[News] Puerto Rico: Tense Prelude to the Student Strike
Anti-Imperialist News
news at freedomarchives.org
Wed Dec 8 16:24:17 EST 2010
We spent several hours with students today at the
Cayey campus of UPR discussing their situation.
they are an inspiration! All of our showings of
Cointelpro 101 are canceled because of the events
- certainly on our parts out of respect and in
support of their demands. Other arrangements with
students and faculty to show the film are being
made for the future. This article doesn't capture
the radicalism enough, but little else in English
is better. The press we met were very supportive,
but their editors help mold the stories to be
more 'balanced' if not totally in support of the
colonial government - which is intent on defeating the student movement.
<http://globalvoicesonline.org/2010/12/08/puerto-rico-tense-prelude-to-the-student-strike/>Puerto
Rico: Tense Prelude to the Student Strike
Posted <http://globalvoicesonline.org/2010/12/08>8 December 2010
- Global Voices in English - http://globalvoicesonline.org -
Puerto Rico: Tense Prelude to the Student Strike
Posted By Alfredo Richner On 8 December 2010 @
9:30 am In Americas, Education, English,
LANGUAGES, Photos, Protest, Puerto Rico (U.S.),
Spanish, Video, Weblog, Youth |
<http://globalvoicesonline.org/2010/12/08/puerto-rico-tense-prelude-to-the-student-strike/print/#comments_controls>No
Comments
A 48-hour blockade organized by students from the
state-run University of Puerto Rico in protest
against a proposed $800 annual fee got off to a
tense and violent start early Tuesday morning, as
students raising barricades around the Río
Piedras campus clashed with private security
guards hired by the administration.
The day began as students, many of them masked in
order to protect their identities,
<http://www.elnuevodia.com/videos-construyenbarricadas-191762.html>were
photographed by the local press [2] [es] as they
built and patrolled their barricades in defiance
of the administration's efforts to undermine the
protests. Such administrative measures included
<http://rojogallito.blogspot.com/2010/12/remueven-portones-recinto-rio-piedras.html>taking
down several University gates [3] [es] around the
main campus in Río Piedras early Monday morning,
allegedly as a way of guaranteeing entrance to
those students, teachers, and employees who
showed up for classes and work; and hiring the
private security firm Capitol Security, whose
guards
<http://www.telemundopr.com/ejecutivosdelacapitolsecuritysecantancomovictimasporsucesoenlaiupi-video-99399.html>have
proven to be inexperienced and volatile [4] [es]
during the first 24 hour cycle of events.
Violent acts were reported and decried by both
students and Capitol Security, with one
university student allegedly having been beaten
by a team of twelve security guards, and several
guards allegedly suffering injuries in skirmishes
with students. Students and security guards have
since declared a truce,
<http://www.primerahora.com/minutoaminutodelsegundodiadelparoenlauprderiopiedrasvevideo-450979.html>according
to news reports [5] [es]. Vandalism to school
property has also been
reported. <http://www.radiohuelga.com>Radio
Huelga [6], a ‘pirate' radio station and website
set up by university students during the
<http://globalvoicesonline.org/specialcoverage/puerto-rico-student-strike-2010/>two-month
long strike [7] last semester was able to capture
video of the student beating as it took place.
Several in the online community, including local
blog <http://rimabrusi.com/?p=2017>Parpadeando
[8] [es], have expressed their frustration with
the university administration's apparent lack of
initiative and judgement in preventing these events:
Cualquier administración universitaria normal, en
casos como este, se sienta a dialogar con los
constituyentes, pronto. Más aún cuando existen
dos propuestas concretas, pensadas,
académicamente responsables, que pueden utilizarse como punto de partida.
¿Por qué? ¿Por qué la administración que se
supone vele por los intereses de la UPR sigue en
un curso de acción que a todas luces nos lleva
hacia la confrontación y la erosión de la calidad
institucional, de su relevancia para el país, de
su capacidad de ayudar a Puerto Rico?
Any normal university administration, in
situations like this, would sit down and have an
open dialogue with its constituents, pronto. Even
more so when two concrete proposals, thought-out
and academically responsible, can be used as a
starting point [for negotiation].
Why? Why must the administration - who are
supposed to care for the University of Puerto
Rico's best interests - continue with a course of
action that under all scrutiny leads us towards
confrontation and the erosion of the
institution's quality, of its relevance to the
country, and its capacity to help Puerto Rico?
Adding to this frustration are reports of the
costs related to both the removal of campus gates
-
<http://lanacionpr.wordpress.com/2010/12/07/dias-de-caos-en-la-upr/>estimated
by the University's Río Piedras provost, Ana Rosa
Guadalupe, at 1.5 million [9] [es] dollars in an
interview with local radio station
<http://www.radioisla1320.com>RadioIsla1320 AM
[10] [es] - and Capitol Security current
contracts -
<http://www.telemundopr.com/ejecutivosdelacapitolsecuritysecantancomovictimasporsucesoenlaiupi-video-99399.html>reportedly
surpassing 1.4 million dollars [4] [es].
Others, like
<http://poderyambiente.blogspot.com/>Poder,
espacio y ambiente's [12] [es] Erika Fontánez,
also a professor at the University of Puerto
Rico's School of Law, voiced their concern about
the student movement's actions earlier during the day:
Creo que aún cuando hay que poner energía en
reprochar con rigor los actos de la
administración de la UPR y del gobierno, los y
las estudiantes tendrían que preguntarse
urgentemente: ¿Cómo es que lo anterior fue
sustituído? ¿Qué pasó? ¿Qué factores inciden/han
incidido en un cambio tan drástico de
metodología, de estrategia? Con todo el respeto
al movimiento estudiantil y consciente de su
diversidad, creo que tendrían que preguntarse
genuinamente si el camino por el que se anda hoy
es un buen camino para lograr sus objetivos.
I think that even though energy must be spent in
rigorously reproaching the actions of the
University's administration and those of the
government, students would need to urgently ask
themselves: How is it that what worked previously
was substituted? What happened? What factors
result or have resulted in such a drastic change
of methodology, of strategy? With all due respect
to the student movement and conscious of its
diversity, I think they would have to genuinely
ask if the road they travel today is a good one
in order to reach their objectives.
Part of that characteristic diversity of the
student movement was captured by
<http://www.twitter.com/eldifusor>@eldifusor [13]
of local podcast #EnProfundo through a
<http://www.enprofundo.somoscarbono.com/2010/12/07/enprofundo-voces-del-paro/>series
of short audio interviews [14] [es] with student
leaders José Carlos Vélez Colón, spokesman of
anti-strike group <http://rescateupr.com/>Rescate
UPR [15] [es]; and Ian Camilo, of the
University's Student Representative Committee; as
well as Luis Díaz of local hip-hop group
<http://www.myspace.com/intifadapr>Intifada [16]
[es], also an ex-alum. Through #EnProfundo,
whose members
<http://www.enprofundo.somoscarbono.com/2010/12/07/enprofundo-35-gargolas-en-la-torre/>recorded
their most recent episode on the eve of these
events last Monday night [17] [es] from one of
the ‘free speech zones' delineated inside the Río
Piedras campus by the administration. @eldifusor
makes the following suggestion:
Por ahora les propongo que escuchen bien lo que
los tres tienen que decir y partamos a discutir
sus puntos de vistas. Todos, dentro de su
realidad, nos demuestran una parte del
rompecabezas que debemos armar: ¿Para qué
queremos una universidad pública en Puerto Rico?
For now, I propose we listen well to what all
three have to say and lets part from there and
discuss these points of view. All of them, within
their own realities, demonstrate a piece of the
puzzle that we must complete: Why is it that we
want a public university in Puerto Rico?
However, requests for dialogue by the students
seem to have fallen on deaf ears so far, and
student leaders like Waldemiro Vélez and Giovanni
Roberto of the Student Representative Committee
<http://www.primerahora.com/minutoaminutodelsegundodiadelparoenlauprderiopiedrasvevideo-450979.html>have
since expressed through local news sources [5]
[es] their concern that a strike - already
scheduled for next Tuesday, December 14 - seems
like the only alternative at this point.
*Please read the student blog
<http://rojogallito.blogspot.com/>Desde Adentro
[18] [es] and the digital magazine
<http://www.80grados.net/>80 grados [19] [es] for
updates and news on the student's protests.
*Please see
<http://globalvoicesonline.org/specialcoverage/puerto-rico-student-strike-2010/>Global
Voices' special coverage [7] of the student
strike last semester for more context and information.
*Photo of the UPR tower by
<http://www.flickr.com/photos/angelgb81/>A.
Gonzalez [20], republished under
<http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/>CC
License A-SA 2.0 [21]. Photo of security guards
taken from
<http://www.80grados.net/2010/12/tension-sin-portones-en-la-upr/>80
grados [22], under a
<http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/pr/>CC License NC-SA 3.0 [23]
----------
Article printed from Global Voices in English: http://globalvoicesonline.org
URL to article:
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2010/12/08/puerto-rico-tense-prelude-to-the-student-strike/
URLs in this post:
[1] Image:
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2010/12/08/puerto-rico-tense-prelude-to-the-student-strike/upr-tower/
[2] were photographed by the local press:
http://www.elnuevodia.com/videos-construyenbarricadas-191762.html
[3] taking down several University gates:
http://rojogallito.blogspot.com/2010/12/remueven-portones-recinto-rio-piedras.html
[4] have proven to be inexperienced and volatile:
http://www.telemundopr.com/ejecutivosdelacapitolsecuritysecantancomovictimasporsucesoenlaiupi-video-99399.html
[5] according to news reports:
http://www.primerahora.com/minutoaminutodelsegundodiadelparoenlauprderiopiedrasvevideo-450979.html
[6] Radio Huelga: http://www.radiohuelga.com
[7] two-month long strike:
http://globalvoicesonline.org/specialcoverage/puerto-rico-student-strike-2010/
[8] Parpadeando: http://rimabrusi.com/?p=2017
[9] estimated by the University's Río Piedras
provost, Ana Rosa Guadalupe, at 1.5 million:
http://lanacionpr.wordpress.com/2010/12/07/dias-de-caos-en-la-upr/
[10] RadioIsla1320 AM: http://www.radioisla1320.com
[11] Image:
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2010/12/08/puerto-rico-tense-prelude-to-the-student-strike/capitol-security/
[12] Poder, espacio y ambiente's: http://poderyambiente.blogspot.com/
[13] @eldifusor: http://www.twitter.com/eldifusor
[14] series of short audio interviews:
http://www.enprofundo.somoscarbono.com/2010/12/07/enprofundo-voces-del-paro/
[15] Rescate UPR: http://rescateupr.com/
[16] Intifada: http://www.myspace.com/intifadapr
[17] recorded their most recent episode on the
eve of these events last Monday night:
http://www.enprofundo.somoscarbono.com/2010/12/07/enprofundo-35-gargolas-en-la-torre/
[18] Desde Adentro: http://rojogallito.blogspot.com/
[19] 80 grados: http://www.80grados.net/
[20] A. Gonzalez: http://www.flickr.com/photos/angelgb81/
[21] CC License A-SA 2.0: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
[22] 80 grados: http://www.80grados.net/2010/12/tension-sin-portones-en-la-upr/
[23] CC License NC-SA 3.0: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/pr/
Click
<http://globalvoicesonline.org/2010/12/08/puerto-rico-tense-prelude-to-the-student-strike/print/#Print>here
to print.
Licensed Creative Commons Attribution, 2008
Global Voices Online. See attribution policy for
details: http://globalvoicesonline.org/about/global-voices-attribution-policy
Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415 863-9977
www.Freedomarchives.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20101208/001429b5/attachment.htm>
More information about the News
mailing list