Editorial

Keep The Movement Going

OpinionsErin Sparks — Published April 12, 2011

With the summer drawing closer every day and exams weighing on the minds of students, it’s easy to see why a sense of indifference, or perhaps just forgetfulness, can set in and keep students from staying up-to-date on and aware of the issues we face.

While thousands of Concordia’s out-of-province and international students will be returning home for the next few months, those of us sticking around must not abandon the issues at hand and wait until September to begin caring again. We can expect the Charest government to use distant and uninterested students as a way of sneaking tuition fees up—so we have to stay present in the battle to keep education affordable.

As the recent protests by CEGEP students have shown, higher tuition is simply not feasible for the vast majority of students. With the average Quebec university student surviving on around $13,000 a year, and tuition set to increase by 75 per cent over the next six years, students will soon be spending close to half their income on education.

Coupled with the increased cost of living, higher tuition fees will drive students away from university and widen the socioeconomic gap in this country even further.

CEGEP students have shown no fear in the face of police armed with rubber bullet guns and tear gas canisters, something that truly emphasizes how important affordable tuition is to them, and how important it should be for university students to remain vigilant about—even in the summer when school is usually the last thing on our minds.

The ball is rolling now, and we need to keep the momentum going over the summer. But how can you keep fighting for affordable tuition when you’re on the other side of the country, or the world?

If you aren’t a fan of Twitter, you can still make sure your voice is heard. Write a letter to Jean Charest and tell him why tuition needs to stay where it is:

Conseil exécutif.
Édifice Honoré-Mercier,
835, René-Lévesque Blvd. Est,
3e étage Québec (Quebec) 
G1A 1B4

The only way to stop tuition hikes is to make it so annoying and difficult for the government that it becomes obvious raising tuition would cause more harm than good.

Given the number of police officers present at every protest, and with the cost of having multiple helicopters in the air to watch over protesters, the government might be forced to spend more money paying the police to ‘control’ protesting students than they would even get from a tuition hike. It’s simply not worth it for them to jeopardize our future like this.

So this summer, while you’re relaxing in the sun and enjoying your time off, take time to keep up with what’s going on in the province. While tuition may be the last thing on your mind, it certainly isn’t the last thing on the government’s, and if you blow it off, you’ll probably wish you’d done something meaningful to keep school affordable come next September when your tuition is due.

Education is a right. As for affordable education, however, that’s one right you may have to be willing to fight for.

—Erin Sparks
Photo Editor