Strike two

Despite relentless dedication by the Quebec Liberal government, the Concordia Student Union has far from given up on the fight against tuition hikes. At Wednesday’s CSU council meeting, councilors voted in support of a winter semester mobilization plan meant to combat the proposed tuition hike of $325 per semester for students who are Quebec residents over the next five years.

On the agenda is a March 7 special general assembly to vote for a weeklong Concordia-wide strike. 

The CSU has already booked three locations on campus to gather enough students for a significant mandate.

 “If we are going to have a vote on a strike that affects the entire student body we need to have a significant amount of students in order for it to be successful,” said CSU VP External Chad Walcott.

The sites include H-110 on the Sir George Williams campus as well as The Hive and the G Lounge at the Loyola campus.

Walcott is the man leading the charge. He said that the government will have no choice to negotiate if students go on strike and if classes must be cancelled for a semester. “Governments can’t afford to do that,” he said.

If the strike mandate is approved by students it will take place from March 26 to 29. However, it won’t necessarily end there. It could be extended indefinitely if students vote to do so in a general assembly planned for March 29.

“A strike is pretty much the only card left that students have in their hand in Quebec,” said CSU President Lex Gill.

In anticipation of questions and criticism, the CSU has planned out an information campaign devoted to convincing students that a strike is necessary.

Information will come in the form of booklets, mass emails and flyers, but also in the form of direct action. One of these activities will be a “Library Sleep-in” planned to take place from February 1 to 8.

The campaign is set to put “symbolic pressure on the university, without preventing students from going to class.”

During the sleep-in, information sessions will be orchestrated to defend the strike mandate and to handle questions and criticism.

Councilor Emran Ghasemi brought up a major criticism during Wednesday’s council meeting when he asked whether international students risk deportation if there is a strike.

According to several councilors, the External Committee and Mob Squad who are at the forefront of activism against tuition hikes at Concordia have considered this and believe international students have nothing to fear. 

CSU representative to Senate Kyle McLoughlin added that it is not only a student's right to strike, but their duty as a member of a union.

However, most Registered Educations Savings Plans (RESP) and government student loans are null and void if a student is not registered for full-time classes. This could create some complications.

The CSU also plans to join students across the province in a Quebec-wide protest on March 22.

The last protest on November 10, 2011 against tuition hikes gathered an estimated 20 000 to 30 000 demonstrators, but led to no new negotiations between students and the government.

Photo taken on November 10, 2011 by Joel Balsam.