Category Archives: Capitalism & Class
Facing Our Debt: A Photo Project
For some background to this project click here. “Students who acquire large debts putting themselves through school are unlikely to think about changing society. When you trap people in a system of debt, they can’t afford the time to think. Tuition fee increases are a ‘disciplinary technique,’ and, by the time students graduate, […]
#ReasonsToResist at UBC: Tuition and Housing
This is Part One of a Three-Part series from The Talon on Reasons to Resist at UBC. The focus of this series is to reflect and extend the current state of activism on campus, by evidencing yet more potential issues related to financial and negotiating power at the University. It is by no means intended […]
A Note on Remembrance Day
Certain aspects of Remembrance Day make me uncomfortable, and I don’t think I’m alone in this. The white poppy (sometimes called the peace poppy) is worn as an alternative to the red poppy, and is meant to ensure that remembering past conflicts doesn’t involve glorifying or simplifying war. Traditional Remembrance Day ceremonies honour the victims […]
Consultation on whose terms? An Inside Look at the Residence Fee Conversation
Note: I would like to clarify that these views are my own and I am not speaking on behalf of RHA Student Housing and Hospitality Services (SHHS), the organization responsible for providing that housing, is supposed to be committed to supporting access to residence. However, the 20% fee increases proposed earlier this month suggest otherwise. […]
When it comes to policy and council record, Vision and the NPA agree on practically everything
“Forget the issues, our politicians are now brands,” BC Business Magazine (November 2014) p. 58 This election season, Vision Vancouver and the Non Partisan Association (NPA) are putting forward wedge issues to give the appearance of a conflict about policies. But, as Frances Bula suggested in her recent article for BC Business (pictured above), it’s […]
Students Vote for Action Against Tuition and Residence Hikes
This afternoon, UBC’s student association – the Alma Mater Society (AMS) – held its Annual General Meeting. This historic meeting was the first AGM to meet quorum in almost forty years. At the meeting, UBC students voted overwhelmingly in favour of giving the AMS a mandate to oppose the university administration’s recent proposals to increase […]
March Against the (neoliberal) Machine: Students Unite Against Fee Raises
On Friday October 24th, angry students gathered at the Koerner Plaza to demand fair tuition and housing costs. The university, in a move of callous money-grabbing, has recently announced that it will raise international students’ tuition by 10 percent and residence fees by 20 percent as well as adding new costs to the residence meal […]
Why all students should oppose fee increases
Post-secondary education has to navigate two contradictory identities: as both a basic right and a purchasable commodity. This leads to some strange situations. For example, an international student can pay up to five times as much for their education as a domestic student. Imagine being asked to present your passport every time you shopped for […]
Meet the Editors: Urooba Jamal
They said I would get addicted. That once was not enough. That it would lead to more and more as I craved more and more. They were right. As soon as I had my first hit, I haven’t been able to stop since. Feminism was my gateway drug to social justice. It all began when […]
# I AM A STUDENT Holds General Student Assembly
A General Student Assembly was held on Tuesday to facilitate discussion and organize action against the recently proposed tuition and residence fee increases. I Am A Student – UBC, a recently-created student group dedicated to action against the university’s recently proposed 10% international tuition fee hikes and 20% residence fee hikes, organized the event. Around […]
