We were the only group who intervened on all campuses providing an alternative to the failure of austerity and capitalism and found a greater openness to our socialist alternative than in previous years.
On all campuses we held open meetings on the “Global Crisis & the Global Revolt” with speakers talking about how the last nine months has seen a new willingness to fight back. From the revolutionary movements in the Arab world that swept away the dictatorships of Ben Ali in Tunisia and Mubarak in Egypt to the movements of young people and workers in US, Spain, Greece, Israel and Britain.
In both Queens and Jordanstown the meetings had an added international feel with Greek socialist Eleni who spoke about the movements she had witnessed during the 48 hour strike and the movement of the ‘enraged’ – young people inspired by the heroic movements in the Arab world who occupied squares across the country. She also reported on the recent wave of student occupations, the development of further strike waves, including workers like taxi drivers taking strike action for the first time. She described the situation in Greece as having “elements of a pre-revolutionary situation” and even reported on the day she was speaking protestors had occupied the main Ministry building in Greece!
The Socialist Societies in both Queens and Ulster University have planned a series of further meeting to provide students with a forum to discuss socialist ideas such as meeting on “Why Marx was right?” But we are not another debating society, we want people to get active in building a socialist alternative both on and off campus and Socialist Society members will be to the forefront of the battle against cuts in universities, supporting school students fighting to defend EMA and supporting the lecturers and other public sector workers on 30 November. If you want to get involved in the Socialist Society phone 07821058319.
Statement from Socialist Party Scotland