The election of Jeremy Corbyn to leader of the Labour Party in the United Kingdom marks a significant and positive reversal of the party's trajectory over the past 25 years. A trajectory that saw the jettisoning of the social movements in the hopes of enticing financial power.
In Canada, universities are widely considered to be public institutions. They should be public, but for years Canadian provincial and federal governments and university administrations have acted to undermine the public aspects of higher education and the academy more generally.
The role of a university is unique among public institutions. Instead of providing a single service to public users, they exist to establish a space, culture, and work that supports processes of discovery, advancement and challenging existing knowledge for the betterment of society.
Student activists almost come to expect September's flow of sexist and misogynist episodes, which is why student union campaigns are extremely important. However, back to school this year gave activists a painful reminder that violent hate for women and feminists still exist.
When a process is stuck half way through, it is usually a good idea to take a step back and start from the beginning.
This week, the global refugee crisis broke through the noise to become the focus, and not just for Canadian media and politicians. Across Canada, people have had to confront the dangerous reality faced by refugees fleeing their homelands, and the fact that North American and European governments are not doing nearly enough.
The debate around copyright can seem confusing. That these issues are often discussed in complex (and boring) court proceedings or complex (and boring) trade agreements makes it all the more difficult to engage the public at-large. But, make no mistake, these are critically important issues established at a global level through secret agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement.
What's Left This Week will be producing a multi-part series on the different ways in which the education sector in Canada is being privatized, with a focus on universities. Also this week, features on copyright, union organizing and migrant rights.
