The week before, on Wednesday, we had snow and classes were canceled in the afternoon. This week, students formed a picket line at the major university entrance gates and wrapped the doors/gates in chains to prevent potential "scabs" from entering the university. (Note: No teachers were harmed in the shooting of this film) The exception would be the international students--those who attend a special school at the university that provides classes in English--who are already paying ridiculous amounts of American dollars to attend classes.
There are several reason why this fight does not necessarily affect me but why I support the cause:
1) I don't have classes on Wednesdays, so I did not face the moral dilemma of whether or not to strike. But I have to say, if I did, theoretically, have class on Wednesdays, I would also not go. Students Unite!
2) Because I am a new olah (a new immigrant, of the right age, by the way), the government is paying my tuition, so I guess if they decide to raise the tuition, they will have to pay a higher cost for me. However, I know that morally it is my fight to fight--after all, this could the tuition I have to pay for my own kids one day. Also, if they raise tuition to such a high level, the government may take away this benefit from new young immigrants looking to study in Israel.
There are many details of the whole tuition-raising process that are causing suspicion and anger among students and faculty, but in short, here are a few:
1) A committee was appointed by the Ministry of the Treasury--government officials and senior professors. Noticeably missing were any students. AFTER the demonstration--a call from the committee chairman for students to join the committee.
2) Past promises--from another committee--to decrease the tuition have yet to be enacted. And now, they are talking of substantial tuition raises.
You may think that professors would be upset with the whole deal. But from what I've heard--keep in mind I study in the liberal (not only in name) arts--teachers are supportive. That teachers showed up to teach yesterday is part of the strategy organized by the student union and the academic faculty's union--they may need a new card in the future (i.e. the teachers also striking). However, I heard several teachers say, "Of course you all shouldn't show up."
And so, what could I do but not show up? The "other reason not to go to school," strolling the pedestrian mall in town popping into bookstores on a beautiful sunny day.
3 comments:
My Wednesdays are also class-free, but otherwise I think I would have crossed the picket line and made my way to class. Two reasons:
1) When factory workers strike, the factory owners are hurt financially. When airline workers strike, they throw the tourist industry into disarray. When Hebrew U students strike...what? The students themselves are hurt by missing valuable class time, but no one else is negatively affected. How is a strike an effective tool here?
2) Even if a strike were an effective tool, I'm not sure it's a just cause. Israel may have socialist tendencies, but (as Stanley Fisher said in Friday's Haaretz) our economy is moving toward more privatization and less government interference and subsidies. More of an American model than a European one. And university tuition, as is stands now, is ridiculously low even as a percentage of the average salary:
Average annual Israeli salary: ₪83,568
My Hebrew U tuition: ₪11,605
Percentage: 13%
Average annual Wisconsin salary: $28,100
In-state tuition at UW-Madison: $6,000
Percentage: 21%
I think the Israeli students have an unreasonable sense of entitlement to higher education. I'm not saying that they should pay over $30,000 per year (which is what my undergraduate education cost), but it's not unreasonable to expect them to pay 20% or 30% of the average Israeli salary, especially given that once they graduate they'll be among the higher wage-earners. If the students want to fight for something, fight for government-subsidized, low-interest student loans, like in the States.
Thanks, Michelle, for your comment, but I have to respond (not vehemently, but strongly!).
The strike has been an effective tool in raising awareness of the issue and in getting an invitation from the relevant committee to students to join in the decision-making process that will affect their and others futures.
Additionally, that Israel is moving towards a more privatized economy is certainly positive in some aspects (bank competition, etc). However, there are certain sectors which MUST be regulated--not controlled--by the government; among them, health care and education. Importantly, these same services/sectors must not be monopolies of only those who can "afford" it--or the "average" income and higher classes.
That people sense an "entitlement" to higher education shows we are part of a democratic (albeit, always developing) system that allows citizens to demand of the government the knowledge and tools that permit social interaction, change, and continued development towards a more equal, rights- as well as duties-minded society.
Privatization--and on that note, the full adoption of the American economic and political model which is not necessarily compatible with Israel's specific history, population, and challenges--does not have to mean that poorer, and indeed "average" people, are shut out of the educational system. A looming higher education loan of 50,000 shekels plus is enough to make some people give up entirely on an experience that will help break the "glass ceiling" over certain socio-economic levels in Israeli society.
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