National Walkout Against Fees 24.11.10

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WALKOUT OF YOUR SCHOOL, COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY ON 24 NOVEMBER

Walkouts have been one of the major ways school and college students in Britain have traditionally shown their discontent.

They took place at hundreds of schools and colleges against the Iraq war in 2003, against “third world” debt in 2005, and several colleges walked out against cuts and privatisation in 2009-10, including the Dover Christ Church Academy this month.

University students haven’t staged a walkout for a while in Britain. But last year we did manage an impressive wave of occupations against the attacks on Gaza, and many universities occupied lecture theatres and even management offices against cuts.

Now, with the very nature of further and higher education under threat school students, college students and university students need to fight together. This isn’t just phrasemongering – if we are to defeat the proposals of the Browne Review we need to build a mass movement like the current general strikes in France.

That’s why a school, college and uni walkout out is a vital first step for us to take, demonstrating our unity in action.

Summary:
http://anticuts.org.uk/?p=655

Poster:
http://anticuts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/walkout.pdf

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=134751449911080

Student networking site:
http://anticuts.com/


DISTRIBUTE DETAILS AS APPROPRIATE.

 

[where to]

Liverpool callout:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=100821293322538

Wednesday, November 24 · 12:00pm - 3:00pm
Liverpool Guild of Students
(Mountford Hall, next to the Catholic cathedral)

 

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I've refreshed the main Facebook page for this, it seems people are joining the Facebook group literally every minute. i refreshed from an hour ago and the number went from 4800 to 5000.

Students - what sort of chat is there for this in your campuses?

Are school students supporting this?

 

[Vintage Paw]

Jolly good, shall pass it around.

I do, however, question the effectiveness of scheduling it for a Wednesday. Historically the day most universities have little teaching, the day reserved for sports/societies etc.

 

[where to]

Edinburgh University meeting, 17th November:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=140003336051319

 

[where to]

.

 

[grit]

I'm went to the march, I wont be doing this.

 

[Ground Elder]

I'm went to the march, I wont be doing this.

Why not?

 

[Kid_Eternity]

What's the point of marching? We did that shit in the run up to the Iraq war and it stopped nothing.

 

[ymu]

Is this just me, or does anticuts.org.uk look like exactly what we've all been looking for in our desperation not to be led by CoR?

This site is non-aligned, non-partisan and non-sectarian.

We don’t believe that organising down ideological or party political lines will be successful. And we believe that strategy and tactics will be far more important than ideology in stopping the cuts. For that reason only links to alliance/ coalition type anticuts groups will be published.

The policy is a little more relaxed in events listings but these must be clearly anticuts orientated.

The site promotes action not ideology.

What more do we need? It's a fantastic site - it's all there.

 

[sim667]

What's the point of marching? We did that shit in the run up to the Iraq war and it stopped nothing.

This isnt a march its a walkout, and will cause issues for colleges/unis/schools as they'll have to pay their staff for doing nothing for a day.

As a member of staff, feel free to walkout, thursdays are manic for me and i could do with a chilled day

I think they're being a bit hopeful to get schoolkids to join in though.

 

[Cobbles]

I'm went to the march, I wont be doing this.

Clearly not a student of English.......

 

[grit]

Clearly not a student of English.......

yeah engineer here.

I had reservations about the effectiveness of the march, regarding this it feels as it will be completely ineffective.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

yeah engineer here.

I had reservations about the effectiveness of the march, regarding this it feels as it will be completely ineffective.

Walk outs and marches won't change policy.

 

[editor]

Walk outs and marches won't change policy.

So best they do nothing yes?

 

[butchersapron]

Walk outs and marches won't change policy.

Walkouts and marches when linked with or acting as a catylst for wider actions can stop policies being imposed.

 

[Streathamite]

I think they're being a bit hopeful to get schoolkids to join in though.

actually, the walkout over Iraq in 2003 was started by schoolgirls

 

[plurker]

So best they do nothing yes?

Oh yes. Absolutely. We should all just wait 4 years and use our democratic vote wisely.

 

[killer b]

I think they're being a bit hopeful to get schoolkids to join in though.

what makes you think that?

 

[editor]

Walkouts and marches when linked with or acting as a catylst for wider actions can stop policies being imposed.

Exactly. It's a starting point, and an opportunity for people to get together, gauge the kind of support they're mustering and plan future actions and strategies. On an individual level it's also quite empowering to realise that a lot of people feel the same as you too.

 

[Streathamite]

Is this just me, or does anticuts.org.uk look like exactly what we've all been looking for in our desperation not to be led by CoR?

great site, but I don't think its'/their intention is to be any sort of alternative to CoR, but simply a central resource

 

[grit]

Walk outs and marches won't change policy.

I put a lot more weight on a large march such as the student one this week over a walk out. Unfortuntely though you are correct they will not directly change policy, its a start though innit.

 

[Vintage Paw]

Exactly. It's a starting point, and an opportunity for people to get together, gauge the kind of support they're mustering and plan future actions and strategies. On an individual level it's also quite empowering to realise that a lot of people feel the same as you too.

This, absolutely. No, sitting in a corridor won't stop them raising fees. Walking out of a class room won't stop them cutting funding. But it helps build: awareness, personal involvement, empowerment, comradeship, and so on.

You don't start running from a complete stand-still. You perform a few warm up exercises to get the body moving first.

 

[Vintage Paw]

There's a reason people don't get involved in things, or are 'apathetic', or believe there's no point - it's because they aren't already engaged. These small events help get people engaged in small, manageable actions which can then lead to a lifetime of political engagement.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

Walkouts and marches when linked with or acting as a catylst for wider actions can stop policies being imposed.

This I'd agree with, them on their own will solve/ change nothing.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

So best they do nothing yes?

Yeah cos that was what I said...*facepalm*

 

[Kid_Eternity]

I put a lot more weight on a large march such as the student one this week over a walk out. Unfortuntely though you are correct they will not directly change policy, its a start though innit.

The problem is unless a constructive direct action strategy is in place from the off most people will just turn up, walk the march and go home with no further action and the press will undermine the whole thing based on the actions of a few. The Iraq protests had the same vanguardist stuff said about them, we need to get people to the marches then they'll be radicalised etc...came to nothing.

 

[grit]

The problem is unless a constructive direct action strategy is in place from the off most people will just turn up, walk the march and go home with no further action and the press will undermine the whole thing based on the actions of a few. The Iraq protests had the same vanguardist stuff said about them, we need to get people to the marches then they'll be radicalised etc...came to nothing.

That is partly the fault of the current lefties from what I can tell. I've had an extremely interesting time the past 6 months. I've been going back on forth on starting a thread about my situation, as i am (or would like to think were) a textbook case of a complacent part of the middle class. I post on Urban to try and understand more of others views. I find it extremely irritating that the term middle class is used here as an insult, as it seems so fucking blind to the fact that if the general urban75 outview got more people like me on side you would be a lot fucking stronger and together might actually have a chance of really doing something. Instead the knee jerk reaction is to sneer and tell people like me to fuck off, when in fact we are actually in this together.

I await the stream of abuse.

 

[Cobbles]

The problem is unless a constructive direct action strategy is in place from the off most people will just turn up, walk the march and go home with no further action and the press will undermine the whole thing based on the actions of a few.

What like breaking windows, setting fire to stuff and other random mindless vandalism?

 

[frogwoman]

That is partly the fault of the current lefties from what I can tell. I've had an extremely interesting time the past 6 months. I've been going back on forth on starting a thread about my situation, as i am (or would like to think were) a textbook case of a complacent part of the middle class. I post on Urban to try and understand more of others views. I find it extremely irritating that the term middle class is used here as an insult, as it seems so fucking blind to the fact that if the general urban75 outview got more people like me on side you would be a lot fucking stronger and together might actually have a chance of really doing something. Instead the knee jerk reaction is to sneer and tell people like me to fuck off, when in fact we are actually in this together.

I await the stream of abuse.

I'm also middle class lol. I think you should start the thread as it may be more constructive than you might think. Go for it.