In this Feb 14 interview, Alisa Messer, Professor of English at CCSF, shares her vision for education in California. Alisa is the President of Local 2121 of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), representing teachers, counselors, librarians, and researchers at City College campuses throughout San Francisco. The local AFT and the statewide California Federation of Teachers (CFT) endorse the upcoming Occupy Education direct actions.
Education and labor unions have been invigorated by the Occupy movement’s energy and support, which is helping them achieve desperately needed changes so that education and social services can once again meet the needs of the 99%. California must get back to its roots. In the 1970s, California’s visionary Master Plan for Higher Education recognized accessible, quality public education as a basic public right. But, over the past 30 years, cutting taxes and creating new tax loopholes have decimated the revenue that could support education and social services. This downward slide has forced state and community colleges to increase tuition by over 300% in 10 years, while cutting back on teachers and course offerings.
Recently the Board of Governors of California Community Colleges approved, in total, the destructive statewide recommendations of the ironically named “Student Success Task Force,” that would ration access to higher education and close the door on students who do not succeed “quickly enough.” Occupy Education, the unions, and the 99% must collectively oppose such shortsighted measures. In order to obtain the education needed for their future success, students and their families must not be forced into crushing debt that profits lending institutions while squeezing the poorest and most vulnerable among us.
On March 1, Occupy SF will kickoff Occupy Education week with local rallies. On March 1-5, Occupy protesters will dramatize the need for change with a “99 Mile March for Education and Social Justice” from Berkeley to Sacramento. March 5 will be a huge event with thousands of demonstrators from across California converging in Sacramento to Occupy the Capitol!
Alisa urges students, teachers, school and labor union members, and everyone who cares about the future of our state, to participate in the Occupy Education actions, and to spread the word to all their friends, and ask each of them to tell all their friends. We must present a massive display of people power in Sacramento. Families should bring their kids, who will benefit the most from our success, and whose visible participation will strengthen our appeal to hearts and minds.
We shall raise our voices and banners in order to restore California as a role model for the nation. We must remedy the deterioration of education and social services that have been repeatedly meat-axed by the state’s budgetary process. We must send a clear message to state officials that a majority of Californians support the “Millionaires Tax to Restore Funding for Education and Essential Services Act of 2012”. We must be vigilant so that this tax revenue is used to fund public education is not siphoned into education corporations and the pockets of the 1%. We must work together to roll back 30 years of greed by the top 1% of individuals and corporations and restore a system that is fair for all Californians.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.