Anger in the
ivory tower

>> Radical student union ASSÉ prepares
for a disruptive fall semester

REVOLUTION STUDIES:
Hubert Gendron-Blais (centre) and ASSÉ council

by PATRICK LEJTENYI

Campuses around the province are going to be simmering with discontent again this year, as modest hikes in tuition may lead to a full-scale revolution. At least, that’s what radical student union ASSÉ hopes.

The union, which represents over 40,000 CEGEP and university students in the province, isn’t the biggest in terms of numbers, but in recent years has noisily increased its visibility through a series of strikes that at times turned into police actions, most notably on Nov. 19, 2005. And as the fall semester starts, the union’s executive council is planning a massive information campaign that will call for, among other things, universal and free tuition for all levels of education, including for international students, improving the quality of campus resources and services, kicking the private sector off campuses and establishing free day care. The demands will be aired over the next few weeks in rolling demonstrations across the province. Montreal will get its demonstrations between Sept. 17 and 21.

But according to Hubert Gendron-Blais, the union’s spokesperson, the demonstrations won’t be violent. “There will be two levels of actions,” says the 21-year-old student of political communications at UQÀM. “The first is raising the awareness among the public through things like kiosks and flyers. We’ll be pursuing a campaign of urban mobilization. The second is the regional action week in September.”

He says the actions in the coming weeks will not involve direct confrontation with authorities, but rather a series of actions that will draw attention to their demands by taking place in high-visibility areas, such as busy downtown intersections. “We want the student population as well as the general population to take part in the strikes,” he says.

The new school year has indeed brought about the much-anticipated, and among student circles much-loathed, hike in tuition fees. But the hikes aren’t as brutal as feared. A Quebec resident pursuing a bachelor of arts at McGill, for example, can expect a $50 per semester increase, bringing the total tuition for the year to $1,768.20. With other student fees, the total for the year is $3,189.70. Students from the rest of Canada will see their total tuition and services bill top up at $6,562.30. International students will pay $15,300.10. That’s not counting housing, living expenses or books. Fees vary from department to department and from school to school.

The key to the union’s tactic is to obtain massive public support before entering into any negotiations with the government. Without it, says Gendron-Blais, “We’ll just be another lobby.” According to him, the provincial education minister invited the union to participate in consultations on fees, which was rebuffed.

It’s safe to say that Gendron-Blais isn’t a fan of the Charest government, but he states that ASSÉ won’t be dragged into supporting any political party. “Obviously, if Québec solidaire says they support us, we won’t spit on that,” he says. “But ASSÉ is non-partisan and totally independent.”

The union’s demands were developed after examining education models in Germany, Mexico, Ireland and Sweden. According to Gendron-Blais, “Sweden was the best model for us. Its population and economy are similar to Quebec’s, and their model was not implemented to the detriment of the quality of education.”