NEW YORK CITY, October 22 — Members of a church in Harlem, community residents and students again marched on the Columbia University’s fake jobs center. For an hour, we kept up militant chants against racist unemployment and Columbia’s collusion with bankers and war-makers. Like other prestigious universities, Columbia supports the research the ruling class relies on to arm its war machine, directs its crisis-ridden banking system and educates young workers in the destructive ideas of capitalism. Columbia’s expansion of its programs has also meant that they have taken over massive portions of the surrounding neighborhoods, leaving many workers without homes or jobs.
Next we marched to the gates of the university, where we held another spirited picket. Our plan was to proceed across the campus to the mansion of President Bollinger. A line of campus security tried to stop us, saying we couldn’t walk with our “dangerous” posters. Several militant marchers refused to give in, and finally they let us in. We loudly chanted our way through. We then heard speeches in front of the obscenely ornate Bollinger residence, pointing out how students and workers are suffering high unemployment and how the university has displaced thousands of local residents in its history and mistreated its employees.
Our movement has become focused on building from the ground up, rather than relying on politicians or media. We have tied our struggle to an analysis of the crisis of capitalism. At least 10 church members who had never been involved in protests before participated in some way. They either leafleted beforehand, demonstrated or cooked for the marchers for our picnic afterwards. However, our numbers are still much too small. Workers need to overcome their cynicism about fighting back. Students need to realize their salvation lies in uniting with workers, on campus and in the community. We will continue to fight and more are sure to join us.
The victory of the Central Park Boathouse strikers and the large anti-Wall Street actions are evidence of growing working-class anger against the system. Our task is to make sure that protestors have a clear understanding that all our problems stem from capitalism and cannot be solved unless we chuck it completely and build a communist world.J