Anomalous Wave

Genova 28.2.2009. Students and precarians occupy the Aula Magna of the University of Genova. They stopped the inauguration of the academic year to protest against the privatization of Universities. The police asked them to get out but the students refused. They actually disturbed the speech of the rector Giacomo Deferrari, making noise with kettles and lids. Protesters carried banners saying “Università-Fondazione nessuna inaugurazione” (University-Foundation, no inauguration), “Committee of precarious workers of the University”, “Mummies Out of The University”.

Pictures: Il Secolo XIX | Repubblica

Also in Macerata, another inauguration was interrupted. See photos at Globalproject.info

There was a big demonstration in Rome last Friday. CGIL unions (FIOM and FP) took to the streets to protest against the economic policies of the government. Students took part in mobilization as well. Three parades crossed the city and brought the traffic to halt. According to reports there were 700.000 people.

Students of La Sapienza read their statement during the demonstration:

“We consider decisive and fundamental to work for the construction of a new welfare, of the right to study, now almost inexistent. We strongly oppose cuts and privatization, we demand more funds for the public university and research.”

“The unity of struggles represent the only possible answer to the crisis. Teachers, precarians, workers, committees to defend the commons, women, students, organizing themselves autonomously, expressing dissent against the repressive and securitarian policies, will not pay for this crisis”.

Unfortunately I found only some videos from the trade union demonstration. Here’s one:

Good news from Milan: the evicted social center Cox18 a.k.a. Conchetta has been re-occupied. After being violently evicted by cops, people have been campaigning to take their social center back. It seems they’ve had quite notable international guests in their events too: a week ago they organized a discussion with Amiri Baraka and Boots Riley (The Coup)!

This is from a message written by a Milanese activist:

it was a great emotional experience of exultation and defiance: we took it back, and they’ll never take it from us again. fascist vice-mayor decorato has suffered its first defeat in more than a decade of power: he, the serial hater of gypsies, muslims, prostitutes, autonomists, graffiti writers was humbled by the crew of cox pirates that has rocked the once proletarian neighborhood of ticinese since the 80s. last night in conchetta, it was like being re-born, as every city activist, those born in the 60s, 70s, 80s, was there happy to be free again, and vowing to defeat securitarianism once for all in milano and europe.

See their blog: http://cox18.noblogs.org/

Minister Tremonti, the main responsable of destroying the Italian public university, had been invited to La Sapienza by rector Frati. The visit was supposed to take place this Monday, February 16.

Students declared that Tremonti, the “Minister of cuts” is an “unwanted guest” and called for protests. Finally, Tremonti renounced his visit.

“The holy alliance between the Italian government and the government of La Sapienza has been evident for some months: to normalize, to criminalize (…)”.

Students are defending La Sapienza as a free zone:

“No minister will be welcomed to La Sapienza - they will be received only with radical and strong protests, because we are not only unrepresentable, but we are also hostile to any government that destroys the university and creates precarity!”

“A country without research is a country without future”

Sources: www.uniriot.org and www.escatelier.net

21 January 2009, La Sapienza, Rome. Gianfranco Fini, the President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, paid a visit to La Sapienza. Protests erupted. See video and pictures.

A solidarity message from Mexico to Italy. This is in Spanish. Speaker is a representative of S.E.R.A.Z.L.N. (”the zapatista autonomous and rebel educational system of national liberation”).

Students are back, and so are the mobilizations. Now it seems that The Wave of universitarians is taking part in the numerous protests against the war in Gaza. But besides this, the campaign for self-reductions (autoriduzioni) has been going on, and there have been some university protests too.

On Thursday 15 January 2009, the university of Calabria was celebrating the inauguration of the academic year. There was a notable guest, too: the president of the republic, Giorgio Napolitano. However, students decided to voice their criticism towards the university administration and the Italian government. “What is there to inaugurate? The destruction of the university? The situation of precarity? Or even better, the end of democracy?”

In the morning, before the inauguration, the university was occupied…by the police. Students were kept outside. At 1 p.m. students took back their university. The party was spoiled and president Napolitano was on the run, students say. (Source: Uniriot)

Social center ESC has produced its first book, Lessico Marxiano, marxian lexicon. ESC has an experimentation of self-education called LUM, Free Metropolitan University. The project of the book is: to re-read Marx against the misery of marxism & go beyond Marx if possible. The book consists of 12 essays which focus on some of the key concepts of marxian theoretical production. ESC website has info about the book in Italian: www.escatelier.net

5 January 2009. Alemanno, the mayor of Rome, says “La Sapienza is controlled by 300 criminals” and “something should be done”. Students say the real criminals are those who are destroying the university. The aim of Alemanno and friends is obvious: to normalize the university, push the Wave into the corner. (Source: Uniriot)

Some students from Pisa have made a video of 7 minutes about their mobilizations during the autumn 2008.