UNC Chapel Hill SDS stands firmly opposed to any increase in the price of higher education, and we stand in solidarity with others from around the world in the effort to maintain accessible and affordable education for all people.

We urge students and citizens to discard the notion that maintaining affordable education must come at the expense of quality. This is a false dichotomy which fails to take into account the egregious imbalances that exist in the distribution of our shared resources.

We refuse to believe that education must increase in price, while:

 

• • The general assembly maintains an environment conducive to corporate exploitation, upholding the state’s unjust ban on collective bargaining, while approving massive budget cuts to public education. 
• • The state’s flagship university is run like a corporation, enjoying a $2.2 billion endowment while insisting that students must pay the price for the school’s supposed “budget crisis.” 
• • Wealthy, powerful individuals like Art Pope can pour unlimited sums into political campaigns, preventing even moderately progressive politicians from taking office in this state.
• • The state spends more on prisons than it does on education. 

 

But the federal government is just as complicit as the state legislature in gutting public education, as seen in the fact that:  

The North Carolina Association of Educators is organizing the One Voice Rally at the N.C.
General Assembly in Raleigh on May 3rd, where thousands of teachers,
students, parents and workers from across North Carolina will join in
solidarity to take a stand against these devastating budget cuts. Our goal
is to defend our state's public education (already 46th in the nation) and
public services, which provide jobs for hundreds of thousands and form the
backbone of our future generations.

The North Carolina House of Representatives has proposed a 17.4% budget cut
for the UNC system, amounting to $483 million.
For the UNC system, these cuts mean:

-3,200 faculty positions lost
-9,000 courses cut
-240,000 class seats removed
-$37.6 million less in financial aid
-10% cut to NC Community Colleges
(Source: Daily Tar Heel, 4/14/11)

These cuts come at a time when investment in our future is absolutely
necessary for economic recovery and future prosperity.

Please go to http://www.onevoicerally.com/ and RSVP!

The North Carolina House is proposing a 17.4% budget cut, or $483 million, for the UNC system:

-more than 9,000 classes will be eliminated
-more than 3,200 faculty and staff will be laid off
-more than 240,000 class seats eliminated systemwide
-most students will have to take an extra semester to graduate
-$37.6 million in financial aid gone

Is your financial aid getting cut, are you having to get a second or third job, or take out more student loans just to cover your basic expenses? Are you worried that the rising cost of education will close the door on a degree for you, your friends, or future generations? Are you having trouble getting the classes you need, or may have to stay an extra semester just to graduate? Are you a grad student worried about losingf your tuition waiver or having trouble making ends meet? Are you worried about your professors and other campus workers getting laid off? Then get on the bus for May 3! (link here)

The North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE), is calling for a broad rally at the North Carolina
General Assembly on May 3 at 4pm. Join with thousands of teachers, workers, parents, and students
from across the state to take a stand against these devastating budget cuts to education and public
services.

In its recently-released budget, the North Carolina legislature has called for major cuts to education
spending in particular. The UNC system budget will be cut by 17.4%, community colleges will lose 10%
of their state funding, and public schools will take an 8.8% hit. These cuts come on top of three years of
deep cuts. Tuition costs are soaring at public universities. Last year alone the UNC Board of Governors
raised tuition by 6.5% percent, resulting in a nearly $600 increase for in-state students and an almost

Several weeks ago, UNC maintenance workers were informed of a major change to their work schedule. Instead of being able to work four days a week for ten hours a day, they will now be required to work five days a week for eight hours a day. This change will increase transportation and childcare costs for workers and prevent them from holding down the second jobs they need because of low wages. Moreover, this decision was made without the workers’ input in the name of “efficiency” and budget cuts. Yet despite repeated inquiries from workers, the university administration has yet to produce evidence that this shift in schedule will be more cost or time efficient. In fact, just the opposite is the case. Finally, this schedule change comes at a time when the state is slamming workers with proposed salary cuts and layoffs, increases in healthcare payments, and many other measures to balance the budget on workers' backs.

With these grievances in mind, the maintenance workers initiated a bold action—an all day sit-out at South Building—and their call to action was enthusiastically picked up by housekeepers, clerical workers, professors, and students throughout the university who all plan to be out in solidarity on April 7. Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) fully supports this worker-led action and stand with the employees who are fighting for their rights.

Students for a Democratic Society is strongly opposed to U.S. and U.N. Intervention in Libya. The absurdly named “Operation Odyssey Dawn” is nothing short of an open act of war against a sovereign state by former colonialist power with the aims of creating a stronghold over the trade of oil. This attack should also be clearly seen as a ruthless attempt to stop the revolutions and uprisings happening within the Arab world.

At the beginning of “Operation Odyssey Dawn,” coalition forces fired about $62 Million worth of Tomahawk missiles at Libya. In a time where Detroit public schools are merging with the result that class sizes will approach 60 students, we in SDS wonder if that $62 Million could have been better spent.

Libyans' right to self-determination must be be upheld. Whether rebel forces or government forces will ultimately prevail is up to the Libyan people. While opinions vary on Libya and the role/power of the Qaddafi government, conscious people of the world must stand with civilians of Libya and say no to external military intervention of Libya. War and occupation is ongoing and has ravaged the livelihoods of the people of Iraq and Afghanistan. A new battle in Libya not only means more lives lost at the aims of procuring oil, but it also means social services here at home will be slashed. Our government should turn its focus into taking care of its own people rather than killing people in other countries.

STUDENTS & YOUTH UNITED IN THE STRUGGLE!

NC Defend Education Coalition Public Forum and Organizing Meeting

Sunday, March 27, 1-4pm, 

 North Carolina State University - Talley Student Center. Rm 3118, 2610 Cates Ave, Raleigh, NC

RSVP HERE

We as members of Students for a Democratic Society stand firm in our opposition to the bill passed in
the U.S. House of Representatives defunding Planned Parenthood. This bill
is manifestly unjust--an egregious assault on women's rights. Planned
Parenthood has been providing exceptional healthcare services to families

THE ECONOMIC CRISIS VS. EDUCATION AND PUBLIC SERVICES: A PUBLIC FORUM

Thursday, March 24 | 7 pm | Saunders 220 @ UNC-Chapel Hill

Would you like to learn more about the causes of the current economic crisis and how it will affect education and public services in North Carolina? Come out to this teach-in, hosted by Students for a Democratic Society, to hear from speakers, discuss the issues with other UNC students, share your thoughts, and learn how students and public sector workers are organizing.

Speakers:
Robert Korstad, Duke University Professor of Public Policy and History.
Tyler Wittenberg, a Policy Fellow with the North Carolina Justice Center.
Ana Maria Reichenbach, an undergraduate student at UNC.

RSVP