Student strike stops brutal cuts at UPR

Under a constant rain, more than 5,000 students from the 11 campuses of the University of Puerto Rico marched to the offices of the president on May 7 to show their unity and demand that management sit down and negotiate. Since April 23 the students have held stoppages, temporary strikes or indefinite strikes, depending on the individual campuses. Students at the main campus in Rio Piedras, home to more than 19,000 students, have led the struggle. They declared an indefinite strike after the administration refused to negotiate.

The students demand that UPR rescind “Certification Number 98.” C98 increases general tuition; suspends tuition exemptions now granted to honor students, the children of UPR employees and students on UPR sports teams, among others; and institutes other antipeople measures that would effectively result in the privatization of this public university.

Students block the main entrance of the Rio Piedras campus.

Since April 23 many students have been camping inside, occupying the Rio Piedras campus and successfully stopping all classes and activities in spite of a police presence. The cops include riot police, summoned by the administration, which is in partnership with the neoliberal, pro-U.S. government of Governor Luis Fortuño.

The Fortuño administration has imposed austerity measures on the island, including layoffs of thousands of public service workers, as its way of dealing with the severe economic crisis affecting Puerto Rico following the economic crisis in the U.S. Puerto Rico is a U.S. colony whose economy is completely attached to that of the empire.

On May 5, students demonstrate at the office of a university trustee.

Unity and solidarity in action

University employees, both teaching and nonteaching, have joined the strike and demonstrate together with students at the gates of the Rio Piedras campus. All over the island, many sectors of the working class have joined in active solidarity. Artists, public and private student bodies, parents, political and pro-independence organizations and parties, religious and other organizations have joined. People bring food to the students who are camping inside the Rio Piedras grounds. On Mother’s Day, mothers of the students proudly spent the day with them.

From day one, the students have reached out to the people. Their main message is that their actions are not only on behalf of the current student body, but a defense of the Puerto Rican people’s right to higher education. They especially defend the children of the poor, who make up 75 percent of UPR students. This appeal has truly resonated, and small children are frequently seen in demonstrations wearing signs reading, “Class of 2025.”

Strikers force the UPR administration back to the table

After the march on May 7, the Students Negotiating Committee and the UPR, represented by the president of the Board of Administrators and the UPR president, reached a tentative agreement. This initial document represents a partial victory for the students. On May 8 the board initiated discussion of the agreement. Students will meet in assembly during the coming week.

Some of the points in the agreement are: C98 will be rewritten to continue the exemptions on tuitions. The university commits to not privatizing any of the campuses, nor will it sell any of the facilities such as stadiums, theaters, gymnasiums, and laboratories, and it will only increase tuition after exhausting all other possibilities of increasing revenues.

On May 11 representatives of the 11 campuses will meet to deliberate about the agreement. In the meantime, the strike continues. Even though the agreement is a step in the right direction, the students still view it as incomplete. They want assurance that students involved in more direct actions are not penalized.

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