Since the student movement in the 1960s, college campuses have been a hotbed of social unrest and protest. Now in the age of Trump, where political demonstrations have become the new brunch, colleges are not only the site of much social unrest – they’re also one of the core drivers.
Using the momentum from the Women’s March nearly a month ago, the SEIU and other teacher’s and student’s unions are mobilizing college students at dozens of universities across the country on March 1 to “reclaim higher ed for the public good,” and create “an unstoppable force for change in higher ed by creating more opportunity for the next generation.”
Then the video takes a direct shot at Education Secretary Besty DeVos, with the narrator adding, “With right-wing extremists and billionaire CEOs controlling all branches of our government, our nation’s education system and core values are at risk like never before.”
“Faculty and students at campuses around the country are rising up to resist the corporate agenda that seeks to divide us. Join us.”
Although the narrator and the Facebook event page for the march both only specifically mention “higher ed” and the affordability of college, the video accompanying the ad shows clips from the many protests we have all seen over the last few weeks – airport protests, pro-immigration marches, more and more women’s rights demonstrations and others.
But whether it’s this higher education march next week, a Tax Day march, or the March for Science, expect college students to be out in big numbers.
Using the momentum from the Women’s March nearly a month ago, the SEIU and other teacher’s and student’s unions are mobilizing college students at dozens of universities across the country on March 1 to “reclaim higher ed for the public good,” and create “an unstoppable force for change in higher ed by creating more opportunity for the next generation.”
Betsy DeVos Becomes the New Face of Student Debt
The SEIU’s new ad sounds like the script was pulled from a Bernie Sanders’s Greatest Hits. “Our nation’s higher education system is in crisis,” the narrator says. “Millions of families can’t afford to send their kids to college. Student debt is skyrocketing. And educators are forced to rely on government assistance.”Then the video takes a direct shot at Education Secretary Besty DeVos, with the narrator adding, “With right-wing extremists and billionaire CEOs controlling all branches of our government, our nation’s education system and core values are at risk like never before.”
“Faculty and students at campuses around the country are rising up to resist the corporate agenda that seeks to divide us. Join us.”
Marching on March First
The narrator in the ad doesn’t dance around the group’s intention of using the momentum and the model of the Women’s March to encourage campus resistance. And like the Women’s March, this “Education” March on March 1 ropes in a lot of other issues that don’t exactly fit under the umbrella of education policy.Although the narrator and the Facebook event page for the march both only specifically mention “higher ed” and the affordability of college, the video accompanying the ad shows clips from the many protests we have all seen over the last few weeks – airport protests, pro-immigration marches, more and more women’s rights demonstrations and others.
But whether it’s this higher education march next week, a Tax Day march, or the March for Science, expect college students to be out in big numbers.