Below is text and a link to a flier – written by an AS member – that will be circulated at tomorrow’s (3/14/13) CCSF anti-austerity rally. The rally will converge on Civic Center, in front of San Francisco City Hall at 4pm. For more information see here. This continues our coverage of the ongoing struggle at CCSF. Please join the discussion and check back for more updates!
Click for full PDF version in English.
Click for full PDF version in Spanish
Isn’t the Accreditation Threat Because of Problems with CCSF?
No, the accreditation threat is a very political attempt to force major negative changes to this college, and ultimately every other one in CA and the USA. CCSF has a lot of problems, but none of them will be solved by cutting student services, programs, class sections and laying off staff and professors. But that’s the main requirement of the accreditation group: to pull money out of all of these central services of the college, and put it into more administrators and a savings fund! (check out saveccsf.org for more details)
Why Would the Accreditation People Want to Hurt CCSF?
Because they have a vision of education in the USA that’s about building a profitable industry where people go into heavy debt, instead of a society that shares the costs of education. In the economic system we live with, capitalism, there’s always rich people with extra money looking for opportunities to make some extra profit. The big one they have now is that a lot of government services are being cut, to pay for all the money that government gave to other rich investors when their gambling went bad in 2008.
Is this just happening at CCSF?
No! It’s happening worldwide (although that means we have a lot of potential allies!) All over the world, governments have responded to the financial crisis with a political choice to make working-class people pay. Instead of taxing the rich, or taking over the failing banks and investment funds, governments have massively drained the public sector, cutting spending on anything that benefits regular people (but never cut the funding for their wars or prisons!)
In the US, a major part of this plan to cut social services, like education, both k-12 and college, which has all kinds of negative effects: less financial aid, less classes, higher fees, and lower quality education in general. Basically people are getting shut out, mostly working-class people of color.
No more cuts! Restore and expand all services for teachers, workers, and students!
To the ACCJC, Board of Trustees, and the State: Get your dirty hands out of City College! We will not allow you to destroy it! The school belongs to the students and workers, those who use it!
Power to the People!