 "Photo: Courtesy of ISSE")
Changes in political practices and social equality were proposed at a rally held by the International Students for Social Equality last Thursday.
The rally took place on the Free Speech Steps on the same day the UC system held walkouts for faculty, staff and students in protest of budget cuts. The ISSE held the rally in light of the UC walkouts, but not in support of them, according to ISSE President Cody Stephens.
Stephens, a political science graduate student at San Diego State, spoke about Wall Street bailouts and national and state-wide budget cuts, attributing them to what he called a failing capitalist system.
“We are gathered today to show our … support for the impulse behind the UC walkout,” Stephens said. He continued to describe the UC walkouts as a, “healthy show of political discontent.”
Stephens stated, on behalf of the ISSE, a demand for better public programs, especially to help with unemployment. The ISSE’s proposed solution for the current failures of the U.S. government as stated at the rally is redistribution of the wealth taken from the working class.
“Only by re-appropriating the wealth that has been stolen from us and putting it under the control of democratic process, can society as a whole make the decision to invest heavily in public education with all levels,” Stephens said. “To put it another way, the fight for public education is inseparable from the fight for socialism.”
ISSE Secretary Ricardo Ruiz cited the setbacks SDSU has recently faced because of budget cuts, pointing out a $35 million cut from SDSU’s budget, the closing of a residence hall, fee increases, furlough days and major reductions in new student admission to SDSU this year.
Evan Youngstrom, a political science junior, attended the rally to open up to a new political perspective.
“We are currently in a large political mess socially and politically,” Youngstrom said. “I’m just trying to explore different philosophies.”
The socialist-based solutions proposed by ISSE aren’t the only ones available, according to Dr. James Ingram, political science professor at SDSU and UCSD.
“There has never been a successful socialist movement in the U.S. politics,” he said.
According to Ingram, capitalist means can be successful.
Ingram said capitalism allows individuals to find solutions through their drive for success.
Ingram believes the taxpayers and a flawed California constitution are at the hand of minimal state education funds by voting against tax increases for education.
“The taxpayers have shown that they’re no longer willing to support the public education that we’ve created for them,” Ingram said. “There are members of the (California) legislature who are willing to put money into the UC system and the CSU system and they can’t get the votes. You’ve got that one-third minority that’s preventing any progress from happening. I don’t see where socialism fixes that.”
However, the ISSE doesn’t feel that pressuring legislators will fix anything, according to Stephens.
“The ISSE rejects the notion that politicians in Sacramento or Washington can somehow be pressured into giving more money to public education,” Stephens said. “We will not encourage anyone here to ‘vent at the tent’ or to sign a banner to send to Arnold Schwarzenegger letting him know how angry you are about the budget cuts.”
The ISSE will hold another event at 5 p.m next Monday at Casa Real to discuss possible solutions.
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