Posted today on Socialistworker.org:
The key issues in the strike flow from SIU Chancellor Rita Cheng and SIU President Glen Poshard’s attempts to impose a “corporate education” model on the school. As one student and Navy veteran asked in an open letter, “Is SIUC just after my government benefits after all? Like [the for-profit] University of Phoenix?”
“What is at stake here,” said striking professor Jyostna Kapur, “is the education of working class and middle class students. The administration wants to cheat our students of a good education by trying to make us work for more and more with less and less at a time when working class and middle class students are going into debt for this education.”
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Great article. I love that these occupy movements are spreading to colleges. The cost of education just perpetuates poverty and the marginalization of the lower class, because if you can’t afford a good education, you’ll likely never get a good job and become financially successful. My blog and book are about the massive corporations and governments that create this inequality and lack of opportunity. Take a look if you’re interested: http://whatcontrolsus.com/about/