For now, I want the world to know that Montréal is experiencing a lot of socio-political heat. Have you heard? University students have been on strike for over five weeks now.
All the separate departments of different post-secondary institutions have gathered in their own general assemblies. One by one, they have voted to join the movement. This past Thursday, they were between 200 000 and 308 000 supporters (students and non-students) to take to the streets during the general strike!
Their cause? The provincial government announced a raise in tuitions: 325$ per year for the next five years (for a total of 1,625$). If you're reading this blog from Norway, or Germany, you might think this is appalling. If you're in the US of A, you're probably wondering what the big fuss is about.
I spent almost 30,000 dollars on my tuition when I got my Masters degree in California. Why did I do that!!!? Well, there was no other ''Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness'' program to be found in Canada. I decided to be wild... bold and carefree.
And I was in love.
It's ironic that I should move back to Québec at this specific point in time.
Here, the tuition has been more or less ''frozen'' since 1968. Sure, there were small increases here and there. Still, between 1994 and 2007, students paid 1,668$ per year. Then it got raised by 100$ per year over the span of five years, so that it is currently 2,168$.
With this new raise announced by the Liberal government, tuition fees will come up to 3,793$ a year (by 2016)
That's still less than half the price of what American undergraduates have to pay each year... But hey, that's still 13,000 dollars for an undergraduate degree!
I just don't understand how we're supposed to start ''an adult life'' with such debt. It doesn't make us excited to become active members of society, it holds us back, keeps us down, frightens us. Some of us will take whatever job we can find just because we need to start making money quickly. In these conditions, how many will push their sense of ethics aside?
We could build a much better society, we could make better choices, we could channel our energies into positive and sustainable endeavors if we weren't so caught up in the rat race!
Elsewhere in Canada people are commenting on what's been happening in Québec. The media are portraying the students as ''spoiled brats'' who feel entitled to their privilege. I must acknowledge that I've had the debate with myself too. But that's before I did the math. That's before I realized that we're no better than the Americans when we ask students to pay such a price in order to get access to the education we are told we need.
This is not about being spoiled. This is about an entire generation trying to make itself heard by those in powers. It's not just about tuitions either. It's about coming together and pondering the choices we make as a society. It's about the need to look at our definition of democracy. It's about resource management. It's about the future we want to see...
How far will students go on with this strike now that the government has officially presented the budget? How long will their political involvement last? Will they still care when the elections come around? Will they vote in greater numbers? Or are they forever disillusioned with this so-called liberal democracy?
The climate is warming up. 2012... how exciting to be living at this time!
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