Dance Party Against the Fee HIkes

Roving Dance Party Party Against the Fee Hikes hits MJC
by an ex-student

Modesto Junior College, perhaps the cheapest institution of higher learning in the state of California, has recently had 180 classes cut from its roster. Fees have also risen from $20 per unit to $26, meaning that students are paying more and getting less: the constant refrain of the ongoing economic crisis. Meanwhile at California State University (CSU) Stanislaus, (the school that most MJC graduates go on to attend), the entire winter semester has been abolished and fees are being raised by 32%. While UC students at campuses like UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz have launched successful occupations at their schools and engaged in a variety of confrontational tactics – students in the Central Valley, (with the exception of students at CSU Fresno who walked out of their school in late October by the hundreds), have been slow to respond.

On Monday of this week, students at MJC walked onto campus to find that the entire perimeter of the school had been covered in flyers that read, “Dance Party Against the Fee Hikes!,” and encouraged students to bring music, friends, and party favors. The flyer ended by stating, “Strike//Occupy//Takeover.” This same slogan was then repeated in a larger poster, 11'' by 17''. 1,000 quarter sheet flyers were then distributed the next day across campus and on the day of the dance party a banner was dropped from the art building that read, “Stop the Fee Hikes! Dance Party in Quad 2Nite, 8pm.” Graffiti in the bathrooms at MJC has also been appearing throughout the campus for weeks, calling for unity between staff, students, and faculty against the cuts and hikes. All this was organized in just a few days by a group of friends, many of which are former or current students at Modesto Junior College.

On Tuesday, we arrived on campus with about 10 people, and headed to go check out the “Vigil for Education,” which was happening right before the dance party was supposed to start. We were hoping that the other group would bring a good sized group of people out, and hopefully when it was finished, many would stick around for the dance party. We had seen no flyers around campus for the event and the wind was blowing heavily, making the idea of holding candles on a dark night in the middle of an empty quad that much more totally unappealing. When we arrived, we found about 10 other people standing around in a circle, giggling. They held no signs or flyers, there were no banners, and besides that fact that they were holding candles, there was nothing to let you know they were doing anything else than just hanging out. Several within the group announced their dislike for the dance party idea, and stated that they didn't want to “chant and yell at people,” that by holding a vigil they would get “people to listen to them.” Other members within the group hid in bushes around those waiting for the dance party to start and tried to video tape us. Wendy Byrd, Director at MJC and a leader within the local chapter of the NAACP chapter, was also on the scene trying to ask questions of those there (in an effort to find out who the organizers for the dance party were), and also spent a lot of time talking to the security guards who were situated nearby watching the whole scene. People also complained to us that “masked men had run into class rooms, throwing dance party flyers everywhere,” (we can't make this shit up folks!), had been putting banners up around the school, and had “super glued” flyers to various walls.

At 8pm, the student activists left. A boom box appeared and people began to dance. At this point about 20-25 people were in attendance. The group quickly made its way towards the Founders' Hall, which is the largest classroom building on campus. Chanting, “Stop the Fee Hikes, Dance Dance All Night,” people moved in and out of buildings for about 30-40 minutes, inviting students still in class to come out and join them. A banner that the crowd carried read, “Strike//Occupy//Takeover.” Many came out and looked – but few actually joined us. Security followed closely behind videotaping the entire event, and then stated that they had called the police. At this point, the group handed out copies of a text that has been circulating on the internet, “Occupy the Crisis: The Emerging Student-Worker Direct Action Movement in California,” diapered and went in small groups off school grounds.

The student activists at MJC who organized the vigil disgust us – although we are sadly not surprised. They made no attempts at making gestures of solidarity with us, not even an acknowledgment of a set of different tactics but still shared enemies. For them, this is another student project to take pictures of and make videos for. For us, this is something that affects our lives. Their ideas for action are so weak and stupid they barely need to be critiqued. Holding candles in the dark that no one will see does nothing. It does nothing to raise consciousness or build power and it certainly does nothing to challenge those in power. Those that run this state would like nothing more if all we did was hold candles in the dark. It is only in conflict and action that we will find out how much power we do have to improve our material conditions. One thing is clear – the school administration and the activists were scarred of us, and wanted nothing to do with us. As well they should be; we clearly were better organized than they were anyway.

We understand the university system to be a part in the reproduction of class society. Like everything else within Capital, we do not wish to 'reform' the university, or make it more 'democratic.' Like our comrades wrote, “We wish to push the university struggle to its limits.” We were excited by the possibility of an event spinning out of control of anyones hands; a constructed situation that put desire, confrontation, and human connection above the rule of the police and the university leaders. Tonight was a step in the right direction, although a very small one. We are still those that will never play by the rules of politics or activism– we make our own. Everyday we grow stronger and better organized. Share your hushed rumors about us between yourselves, for we plan to be so, so, so much worse.

-some of the bad seeds