This tuition hike has caused quite the commotion. Since I am technically a student, and seminar was cancelled, I went down to the city center last night to join in on the protests. It was very intense. There were riot police everywhere, they chased everyone around, firecrackers kept going off, chants, horses, people just smashed shit, and then they tried to burn down the tree in Trafalgar Square. There was even a helicopter involved and some protesters scared the shit out of Prince Charles and his lady. It was one of the cooler experiences of my life. You couldn't help but enjoy running from the police and fighting the power. I think I even began cheering when they started burning down the Christmas tree, and I LOVE Christmas.
Reuters
Now, last fall the government of New York voted to increase tuition for all SUNY schools as well as make huge cuts. There was a protest organized on campus for the students to voice their frustrations and fight the man. There was literally a band, a snow cone machine, a popcorn machine, and I think about 20 people showed up. So I have to ask, What the hell is wrong with us? We are a nation built on protests and government hatred and now we won't show up for anything unless there is free food involved. Have we become so entranced by MTV and Twilight that we have forgotten that we control the government? That the government works for us? Most of my friends barely vote. Whether or not you agree with the Tea party's politics is irrelevant, we should all take a page out of their book, and then we should take control of the power the constitution has granted us.
Just like the women who took back the night, we should take back our power.
The NY tuitions were not tripled... not even close. They were simply raised as one could have expected them to be. I am not big on the whole government scene and frankly could care less but I think American government might be smart enough to realize tripling the cost of ANYTHING is going to start a riot. On a side note... how did you know about this and not tell me about the snow cone machine? I would protest for a good snow cone for sure.
ReplyDeleteps. didnt you comment in an earlier entry about how pointless voting is?
I think our corporations, media, government, whatever it may be, has become really good at making us totally apathetic when it comes to anything that is not about, well, *us*. Through our horrible reality tv shows, (that literally rot our brains); 24 hour news coverage being offered from at least 3 different sources; and the news prioritizing the rehab activities of Lindsay Lohan and Charlie Sheen over the BP oil spill, Afghanistan, the recession, etc., we are being made into a very apathetic people. (Phew, that was a run on and a half). It is hard to even know what news is even important anymore when every little thing is made news (again, thanks to the 24 hour media outlets).
ReplyDeleteAlso, thanks to Facebook, and other social media outlets, we have all become the most self-centered, egocentric beings. Why would anyone care about tuition hikes, or even care to read news websites to learn about them, when they could be updating their fb status or tweeting about some bitch that cut them in line at wegmans?
And Steven White does have a point, about the hikes not being tripled. although, UB Law did suffer some of the highest hikes in the state this past year. Thank god I graduated when I did.