World Education Newswire Archive

This article looks at the merit and veracity of a speech given by Attorney General Robert McClelland on Australia's democracy and the rule of law. The following article will disprove all his points and comments.

In a State Media television interview yesterday the German Chancellor Angela Merkel from the Christian Democratic Union Party, CDU, announced the Amok run of Winnenden in the Federal State of Baden-Wuerttemberg, near the regional capital of Stuttgart, as being "incomprehensible". In fact there are specific historical, sociological and psychological influences and efficacies.

Students at Newcastle University have occupied the fine arts lecture theatre in solidarity with the people of Gaza and Palestine. 25 students took the room and informed the University management who have sent a senior manager to start 'neigotations' which have resulted in the occuption entrying its first night with no clear resolution, as yet.

Kingston University has filed action with the World Intellectual Property Organisation on behalf of its Vice-Chancellor, Sir Peter Scott to wrest control of the domain name, sirpeterscott.com from a former whistleblower employee.

The students of the occupation of United College in St Andrews have announced victory after receiving a statement and accompanying assurances to review and investigate ties with Israel in light of the recent conflict in Gaza from the University today.

To mark the fifth day in occupation of a key university building, student protestors held a rally to gather support for the campaign before a meeting with University officials on Monday.

Around 200 students from the University of St. Andrews have been in occupation of Lower College Hall, a key University building, since Wednesday at 12 when a petition signed by over 600 students and staff was handed to the university.

"A fundamental principle of mine is that the educator must criticize the injustices of the world, whether or not this involves him or her in conflict with the powers that be. The systematic failure of the academy to do so plays no small role in the perpetuation of injustice and state violence. In no sphere of political action does this principle apply more vigorously than with the question of Zionism; and in no country is this issue more strategically important than in the United States, given the fact that United States support is necessary for Israel's behavior. The worse this behavior, the more strenuous must be the suppression of criticism."

Update from St Andrews Occupation

On Friday, February 6, the University of Rochester-SDS (UR-SDS) organized an occupation of Goergen Hall at the University of Rochester for peace and solidarity with the Palestinians. The action was partially inspired by the wave of occupations across the UK in support of Palestine the past few weeks. UR-SDS made a list of demands of the administration (including divestment from weapons manufacturers, educational and humanitarian aid to Gaza, and scholarships for Palestinian students). In a related event, on Thursday, February 12, 2008 Hampshire College of Amherst, MA. became the first US school to divest from corporations profiting from the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

Over 60 students from St. Andrews have occupied Lower College Hall after a petition demanding that the University cut ties with Israeli contractors and institute an aid and scholarship programme was handed to the Principal.

In the university town of Mérida, Venezuela, student political organizations have had a significant presence at marches both for and against a proposed constitutional amendment that will eliminate the two-term limit on elected offices if it is approved in a national vote this February 15th. The predominant discourse has been quite polarized between opponents and supporters of President Hugo Chávez, who plans to run for a third term in office and carry on the construction of “21st Century Socialism” if the amendment passes. However, nuanced voices have emerged from the campaign hype. Seeking to highlight the deeper analysis provided by these non-conformist voices, Venezuelanalysis.com interviewed student leader and social activist Carmen Pulido about the state of radical student activism and the amendment. Pulido regularly organizes student-labor solidarity activities and other political events along with a loose network of anti-capitalist university students. These students have been staunch supporters of many of the initiatives undertaken by Chávez’s ten year administration. Nonetheless, the students persistently retain their autonomy in order to push the “Bolivarian Revolution” led by Chávez toward what they see as a more just and revolutionary path.

A study was recently published "showing that a performance gap between African-Americans and whites on a 20-question test administered before Mr. Obama’s nomination all but disappeared when the exam was administered after his acceptance speech and again after the presidential election." Earlier researchers had "assembled university students with identical SAT scores and administered tests to them, discovering that blacks performed significantly poorer when asked at the start to fill out a form identifying themselves by race. The researchers attributed those results to anxiety that caused them to tighten up during exams in which they risked confirming a racial stereotype."

New book describes young man's flight from war torn Africa. His hopelessness, refugee camps and eventual escape to the West.

Students who were, until this afternoon, occupying the McCance building at Strathclyde have today won some concessions and guarantees from the university.

We are a group of teachers and employees at Quebec colleges and universities who stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, and with the people of Gaza who have suffered through the Israeli siege as targets of Israel’s brutal military attack. It will take more than ceasefires to bring a just and lasting peace in Palestine and Israel. We are acting in response to an appeal for support issued January 2, 2009 by the Palestinian Federation of Unions of University Professors and Employees. In the wake of the Israeli bombing of the Islamic University of Gaza, the Federation of Unions has urged academics around the world to support a boycott of Israeli academic institutions.

Currently there is a something of a low level power struggle going on inside the Law Faculty between the Proctors, other building staff and the occupying students.

Some first pic, of the vote to occupy, a talk from Iraqui trade unionist, and the Proctor's visit. More info on:
 http://cambridgegazasolidarity.blogspot.com

We Palestinian Arab students at Haifa University strongly condemn the discriminative polices and practices employed by the administration of the university against its Arab students.

tudents occupying a lecture theatre at the London School of Economics have continued their demonstration in to the fifth day.

Over forty students started the occupation in solidarity with Palestine last Thursday afternoon demanding that the LSE condemns Israeli aggression, divests from BAE, a firm that arms Israel, and provides material support for Palestinians. The students are demanding that the LSE waivers application fees and provides more scholarships for Palestinian students, sends surplus computers and books to Palestine and facilitates a cross-campus collection for Medical Aid for Palestine.