Student power in Rochester

ROCHESTER, N.Y.--As the frigid winter here made its presence known on December 10, so did student members of Occupy Rochester.

The Student Working Group of Occupy Rochester called its rally not only to show solidarity with the Occupy movement across the country, but also to bring to the forefront the demands of youth from grade school to college. Students in the U.S. are fed up with the nation's for-profit education system that treats education like a commodity instead of a means for self-realization.

More than 75 people came out for the rally, including Rochester college students, faculty and staff, Occupy Rochester activists, union members, high school students and families. The march began from the Occupy Rochester encampment at Washington Square Park with chants of "We are the 99 percent" and "Money for jobs and education, not for wars and corporations" ringing out as we arrived at the Liberty Pole to begin the speakout.

The first of many speeches emphasized the grim prospects for college students who graduate into a world of high unemployment. And the jobs that do exist pay low wages and have little to nothing to do with students' degrees. Many college graduates must take these jobs because of the constant fear that defaulting on student loan payments can lead to high interest rates and drowning in a whirlpool of debt.

Students not only expressed their frustrations with the education system as a whole, but their aggravation at university administrations--in particular, the lack of transparency with regard to the use of university endowments and "investments" by corporations such as Chevron, Exxon and Monsanto. Big corporate investments come with various conditions (even if they aren't openly stated) that schools should emphasize technical skills to benefit businesses. The consequence is the further commodification of education that puts actual learning, creativity and innovation to the wayside.

Many of the speeches reiterated the message of solidarity with student activists--from University of California Davis to City University of New York--who have faced violence and repression from campus police.

Meghan Castagno, a student from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), stressed the brutality against students who were protesting RIT's tuition hike this year that put a decent education out of reach of so many.

Many made the connection between conditions facing college students and those facing the rest of the 99 percent as federal, state and local governments push austerity measures of all sorts.

RIT student Basma Eid and Alykhan, a student from the University of Rochester, were part of the working group and gave the closing remarks. Their speech embodied the feeling of the student movement in Rochester:

Public universities are a core institution of this nation. As the vanguard of higher education, their purpose was to ensure an educated populus. Instead, they have become mirror images of private institutions, neglecting their responsibility to provide access to a quality education without having to sell your soul to Fannie and Freddie. Students who graduated from public universities in 2010 have, on average, at least $25,000 in debt. And if you went to a private school, up that figure by another $10,000 or more!

The rally concluded with a march back to the park, but not before the Rochester police used the pretext of "breaking up an altercation" of some sort to manhandle the throng of marchers. In particular, police on horses zeroed in on young Black participants in the march.

Get involved with Occupy Rochester and e-mail the Student Working Group of Occupy Rochester.