BY ROHAN PEARCE
A growing mood of active opposition to corporate globalisation is emerging among Australia's university students, if campus "orientation weeks" are anything to judge by. The socialist youth organisation Resistance has joined over 400 students across 23 universities during the past two weeks, while over 1500 have reportedly joined campus-based collectives organising for M1, the global day of action of capitalism.
Why so much interest in radical ideas? Cecilia, who joined Resistance during O'week at the Australian National University in Canberra, told Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly, "I joined Resistance to try and cull a number of frustrations and conflicts going on in my head."
"I moved from a rural area to Canberra about a year ago to start uni", she explained. "In that time I've been exposed to many new and different people and situations. I've always believed in Aboriginal, women's and gay rights, environmental issues and social justice for all, and in my year in Canberra these issues have become more important to me and have caused me to become politically, socially and globally aware."
"My frustration towards the government grew into frustration at myself for not actually doing anything about these issues except whinge", she continued. "I'm proud to be part of a movement that is committed to addressing and acting upon important issues that are often ignored by the government. Also, I think that it is great that organisations like Resistance are offering people a different perspective to that of the mainstream media."
Reflecting on the results of O'week at Sydney University, the organiser of Resistance's central Sydney branch, Angela Luvera, believes the response from students to those groups organising for M1, and the large attendances at campus M1 organising meetings, shows just how significant is the potential for student anti-corporate action.
Luvera pointed to the reaction to an "anti-corporate campus tour" held at Sydney Uni on February 28, which was organised by the anti-corporate collective Global Action. "This was a great start for the campaign on campus," she said. "It was a roving rally, which highlighted corporate links to the university and which departments had had their budgets slashed."
She believes further such actions will be very important in building M1 and said activists are also planning to show films about the S11 protests in Melbourne, hold teach-ins on globalisation and organise blockade training.
Luvera also said students will be targetting specific on-campus issues, such as campaigning to get business representatives off university boards, specifically mentioning a planned April 5 national day of action for education, which has been called by the National Union of Students.
Melbourne Resistance activist Federico Fuentes told Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly of a similar reaction there, where the group joined more than 80 students at Melbourne University, La Trobe and RMIT. Close to 50 students attended the first M1 collective meeting at Melbourne University.
The heightened activist mood has not been without opposition, however. At Newcastle University, Resistance's success in raising socialist politics and building M1 caused the campus Liberals to put out "ban campus communism" propaganda. It failed to deter the 23 people who joined Resistance nor the many others who want to get active.
Newcastle University Resistance's Peter Robson said the club is putting its major focus on building M1 and anti-corporate activism, and is planning an action against Sportsgirl, for its use of sweatshop labour. The campus M1 club is planning a student general meeting, a campus "disorientation" tour and a blockade training day before May 1.
Sarah Cleary, a Resistance activist at Tasmania University in Hobart, said she was "very excited to see the anti-corporate sentiment which has been prominent in the bigger cities, like Melbourne and Sydney, exists in Hobart as well."
"Many people have come to university this year excited about getting involved in left-wing campaigns, and we are expecting students to make up a large contingent at the M1 protest".
During O'week, about 40 students joined the M1 club, with hundreds more expressing interest in participating in the planned blockade of the Hobart Stock Exchange. Fifteen students joined the Hobart Uni Resistance club.