encounters with students in perspective of the equally real *privilege* that you enjoy as a university teacher. The terms and conditions of that privilege are becoming less and less legitimate to your students and part of what you're getting from students is completely understandable resignation and unchannelled resentment. Nothing personal. There's a dirty trick that decent folks play on themselves called "what did _I_ do to deserve this?" When in many cases the answer is que sera, sera. I do have a suggestion for all the economics teachers on the list. Throw it all out. All of it. The classics, the textbooks, the reading lists, the quizzes, the blackboard, the audio-visual aids. All of it. INVEST everything in one four-page interview from the October 1926, _World's Work_: "Henry Ford: Why I Favor Five Days' Work With Six Days' Pay." (the interview with Ford was reprinted in the December 1926 Monthly Labor Review). ASK your students to examine the question, in every way conceivable, "Is there a Ford in YOUR future?" Tom Walker wrote: michael, Maybe that prescription robot attendent job isn't as bad as it seemed, after all? regards, Tom Walker
[PEN-L:3237] Re: Re: students
Ellen, Thanks for the comments. In a poll I saw in USA Today (I don't buy this paper because of the strike, but it was on a table in the coffee shop), teenagers in 7th through 12th grade gave these answers to the question: what societal groups are most responsible for today's problems?: Girls: federal gov't leaders: 56% entertainment media: 51% news media: 49% racial minorities: 36% Boys: federal gov't leaders: 59% news media: 49% gays/lesbians: 43% racial minorities: 40% A little frightening? michael yates Ellen Frank wrote: Until recently, I taught at a community college just outside of Boston, where I encountered much of the same frustrations as Michael Yates. I, and all my colleagues, tried every sort of pedagogical innovation that came down the pike -- daily quizzes, group-based learning, discovery learning, field trips, movies, guest lectures. I gave only take-home assignments, encouraged study groups and spent a considerable portion of class time having students work in groups. Nevertheless, we encountered a hard-core of young recent high-school grads - probably a third of our student body - whose ignorance and alienation were profound. They knew nothing about current events, save what they picked up from Howard Stern, Jerry Springer and the 30-seconds-on-the-half-hour news updates on KISS 107. Teachers, no matter how cool, hip or caring, intimidated them, and they fought back with pointless and self-defeating acts of mini-rebellion, like giggling over last night's debauchery when they were supposed to be figuring out how a new construction ban would impact rents. Many of them could barely write and had great difficulty reading anything more challenging than a junk-novel, a fact of which they were ashamed. I have to say that I hated teaching these students. I was also shocked that people, apparently, can make it through 12 years of public schooling with no knowledge of the world, no experience of abstract critical thought, not to mention limited skills in basic math and english. The good news, however, is that these students were, in our college, surrounded by people just like themselves, only 10-20 years older and wiser. Its amazing what lessons one learns after 10 years of shit jobs in dead-end industries. I often advised the young students against continuing college. I suggested they drop out, work for a while and come back when life had knocked them around a bit. Then they'd be ready to get serious. Ellen Frank
[PEN-L:3235] Re: Re: students
Peter, This is useful advice. No point to worry about being condescending. michael Peter Dorman wrote: I know there's a political side to this issue, but I would like to mention a useful technocratic device: fairly continuous classroom assessment. I was converted to this approach many years ago, and I think it makes a huge difference. The basic idea is not to wait until exams and term papers to find out *exactly* what students are getting from the course. Every day or so there should be some sort of information-gathering device: quick-writes in class, mini-papers, small group discussions that you listen in on as you circulate. The idea is to know as much as possible about what the students (all of them) are learning (or think they're learning) and how they're responding to it--in real time. This won't eliminate appalling instances of ignorance, but it will bring them to the surface in time for you to address them in your teaching. For me it's like I had been driving in the dark for years, and had just been introduced to headlights. I don't mean this to be condescending. You may be a veteran of these techniques, but there may be other teachers out there unfamiliar with them, as I was. Peter Dorman Michael Yates wrote: Friends, I have been a teacher for 30 years and by most accounts a good one. In teaching economics and labor-oriented subjects I have developed hundreds of concrete analyses, stories, etc. to make the material clear. Now I know we have discussed on these lists the state of education, the nature of today's students, etc. But I have to say that the level of illiteracy and general stupidity seems to be rising among students. the most basic words are unknown to them, and they never bother to look them up. I have to continually check myself when I am about to use a word I know that they should understand but do not. On a recent quiz someone said that the name of Adam Smith's famous book was "Rivethead."!! this after at least a dozen mentions of "The Wealth of Nations." They hear a word or remember a snippet of something I said and put this down as an answer, no matter how preposterous. Last year I had a simple fill-in on a quiz:_!,___!,___!, That is Moses and the Prophets. I had said the correct answer at least 20 times in the preceding two weeks and explained why Marx said it and how neat of a statement it is. However, because I have arthritic hands, it is hard for me to write on the board. So to save effort, after I had written out the word "accumulation" several times, I started just writing A_,A,A and saying the word "accumulation." Sure enough on the quiz at least a half dozen persons put "A,A,A" as the answer. One student said that that is what she had in her notes!!! Today a friend told me that a student in an anthropology class had written the following on an exam,"The Africans used Native American slaves to build their railraod system." Another, after reading the book about Guatemala by the Rigoberto Menchu wrote in a paper about the "Finca" tribe of Indians. I really can't take too much more of this. I mean I still take this stuff seriously. Any advice? My advice to myself is to retire, and soon. If it were not for the working people I teach, I do believe that I would have an emotional collapse more serious than the ones I have already had. To make matters worse, students without a clue or any desire to learn whatever will be bitching about their grades. I have always tried not to an elitist academic. I seldom lose my temper and I always treat students with respect. I am not telling you these things as a joke or to make fun of students. But it seems to me that capitalism has succeeded rather well in preparing young people to believe just about anything and not to know how to analyze anything. michael yates
[PEN-L:3232] Re: Re: students
Tom, You're a sick guy!!! michael Tom Walker wrote: michael, Maybe that prescription robot attendent job isn't as bad as it seemed, after all? regards, Tom Walker
[PEN-L:3231] Re: Re: Re: Re: students
Paul, thanks for the ideas. perhaps I'l try something with tv. michael [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Michael, I have found the most successful way of 'forcing' students to prepare and think is to give them all their exam questions ahead of the exam (by a few weeks), questions which cover the whole course, with the promise that a selection of the questions will be selected by a random method (I use the dart and phonebook method myself) and there will be no choice. Students who don't study and organize their material -- and know it well enough to write a 4 to 6 page exam in 1 hour -- get lousy marks or fail. Good students band together to prepare, often good essay quality exams. Many of them have told me that they have learned more from studying for my exams than they have in any other course they have ever taken. I also, of course, do the song and dance routines to try to excite their curiosity -- e.g. in my Women and the Canadian Economy class I had an ex-prostitute come in and talk about the economics of street prostitution, and it blew their middle-class minds. They had no difficulty remembering it. The problem I have had in this TV age is that they can't read and have difficulty writing coherently. That is difficult but I have tried to handle that this term by requiring them to watch TV for a couple of weeks keeping a diary of the programs and advertisements with their assignment to analyse the ads/programs for class and gender discrimination/stereotyping. I think it is working by the number of questions I get from the students as they work through the project. I will know better when I see the results. Paul Paul Phillips, Economics, University of Manitoba Bill, the problem is that many of my students do seem interested. and i do agree that the quiz is pretty pathetic. but i used to read 2000 papers a term, with rewrites and lots more interest on my part. it did not seem to make much difference, and i just cannot physically do this anymore. beleive me over the years i have used films, games, speakers, you name it. michael William S. Lear wrote: On Wed, February 10, 1999 at 19:14:12 (-0500) Michael Yates writes: ... I have to say that the level of illiteracy and general stupidity seems to be rising among students. the most basic words are unknown to them, and they never bother to look them up. I have to continually check myself when I am about to use a word I know that they should understand but do not. Solution?: write up a dictionary of all the terms that you will use. Give it to them on the first day. On a recent quiz someone said that the name of Adam Smith's famous book was "Rivethead."!! this after at least a dozen mentions of "The Wealth of Nations." ... Not to be too critical, especially at a distance, but perhaps you should take part of the blame. This at least has the virtue of providing an avenue from the despair you seem to be drifting towards, because you can then work on something close to fix, rather than trying to fix the students' problems, which are more remote. It sounds to me as if your examples are a bit on the rote-ish side of things. If the students fill in "Rivethead" for "Wealth of Nations", that's pretty sad, but why are you asking them this? This sounds like a very good measure of how much interest the kids have in the subject, not how stupid they are. Perhaps you could alter your teaching a bit --- I mean if today's kids are even less prepared, perhaps traditional methods, or whatever elements of traditional methods you use, could be rethought. Perhaps try making economics fun, or meaningful, on their terms --- I mean, who cares if Adam Smith wrote "Wealth of Nations" or "Rivethead" or "Gunga Din"? Perhaps try interviewing some of the kids to find out why they wrote some of these outrageous things (Did you just not care? Were you bored?). The most important thing for a teacher is to develop the natural curiosity of the students. You have to reach deep for this one, especially in a subject as potentially boring as economics. I have always thought that having the students act out, in a sort of play, different types of roles that illustrate what you are talking about, would be a good learning mechanism for economics. Take, say, the creation of money. You could have students form different entities: The Treasury, Banks, Farmers, Consumers, etc. Then, the directions of the play would have the Farmer go for a loan to the bank, etc. Someone could be in charge of counting all the money that exists (you could give stop/start directions to the actors, "OK, everybody stop, Counter, go count the money"). Someone could write on the chalkboard
[PEN-L:3229] Re: students
Until recently, I taught at a community college just outside of Boston, where I encountered much of the same frustrations as Michael Yates. I, and all my colleagues, tried every sort of pedagogical innovation that came down the pike -- daily quizzes, group-based learning, discovery learning, field trips, movies, guest lectures. I gave only take-home assignments, encouraged study groups and spent a considerable portion of class time having students work in groups. Nevertheless, we encountered a hard-core of young recent high-school grads - probably a third of our student body - whose ignorance and alienation were profound. They knew nothing about current events, save what they picked up from Howard Stern, Jerry Springer and the 30-seconds-on-the-half-hour news updates on KISS 107. Teachers, no matter how cool, hip or caring, intimidated them, and they fought back with pointless and self-defeating acts of mini-rebellion, like giggling over last night's debauchery when they were supposed to be figuring out how a new construction ban would impact rents. Many of them could barely write and had great difficulty reading anything more challenging than a junk-novel, a fact of which they were ashamed. I have to say that I hated teaching these students. I was also shocked that people, apparently, can make it through 12 years of public schooling with no knowledge of the world, no experience of abstract critical thought, not to mention limited skills in basic math and english. The good news, however, is that these students were, in our college, surrounded by people just like themselves, only 10-20 years older and wiser. Its amazing what lessons one learns after 10 years of shit jobs in dead-end industries. I often advised the young students against continuing college. I suggested they drop out, work for a while and come back when life had knocked them around a bit. Then they'd be ready to get serious. Ellen Frank
[PEN-L:3225] Re: students
Michael Yates writes
But it seems to me that capitalism has succeeded
rather well in preparing young people to believe just
about anything and not to know how to analyze anything.
and triggers a most interesting debate. It shows that the revolution in the
industrial methods of the society (gesellschaftliche Betriebsweise) which
is the necessary result of the revolution in the instruments of production
and which today is commonly known as the crisis of the post-Fordist society
does not leave out such "derived" sectors of the society as the educational
system.
I wonder whether there is any comprehensive book of relevance on the
Political Economy of Education in the US which combines studies on national
accounts, class analysis, economic and technological developments of the
last decades, and on the legislative and fiscal situation of the
educational system with more current results of research in the cognitive
process in the interacting system of learning and teaching.
Hinrich Kuhls
Marx on education (Capital volume 1, chapter 15, section 9 passim):
Factory legislation, that first conscious and methodical reaction of
society against the spontaneously developed form of the process of
production, is, as we have seen, just as much the necessary product of
modern industry as cotton yam, self-actors, and the electric telegraph. (...)
Paltry as the education clauses of the Act appear on the whole, yet they
proclaim elementary education to be an indispensable condition to the
employment of children. [*] The success of those clauses proved for the
first time the possibility of combining education and gymnastics [**] with
manual labour, and, consequently, of combining manual labour with education
and gymnastics. The factory inspectors soon found out by questioning the
schoolmasters, that the factory children, although receiving only one half
the education of the regular day scholars, yet learnt quite as much and
often more.
"This can be accounted for by the simple fact that, with only being at
school for one half of the day, they are always fresh, and nearly always
ready and willing to receive instruction. The system on which they work,
half manual labour, and half school, renders each employment a rest and a
relief to the other; consequently, both are far more congenial to the
child, than would be the case were he kept constantly at one. It is quite
clear that a boy who has been at school all the morning, cannot (in hot
weather particularly) cope with one who comes fresh and bright from his
work." [***]
Further information on this point will be found in Senior's speech at the
Social Science Congress at Edinburgh in 1863. He there shows, amongst other
things, how the monotonous and uselessly long school hours of the children
of the upper and middle classes, uselessly add to the labour of the
teacher, "while he not only fruitlessly but absolutely injuriously, wastes
the time, health, and energy of the children." []
From the Factory system budded, as Robert Owen has shown us in detail, the
germ of the education of the future, an education that will, in the case of
every child over a given age, combine productive labour with instruction
and gymnastics, not only as one of the methods of adding to the efficiency
of production, but as the only method of producing fully developed human
beings. (...)
One step already spontaneously taken towards effecting this revolution is
the establishment of technical and agricultural schools, and of "écoles
d'enseignement professionnel," in which the children of the working-men
receive some little instruction in technology and in the practical handling
of the various implements of labour. Though the Factory Act, that first and
meagre concession wrung from capital, is limited to combining elementary
education with work in the factory, there can be no doubt that when the
working-class comes into power, as inevitably it must, technical
instruction, both theoretical and practical, will take its proper place in
the working-class schools. There is also no doubt that such revolutionary
regents, the final result of which is the abolition of the old division of
labour, are diametrically opposed to the capitalistic form of production,
and to the economic status of the labourer corresponding to that form. But
the historical development of the antagonisms, immanent in a given form of
production, is the only way in which that form of production can be
dissolved and a new form established. (...)
-
[*] According to the English Factory Act, parents cannot send their
children under 14 years of age into Factories under the control of the Act,
unless at the same time they allow them to receive elementary education.
The manufacturer is responsible for compliance with the Act. "Factory
education is compulsory, and it is a condition of labour." ("Rep. Insp.
Fact., 31st Oct., 1865," p. 111.)
[**] On the very advantageous results of combining gymnastics (and drilling
in the
[PEN-L:3223] Students and reality
Quoth Michael Yates, in part: Now I know we have discussed on these lists the state of education, the nature of today's students, etc. But I have to say that the level of illiteracy and general stupidity seems to be rising among students. the most basic words are unknown to them, and they never bother to look them up. I have to continually check myself when I am about to use a word I know that they should understand but do not. On a recent quiz someone said that the name of Adam Smith's famous book was "Rivethead."!! this after at least a dozen mentions of "The Wealth of Nations." They hear a word or remember a snippet of something I said and put this down as an answer, no matter how preposterous. Last year I had a simple fill-in on a quiz:_!,___!,___!, That is Moses and the Prophets. I had said the correct answer at least 20 times in the preceding two weeks and explained why Marx said it and how neat of a statement it is. However, because I have arthritic hands, it is hard for me to write on the board. So to save effort, after I had written out the word "accumulation" several times, I started just writing A_,A,A and saying the word "accumulation." Sure enough on the quiz at least a half dozen persons put "A,A,A" as the answer. One student said that that is what she had in her notes!!! Today a friend told me that a student in an anthropology class had written the following on an exam, "The Africans used Native American slaves to build their railroad system." Another, after reading the book about Guatemala by Rigoberto Menchu wrote in a paper about the "Finca" tribe of Indians. I really can't take too much more of this. I mean I still take this stuff seriously. Any advice? My advice to myself is to retire, and soon. I'd like to suggest an obvious likelihood to Michael Y, and to everyone who feels s/he could just as easily write this as read it (and I hope General DeCaf isn't lurking): quite aside from every other negative factor competing with you for the attention of your students, they are coming in fisheye shitbrain stoned, period, and otherwise you probably wouldn't be seeing them at all. How come you don't remember what it was like in the dear dead '60s, when sometimes just getting home was a handicapped adventure, like climbing Everest without bottled oxygen. And who could be bothered to process a sentence with more than 2 clauses? Yes, you want to teach them, equip them to comprehend the world's structural viciousness, hopefully to change it, but start with what is: they already are aware to some degree, and are reacting with the simple expedient of self-medication. Do your strategic huddling with radical shrinks of the James Hillman school, before fellow economists. If it's really true that the personal is political, you can get anywhere you want to go by starting right in the suffering guts of your students: "OK, quite a few of you are stoned right now, just all fucked up. Couldn't find your way to the bathroom without a road map. I'd like us to talk about what makes this necessary." valis
[PEN-L:3222] Re: students
I know there's a political side to this issue, but I would like to mention a useful technocratic device: fairly continuous classroom assessment. I was converted to this approach many years ago, and I think it makes a huge difference. The basic idea is not to wait until exams and term papers to find out *exactly* what students are getting from the course. Every day or so there should be some sort of information-gathering device: quick-writes in class, mini-papers, small group discussions that you listen in on as you circulate. The idea is to know as much as possible about what the students (all of them) are learning (or think they're learning) and how they're responding to it--in real time. This won't eliminate appalling instances of ignorance, but it will bring them to the surface in time for you to address them in your teaching. For me it's like I had been driving in the dark for years, and had just been introduced to headlights. I don't mean this to be condescending. You may be a veteran of these techniques, but there may be other teachers out there unfamiliar with them, as I was. Peter Dorman Michael Yates wrote: Friends, I have been a teacher for 30 years and by most accounts a good one. In teaching economics and labor-oriented subjects I have developed hundreds of concrete analyses, stories, etc. to make the material clear. Now I know we have discussed on these lists the state of education, the nature of today's students, etc. But I have to say that the level of illiteracy and general stupidity seems to be rising among students. the most basic words are unknown to them, and they never bother to look them up. I have to continually check myself when I am about to use a word I know that they should understand but do not. On a recent quiz someone said that the name of Adam Smith's famous book was "Rivethead."!! this after at least a dozen mentions of "The Wealth of Nations." They hear a word or remember a snippet of something I said and put this down as an answer, no matter how preposterous. Last year I had a simple fill-in on a quiz:_!,___!,___!, That is Moses and the Prophets. I had said the correct answer at least 20 times in the preceding two weeks and explained why Marx said it and how neat of a statement it is. However, because I have arthritic hands, it is hard for me to write on the board. So to save effort, after I had written out the word "accumulation" several times, I started just writing A_,A,A and saying the word "accumulation." Sure enough on the quiz at least a half dozen persons put "A,A,A" as the answer. One student said that that is what she had in her notes!!! Today a friend told me that a student in an anthropology class had written the following on an exam,"The Africans used Native American slaves to build their railraod system." Another, after reading the book about Guatemala by the Rigoberto Menchu wrote in a paper about the "Finca" tribe of Indians. I really can't take too much more of this. I mean I still take this stuff seriously. Any advice? My advice to myself is to retire, and soon. If it were not for the working people I teach, I do believe that I would have an emotional collapse more serious than the ones I have already had. To make matters worse, students without a clue or any desire to learn whatever will be bitching about their grades. I have always tried not to an elitist academic. I seldom lose my temper and I always treat students with respect. I am not telling you these things as a joke or to make fun of students. But it seems to me that capitalism has succeeded rather well in preparing young people to believe just about anything and not to know how to analyze anything. michael yates
[PEN-L:3221] Re: Re: students
On Wed, February 10, 1999 at 21:34:25 (-0500) Michael Yates writes:
the problem is that many of my students do seem interested. and i do
agree that the quiz is pretty pathetic. but i used to read 2000 papers
a term, with rewrites and lots more interest on my part. it did not
seem to make much difference, and i just cannot physically do this
anymore. beleive me over the years i have used films, games, speakers,
you name it.
You never know how you affect people. I was totally uninterested in
school, save for a few courses like Fourier analysis and my French
Surrealist Lit. course, and then I took a class given by Bob Vitalis
(friend of Noam Chomsky's) and it blew my mind. I've read 20x more
per day out of school (at the very least) than I did in school. Maybe
you should keep tabs on these folks when they get out...
Anyway, have you read *Dumbing Us Down* by John Taylor Gatto*? He won
the New York State Teacher of the Year award and according to the
bookjacket blurb, "has just resigned after 26 years of award-winning
teaching in Manhattan's public schools". If he doesn't offer you
solutions, he perhaps can offer solace ("Our kids have no time left to
grow up fully human and only thin-soil wastelands to do it in"
[p. 21]; "According to Lord Russell, mass-schooling produced a
recognizably *American* student: anti-intellectual, superstitious,
lacking self-confidence, and with less of what Russell called 'inner
freedom' than his or her counterpart in any other nation he kew of,
past or present." [p. 78]; "some disturbing evidence exists that the
income of working *couples* in 1990 has only slightly more purchasing
power than the income of the average working man did in 1910."
[p. 93, I'd be curious to know the validity of this claim]; however,
"Let anybody who wants to, teach; give families back their tax money
to pick and choose Restore the congregation system by encouraging
competition after a truly unmanipulated free-market model..."
[p. 103]).
I have heard that our schooling system was based on that developed in
Prussia in the mid 1800s, which was designed to break the will of the
student and direct allegiance to the state. I was told this claim was
made in Gatto's book, not every page of which have I read (nor is
there an index), but I can't find it... Anyone know anything about
this?
Bill
[PEN-L:3220] Re: Re: students
Bill Lear throws out some good ideas, but much more important is the sweetness and comradeship in his post. Sweetness for Michael Yates and for the students as well. Thank you Bill. Gene Coyle William S. Lear wrote: On Wed, February 10, 1999 at 19:14:12 (-0500) Michael Yates writes: ... I have to say that the level of illiteracy and general stupidity seems to be rising among students. the most basic words are unknown to them, and they never bother to look them up. I have to continually check myself when I am about to use a word I know that they should understand but do not. Solution?: write up a dictionary of all the terms that you will use. Give it to them on the first day. On a recent quiz someone said that the name of Adam Smith's famous book was "Rivethead."!! this after at least a dozen mentions of "The Wealth of Nations." ... Not to be too critical, especially at a distance, but perhaps you should take part of the blame. This at least has the virtue of providing an avenue from the despair you seem to be drifting towards, because you can then work on something close to fix, rather than trying to fix the students' problems, which are more remote. It sounds to me as if your examples are a bit on the rote-ish side of things. If the students fill in "Rivethead" for "Wealth of Nations", that's pretty sad, but why are you asking them this? This sounds like a very good measure of how much interest the kids have in the subject, not how stupid they are. Perhaps you could alter your teaching a bit --- I mean if today's kids are even less prepared, perhaps traditional methods, or whatever elements of traditional methods you use, could be rethought. Perhaps try making economics fun, or meaningful, on their terms --- I mean, who cares if Adam Smith wrote "Wealth of Nations" or "Rivethead" or "Gunga Din"? Perhaps try interviewing some of the kids to find out why they wrote some of these outrageous things (Did you just not care? Were you bored?). The most important thing for a teacher is to develop the natural curiosity of the students. You have to reach deep for this one, especially in a subject as potentially boring as economics. I have always thought that having the students act out, in a sort of play, different types of roles that illustrate what you are talking about, would be a good learning mechanism for economics. Take, say, the creation of money. You could have students form different entities: The Treasury, Banks, Farmers, Consumers, etc. Then, the directions of the play would have the Farmer go for a loan to the bank, etc. Someone could be in charge of counting all the money that exists (you could give stop/start directions to the actors, "OK, everybody stop, Counter, go count the money"). Someone could write on the chalkboard when money was destroyed (reflux!), etc. Or another game might be to have a small society that buys and sells different colors of apples (or Mountain Dews, or Snowboards, etc.). Each group of students would have different apples (etc.) and would buy and sell with the other groups. You could illustrate the MV = PT identity. You could have several runs where V varied, etc. You could calculate GDP, etc. This society could be combined with the banking society, etc. Or, how about watching the Wizard of Oz in class one day? Discuss with them the Gold Standard and why Baum was writing the things he did... Relate this to why the PT = MV equation holds such interest for people who wanted (and want) tight money, etc. This might pique interest in general... Or, give them a book by Noam Chomsky discussing how the rich are screwing the rest of us (e.g., *Class Warfare*). Or, get a tape from David Barsamian and edit it for class, play it, then discuss it. Try to motivate them to *want* to learn this stuff from the first day. It might just get them interested enough in the economics if you show the political side of the game and how consciously it is played by elite groups --- might also be worth it to explore some of Tom Ferguson's work on how the wealthy and corporations dominate, and have always dominated, the political system, and how our Constitution was written to give them this advantage over the rest of us. Read William Lazonick's essay "The Anglo-Saxon Corporate System" in the book *The Corporate Triangle* --- not terribly difficult, you could even perhaps summarize it yourself to cut down on length, then go on a field trip to a factory to see for yourself. Go to a bank. Go to the Federal Reserve branch... Go to an EPA office to see how much pollution industries are letting off, and how much they pay relative to their annual profits in fines and purchases of pollution credits. Or, have a union member or activist, or Michael Perelman, or Doug Henw
[PEN-L:3219] Re: Re: Re: students
Michael, I have found the most successful way of 'forcing' students to prepare and think is to give them all their exam questions ahead of the exam (by a few weeks), questions which cover the whole course, with the promise that a selection of the questions will be selected by a random method (I use the dart and phonebook method myself) and there will be no choice. Students who don't study and organize their material -- and know it well enough to write a 4 to 6 page exam in 1 hour -- get lousy marks or fail. Good students band together to prepare, often good essay quality exams. Many of them have told me that they have learned more from studying for my exams than they have in any other course they have ever taken. I also, of course, do the song and dance routines to try to excite their curiosity -- e.g. in my Women and the Canadian Economy class I had an ex-prostitute come in and talk about the economics of street prostitution, and it blew their middle-class minds. They had no difficulty remembering it. The problem I have had in this TV age is that they can't read and have difficulty writing coherently. That is difficult but I have tried to handle that this term by requiring them to watch TV for a couple of weeks keeping a diary of the programs and advertisements with their assignment to analyse the ads/programs for class and gender discrimination/stereotyping. I think it is working by the number of questions I get from the students as they work through the project. I will know better when I see the results. Paul Paul Phillips, Economics, University of Manitoba Bill, the problem is that many of my students do seem interested. and i do agree that the quiz is pretty pathetic. but i used to read 2000 papers a term, with rewrites and lots more interest on my part. it did not seem to make much difference, and i just cannot physically do this anymore. beleive me over the years i have used films, games, speakers, you name it. michael William S. Lear wrote: On Wed, February 10, 1999 at 19:14:12 (-0500) Michael Yates writes: ... I have to say that the level of illiteracy and general stupidity seems to be rising among students. the most basic words are unknown to them, and they never bother to look them up. I have to continually check myself when I am about to use a word I know that they should understand but do not. Solution?: write up a dictionary of all the terms that you will use. Give it to them on the first day. On a recent quiz someone said that the name of Adam Smith's famous book was "Rivethead."!! this after at least a dozen mentions of "The Wealth of Nations." ... Not to be too critical, especially at a distance, but perhaps you should take part of the blame. This at least has the virtue of providing an avenue from the despair you seem to be drifting towards, because you can then work on something close to fix, rather than trying to fix the students' problems, which are more remote. It sounds to me as if your examples are a bit on the rote-ish side of things. If the students fill in "Rivethead" for "Wealth of Nations", that's pretty sad, but why are you asking them this? This sounds like a very good measure of how much interest the kids have in the subject, not how stupid they are. Perhaps you could alter your teaching a bit --- I mean if today's kids are even less prepared, perhaps traditional methods, or whatever elements of traditional methods you use, could be rethought. Perhaps try making economics fun, or meaningful, on their terms --- I mean, who cares if Adam Smith wrote "Wealth of Nations" or "Rivethead" or "Gunga Din"? Perhaps try interviewing some of the kids to find out why they wrote some of these outrageous things (Did you just not care? Were you bored?). The most important thing for a teacher is to develop the natural curiosity of the students. You have to reach deep for this one, especially in a subject as potentially boring as economics. I have always thought that having the students act out, in a sort of play, different types of roles that illustrate what you are talking about, would be a good learning mechanism for economics. Take, say, the creation of money. You could have students form different entities: The Treasury, Banks, Farmers, Consumers, etc. Then, the directions of the play would have the Farmer go for a loan to the bank, etc. Someone could be in charge of counting all the money that exists (you could give stop/start directions to the actors, "OK, everybody stop, Counter, go count the money"). Someone could write on the chalkboard when money was destroyed (reflux!), etc. Or another game might be to have a small society that buys and sells different colors of apples (or Mountain Dews,
[PEN-L:3207] students
Friends, I have been a teacher for 30 years and by most accounts a good one. In teaching economics and labor-oriented subjects I have developed hundreds of concrete analyses, stories, etc. to make the material clear. Now I know we have discussed on these lists the state of education, the nature of today's students, etc. But I have to say that the level of illiteracy and general stupidity seems to be rising among students. the most basic words are unknown to them, and they never bother to look them up. I have to continually check myself when I am about to use a word I know that they should understand but do not. On a recent quiz someone said that the name of Adam Smith's famous book was "Rivethead."!! this after at least a dozen mentions of "The Wealth of Nations." They hear a word or remember a snippet of something I said and put this down as an answer, no matter how preposterous. Last year I had a simple fill-in on a quiz:_!,___!,___!, That is Moses and the Prophets. I had said the correct answer at least 20 times in the preceding two weeks and explained why Marx said it and how neat of a statement it is. However, because I have arthritic hands, it is hard for me to write on the board. So to save effort, after I had written out the word "accumulation" several times, I started just writing A_,A,A and saying the word "accumulation." Sure enough on the quiz at least a half dozen persons put "A,A,A" as the answer. One student said that that is what she had in her notes!!! Today a friend told me that a student in an anthropology class had written the following on an exam,"The Africans used Native American slaves to build their railraod system." Another, after reading the book about Guatemala by the Rigoberto Menchu wrote in a paper about the "Finca" tribe of Indians. I really can't take too much more of this. I mean I still take this stuff seriously. Any advice? My advice to myself is to retire, and soon. If it were not for the working people I teach, I do believe that I would have an emotional collapse more serious than the ones I have already had. To make matters worse, students without a clue or any desire to learn whatever will be bitching about their grades. I have always tried not to an elitist academic. I seldom lose my temper and I always treat students with respect. I am not telling you these things as a joke or to make fun of students. But it seems to me that capitalism has succeeded rather well in preparing young people to believe just about anything and not to know how to analyze anything. michael yates
[PEN-L:3213] Re: students
Mike Yates has written about his experiences teaching at Pitt-Johnstown. I hope profs think more highly of us here at the Pitt main campus! John Lacny
[PEN-L:3214] Re: Re: students
Bill, the problem is that many of my students do seem interested. and i do agree that the quiz is pretty pathetic. but i used to read 2000 papers a term, with rewrites and lots more interest on my part. it did not seem to make much difference, and i just cannot physically do this anymore. beleive me over the years i have used films, games, speakers, you name it. michael William S. Lear wrote: On Wed, February 10, 1999 at 19:14:12 (-0500) Michael Yates writes: ... I have to say that the level of illiteracy and general stupidity seems to be rising among students. the most basic words are unknown to them, and they never bother to look them up. I have to continually check myself when I am about to use a word I know that they should understand but do not. Solution?: write up a dictionary of all the terms that you will use. Give it to them on the first day. On a recent quiz someone said that the name of Adam Smith's famous book was "Rivethead."!! this after at least a dozen mentions of "The Wealth of Nations." ... Not to be too critical, especially at a distance, but perhaps you should take part of the blame. This at least has the virtue of providing an avenue from the despair you seem to be drifting towards, because you can then work on something close to fix, rather than trying to fix the students' problems, which are more remote. It sounds to me as if your examples are a bit on the rote-ish side of things. If the students fill in "Rivethead" for "Wealth of Nations", that's pretty sad, but why are you asking them this? This sounds like a very good measure of how much interest the kids have in the subject, not how stupid they are. Perhaps you could alter your teaching a bit --- I mean if today's kids are even less prepared, perhaps traditional methods, or whatever elements of traditional methods you use, could be rethought. Perhaps try making economics fun, or meaningful, on their terms --- I mean, who cares if Adam Smith wrote "Wealth of Nations" or "Rivethead" or "Gunga Din"? Perhaps try interviewing some of the kids to find out why they wrote some of these outrageous things (Did you just not care? Were you bored?). The most important thing for a teacher is to develop the natural curiosity of the students. You have to reach deep for this one, especially in a subject as potentially boring as economics. I have always thought that having the students act out, in a sort of play, different types of roles that illustrate what you are talking about, would be a good learning mechanism for economics. Take, say, the creation of money. You could have students form different entities: The Treasury, Banks, Farmers, Consumers, etc. Then, the directions of the play would have the Farmer go for a loan to the bank, etc. Someone could be in charge of counting all the money that exists (you could give stop/start directions to the actors, "OK, everybody stop, Counter, go count the money"). Someone could write on the chalkboard when money was destroyed (reflux!), etc. Or another game might be to have a small society that buys and sells different colors of apples (or Mountain Dews, or Snowboards, etc.). Each group of students would have different apples (etc.) and would buy and sell with the other groups. You could illustrate the MV = PT identity. You could have several runs where V varied, etc. You could calculate GDP, etc. This society could be combined with the banking society, etc. Or, how about watching the Wizard of Oz in class one day? Discuss with them the Gold Standard and why Baum was writing the things he did... Relate this to why the PT = MV equation holds such interest for people who wanted (and want) tight money, etc. This might pique interest in general... Or, give them a book by Noam Chomsky discussing how the rich are screwing the rest of us (e.g., *Class Warfare*). Or, get a tape from David Barsamian and edit it for class, play it, then discuss it. Try to motivate them to *want* to learn this stuff from the first day. It might just get them interested enough in the economics if you show the political side of the game and how consciously it is played by elite groups --- might also be worth it to explore some of Tom Ferguson's work on how the wealthy and corporations dominate, and have always dominated, the political system, and how our Constitution was written to give them this advantage over the rest of us. Read William Lazonick's essay "The Anglo-Saxon Corporate System" in the book *The Corporate Triangle* --- not terribly difficult, you could even perhaps summarize it yourself to cut down on length, then go on a field trip to a factory to see for yourself. Go to a bank. Go to the Federal Reserve branch... Go to an EPA office to see how much pollution industries are l
[PEN-L:3215] Re: Re: students
John, I think highly of most of my students. Higher education often saddens me, but sometimes a student will come in who is doing poorly and tell me a heart-wrenching story. I really feel bad and think this whole society is so fucked up that I really ought to out there blowing up banks and shooting swine like Bill Gates. michael John P. Lacny wrote: Mike Yates has written about his experiences teaching at Pitt-Johnstown. I hope profs think more highly of us here at the Pitt main campus! John Lacny
[PEN-L:3217] Re: students
michael, Maybe that prescription robot attendent job isn't as bad as it seemed, after all? regards, Tom Walker
[PEN-L:3210] Re: students
On Wed, February 10, 1999 at 19:14:12 (-0500) Michael Yates writes: ... I have to say that the level of illiteracy and general stupidity seems to be rising among students. the most basic words are unknown to them, and they never bother to look them up. I have to continually check myself when I am about to use a word I know that they should understand but do not. Solution?: write up a dictionary of all the terms that you will use. Give it to them on the first day. On a recent quiz someone said that the name of Adam Smith's famous book was "Rivethead."!! this after at least a dozen mentions of "The Wealth of Nations." ... Not to be too critical, especially at a distance, but perhaps you should take part of the blame. This at least has the virtue of providing an avenue from the despair you seem to be drifting towards, because you can then work on something close to fix, rather than trying to fix the students' problems, which are more remote. It sounds to me as if your examples are a bit on the rote-ish side of things. If the students fill in "Rivethead" for "Wealth of Nations", that's pretty sad, but why are you asking them this? This sounds like a very good measure of how much interest the kids have in the subject, not how stupid they are. Perhaps you could alter your teaching a bit --- I mean if today's kids are even less prepared, perhaps traditional methods, or whatever elements of traditional methods you use, could be rethought. Perhaps try making economics fun, or meaningful, on their terms --- I mean, who cares if Adam Smith wrote "Wealth of Nations" or "Rivethead" or "Gunga Din"? Perhaps try interviewing some of the kids to find out why they wrote some of these outrageous things (Did you just not care? Were you bored?). The most important thing for a teacher is to develop the natural curiosity of the students. You have to reach deep for this one, especially in a subject as potentially boring as economics. I have always thought that having the students act out, in a sort of play, different types of roles that illustrate what you are talking about, would be a good learning mechanism for economics. Take, say, the creation of money. You could have students form different entities: The Treasury, Banks, Farmers, Consumers, etc. Then, the directions of the play would have the Farmer go for a loan to the bank, etc. Someone could be in charge of counting all the money that exists (you could give stop/start directions to the actors, "OK, everybody stop, Counter, go count the money"). Someone could write on the chalkboard when money was destroyed (reflux!), etc. Or another game might be to have a small society that buys and sells different colors of apples (or Mountain Dews, or Snowboards, etc.). Each group of students would have different apples (etc.) and would buy and sell with the other groups. You could illustrate the MV = PT identity. You could have several runs where V varied, etc. You could calculate GDP, etc. This society could be combined with the banking society, etc. Or, how about watching the Wizard of Oz in class one day? Discuss with them the Gold Standard and why Baum was writing the things he did... Relate this to why the PT = MV equation holds such interest for people who wanted (and want) tight money, etc. This might pique interest in general... Or, give them a book by Noam Chomsky discussing how the rich are screwing the rest of us (e.g., *Class Warfare*). Or, get a tape from David Barsamian and edit it for class, play it, then discuss it. Try to motivate them to *want* to learn this stuff from the first day. It might just get them interested enough in the economics if you show the political side of the game and how consciously it is played by elite groups --- might also be worth it to explore some of Tom Ferguson's work on how the wealthy and corporations dominate, and have always dominated, the political system, and how our Constitution was written to give them this advantage over the rest of us. Read William Lazonick's essay "The Anglo-Saxon Corporate System" in the book *The Corporate Triangle* --- not terribly difficult, you could even perhaps summarize it yourself to cut down on length, then go on a field trip to a factory to see for yourself. Go to a bank. Go to the Federal Reserve branch... Go to an EPA office to see how much pollution industries are letting off, and how much they pay relative to their annual profits in fines and purchases of pollution credits. Or, have a union member or activist, or Michael Perelman, or Doug Henwood, or Paul Newman or Ed Asner (make some phone calls) come in to talk to the kids. Let them know what unions are for. Get political, man! Finally, by all means, don't tackle this alone. Call in outside help on this. Not just from other economists, but from teachers who have had success i
students on strike all over Germany (fwd)
-- Forwarded message -- Date: Sat, 29 Nov 1997 11:54:50 -0800 From: Andreas Hippin [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: students on strike all over Germany There is a big strike going on at German universities and Duisburg University where I am studying has joined in as well. There are national aims such as financial support from the state for students to enable them to study without being forced to do jobbing most of the time , more money for the universities for better education, more democracy within the universities, e.g. there is a legitimate students' parliament in Northrhine-Westphalia, the federal state of Germany Duisburg is situated in. But there are no such public bodies in Bavaria or Baden-Wuerttemberg, so students there have no means to articulate their interests. There are also local aims which are even more important since students would like to discuss how they want to be teached, what they want to learn and how they would like to do research. There has been a large meeting of more than 1.000 students which decided to bring the strike to Duisburg last week and it has been confirmed once more in another large meeting on Friday. One of the problems here is that many professors are neither willing nor able to offer high-quality teaching since they're busy with research for private corporations most of the time. They don't even consider it necessary to update their stats. e.g. "This is a table with data published in 1991, but...errrh...there hasn't been much change anyway." That's why one of the demands of the students of economics on strike is to end "lifelong employment" for professors. The media are portraying the strike as a single point movement directed at getting more funds for the universities. As a student participating in the strike I'd like to tell you that there's much more in it. Why should I gon on strike for the goals of my professors or the university? Actually I don't think Duisburg is really crowded and the funds available are allocated the wrong way, e.g. there is a library of the East Asia institute but it is only opened one hour a week although a Japanese librarian has been employed for it. Most students are really fed up with these problems which occur in almost every faculty here. Unfortunately most of them don't think they can achieve anything by protesting against these deficits. After fifteen years of conservative rulership over Germany their generation lacks the experience that the future is wide open and everything can be achieved if you stand together. So the strike will probably be not very successful as far as concrete goals are concerned. However it's another chance to see who's who. Actually I haven't seen to many students of East Asian area sciences out there. But they aren't famous for solidarity anyway. On Monday 13.00 hours there will be a demonstration to the bridges over the river Rhine where Duisburg's steel workers demonstrated ten years ago against the closure of one of the largest steelworks: Krupp Rheinhausen. The bridge was blocked by the workers and their struggle has been a big issue even on national level. The students would like to express their solidarity with the struggles of other declassed groups in this society since they know that there won't be a shachoo seat for everyone although some still seem to believe that they'll be boss someday. Those are living as if they had achieved their goal already, another case of virtual reality. Andreas
Students Arrested (fwd)
Date: Mon, 3 Nov 1997 02:26:34 -0800 (PST) From: APEC Alert! [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: apec-L: Letters needed for jailed UBC students Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] LETTERS OF PROTEST NEEDED UBC (University of British Columbia, Canada) Students jailed for peaceful APEC protest Two UBC students, Victoria Scott and Jonathan Oppenheim, remain in jail three days after being arrested for a peaceful protest against APEC. As of November 2, the two have refused to sign their condition of release, which would prohibit them from protesting at the site of the APEC Leaders' Summit. On October 31, Victoria and Jon, along with other members of APEC ALERT, held a demonstration at the atrium of UBC President Martha Piper's publicly-funded residence--which is undergoing a $400,000 renovation in preparation for the Leaders' Summit. Members of the group used erasable chalk to write anti-APEC slogans on the windows of the atrium. Despite the fact that no damage was done, students were arrested, handcuffed, jailed and charged with criminal mischief. Neither Victoria nor Jon have previous criminal records. By arbitrarily arresting students, and holding them until they concede to absurd conditions, the RCMP, together with the UBC administration, is attempting to silence students' legitimate right to protest APEC. WHAT YOU CAN DO Please call or write UBC President Martha Piper and Prime Minister Jean Chretien expressing outrage at this blatant attempt at intimidation. Martha Piper President, UBC Old Administration Building, Room 101 Vancouver, Canada fax: (604) 822-5055 or (604) 822-3134 phone: (604) 822-2121 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Jean Chretien Prime Minister House of Commons Ottawa, Ont. K1A 0A6 (postage free) fax: (613) 941-6900 Please send a copy of all correspondence to APEC ALERT: 702 Union Street Vancouver, Salish Territory V6A 2C2 phone: (604) 251-9914 fax (604) 733-1852 (attention APEC ALERT) email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.cs.ubc.ca/spider/fuller/apec_alert
Disgruntled Grad Students
In a message dated 97-10-16 20:40:23 EDT, you write: Yep, I got tired of the same all-too-easy and all-too-predictable dismissal of the old guy as having been right about so-and-so but, as we now know from the superior vantage point of economic theory in this advanced age, wrong about these other, let's face it, far more important matters. Here's 2 true stories from the 60's and 70's: When Ross Thomson was taking his Ph.D. at Yale in the early 70's, he told me how profs wouldn't use the word "capitalism" in class. Anwar Shaikh also related a story how when he was taking micro with Gary Becker at Columbia, Becker was catching a lot of flak from the grad students. Finally, at one point Becker suggested that while micro theory might not be useful for understanding "actually existing" capitalism, perfect competition would likely approximate the system under communism! (see that the 60's did to people!) Jason
Teachers And Students Escalate Actions To Defend Public Education (Canada)
On Monday, October 6, Metro-Toronto affiliates of the five teachers associations in Ontario staged a massive rally at Maple Leaf Gardens to protest Bill 160, the Education Quality Improvement Act. By the time the rally started at 7pm, the arena, which seats 18,000 people, was packed to overflow. Teachers in the Peel region (west of Toronto) held a rally at the same time at the International Centre in Mississauga. They marched to Queen's Park following the rallies. On October 8, teachers in the Hamilton-Wentworth and Halton regions are staging another rally at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton. These rallies are being held under the slogan "We Won t Back Down!." Teachers representatives are to meet today at Queen's Park with Ontario Education Minister John Snobelen to discuss the Bill. The teachers are continuing to threaten strike action should the government refuse to either withdraw the bill in its entirety or remove the objectionable provisions. Bill 160 will greatly concentrate control over education in the hands of the provincial cabinet, while stripping the school boards of almost all power to control what goes on in the schools. Since teachers negotiate with the school boards, not the provincial cabinet, the teachers will effectively lose the ability to exercise any control over their working conditions. Bill 160 will extend the time of the school year, give cabinet the power to set class sizes, and give the cabinet the power to set education taxation levels. It would also introduce the use of non-certified instructors in the schools and reduce teacher preparation time. Ontario's 126,000 teachers and education workers are organized into five association: the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation (OSSTF), the Federation of Women Teachers Associations of Ontario (FWTAO), the Ontario Public School Teachers Federation (OPSTF), the Association of Franco-Ontarion Teachers (AEFO), and the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association (OECTA). TML DAILY, 10/97 Shawgi Tell Graduate School of Education University at Buffalo [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: economics students' attitudes
Thad Williamson wrote: Does anyone have handy references or the actual data from studies showing that students who major in economics or in economics grad programs develop personal attitudes that mirror the theory of the rational calculating economic actor they are studying? Robert H. Frank, Thomas Gilovich, and Dennis T Regan, "Does Studying Economics Inhibit Cooperation?," Journal of Economic Perspectives 7 (1993), pp. 359-371. For an upcoming presentation relevant to pomo stuff, I would like to make point that studying postmodernism can lead to self-reinforcing effects on outlook to world (despair, depoliticization, etc.) and use the economics stuff as parallel. Have you checked out Terry Eagleton's book Illusions of Postmodernism? A bit irresponsible, in that he attacks a "mood" rather than any specific texts, but still entertaining suggesetive. Doug
Re: economics students' attitudes
J. of Economic Perspectives Winer 1996 Volume 10 No. 1 "Does Studying Economics Discourage Cooperation?" Yeser, Goldfarb and Poppen with coment by Robert H. Frank, Gilovich, and Regan Cheers!! Alex At 06:41 AM 10/7/97 -0700, Thad Williamson wrote: Dear Pen-L'rs, Does anyone have handy references or the actual data from studies showing that students who major in economics or in economics grad programs develop personal attitudes that mirror the theory of the rational calculating economic actor they are studying? For an upcoming presentation relevant to pomo stuff, I would like to make point that studying postmodernism can lead to self-reinforcing effects on outlook to world (despair, depoliticization, etc.) and use the economics stuff as parallel. Thanks, Thad Thad Williamson National Center for Economic and Security Alternatives (Washington)/ Union Theological Seminary (New York) 212-531-1935 http://www.northcarolina.com/thad Alex Campbell Research Associate, National Center for Economic and Security Alternatives 2317 Ashmead Place, NW Washington, DC 20009 202 986 1373 (voice)/ 202 986 7938 (fax) [EMAIL PROTECTED]
economics students' attitudes
Dear Pen-L'rs, Does anyone have handy references or the actual data from studies showing that students who major in economics or in economics grad programs develop personal attitudes that mirror the theory of the rational calculating economic actor they are studying? For an upcoming presentation relevant to pomo stuff, I would like to make point that studying postmodernism can lead to self-reinforcing effects on outlook to world (despair, depoliticization, etc.) and use the economics stuff as parallel. Thanks, Thad Thad Williamson National Center for Economic and Security Alternatives (Washington)/ Union Theological Seminary (New York) 212-531-1935 http://www.northcarolina.com/thad
Re: economics students' attitudes
See _The Making of an Economist_ by Arjo Klamer and David Colander, Westview. Doing a survey of 1rst and 3rd year economics grad students at MIT, Columbia, Chicago and someplace else (Harvard or Yale maybe) they evaluate the changes in attitudes that occur over the course of graduate school indotrination... er, education. I belive this includes the factoid that _The Economist_ picked up that grad students ranked "knowledge of an economy" lease important to success in grad school and "skill at mathematics" most important. Gina ** Gina Neff [EMAIL PROTECTED] On Tue, 7 Oct 1997, Thad Williamson wrote: Dear Pen-L'rs, Does anyone have handy references or the actual data from studies showing that students who major in economics or in economics grad programs develop personal attitudes that mirror the theory of the rational calculating economic actor they are studying? For an upcoming presentation relevant to pomo stuff, I would like to make point that studying postmodernism can lead to self-reinforcing effects on outlook to world (despair, depoliticization, etc.) and use the economics stuff as parallel. Thanks, Thad Thad Williamson National Center for Economic and Security Alternatives (Washington)/ Union Theological Seminary (New York) 212-531-1935 http://www.northcarolina.com/thad
[PEN-L:12726] Reengineering the Fed: A Juried Award for Grad Students
Dear Penlrs, I've just been hired as research and education director of Tom Schlesinger's new improved outft, the Financial Markets Center (formerly the Southern Finance Project). We're kicking off this contest for grad students, and I'd greatly appreciate it if you could repost it to any list you think appropriate. Also, any grad student who's interested in the contest should email me so I can get in touch with more details. Thanks, Anders Schneiderman Financial Markets Center [EMAIL PROTECTED] - PLEASE REPOST REEGINEERING THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM: A JURIED AWARD FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS The Financial Markets Center is sponsoring a juried contest for graduate and post-graduate students on the subject of central bank reform. The winning entry will receive a cash award of $2,500 and will be published by the Center. The contest is open to law school students as well as students in graduate programs in finance, economics, public policy, government and other relevant areas. BACKGROUND ON THE HENRY B. GONZALEZ AWARD: Today, the Federal Reserve confronts a host of challenges to its authority and effectiveness including the rapid growth of nonbank financial intermediaries, globally interconnected asset markets and privately issued digital money. The Fed faces these challenges with an institutional structure that has long resisted change as well as a lack of openness and accountability unique in America's system of self-government. The Gonzalez Award seeks to promote institutional reforms that make the central bank more open, accountable and effective. Entries may be sweeping in scope or focused on a specific aspect of the Fed's structure, governance, operations, staffing, culture or statutory authority. In all cases, papers must demonstrate convincingly how the proposed institutional reforms would result in a more democratic central bank better equipped to foster full employment, price stability and financial soundness. The Gonzalez Award honors the service of Representative Henry B. Gonzalez, a tireless champion of democratic change at the Federal Reserve. ELIGIBILITY: The contest is open to students enrolled in law school or graduate programs in finance, economics, government, public policy and related fields. Entrants must submit a statement from their department that describes their current standing. THE AWARD: The winner of the Gonzalez award will receive a stipend of $2,500. The award-winning paper will be published by the Financial Markets Center and circulated widely to the media and policy community. REVIEW PROCESS: Entries will be reviewed by a distinguished panel of monetary experts chaired by Professor James K. Galbraith (LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas). LENGTH AND FORMAT: Entries should be no longer than 15,000 words, not including footnotes, endnotes and references. Preference will be given to clearly written entries accessible to a broad variety of audiences. DEADLINE: Entries must be postmarked by March 27, 1998. The award will be announced by May 1, 1998. HOW TO ENTER: Send two copies of the paper to: Gonzalez Award, Financial Markets Center, PO Box 334, Philomont, VA 20131. Please include a statement from your department that describes your current standing. ABOUT THE FINANCIAL MARKETS CENTER: Founded in 1997, the Financial Markets Center is a nonprofit institute that provides research, policy and education resources to grassroots organizations, trade unions, policymakers, journalists and others interested in financial markets and the Federal Reserve System. The Center produces periodic reports on issues in monetary policy and financial regulation, sponsors workshops and conferences and publishes a newsletter, FOMC Alert, which monitors the Federal Reserve. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Anders Schneiderman at the Financial Markets Center, (540) 338-5286 or [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:12558] Two students arrested at UBC in non-violent protest (fwd)
NEWS ADVISORY For immediate release TWO STUDENTS ARRESTED AT UBC IN NON-VIOLENT PROTEST ADMINISTRATION ORDERS THE ARREST OF STUDENTS FOR ACTIVITIES AGAINST APEC VANCOUVER, September 23, 1997 -- Yesterday, two University of British Columbia (UBC) students were arrested by RCMP officers while participating in a non-violent action to raise awareness about the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) Leaders' Summit to be held on campus this November 24 and 25. The arrested students, Shiraz Dindar, 25, and Mark Luchkow, 22, were painting a circle on pavement around the Goddess of Democracy statue which commemorates the victims of the Tiananmen Massacre. The students, part of a grassroots campus group called APEC ALERT, have dubbed the circle an "APEC-Free Zone." RCMP arrived on the scene and promptly arrested the people who happened to be painting at the time. Dindar and Luchkow were fingerprinted, had their photos taken and were charged with mischief. RCMP officers told the students, who have no criminal records, that they were told to make the arrests by members of the UBC administration. The administration decided unilaterally to hold the controversial APEC meeting earlier in the year. Dindar, a sociology student, defended the actions of APEC ALERT: "We're trying to establish an APEC-Free Zone, a place where we can be free from the tyranny of dictators like General Suharto." Suharto, the President of Indonesia, is due to visit UBC this November along with 17 other leaders as part of APEC. Dindar also scoffed at the charge of mischief against him: "What's more mischievious, our line on the pavement, or [UBC] sneaking in APEC withot consulting students, faculty or staff?" According to Luchkow, a music student, yesterday's protest by students is to draw attention to the negative effects of the APEC process, which aims to impose a "free" trade zone in the Asia-Pacific region by the year 2010: "I think APEC is a mechanism to create an aura of approval that doesn't exist .. having it at a university legitimizes it." Members of APEC ALERT are also claiming intimidation from the administration in the form of threats from campus security. Security officers threatened suspension and academic discipline for the actions of APEC ALERT, some of which involve non-violent civil disobedience and are unrelated to classroom work. The action yesterday is part of a campaign called "REFUSE APEC!." After the arrests, UBC students vowed to increase their awareness-raising activities and civil disobedience in order to show their opposition to APEC on campus and the APEC agenda in general. As part of yesterday's action, a permanent shelter was constructed near the Goddess of Democracy statue. Moreover, at a meeting shortly after the arrests, UBC students agreed to return to the statue on Monday, September 29th at 12:30pm to enlarge their APEC-Free Zone. They intend to have the zone reach the Museum of Anthropology -- site of the APEC Leaders' meeting -- by November, in time for protests against the Summit. APEC ALERT members insist that they will not be intimidated by the administration's threats of arrest and suspension in order to exercise their free speech. For more information, or for interviews, contact APEC ALERT at 251-9914 or [EMAIL PROTECTED] -30- APEC ALERT ... grassroots action to oppose APEC at UBC ... tel: (604) 251-9914 * [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.cs.ubc.ca/spider/fuller/apec_alert
[PEN-L:11567] Kim Young Sam Fascict Clique Penalize Students
Pyongyang, July 30 (KCNA) -- The south Korean "civilian" fascist clique, at the puppet Seoul district court on Monday, staged a trial of students prosecuted for the inauguration of the fifth-term South Korean Federation of University Student Councils (Hanchongryon) and demanded prison terms ranging from two to five years for twelve students, according to a radio report from Seoul. The trial was the first for 289 students referred to trial and the fascist clique have decided to conduct a trial of some ten students almost every day to finish all the trials by the end of August, said the radio. In this way, the Kim Young Sam clique want to prevent activities of students and people which are likely to be conducted with the approach of the anniversary of National Liberation, August 15. But it is a foolish intention. KCNA Shawgi Tell Graduate School of Education University at Buffalo [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:7562] More Arrests Of South Korean Students
The south Korean government is responding to the demands of the Korean people for reunification and the ouster of U.S. troops from the Korean Peninsula by savagely attacking the democratic movement for independence and reunification. On November 14, twenty-four students were arrested under the fascist National Security Law, accused of being members of a pro-North Korean organization. Under the war hysteria and persecution of the fascist regime, all that has to be done is label someone "pro-North" and they will be arrested. These recent arrests occurred on five separate college campuses in South Cholla province. This area of south Korea is described in the south Korean media as a "hotbed of political dissent." Kwangju, where thousands of people were massacred by the south Korean military government in the 1980s is located in South Cholla province. Lee Moo-young, Cholla's top police officer, was quoted in the south Korean media saying that the police are actively hunting for over 700 more "pro-North students. Shawgi Tell University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:7512] Re: Yale grad students win one
Forwarded FYI I wanted to inform and update you all about what has been happening and will happen the rest of this week out here in the UC System. We have been striking! We are striking to gain recognition, as the UC System currently denies that we have any collective bargaining rights as we are apprentices. The idea was to having roving strikes at three UC Campus over this whole week. On Monday, the Student Assoc of Graduate Employees (SAGE) at UCLA began the strike. They will continue to strike the test of the week. If recognition was not granted by 5:00 PM on Monday the Association of Student Employees (ASE) at UC San Diego would strike. The UC did not grant recognition. We began striking yesterday and will continue the rest of the week. We also gave them a 5:00 PM deadline, which was not met. So today, Wednesday, UC Berkeley will begin striking and will continue the rest of the week. The academic student employee unions at UC Santa Cruz and UC Santa Barbara will be doing actions in support of the striking campuses. The Chancellor at UCLA has sent a letter to Grad Students at threatening to fire them if they strike this week. UCLA had about 1,000 show up to picket on Monday. I haven't about what happened yesterday. Here at UCSD the turn-out has not been as great. But the Chancellor is meeting with a group of students that represent the ASE/UAW on Thursday. It is the first formal meeting we have had with the University here. We are having a Big Rally here on campus on Thursday. There is a home page that has information about the strike. The address is http://www.nagps.org/NAGPS/nagps-hp2.html If you would like to show your support, you could call the Chancellors on the three campuses, E-mail them, or fax them. If you want to send E-Mail to them you could send it to the ASE/UAW account and we will forward it to the Chancellors. The Address is [EMAIL PROTECTED] I will post the phone numbers and fax numbers later in the day and try to keep you all informed about what is happening. Thanks for any support you can provide. Dan Johnston ASE/UAW Staff Member 619-454-0170 Blair Sandler [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:7364] More Students Jailed In South Korea; General Strike In Russia; Brazen
MORE STUDENTS JAILED IN SOUTH KOREA On Monday November 4, sixteen more students were jailed in south Korea for participating in a political event last August. Their sentences ranged from 10 months to 2 1/2 years. The criminal court in Seoul gave suspended sentences to another 23, restricting them from any political activity for long periods and with the continuing threat of jail terms hanging over their heads. Since last Tuesday, 85 students have been jailed with sentences ranging from just under a year to three years. During the same week, 104 students have received suspended sentences. There has not been one verdict of innocence so far during the mass trials. A further 255 students are awaiting trial during this round , all on virtually the same charges of violating the National Security Law and resisting arrest. It is unclear from news reports out of south Korea whether charges have been filed or dropped against the thousands of other youth and students who were arrested during the summer. South Korean authorities used the fascist National Security Law against the students during the August "unification festival." This effectively banned the activity and automatically turned thousands of students into "criminals." Armed police and the military were unleashed to arrest the students and stop their political festival. The fascist government of Kim Young-sam accused the students of "embracing North Korea's plan to leave intact both Pyongyang's communist system and Seoul's democratic government." To discuss the plan advanced by the government in the north is "illegal"in the "democratic" south. During the trials police produced stacks of "North Korean propaganda" that they said had been seized from the students. The students want reunification of their homeland, the ouster of U.S. troops and ships from the Korean Peninsula and territorial waters, and the ending of the fascist National Security Law. GENERAL STRIKE IN RUSSIA Approximately 30 million Russian workers staged a one-day general strike on Tuesday November 5, to protest unbearable living conditions and the worsening situation of unpaid wages. "People are beginning to starve in some parts of this country, and that could lead them to desperate acts," says Inna Bulgakova, of the Russian Federation of Independent trade unions, which organized the protest. "The Russian people are famous for their patience, but everyone has a breaking point," Bulgakova is quoted as saying. According to spokesperson Bulgakova, the general strike is "the final warning" to the government to address the immediate needs of the Russian working class, especially those who are verging on starvation and the millions who have not been paid any wages in months. The seizure of political power by those who have restored capitalism has been a disaster for the Russian working class and people. From the great socialist republic that was the most advanced country at the time, the various republics have disintegrated into social, economic and political chaos and ruin. The heroic Russian working class that stormed the citadel of the Tsars and capitalists in 1917, built the world's first socialist system under Comrade J.V. Stalin, and defeated the Nazi hordes during the Second World War, will certainly organize to overthrow the capitalist restorationists and bring back light and hope to their great land. BRAZEN U.S. INTERFERENCE IN BOSNIAN AFFAIRS A Saturday headline in the international monopoly-controlled media reads, "Washington Peeved Bosnians Haven't Fired Iran-Linked Official." Nowhere in the ensuing article does it describe the response of the Iranian government, whether it is "peeved" that the Bosnians are possibly concerned that the U.S. imperialists are "peeved." Rather, the item relates how the U.S. State Department expressed annoyance with Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic for failing to fulfil a promise to fire a senior defence official with close links to Iran. It reports that the U.S. imperialists, in a bid to force Bosnia's hand, are continuing to withhold delivery of $100 million worth of military equipment until the official departs. "We don't want to see the government of Iran have high-level influence on the government of a country that we are giving substantial amount of assistance to," U.S. State Department spokesperson Nicholas Burns said. "(The situation) has gone on far too long," Burns continued. "President Izetbegovic was informed personally of our concerns more than a week ago, and we were assured that action would be taken." Burns even went so far as to publicly disclose the identity of the official he wants removed: it is deputy defence minister Hasan Cengic. Since the end of the Cold War, the U.S. State Department has dropped even the pretence of non-interference i
[PEN-L:6772] Students Active Despite Repression
The south Korean Federation of National Student Councils (Hanchongryon) representing one million south Korean post-secondary students, even though banned and declared a "communist and north Korean spy agency," has resumed its activities throughout the south with great support from the students and faculty members, according to the south Korean media. The media reports that the whole country was surprised to see the leaders of Hanchongryon appear publicly together at Seoul National University last Thursday, even though they are wanted by the police for breaking the fascist National Security Law and leading an illegal organization. The student leaders were apparently protected from arrest by the masses and encouraged to make a statement denouncing the continuing attacks on the youth and students, and the use of the grounding of the submarine from the north as an excuse to generate war hysteria by the puppet Kim Young-sam regime. The student leaders in a statement said that the sailors from the wrecked submarine should have been assisted, and talks should have immediately begun with the north to settle the issue peacefully, instead of slaughtering in the most brutal manner fellow countrymen who were in trouble, and provoking a very dangerous escalation of tension in the country. Shawgi Tell University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:6773] Trial Of 440 Students To Begin Shortly
The news media in south Korea stated Monday that the trials of 440 college students arrested in August would begin shortly. The media spoke of "tight court security that has been substantially beefed up in five separate courtrooms." Tension is said to be extremely high as there is growing support for the students who were arrested while attempting to hold a pro-unification rally. Adding to the outrage over the arrests under the fascist "National Security Law" are the persistent reports of sexual abuse of the arrested students by security officials. Many of the indicted students are female, and parents and others are very concerned for their safety. Shawgi Tell University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:6775] Re: Trial Of 440 Students To Begin Shortly
At 10:14 AM 10/19/96, SHAWGI TELL wrote: ...yet another diatribe. Shawgi Tell, if you made some effort to converse with the people on the lists you post these screeds to I might feel a little different about them. But as it is, it just reads like spams. One tedious pronunciamento after another. Please stop it. Doug -- Doug Henwood Left Business Observer 250 W 85 St New York NY 10024-3217 USA +1-212-874-4020 voice +1-212-874-3137 fax email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] web: http://www.panix.com/~dhenwood/LBO_home.html
[PEN-L:6778] Re: Trial Of 440 Students To Begin Shortly
I hit the delete key every time I see Shawgi's messages, primarily because I hate being preached to -- even if there is a vague chance I might agree with the message. However, It is getting very, very tiring having to monitor my entire message list for possible shawgi's before reading said list, This is especially true since my time is incredibly limited right now. How about, we all tie up Shawgi's mail box with static? Make this problem a two way street? maggie coleman [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:6320] More Indictments Against Students
On September 17, the south Korean prosecution indicted 438 more students who were captured after police stormed Yonsei University in Seoul August 20. The students were attempting to hold a reunification festival that the government declared illegal and violently suppressed. Kim Won-chi, a senior Seoul prosecutor used the occasion to say that "the Yonsei protest was masterminded by the pro-North Korean group Pomminnyon, the Pan-National Alliance for the Reunification of Korea. Hanchongryon, the Korean Federation of University Students Councils, which was behind the Yonsei protest, is a radical group affiliated with Pomminnyon." He added that "Both Pomminnyon and Hanchongryon have followed the directions directly from North Korea, calling for the pullout of U.S. military servicemen from the South." Rodong-sinmun, organ of the Workers' Party of Korea, denounced what it calls this premeditated campaign to stifle Hanchongryon by linking it with the north in a far-fetched way, saying: "This is...an assault on students under Hanchongryon by branding them as 'mobsters' and 'communists.' The offensive against Hanchongryon will be developed into a repressive campaign to emasculate the pro-reunification democratic forces. If these forces remain an onlooker to the repression of Hanchongryon, it will bring about an irrevocable damage to justice. It is time these forces actively support the fighting students more vigorously, and courageously join the struggle against Kim Young-sam." Among those indicted include 38 leaders of Hanchongryon charged with violation of the fascist National Security Law. The indicted key leaders of the federation are Sol Jung-ho, 25, of Dankook University, and Lee Kyong-ho, 22, of Korea University. The prosecution admits that 5,848 people were hauled off during the protest, and an undisclosed number since that time, recording the largest number of arrested people in one case since the south Korean government was established. More than 3,300 university students have been booked without physical detention, 370 others were brought to summery courts and 1,672 were released with a warning. All others are still being held. 10 students have been charged with assault causing the death of a policeman. The prosecution said it has obtained arrest warrants under the National Security Act for key leaders of Hanchongryon, including chairman Chong Myong-ki, along with 15 others, and operates a special task force to track them down. Shawgi Tell University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:6247] Students And Youth: Be Vigilant Over Indifference
One of the most terrible effects desensitization has accomplished is the nurturing of indifference amongst the youth. War, violence, destruction and deprivation have been turned by the bourgeois media into everyday information, to be soaked in alongside the latest professional sports statistics or the latest weather forecast. The bourgeois press habitually treats any tragedy that befalls the world's peoples in a detached and often nonchalant manner. Entire papers are turned into endless obituaries, instruments whose only purpose is to measure the global death toll. It is in this way that the bourgeoisie has completely desensitized entire sections of the society including a large number of youth and students. Even some of the more progressive people shrug their shoulders when U.S. imperialism commits another atrocity, such as the recent U.S. missile attack on Iraq. But students and youth must be extremely vigilant over the rise of indifference because it has the effect of liquidating their struggles. The day a movement can remain undisturbed by an enemy offensive, can remain completely indifferent, is a sad day indeed. It is a sign of a movement in serious trouble. A vibrant and militant youth movement, on the other hand, without losing its cool will let the world know, and especially U.S. imperialism, that the attacks on the world's peoples will not be accepted by the youth, that such actions will not be tolerated. If the youth and students remain indifferent, they condemn themselves to inaction. Without even knowing it, they let U.S. imperialism accomplish its aims without any opposition. The youth and students simply cannot afford to do this. They must overcome the bourgeois pressures to become passive and, by waging actions, overcome the imposed indifference. Shawgi Tell University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:6187] Students' Imprisonment Continues
Rodong-sinmun, organ of the Workers' Party of Korea, commented September 12, on the fascist suppression of the patriotic students in the south of Korea. It reports that on September 10, the south Korean puppet administration decided to extend past September 17, the detention of 3,340 students who are awaiting trial for participating in the patriotic pro-unification festival in August. Rodong-sinmun comments: "This (the continued detention of the students) reveals the criminal design of the south Korean puppets to more tightly bind the pro-reunification, patriotic and democratic forces of south Korea, including Hanchongryon, to the fascist repressive orderThe Kim Young-Sam fascist clique, that has mobilized tens of thousands of heavily-armed police in the frantic crackdown on peaceful demonstrators, suffocated them with tear gas and arrested them at random, and deserves severe punishment. The students, who threw a few fire bottles in protest against the fascist crackdown, can never be targets of punishment in any country." The newspaper denounces the introduction in the south of a so-called "police protection stop line" that is going to be drawn in front of all rallies and demonstrations. Any demonstrator who ventures beyond the line will be shot by the police. Rodong-sinmun writes: "(The 'stop line') is even worse than any system the former military dictators dared to introduce. When the Kim Young-Sam fascist clique steps down from power, they will face death for their thrice-cursed crimes." The commentary demands an end to the fascist suppression of the youth and the unconditional release of all students. Shawgi Tell University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:6045] Liberal Party of Canada and Korean students
Please, Shawgi, tell us: Are South Korean students applying in droves for refugee status in Canada? We are all dying to know how they have been fascistically rejected. -- Rosser Jr, John Barkley [EMAIL PROTECTED]
