NEW YORK CITY—More than 75 students and faculty supporters at the City University of New York (CUNY) shut down a meeting of the Board of Trustees (BoT), which was set to vote on a $320 a year hike in tuition and fees. Capitalist politicians and their appointed trustees serve the billionaire rulers, not working class students. Their “educational” system aims to train some of us to work for them and to brainwash all of us into thinking that capitalism works for everyone. It doesn’t, so we shut their meeting down. We chanted, “What do we want? Free CUNY! When do we want it? Now!” and “If we don’t get it, Shut it down!” It was good training for us, because in the future we will have to shut this whole capitalist system down.
We refused to listen to the frantic pleas of BoT President Bill Thompson to be quiet. We continued chanting and holding up signs calling for free tuition. After 20 minutes of pulling his few hairs out, Thompson ordered the room to be cleared and CUNY security cops demanded we leave. The bosses give the orders and the cops obey. We left — but very, very slowly, meanwhile chanting loudly, “When CUNY students are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, Fight back!” In the hallway outside the meeting room, we continued to chant, and then one of the cops grabbed a female protester and pushed her into a room, where they intended to arrest her. But students and faculty chanted, “Let her go!” and we refused to leave until the cops finally released our comrade, without pressing charges. This was another good lesson. The cops serve the bosses, but united we can beat them back.
Many CUNY students, the majority of whom are Black and Latin, come from families with low incomes. A majority work more than 20 hours a week in order to afford the costs of college. That’s why students are not only opposing a tuition increase but are demanding a “free CUNY”—no tuition, with free books and transportation. But even with a “free CUNY” working class students will still be cogs in a system where capitalist profits are the main priority. And eventually we will have to fight and die in more and more bosses’ wars so they can continue raking in profits all over the world.
It is interesting that the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ recent chart of the 20 occupations with the highest projected increase in employment over the next 10 years shows that three-quarters of those jobs do not require a college degree. The capitalists don’t need large numbers of college-educated workers, so public spending on public colleges has declined, while taxes on corporations and the wealthy have plummeted.
What working class students need is an education in fighting back against this racist, capitalist system. Today we learned that with planning and militancy, we can disrupt the plans of the enemy. But only temporarily, because the trustees did eventually—in private—vote to raise tuition and fees. What we really need is a communist revolution to get rid of the fat cats, their hired politicians, and their entire system. We need to build an egalitarian communist society that meets the needs of all workers, worldwide. We need to build a revolutionary party to take state power. Join Progressive Labor Party!