For those of you who don't know, the universities of the state of New Jersey stand to lose around 50% of public funding. Rutgers alone could have 169 MILLION dollars cut from our budget, leaving us with a 5,000 dollar tuition hike and the slashing of 2,000+ classes.
To combat this, we arranged a rally in Trenton. It was expected that the GAs (governing associations of the College Ave, Busch, Livingston, Cook/Douglass campuses) would have contacted other state universities (Ramapo, Kean, William Paterson, TCNJ, Rider, the community colleges)....but they did a shitty job. There was NO SOLIDARITY among the state universities. I estimate that about 300 students took 4 hours out of their day to protest the extreme damage that could happen to their education. 75% of those students were from Rutgers...which is due to the shitty communication. Some TCNJ kids were there too.
THEN, at the rally, there was no ANGER. No one was pissed! A bunch of young suits and suitsesses spoke DOWN TO US from a PODIUM on the steps. That's not a rally. That's a lecture. That's not speaking FOR the people, it's speaking down to them. There was a fountain in the middle of this area, but you were chastised for going on it. No one wanted to "anger anyone" because they "gave us this space." WTF? Gave us the space? We're ASSEMBLING; isn't that part of the Bill of Rights? A bunch of us from the student union started yelling "Fuck Corzine!" but some kid quickly tried to quiet us. "Do you want them to shut down the rally?"
Rallying is nothing like it should be. It's students stepping up to the line of politeness, but not crossing it. No one showed sufficient ire. It was a bunch of poor-me speeches, but nothing visceral. Why were we making them feel good? Why were we abiding by their rules, playing within their boundaries, so that they could go home without the guilt of what they're doing to us? "Oh, look at them protesting. we'll listen, we really will!" Bullshit. Utter and complete crap.
Students are so apathetic. They're all wired up to protest ON CAMPUS, but make them leave their bubbles, and they wimp out. Make them face some opposition, and they cave.
The fact that such a miniscule fraction of all the students at my university, and at all the state universities, showed up DISGUSTS me. Maybe all those rich kids can stand to have the tuition hike, but myself? I cannot. My single mother works two jobs and my father works 12 hours a day so I can go here. I'll be fucking crazy if I let the apathy of some bourgeoisie popped-collar idiots ruin my education.
To combat this, we arranged a rally in Trenton. It was expected that the GAs (governing associations of the College Ave, Busch, Livingston, Cook/Douglass campuses) would have contacted other state universities (Ramapo, Kean, William Paterson, TCNJ, Rider, the community colleges)....but they did a shitty job. There was NO SOLIDARITY among the state universities. I estimate that about 300 students took 4 hours out of their day to protest the extreme damage that could happen to their education. 75% of those students were from Rutgers...which is due to the shitty communication. Some TCNJ kids were there too.
THEN, at the rally, there was no ANGER. No one was pissed! A bunch of young suits and suitsesses spoke DOWN TO US from a PODIUM on the steps. That's not a rally. That's a lecture. That's not speaking FOR the people, it's speaking down to them. There was a fountain in the middle of this area, but you were chastised for going on it. No one wanted to "anger anyone" because they "gave us this space." WTF? Gave us the space? We're ASSEMBLING; isn't that part of the Bill of Rights? A bunch of us from the student union started yelling "Fuck Corzine!" but some kid quickly tried to quiet us. "Do you want them to shut down the rally?"
Rallying is nothing like it should be. It's students stepping up to the line of politeness, but not crossing it. No one showed sufficient ire. It was a bunch of poor-me speeches, but nothing visceral. Why were we making them feel good? Why were we abiding by their rules, playing within their boundaries, so that they could go home without the guilt of what they're doing to us? "Oh, look at them protesting. we'll listen, we really will!" Bullshit. Utter and complete crap.
Students are so apathetic. They're all wired up to protest ON CAMPUS, but make them leave their bubbles, and they wimp out. Make them face some opposition, and they cave.
The fact that such a miniscule fraction of all the students at my university, and at all the state universities, showed up DISGUSTS me. Maybe all those rich kids can stand to have the tuition hike, but myself? I cannot. My single mother works two jobs and my father works 12 hours a day so I can go here. I'll be fucking crazy if I let the apathy of some bourgeoisie popped-collar idiots ruin my education.
