November 2nd started out with a free pancake breakfast organized by the York Federation of Students in Vari Hall. This was just the beginning of the November 2nd Day of Action that students across Canada participated in. Check out the hashtag #AllOutNov2 on Instagram to see some photos from around the country fighting for free education. The Day of Action is a part of the Fight the Fees! campaign which was first introduced to student masses at York during Festival Village in September. Throughout the last 2 months, thousands of York students signed the Fight the Fees! petition that is fighting for:
- Reduction of tuition fees for all
- Turning student loans into non-repayable grants
- Eliminating the interest rate accumulated on pre-existing loans
It was beautiful to see the turnout of students in Vari Hall in the morning of November 2nd, getting ready for the big Day of Action down at Queen’s Park. Much of Vari Hall was occupied. Although, considering the number of students who attend York, it would have been nice if more of the student population cared enough to join in—the number of people who claimed to be in support of the movement. With that being said, the institution who hasn’t spoken out about the fight the fees campaign should be threatened by the student solidarity at York University. Students achieved academic amnesty through a motion passed by the senate. This meant that all York students were allowed to skip class and not be penalized for doing so, regardless of if they had a tutorial or a test.
When it was finally time to get into the shuttles, the day sort of turned into a fun school field trip—when’s the last time you had one of those? En route to Queen’s Park, the ten buses of York students practiced chants for the nearing protest.
Upon arriving at Ryerson, York University joined other schools who had already arrived. Buses joined the crowd as they gradually reached the drop-off point just outside of Ryerson’s student centre. If the energy in the buses was infectious, it was undeniable once we reached the crowd of students at Ryerson. From there, we marched down to Queen’s Park. Many folks stopped to take photos. There were a lot of positive reactions from the public, oftentimes with people honking their horns to catch our attention and following up by sticking their heads outside of car windows and yelling support.
At Queen’s Park, the pop-up stage was occupied by a variety of folks speaking out about the various reason that free tuition is necessary. The speakers also brought to light some of the many other issues within the education system and curriculum. Free food, including pizza and samosas, as well as hot drinks were being distributed in tents for the protestors. The crowd consisted of university students, high school students, babies and their parents, as well as others in support of the cause. Many were dressed up in “All Out November 2nd” or “Fight the Fees” clothing. The dynamism from the crowd was constant all the way up to the end of the rally at 4:00pm when the schools got ready to take their buses back to York. Before the rally concluded, the last person to take the stage, Gayle McFadden (ex-executive for the York Federation of Students and currently a part of the Canadian Federation of Students – Ontario team) reminded us this day of action is not a culminating act and that this fight for free education will continue.
Note: For anyone interested in the campaign, the YFS will have a follow-up Education Coalition Meeting on the third floor of the student centre next Wednesday.