20.09.2006

Signing up

Dave Isaacson reports about Communist Students' first activities

Communist Students launched itself into activity this week with stalls held or planned at university freshers fairs. In two days at Manchester we signed up 85 people to join the new Communist Student Society. We also sold out of copies of the Weekly Worker on the first day. In Leeds around 30 had joined by the end of the first of two days.

This is clearly an excellent start for us to build upon: both in individual colleges, by bringing students into regular political activity and education; and nationally with our plan to establish the new student organisation across the country.

Manchester is going to host this weekend's national Stop the War Coalition demonstration and there was evidently a certain buzz about this event amongst the students in the city. Many approaching our stall were also interested in the issues surrounding Palestine, and Israel's recent attack on Lebanon. It is worth noting that a not insignificant proportion of those who signed up to join were young muslim women.

Of course many of those considering signing up wanted to know what Communist Students was going to do. Already we have been busily working to get our fellow students to attend this weekend's demonstration calling for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq. We will continue to be involved in this campaigning work, particularly in conjunction with our Iranian comrades, both opposing any attack on Iran and calling for solidarity with Iranian workers, women and students in their struggles against the theocratic regime. We shall provide a platform for Iranian socialists to address students.

We will also be involved in campaigning for free education. Since 1997 New Labour has been responsible for introducing the pseudo-market further and further into the education system. Already students are lucky if they do not have to hold down a job at the same time as studying for their degrees. We say, education is a right, not a privilege. Students should be paid a minimum income while they study to ensure they do not have to worry about spiralling debts and also have time to think, debate and enjoy themselves!

The National Union of Students and its bureaucratic leadership have done more to hold students back than help them in fighting New Labour's marketisation plans. However, they have to put on a left face occasionally, and they have been pushed into calling a national demonstration for free education for Sunday October 29. We will be mobilising for this march and explaining how a decent education under capitalism will always be under threat.

As well as campaigning over education, Communist Students aims to place a high emphasis on providing forums and opportunities for our members and supporters to educate themselves and each other. We shall be holding regular meetings on campus where students can discuss and debate ideas, theory and contemporary political issues. Plans have already been made for reading groups to study books such as Engels's Anti-Dühring. Soon we will have a website up and running, which can host debates and discussions, as well as reports about what local Communist Student groups have been doing.

Of course, as more and more students sign up to Communist Students they will bring their own ideas about what they think the group should be doing. We look forward to taking on board their ideas, thereby taking Communist Students from strength to strength.