mutiny zine: a paper of anarchist ideas and actions, issue #70 (single page view)

7/28/2019 Mutiny Zine: A Paper of Anarchist Ideas and Actions, Issue #70 (single page view)

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/mutiny-zine-a-paper-of-anarchist-ideas-and-actions-issue-70-single-page 1/28

Ref l ect ions on t heSydney Uni st r ikes

Resist ing mor et han cour se cut s:Wol l ongong Fr ee School

Women, ‘GenderWar s’ and Ref usal

In Pr aise of Chal k

Anar cha- f eminism andanar cho- machismo inSpain

Pat hways t o Il l egal it y,or What happened t o t heInt er nat ional St udent s



This is the 70th issue of Mutiny!

Another zine, another milestone.

This issue focuses on gender, education, and the

contemporary university. In Wonen, Gender Wars

and Refusal Annette Blanka traces a ‘gender war’

underway against women, intertwining the fibres

of gender and class in her analysis. An interview

article with The Valeries; ‘Anarcha-Feminism

and Anarcho-Machismo in Spain’ highlights how

gendered hierarchies can pervade nominally

radical and activist spaces; and brings home the

need to constantly challenge their existence. In

Resisting more than Course Cuts; Claire Johnston

tells the story of the Wollongong Free School,

an inspiring, local demonstration of the global

resurgence of feminist activism and a vibrant

space for discussion of issues like rape culture,

victim blaming and consent.

K-Box writes about her experiences of the strikes

at Sydney University from March – June. She draws

out its combination of camaraderie and action,creating new bonds of solidarity and helping

us begin to overcome the fragmentation of the

contemporary university. In a very different

piece on the ‘education economy’, Pathways to

Illegality, Sanmati Verma documents what has

happened to the international students that came

to the fore of politics through their mass, self-

organised protests of 2009 and 2010. Verma asks

us to consider the consequences of widespread

illegality amongst former international students

– what will be the ramifications of this for

Australian capitalism? Finally, Tim Scriven

talks up chalking as a tactic that provides a

form of active protest in the place of a culture

of spectatorship, particularly in light of the

recent struggles at Sydney University.

Love and solidarity, Mutiny Zine Collective

(Fi Lion, Blackbeard, Syzygy, Jiminy Kricket, MnM) E D I T O

R I A L

& DumpsteredTwin)



Lately we’ve heard a air bit about so-called‘gender wars’ between the major parties as they compete to position themselves or election.

Te absurd levels o misogyny directed atormer PM Gillard and other women by theCoalition, amplifed through media discourse,are just a taste o what’s to come under anAbbott government. Gillard-the-individual-woman has shown courage and perseverancein withstanding this onslaught. But theattempt to position Gillard as a eminist herorings hollow. Feminism means equality or

all women; Gillard represents policies thatmaterially harm large sections o the emalepopulation. On the very day o her celebratedspeech to Parliament in which she slammedAbbott’s countless instances o misogyny,her government axed single parents’ beneft(aer the youngest child turns 8), orcinghundreds o thousands o single mothersonto the unliveable Newstart unemployment

allowance. Similarly, the N Intervention andIncome Management policies are intensely harmul to women, who are oen responsibleor managing household budgets and keepingcommunities together. But these individualpolicies orm part o a larger context. My argument is that another ‘gender war’ o sorts is underway against women, over whichGillard and the media discourse continueto maintain a deaening silence. Genderinequality is accelerating, a key consequenceo what the Zapatistas reer to as the “FourthWorld War”: the ongoing devastation wroughtby neo-liberalism over the past 30-odd years.

Contrary to the hype peddled by the Sydney Opera House in their ‘All About Women’event earlier this year, women are not poisedon the verge o becoming “the richer sex”.Te reality is that we gain only 10% o worldincome, own 1% o world property, and

yet perorm 2/3 o the world’s work (UNfgures), and this extreme inequality prevailsnot only in the Global South, but right here,within the world’s rich countries. It is nocoincidence that in the supposedly uturisticworld o cyberspace, women’s voices makeup just 15% o the authors o online analysisand commentary (including comment eedson articles), and even on the apparently open

Wikipedia website (Cohen, 2011).

Neo-liberal austerity, intensiying sincethe Global Financial Crisis, has had adisproportionate impact on women, alongspecifcally class lines. Tat is, it has reducedthe economic and social power o multitudeso women, apart rom the most wealthy. Farrom gender being some separate “other”oppression to class, they are entwined. Womenmake up a majority o the labouring classitsel. o oreground class in this way is not todeny the specifc experience o being genderedunder late capitalism. Moreover, to understandsexism as integral to the reproduction o capitalism, as I do, is to open possibilities oremancipation.

Austerity: A Rough Guide

As many readers are aware, the Age o Austerity or neo-liberal capitalism that we liveunder was frst entrenched in the early 1970s.An early step was the Nixon government’sde-linking o the US dollar rom the goldstandard, a move ollowed by other worldcurrencies. From then on, the dollar wasno longer pegged at a set value, backed by material wealth (in this case, gold). At thesame time, investment controls that limitedthe ow o capital across borders were lied.Tis unleashed renzied currency speculationthat continues to destabilise economies to

Annette Blanka

Women, ‘Gender Wars’ and Refusal:

What Century Is Tis Again?



this day. Te liing o investment controlshas intensifed the power o capital to pushor “ideal” terms o investment in individual

countries through, among other policies, thedriving down o wages and corporate tax rates.Another key component is the dismantling o the so-called “social wage” through the rollback o welare and the privatisation o public goods(transport, telecommunications, electricity and water, higher education). Finally therewas a massive restructuring o work, in which jobs have been made increasingly insecure,

short-term and stripped o benefts, such thatin Australia, 40% o the workorce is now casualised. Waves o automation have beenunleashed by the employing class to shrink employment (‘labour costs’) across wholeindustries, rom manuacturing to printing,fnance, and all levels o media production.Te result is mass structural unemployment.In all this, undermining the strength o unionised workers and winding back thegains made by social movements in the 1960swas always a key motive. Harvard Proessor,Samuel Huntington articulated the view o theelite in the mid-1970s, when he wrote that the

“democratic surge o the 1960s” represented an“excess o democracy,” which must be reducedi governments are to carry out elite agendas, inan inuential book published by the rilateralCommission (a body which incubated many o the policies o austerity, see Sklar, 1999). While

the austerity economic model has tanked allover the world, it remains the ruling model.

However, the connection is seldom made thatthe age o neo-liberalism has coincided with anongoing backlash against women, whipped upand relentlessly perpetuated through the massmedia. As analysed by Susan Faludi in herground-breaking book Backlash (republished

2006), the aim has been to diminish thesocial role o women and remove the gainsmade through decades o eminist activity, inavour o so-called “traditional values”. Tishas involved a relentless belittling o womenin public lie in order to push them out o the“public” sphere, and back to the traditional“private” sphere o home and amily.Meanwhile, women have been portrayedas an evil “other,” in a way that excuses andnormalises gender violence. Tis pervasivesymbolic violence, to borrow Bourdieu’s term,is directly connected to normalising realitiesthat are materially harmul to women. Forinstance, the demonising o single mothersand other economically precarious womenhas accompanied the slashing o governmentincome support. A third o Australian womenwill experience violence in their lives, yet

unding to women’s services is dwindling(CEDAW, 2010).

Women and Work: Paid and Unpaid

In the present context, even while a majority o university graduates are women and womenhave struggled in all spheres to expand theiroptions, the reality o austerity since the GFChas served to undercut gains. Te dismantlingo the welare state and reduced incomes ispushing the work o raising children andcaring or the sick and elderly increasingly on the shoulders o women in the hidden,



unpaid workplace o the home. Unpaid work responsibilities inevitably impinge on women’sposition in the labour market. Since the GFC,women make up the largest numbers o thosewho are underemployed, or people who aren’table to work enough hours to gain a sucient

income, most requently due to childcareresponsibilities (Australia Institute, 2009).

Te work o reproducing ed, clothed, cared-or human beings is the invisible layer thatunderpins all capitalist waged work. As ChristaWichterich puts it, “Industrial and fnancial value creation is based on a thick layer o socialregeneration, care work and social saety nets,

which are assumed to be outside o economicsand not producing value” (2009). As it is work rom which capital profts enormously, we canrecognise this unpaid labour as a dispossession.Here, there isn’t even the ormality o a wage.What is happening is analogous to the outrightplunder o colonisation. Over several decades,revolutionary eminist Selma James has donepath-breaking work to cast light on thisinvisible labour:

Women reproduce the human race(and thus the whole workorce), andare everywhere its primary carersrom womb to tomb. Yet we were toldeven by leading eminists that caringwas work in a care home but not inour home, and that childcare was a job like any other – but not i done

in amilies. (James, 2012a; emphasisadded).

James identifed that women’s position o inequality is rooted in this role, personifedin the housewie. Tere is the expectation that

women, whether they have jobs or not, willperorm this invisible work in the amily orree, or lie. Te act that large numbers o women are also in the workorce has not servedto li this burden rom women’s shoulders,but rather opened the trap o the “doubleday” – being doubly exploited in both theworkplace and the home. In response to thissituation, James has argued compellingly that

housework be paid a wage. Importantly, thepoint o this demand is not to urther entrenchwomen staying at home as domestic workers,but to reject the whole structure o domesticwork, to “reuse housework as women’s work,as work imposed upon us, which we neverinvented, which has never been paid or”, asJames and Mariarosa Dalla Costa put it in TePower o Women and the Subversion o theCommunity (in James, 2012b). Tey arguethat keeping women isolated in the homewas an intentional aspect o the institutiono domestic slavery, and the question is toinvent orms o struggle by which women canbreak out o this isolation and into socialisedstruggle. From this has grown the GlobalWomen’s Strike. Since 2000, the Strike has seenwomen mobilise at the grassroots in over 60countries on International Women’s Day and

throughout the year. Te Strikelooks to bring women and mentogether across divisions to demandpay or all caring work (James,2012).

Beyond the home, the burden o invisible, gendered labour servesto reinorce hierarchies in the

workplace. Te position o womenin academia illustrates this. InAustralia, women make up overhal o lecturers at the lower pay



levels, but only 15% o proessors. Te fgureis similar across the world’s rich countries. Notonly is this a basic inequality that reproduces visible male hegemony to students, but italso means less mentoring and networkingpathways or women. One o the key reasons

or this is amily responsibilities (Pyke, inTe Conversation, 2012). Tis also causesearly career complications, in that womenare more tied to one location than their malecounterparts, who may typically split theirtime between several continents. Finally,the gendered experience o unwaged labouris repeated in the workplace, as it is also thelower-level academics who must perorm the

majority o unpaid work on the job, such asmarking.

While women in the workorce are increasingly concentrated in part-time casualised work, thedismantling o welare hits women in particular.Not only is the slashing o the Single Parentspayment a reduction o income to the ar below poverty-line Newstart allowance, but Newstartimposes an expanded regime o punishmentsand busywork. As with Income Management,the aim is to harass single mothers into thelow-wage, high-exploitation end o the labourmarket, enorcing the burden o the doubleday. Meanwhile, Income Management, whilepromoted as “helping amilies”, has beenoverwhelmingly rejected by women subjectedto it. Te largest study o its impacts in the Nound that 74% o women didn’t fnd it easier

to look aer their amilies, and 79% wanted toopt out altogether (Equality Rights Alliance,2012). Although the entire welare system canin a sense be seen as “sit-down money”, or atype o insurance by the boss class to ward o radical social change, it’s also true that welarein Australia was won through struggle rombelow. For instance, the payment or singlemothers was a victory won as recently as the

1970s, in the US and Australia. Tis was aresult o eminist organising, particularly by unemployed mothers (Gordon, 1988). Testruggles against the current rollback carry on

this radical trajectory.

We can understand the struggle against capitalas being undamentally a struggle against theboundless imposition o work, as Harry Cleaver(2000) and others have convincingly argued.

In developing an anti-work perspective, it is vital to include the unpaid reproductive work o women. Tis is not to say that this socially-useul work shouldn’t be done, but ratherthat it be transormed: caring work needs tobe valued, paid, and put at the very centre o society. Te physical, emotional, and relationalneeds o human beings must rame the limitsin which questions o the economy and work

are addressed.

I we see that work is imposed by capitalnot just in the workplace, or site o so-called“productive” labour, but throughout the sphereo reproductive work, then our understandingo class struggle needs to permeate beyond theconfnes o the ormal workplace. Like systemicwhite supremacy, it is through the subjugationo women that capital secures the hierarchieswithin the class through which it imposes itswill on us all. It is capitalism that needs one parto the class to be subordinate to another in anendless pecking order, and worsening genderinequality increases capital’s power over us all.Tis means that our collective strength willcome not rom “unity” behind those who arealready more advantaged within the class, butthrough connections o love and solidarity that

strengthen the more exploited parts, thereby unmaking our internal divisions.

Reality demands that we transorm thestereotypes o class. Let’s recall that, contrary to what some sociologists might have usbelieve, class is not a ‘category’ to which weare allocated by income level. It’s a socialrelationship defned by one’s ownership o

wealth (capital), or lack o it. Te working classis peopled by those who don’t own capital,and so possess only the capacity to work, inits many dierent orms. Tese relations are



reproduced everyday, andwe take part in reproducingthem. You can’t blow up asocial relationship. In a realsense, we begin to unmakecapitalism by generating other

relations. Trough our reusalo unequal gender relations,we open possibilities to movebeyond capitalism. Troughthis positive reusal, we beginto constitute ‘the dangerousclass’.

CEDAW (2010) Concluding Observations o the Committee on Eliminationo all orms o Discrimination Against Women(CEDAW), New York: United Nations.

Cohen, N (2011) “Defne Gender Gap? Look UpWikipedia’s Contributor List”, New York imes,

January 30.

Cleaver, H (2000) Reading Capital Politically, AK

Press: London.

Equality Rights Alliance (2012) Women’sExperience o Income Management inthe Northern erritory, at http://www.equalityrightsalliance.org.au/projects/womens-experience-income-management-northern-territory

Gordon, L (1988) “What Does WelareRegulate?” Social Research, Vol. 55, No. 4, pp.609-630. Contains this quote: “Te welare-rightsmovement was a women’s liberation movement,as much a part o the revival o eminism asabortion-rights struggles and armative-actiondemands.” Cited on Lies Journal blog, liesjournal.tumblr.com

James, S (2012a) “How women’s work has been pushed up the US political agenda”, I, 25.4.12.http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisree/

ciamerica/2012/apr/25/womens-work-hilary-rosen

James, S (2012b) Te Perspective o Winning: ASelection O Writings 1952-2011, Oakland: PM

Press.

Pyke, J (2012) ‘Why do emale academics giveup on becoming proessors?’ Te Conversation,

May 25, 2012 http://theconversation.com/why-do-emale-academics-give-up-on-becoming-

proessors-6563

Sklar, H (1999) rilateralism: Te rilateral Commission and Elite Planning or World

Management, Boston: South End Press.

Wichterich, C (2009) “Re-embedding the economy in social relations and sustainable relations withnature: Feminist remarks to ongoing debateson neoliberal capitalism and crisis.” Women InDevelopment Europe, www.wide-network.org



Pathways to Illegality,

or What happened to the

International Students

Sanmati Verma

This piece maps the growth, collapse andreformation of what is termed the ‘internationaleducation economy’- a conglomeration of interests including Australian Universitiesand TAFEs, private vocational educationproviders, State governments, education andmigration agents- cumulatively worth around$15.3 billion to the Australian economy.0RUHVSHFL¿FDOO\,VHHNWRGRFXPHQWZKDWhas become of the particular representativegroup of international students who came intofocus through mass self-organised protestsLQDQGSUHGRPLQDWHO\,QGLDQDQG&KLQHVHVWXGHQWVZRUNLQJLQ$XVWUDOLD¶Vservice economy (cabs, convenience stores,FRQWUDFWFOHDQLQJODERXUKLUHVH[ZRUNHWFand enrolled in vocational courses offered

E\SULYDWHSURYLGHUV0DSSLQJWKHVLJQL¿FDQWshifts in the Australian economy and migrationpolicy that brought this cohort into existence,,WKHQDWWHPSWWRIROORZZKDWKDVEHFRPHRIthese several thousand temporary migrants,as migration laws and regulations wereFKDQJHGIURPRQZDUGVVSHFL¿FDOO\to thwart their aspirations for permanentmigration and a future in Australia, underthe guise of re-establishing the ‘integrity’ of

Australian international education. Whilst itis impossible to offer a conclusive accountRIWKHGLIIHUHQWGLUHFWLRQVWDNHQE\IRUPHUinternational students targeted by theseFKDQJHV,VXJJHVWRQHWKLQJLVFOHDUWKHchanges were neither designed for, nor didthey have the effect of, expelling formerinternational students from Australia andEDFNWRWKHLUKRPHFRXQWULHV5DWKHUWKHUDIWof changes have had the dual effect of re-founding the international education economy

on a more sustainable footing favouring thePDUNHWVKDUHRI$XVWUDOLDQXQLYHUVLWLHVZKLOVWsimultaneously creating a sizable new classof permanently provisional or overtly illegal

migrants.

‘International Eduction Economy’

- A Background

,QWHUQDWLRQDOVWXGHQWVKDYHIRUPHGDQXPHULFDOO\DQGSROLWLFDOO\VLJQL¿FDQWcomponent of Australia’s migration

program- and in turn, the Australianpopulace- since 2001, when then PrimeMinister John Howard made extensiveFKDQJHVWRWKH0LJUDWLRQ5HJXODWLRQV1994 to permit overseas students to lodgeapplications for permanent residencewhile remaining in Australia. Alongside thereshaping of the humanitarian programand his introduction of the Business/RQJ6WD\VXEFODVVYLVDWKH

FKDQJHVWRWKH0LJUDWLRQ5HJXODWLRQVconcerning overseas students are nowconsidered to be amongst Howard’scrowning immigration reforms. TheQXPEHUVVSHDNWRWKHVLJQL¿FDQFHRIWKHVHFKDQJHVLQWKHUHZHUHVKRUWof 100,000 overseas students enrolledin Australian schools and universities;by 2010, there were 500,000. TheSHDNLQZDVDWMXVWRYHURYHUVHDVVWXGHQWVLQ$XVWUDOLD,Qit was estimated that the ‘internationaleducation industry’- representing anarray of different interests and industries,including Australian Universities and privatecolleges, tuition centres, accommodationproviders, education and migration agents-cumulatively amounted to $15.3 billion inexport income. This made international

HGXFDWLRQWKHWKLUGPRVWSUR¿WDEOHH[SRUWearner, after coal and iron ore. Thoughenigmatically described as ‘export income,’WKHEHQH¿WVRIWKHLQWHUQDWLRQDOHGXFDWLRQHFRQRP\ÀRZHGPRVWO\WRORFDOEXVLQHVVDQGFRPPXQLWLHV

,QIDFWWKHPDMRULW\SHUFHQWRIWKHELOOLRQUHYHQXHIURPLQWHUQDWLRQDO

HGXFDWLRQLQÀRZHGWRWKHKRVWcommunities – the local shops and retailsector, accommodation providers, travelservices and other community enterprises.



,IWKH&RDOLWLRQJRYHUQPHQWXQGHU+RZDUGwere the architects of the internationaleducation economy, subsequent ALPgovernments presided over its growth andH[SDQGLQJSUR¿WDELOLW\7KHFRQWULEXWLRQRIALP governments from 2005 onwards has

been, in particular, to shift the focus of international education away from tertiaryeducation- where it served the purpose,under Howard, of softening the impactof higher education funding cuts - andchannelling students towards vocationalHGXFDWLRQDQGWUDGHVFRXUVHV)URPto 2010, while overseas student numbersin universities remained largely stable,QXPEHUVRI9(76HFWRUVXEFODVVLQFUHDVHGE\&KLQDDQG,QGLDZHUHthe leading two nationalities representedin these increased visa grants.

The growth in VET enrolments was notincidental, or a delayed realisation of opportunities by students in China and,QGLD7KLVPDVVPRYHPHQWRIWHPSRUDU\entrants was facilitated through the

JURZWKRIFRPSOH[QHWZRUNVLPSOLFDWLQJAustralian education providers acrossthe spectrum of universities and VETFROOHJHVZRUNLQJLQWDQGHPZLWKORFDODJHQWVDQGPLGGOHPHQLQ,QGLDDQG&KLQDto ply study and migration opportunitiesin Australia. Agents in the corners of ,QGLD¶VDJUDULDQ3XQMDEVWDWHDVVLVWHGWRPDUNHWDQGUHFUXLWVWXGHQWVIRUHQWU\

not only into private training colleges,but the vocational education offshootsof Australian universities- includingthe memorably-named Ozford CollegeDI¿OLDWHGZLWK&HQWUDO4XHHQVODQG8QLYHUVLW\DQG0HOERXUQH,QVWLWXWHRI%XVLQHVVDQG7HFKQRORJ\DI¿OLDWHGZLWK'HDNLQ8QLYHUVLW\7KHSUHFLVHrelationships between Australian

Universities and VET providers variedDQGWRRNGLYHUVHIRUPVUDQJLQJIURPboard membership, partial ownershipDQGLQYHVWPHQW,QWKHFDVHRI50,7University, a ‘feeder program’ operated

through partnership with WuhanUniversity of Science and TechnologyIXQQHOOHG&KLQHVHVWXGHQWVLQWR50,7courses offered in Australia (where theywere subsequently over-representedin academic progress and show-cause

SURFHHGLQJV:KDWHYHUWKHSUHFLVHrelationship, it is evident that AustralianUniversities stood in direct relation withthe international VET sector, despite laterrevisionist attempts to elide this relationwhen the VET sector came to crisis from2010 onwards.

,WLVGLVLQJHQXRXVWRDVNKRZPDQ\students arrived in Australia duringthis period for the ‘right reasons,’ or as‘genuine students,’ as opposed to simplyVHHNLQJDSDWKZD\WRPRUHSHUPDQHQWVHWWOHPHQWLQ$XVWUDOLD,WLVGLVLQJHQXRXVFKLHÀ\EHFDXVHWKHRYHUWOLQNLQJRIstudent visas with permanent migrationoutcomes from 2001 onwards wasprecisely what contributed to increasedenrolment and ensured the growth of the

international education sector. Studentswere intended, if not overtly promised,permanent migration on completion of their studies in Australia. An entire privateeducation industry- not to mention, agreatly expanded Australian universityand TAFE sector- grew up in the shadowof this explicit promise.

)URPRQZDUGVZLWKWKHTXHVWLRQRIHQUROPHQWVLJQL¿FDQWO\HDVHGWKURXJKthe various relationships and processesdescribed above, potential entrantshad only to worry about the remainingvisa criteria- principally, access toIXQGVVXI¿FLHQWIRUOLYLQJH[SHQVHVcourse fees and travel during the visaholder’s intended stay in Australia.

Aspiring applicants were able to meetthese requirements variously throughmortgaging parental property andODQGKROGLQJVORDQVIURPDJHQWVWDNHQDWKLJKLQWHUHVWIDOVL¿HG¿QDQFLDO



documents or contracted arrangementswith secondary visa holders (theVWXGHQWV¶SXWDWLYHµKXVEDQG¶RUµZLIH¶to demonstrate the required funds inexchange for being included in the visaapplication.

Through these means, some 210,888VET Sector student visa grants wereaffected for overseas applicants between2005 and 2012. A combination of punitivevisa conditions (the requirement toservice ever-increasing tuition fees whileOLPLWHGWRZRUNLQJRQO\KRXUVSHUZHHNtogether with the aggressive racialisationof new entrants, ensured that studentsrapidly came to occupy a new underclassLQWKHODERXUPDUNHWGLVSURSRUWLRQDWHO\represented in cabs, service stations,convenience stores and as labour-hire forURRILQVXODWLRQDQGFRQVWUXFWLRQZRUN$WWKHVDPHWLPHWKHSUR¿WVHHNLQJJURZWKin the VET sector meant that courseFRQWHQWDQGOHDUQLQJZDVQRPLQDORQO\VWXGHQWVDWWHQGHGFRRNHU\FODVVHVLQ

FRQYHUWHG&%'RI¿FHEXLOGLQJVWR¿QGRYHQV¿WWHGZLWKRXWJDVFRQQHFWLRQVDocumenting the seemingly unendinggrowth in the international educationHFRQRP\LQ%HQ5RVHQ]ZHLJDQG/L]7KRPSVRQZURWH

The dynamics of these economies

were persistently rendered opaque byWZRRI¿FLDOO\VSRQVRUHGIDQWDVLHVWKDWthese economies were essentially about“education”, with the desire for migrationsecondary or incidental; and secondarilythat all of these genuine students did notWRKDYHWRZRUNIRUPRQH\

,WZDVWKLVKLVWRULFDODQGSROLWLFDOJURXSLQJ

of temporary entrants, forged in avery particular moment in the growthof Australia’s international educationeconomy, that could be seen protestingon the streets of Melbourne with signs

WKDWUHDGµ:HGRQ¶WMXVWGULYH\RXUFDEVwe drive your economy.’

‘The Expulsion’

$VHULHVRIZLOGFDWVWULNHVE\PRVWO\

VET sector international students from2008 onwards laid bare the multipleand transnational interests shaping theinternational education economy. Thebrutal assaults on student visa holdersKanan Kharbanda, Sourabh Sharma,6UDYDQ7HHUWKDODDQG¿QDOO\WKHmurder of Nitin Garg in 2010, propelleda public relations spectacle betweenWKHJRYHUQPHQWVRI$XVWUDOLDDQG,QGLDregarding the management of the multi-billion dollar industry.

After initial attempts to isolate andLQGLYLGXDOLVHDWWDFNVWKURXJKDVNLQJ,QGLDQYLFWLPVWRGUHVVDQGVSHDNOHVVSURYDFDWLYHO\JRYHUQPHQWGLVFRXUVHWRRNDIXUWKHUGHSROLWLFLVLQJWXUQORFDWLQJthe problems students encountered

as one of ‘integrity’ of the internationaleducation sector as a whole. The spectreRIWKHµGRGJ\FROOHJH¶GLGWKHZRUNRIcasting the crisis in the internationaleducation economy as an aberration,an unintended consequence, a result of external corruption- as opposed to thelogical and necessary conclusion of allthe industry’s imperatives. At the same

WLPHDQGPRUHLPSRUWDQWO\SURMHFWLQJWKHproblems of the international eductioneconomy onto the ‘dodgy colleges’ gavelicense to the later consequences thatwere visited onto the attendees of thosecolleges- the VET sector visa holders,who by presumption ‘non-genuine’students.

2010 saw the unending proliferation of FKDQJHVDQGPHDVXUHVWDNHQWRUHLQIRUFHthe ‘integrity’ of the international educationeconomy- that is, to re-establish it on anHTXDOO\SUR¿WDEOHIRRWLQJOHVVEHKROGHQ



to the vagaries of student protest andinternational censure. A spate of auditswere conducted into international collegesoperating throughout Melbourne- whichlasted until the auditing body itself fellunder scrutiny for its internal processes.

(QKDQFHGµLQWHJULW\FKHFNLQJ¶OHGWRKLJKrates of student visa cancellations, anda massive rise in the refusal of furtherVWXGHQWYLVDDSSOLFDWLRQVE\,QGLDQDQG&KLQHVHQDWLRQDOVLQSDUWLFXODU,Qthe introduction of the ‘genuine student’and ‘genuine temporary entrant’ criteriafor student visas operated as a carteblanche permitting the Department of ,PPLJUDWLRQWRUHIXVHIXUWKHUVWXGHQWYLVDapplications based on an assessment of the applicant’s study history i.e. whetherthey were previously enrolled in theinternational VET sector. At the sametime, in 2011, ‘streamlined processing’arrangements were introduced forstudents enrolled at Universities, meaningstudent visas could be granted without(QJOLVKODQJXDJHRU¿QDQFLDOHYLGHQFHLI

DVWXGHQWFRXOGVKRZFRQ¿UPDWLRQZKHQapplying for the visa of enrollment in aBachelors or higher course.

The cornerstone of the internationaleducation economy’s re-formation wasthe overnight change to the Migration2FFXSDWLRQV,Q'HPDQG/LVW02'/RQ8 February 2010, to drastically favour

profession requiring Bachelors or higherTXDOL¿FDWLRQV3ULRUWRWKDWGDWHWKHoccupations on the MODL had beenweighted in favour of trades and haddictated the growth of the internationalVET sector and, in turn, the coursesRIIHUHGWRDQGXQGHUWDNHQE\VHYHUDOthousand international students. Theimplications of the February 2010

changes to the MODL are too extensive tolist here but for our purposes, it is enoughto say that for the 122,149 VET sectorstudent visa holders in Australia at thattime- a cohort who had paid thousands

for an education never obtained, who hadZRUNHGWKHPRVWYLROHQWDQGSUHFDULRXV MREVLPDJLQDEOHLQWKH$XVWUDOLDQeconomy- any hope of a permanentmigration outcome was all but destroyed./L]7KRPSVRQDQG%HQ5RVHQ]ZHLJ

described that moment as ‘the expulsion,’LQWKHIROORZLQJWHUPV The ALP federal government respondedto the movements of guest consumersand to fractures in the smoothdevelopment of international educationeconomies by sweeping a large part of these economies away and many of thoseon international student visas out of thecountry – all in one movement collapsingtogether economic restructuring, bordercontrol and repression. The state soughtto disperse struggles and solve problemsZLWKRXWKDYLQJWRDFNQRZOHGJHRUFRQIURQWDQWL,QGLDQ[HQRSKRELDLQSDUWLFXODUor broader hostility to non-white non-citizens, largely by acting to dispenseZLWKDVHFWLRQRIWKHSDUWLFXODUO\SULYDWH

international education industry, and witha section of the (particularly less wealthyDQGRUPRUHOLNHO\WREHWURXEOHVRPHstudents...The restructuring of theseHFRQRPLHVZDVWKXVFRQ¿JXUHGDVDUHDVVHUWLRQRIODERXUPDUNHWPDQDJHPHQWas well as a defence of the “integrity”of the immigration and border controlapparatuses of the Australian state – a

performance of sovereignty proudlyHYRNLQJWKDWUHDGLQHVVIRUYLROHQFHWKHSRVVLELOLW\RIZKLFKVHHNVWRULWXDOO\UHfound state and nation.

0\FRQWHQWLRQLVWKDWWDONRIµH[SXOVLRQ¶of former international students hasbeen both premature and misconceived.After all, the logic of the border is not

exclusively to halt movement but ratherto sort, redirect and modulate its formsin ways ultimately productive of newVHJPHQWVLQWKHODERXUPDUNHWWRIXQQHOmovement into value and inasmuch,



redraw the lines of the nation acrosssocial relations.

Dispersal

The 122,149 former VET sector

international students, and probablythousands more affected by migrationreforms of 2010 onwards, have dispersedso far as we can recognise in a number of disparate directions, depending on theirFDFKHRIVNLOOVDQGVRFLDOFDSLWDO

µ7UDQVLWLRQDO$UUDQJHPHQWV¶

$VLJQL¿FDQWSURSRUWLRQRIVWXGHQWVYLVDholders from 2010 have opted into the18-month amnesty offered after theiroccupation was removed from the list forpermanent residency. Former studentswere permitted to apply for a Graduate6NLOOHG7HPSRUDU\YLVDEDVHGRQWKHROGDQGPRUHLQFOXVLYHOLVWRIVNLOOHGoccupations, up until 31 December 2012at which point that door was closed. That

visa allows the holder another 18 monthsin Australia but does not form a pathwayto something more permanent. Thatis the road to nowhere that many ex-students are on.

)XUWKHU6WXGHQW9LVDV

As mentioned, part of the re-founding

of the international education economyfrom 2010 onwards involved offering‘streamlined processing’ of studentvisas for those enrolled in Bachelorsor higher courses. While allowingUniversities their share of ‘export income,’these arrangements also allowed forthe continuation of business as usualfor former international colleges -

either through new partnerships withUniversities, or (as is the case with ‘VU6\GQH\¶WKURXJKUHEUDQGLQJDV8QLYHUVLW\DGMXQFWVDWVLJQL¿FDQWFRVW7KHRSWLRQof further study in higher education was

made palatable for former students,WKURXJKWKHJXDUDQWHHRIDµZRUNSHUPLW¶of at least 18 months following thesuccessful completion of study.

Of course, the other side of this visa

processing has been streamlinedcompliance processes within highereducation providers, involving the abilityto directly report non-compliance to the'HSDUWPHQWRI,PPLJUDWLRQWRDIIHFWstudent visa cancellation. Former VETsector students also have had to contendwith the arbitrary ‘genuine student’ and‘genuine temporary entrant’ criteria whenapplying for their further student visa. The assessment of this criteria explicitlyDOORZVWKH'HSDUWPHQWRI,PPLJUDWLRQWRWDNHLQWRDFFRXQWWKHDSSOLFDQW¶VFRXQWU\of nationality, circumstances in their homeFRXQWU\LHSRYHUW\DQGWKHLUSUHYLRXVstudy history (ie ‘whether the applicantKDVXQGHUWDNHQDVHULHVRIVKRUWLQH[SHQVLYHFRXUVHV¶

The path of the further student visa is,evidently, costly and precarious. FormerVWXGHQWVHPEDUNLQJRQWKLVFRXUVHKDYHeither seen their further visa cancelled orUHIXVHGOHDYLQJWKHPZLWKWKH¿QDORSWLRQRIORGJPHQWLQWKH0LJUDWLRQ5HYLHZ Tribunal.

0LJUDWLRQ5HIXJHH5HYLHZ7ULEXQDO

,QDOORIWKH0LJUDWLRQDQG5HIXJHH5HYLHZ7ULEXQDO¶VUHFHQWUHSRUWLQJLWis plain to see that that body is nowinundated with review applications andLVEXFNOLQJXQGHUWKHSUHVVXUH)RUWKHpast year, the wait for a hearing in the057KDVEHHQWZR\HDUVPDNLQJLWD

legitimate strategy for extending stayLQWKHFRXQWU\,QDORQHUHYLHZDSSOLFDWLRQVZHUHORGJHGZLWKWKH057LQUHODWLRQWRVWXGHQWYLVDUHIXVDOVFDQFHOODWLRQVDQGVNLOOHGYLVD



refusals. During 2010-2011, student andVNLOOHGYLVDUHODWHGUHYLHZDSSOLFDWLRQVconstituted 52% of the cases lodged withWKH057DUHYLHZERG\GHDOLQJDFURVVthe spectrum of visas and migrationdecisions. On top of that, as of 2011, the

7ULEXQDOVWLOOKDGDSSOLFDWLRQVVWLOORQKDQGLQUHODWLRQWRVWXGHQWDQGVNLOOHGvisa refusals and student cancellations.Evidently, there is an impressive warof attrition being waged by formerinternational students.

Similarly, in 2010-2011, China and,QGLDFRQVWLWXWHGE\IDUWKHKLJKHVWUDWHRIORGJPHQWVLQWKH5HIXJHH5HYLHZ Tribunal in relation to ProtectionYLVDUHIXVDOV'XULQJWKDW\HDUapplications were lodged by ChineseQDWLRQDOVDQGE\,QGLDQQDWLRQDOVZKLFKUHSUHVHQWHGDULVHLQORGJPHQWVIURP,QGLD$WWKHVDPHWLPHWKH7ULEXQDOVWLOOKDGYLVDDSSOLFDWLRQVon hand to decide from the previous\HDU,Q0DUFKWKH557LVVXHGD

VXFFHVVIXOUHYLHZRXWFRPHWRD3XQMDELProtection visa applicant- being one of thevery few successful outcomes from thatcohort over the past 5 years.

Former students may have more or lesssuccess in their review applications at the057RU557LQDQ\FDVHLWUHPDLQVDprovisional strategy for prolonging stay in

Australia.

Illegality

Former students have found otheroptions, particularly in the form of employer or partner sponsorship. The¿QDODQGPRVWREYLRXVRSWLRQLVLOOHJDOLW\

or simply staying on in the country withoutany formal or legal status. Discussionsof illegality and its consequenceshave not been prevalent in Australiaas compared with Europe and North

America, where their physical landscapespermit for mass undocumented entry.What is salient in discussions of illegalityis that there is nothing irregular aboutirregular migration and undocumentedmigrants form an indispensable part

RIWKHODERXUPDUNHWLQERWKFRQWH[WVAustralia has not historically had theEHQH¿WRIDVL]DEOHÀRZRIÀH[LEOHODERXUwithout status, with all the opportunitiesfor extraction and exploitation that thisimplies. Former student visa holders areslowly sifting into the permanently illegalFRPPXQLWLHVRIUHJLRQDO9LFWRULDZRUNLQJDORQJVLGH6DPRDQDQG)LMLDQIRUPHUVHDVRQDOZRUNHUVDQGµRIIVKRUHHQWU\¶protection visa applicants released intothe community on bridging E visas. Whatare the social implications of creating apermanently illegal class of residents,without the entitlements to education,welfare, medical care and socialrecognition that legal status implies?:KDWZLOOWKHVHFRPPXQLWLHVORRNOLNH5 or 10 years into the future, and what

impact will their existence bear on thefuture direction of migration policy? Thesequestions, of course, cannot be answeredin advance of people’s movements andDWWHPSWVDWFRQWHVWDWLRQ:KDW,KDYHsought to pose here is the question, notof the consequences of expulsion, butthe forms of differential inclusion of thoseformerly holding international students’

visas- not as a long-past historicalquandary, but a present social process inthe unfolding.



RESISTINGM ORE TH AN

COURSE CUTS

Wo llo ng o ng Un ive r s it y

Fr e e Sch o o l

By Cla i re Joh nst o n

Fo l lo w i n g t h e n e o l ib e r a l t r e n d s a c r o s s t e r t i a r yedu ca t ion , t he Un ive r s i t y o f Wo l longo ng Facu l t yo f A r t s n o t if ie d i t s s t u d e n t s a t t h e e n d o f l a sty e a r t h a t if t h e y w is h e d t o m a j o r i n o n e o fseven in te rd i scip l ina r y cour ses , such as As iaPac i fi c Stud ies o r Gend er S tud ies , t hey had tod e c l a r e i t o n t h e i r a ca d e m i c e n r o l m e n t b y t h e

c lo s e o f 2 0 1 2 ; a s fr o m 2 0 1 3 t h e se c o u r s eswou ld n o long er b e ava i lab le . The jus t i fi ca t ionf r o m m a n a g e m e n t w a s e n t i r e ly p r e d i ct a b l e : e n -r o l m e n t s w e r e “ p a t h e t i c a lly lo w ” a n d s t u d e n t sh a d “ v o t e d w i t h t h e ir f e e t ” . Ye t d e s p i t e t h e s u p -p o s e d u n p o p u l a r i t y o f t h e c o u r s e s , s t u d e n t sw e r e u p s e t w it h t h e d e c is io n , a n d a s w e w e r eto f i nd ou t , were ac tua l l y i n te res ted , engaged

a n d e a g e r t o l ea r n a b o u t s o m e o f t h e s e ar e a s .

A t t h e s a m e t i m e a s t h e s e d e c i s io n s w e r e



b e i n g m a d e , a g r o u p o f s t u d e n t s wh o h a d b e e ni n s p ir e d b y t h e i r c la s s o n t h e p h il o s o p h y o ff e m i n is m [ s ] d e c i d e d t o fo r m F e m So c , a g e n d e rinc lus ive femin is t soc ie ty . What was c lear to usin FemSoc was tha t t he inves t iga t ion and s tudyo f g e n d e r w a s c r u c i a l t o a b o l is h i n g p a t r i a r c h yo n o u r c a m p u s a n d i n t h e s o c i e ty w e l iv e d i n .O n t h e o n e h a n d , w e w e r e g e n u i n e ly u p s e t t h a tthe Facu l t y o f A r t s was d isso lv ing the GenderS tud ies ma jo r - a f te r a l l, women ’s s tud ies andg e n d e r s t u d ie s w er e b o r n o u t o f s t r u g g l e .Re m o v in g t h e s e c o u r s e s w o u ld r e v e r s e y e a r so f c a m p a ig n i n g t o h a v e t h e s tu d y o f g e n d e ra c k n o wle d g e d a s a n im p o r t a n t a r e a fo r b o t hr e s e a r c h a n d t e a c h i n g . H o w e v e r, a f t e r s o m ec o n s i d e r a t i o n a n d d i s cu s s i o n w it h a c a d e m i cs ta f f , we knew tha t t he re were s ign i f i can t p rob -lems w i th the way the Gend er S tud ies cour seh a d b e e n r u n , s u c h a s t h e d o m i n a n c e a n d i n -f lu e n c e o f t h e Ce n t r e f o r R e s e a r c h O n M e n a n dMascu l in i t ies . We con c luded tha t f igh t ing fo r t hec o u r s e t o b e r e i n t r o d u c e d in i t s p r e v io u s f o r mwasn ’ t esp ec ia ll y ap pea l ing .

T h i s is h o w o u r f r e e s c h o o l b e g a n . Fe m S o cw a s a d i ve r s e g r o u p w it h d i ve r s e p o l it ic s ,a n d a l t h o u g h s o m e o f u s h a d e x p e r i e n ce inc a m p a i g n s o n c a m p u s , we d e c id e d t h a t r u n n i n ga se r ies o f f r ee , week ly pub l ic lec tu r es andworkshops was a re la t i ve l y s imp le and access i -b l e p r o j e c t t h a t w o u ld g i ve u s a p l a tfo r m t o n o ton ly pub l i c l y condemn the un ive rs i t y ’ s dec is iont o c u t G e n d e r St u d i e s b u t a l s o t o o p e n a s p a c efo r d i scuss ion o f i ssues to d o w i th gen der . Weh a v e b e e n a s t o n i s h e d b y it s c o n s i s te n t p o p u -la r it y w ith s tud en ts an d s ta f f. More im po r tan t l y,

w e h a v e b e e n i m p r e s s e d b y t h e s p a c e it h a sp r o v id e d f o r d e v e l o p i n g a n d t e s t i n g o u r i d e a s ,n o t j u s t a b o u t i s s u e s r e v o lv in g a r o u n d g e n d e r ,b u t o n t h e p r o b l e m s o f t h e u n i v e r s i t y a n d

t a c t ic s o f r e s i s t a n ce .

FREE SCHOOL

Fe m S o c h a s b e t w e e n f o r t y a n d f if t y m e m b e r sa n d e v e r y o n e is e n c o u r a g e d t o b e g i n t h e ir o w np r o j e ct s a n d c a m p a i g n s w i t h t h e a s s i s t a n ce a n ds u p p o r t o f o t h e r s i n t h e g r o u p . Fr e e Sc h o o lw a s a p r o j e c t o r g a n i s e d b y s e v e r a l m e m b e r s int h e g r o u p . T h e p r o c e s s o f e s t a b l is h i n g t h e f r e es c h o o l w a s p r e t t y s t r a ig h t f o r w a r d : a r o o m o nc a m p u s w a s b o o k e d fo r 1 2 . 3 0 e a c h We d n e s -

d a y, a c a d e m i c s d o i n g r e s e a r c h o n i s s u e sr e l a t e d t o g e n d e r w e r e a s k e d i f t h e y w o u l d li keto g i ve a ha l f - an -ho ur l ec tu re fo l lowed b y d i s -c u s s io n , p o s t e r s w e r e d e s ig n e d a n d F a ce b o o ke v e n t s w e r e c r e a t e d . T h e r e w e r e d e l ib e r a t e l yfew gu ide l ines g i ven to acad em ics w ish ing top r e s e n t o r r u n a l e c tu r e o r w o r k s h o p . Co n -s e q u e n t l y we e n d e d u p w i t h a p r e t t y d i v e r s e

program. Week ly top ics inc luded :

Fe m i n i s m 1 0 1 : Is n ’ t e v e r y t h in g o k n o w ?Workshop p resen ted by Jess ie Hun t , a s tuden tand f ree scho o l o r gan ise r. She fac i li t a ted ag r o u p d i s c u s s io n a b o u t c o n s e n t a n d r a p e c u l-t u r e , and the p oss ib i li t ies fo r f em in is t ac t i v ismo n c a m p u s a n d m o r e b r o a d ly in s o c i e t y.

“ Wh i te Wom en ’s Anx ie t ies ” : Wh i te Wom en,Ind igenous Women and Femin ism. Lec tu rep r e s e n t e d b y D r. L is a S la t e r b a s e d o n h e r b o o kt i t led ‘Close to Ho m e: Anx ie t ies o f Be long ingin Se t t l e r Aus t ra l ia ’ . I n t h i s boo k , she exam inesprogress ive wh i te women ’s anx ie t y , no t j us t anyanx ie t y, bu t an x ie t y tha t i s p ro du ced in i n te rcu l -t u r a l e n c o u n t e r s w it h I n d i g e n o u s A u s t r a li a n s.

2 0 1 2 A n t i - r a p e P r o t e s t s a n d M e d i a Ac t iv is mi n Ur b a n I n d i a . L e c t u r e p r e s e n t e d b y Su k m a n iK h o r a n a w h o s p o k e a b o u t t h e g r o w i n g p o p u -l a r is a t io n o f g e n d e r a c t iv is m a n d t h e r o l e o f



b o t h o l d a n d n e w m e d i a in I n d i a , a n d e x a m i n e dq u e s t i o n s a b o u t t h e p o s i t iv e a n d n e g a t i ved i m e n s i o n s o f w e s t e r n m e d i a r e p r e s e n t a t i o n so f t h e a n t i- r a p e p r o t e s t sM e n a n d Fe m i n i sm . L e c t u r e p r e s e n t e d b y D r.

M i c h a e l Fl o o d w h o p r e s e n t e d h i s wo r k o n h o wm e n c a n c o n t r i b u t e t o a f e m i n is t f u t u r e , t h ed i lemmas o f i nvo lv ing men in femin is t ac t i v i sm,a n d t h e p r i n c ip l e s a n d s t r a t e g i e s t h a t s h o u l dg u i d e m e n ’ s p a r t ic ip a t i o n .Femin ism and H is tory . Dr . Sharon Croz ier -DeRo s a p r e s e n t e d h e r r e s e a r c h o n t h e f e m in i s tc a m p a i g n fo r s u f fr a g e i n t h e l a t e n i n e t e e n t h

a n d e a r ly t we n t i e t h ce n t u r y a n d in c o r p o r a t e di ss u e s s u r r o u n d i n g a n t i - fe m i n i s t b a c k la s h e s i nh is tory .WTF Happened in S teubenv i l le? Sex, Consentand th e Med ia . Wor ksho p fac il it a ted by Jess ieH u n t a n d L iv To d h u n t e r, s t u d e n t s a n d f r e es c h o o l o r g a n i s e r s , a b o u t v i ct im b l a m i n g , r a p ec u lt u r e , a n d t h e i n f lu e n c e t h e m e d i a h a s o v e r

c o m m o n w a y s o f t h i n kin g a b o u t r a p e a n dsexua l assau l t .

O n a v e r a g e w e w o u l d h a v e b e t w e e n t w e n t y a n dfo r t y p e o p l e a t t e n d e a c h w e e k , a n d d is c u s s io nwou ld a lm os t a lways sp i ll ove r t he a l l oca tedho ur. Even a t t he en d o f heav i ly academ icl e ct u r e s , a t t e n d e e s – u s u a l ly s t u d e n t s – w o u l d

a l wa y s h a v e q u e s t io n s r e a d y t o t h r o w a t t h epr esen te r. D iscuss ion wou ld o f ten f low on tothe FemSoc soc ia l d r inks a t t he u n ive rs i t y ba ri n t h e la t e a f t e r n o o n a n d s o m e s e s s i o n s g a v ei n s p ir a t i o n f o r o t h e r s t u d e n t - r u n p r o j e c t s s u c has Con sen t Week , wh ich mem ber s o f Fem Soco r g a n i s e d d u r i n g a w e e k in s e m e s t e r.

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNT?

T h e le v e l o f p o p u l a r it y a n d e n g a g e m e n t w e

have exper ienced w i th f r ee schoo l says severa li n t e r e s t in g t h i n g s a b o u t f e m i n is m , s t u d e n t s , t h eu n i v e r s i ty a n d e d u c a t i o n m o r e b r o a d ly.

F ir s t l y, t h e r e - e m e r g e n c e o f a f e m i n is t m o v e -

m e n t i n r e c e n t y e a r s i n b o t h A u s t r a l ia , m o s t l yin the fo r m o f t he S lu t Wa lks and Rec la im theN ig h t d e m o n s t r a t i o n s , b u t a ls o a c r o s s t h ewor ld , pa r t i cu la r l y i n Ind ia , has had a loca li m p a c t o n c a m p u s . Fe m S o c i s ce r t a in l y a p r o d -uc t o f t h i s renewed focus on femin is t ac t i v i sma n d t h e m e s f r o m t h i s m o v e m e n t s u c h a s r a p ec u lt u r e , v ic t im b l a m i n g a n d c o n s e n t h a v e b e e n

c o n s i st e n t ly b r o u g h t u p in F r e e S c h o o l l e ct u r e so r w o r k s h o p s . T h e e n t h u s ia s m a n d n u m b e r so f s t u d e n t s p a r t i c i p a t i n g p e r h a p s s u g g e s t sa c h a n g e i n h o w yo u n g p e o p le ( a l t h o u g h i ts h o u l d b e n o t e d t h a t n o t e d t h a t i t is n o t j u s ty o u n g p e o p l e a t t e n d in g ) a r e v i e w in g f e m in i s mi n t h e f a c e o f y e a r s o f a n t i - fe m i n i st b a c k l a s h .In one o f t he f i na l Free Scho o l l ectu r es , it was

i n t e r e s t in g t o o b s e r v e t h e p r e s e n t e r v e r yqu ick ly sh i ft he r f r am ing o f f emin ism away fro ma d is t i nc t l y l i be ra l approach a f te r he r aud iencer a i s e d t h e ir e ye b r o w s a t t h e u s e o f t h e ‘ m o r ef e m a le s a s CE Os a n d o n b o a r d s ’ e x p l a n a t io n o ffemin ism.

Secon d ly, t he p op u la r i t y o f Free Scho o l says

s o m e t h i n g a b o u t ‘ t h e s t u d e n t ’ . Co n s t a n t l y I a mb e i n g t o l d t h a t m o s t s t u d e n t s a r e u n i n t e r e s t e din po l i t ics , ac t i v ism a nd ed uca t ion o u ts ide ther e a l m o f [ l ] e a r n i n g t h e ir d e g r e e s . Wi th i n t h ec la s s e s I a m m e a n t t o t a k e a s p a r t o f m y d e -g r e e , I o b s e r v e lo w l e ct u r e a t t e n d a n c e a n d d u l land uns t imu la t ing tu to r ia l d i scuss ions (usua l l yb e c a u se n o o n e h a s d o n e t h e r e q u ir e d r e a d -

i n g s f o r t h e c l a s s ) . St u d e n t s o u t r i g h t r e s e n ta s s ig n m e n t s , d e a d l in e s a n d g r a d i n g , a n d w i lld o t h e b e a r m i n im u m t o g r a d u a t e - t h is is m o s t



c o m m o n ly e xp r e s s e d t h r o u g h p h r a s e s s u c h a s“ p ’ s m a ke d e g r e e s” .

T h i s im a g e o f t h e ‘ a p a t h i c’ s t u d e n t f lo w s i n t o a c -t i v ism and po l it i cs. Fr iends wh o see them se lves

as ‘ac t i v is t s ’ t e l l me t hey a re s i ck o f an ap a the t i cs t u d e n t p o p u l a t io n , t o w h o m t h e y t r y t o c o n v in c et o a t t e n d a p r o t e s t o r r a l ly t o ‘ s a v e ’ co u r s e s a n dins t i t u t ion s they d on ’ t r ea l ly l ike o r be l i eve in .I e n c o u n t e r e d t h e s e a t t i t u d e s q u i t e r e c e n t ly a tt h e E d u f a c t o r y c o n f e r e n c e a t t h e U n iv e r s i t y o fSydn ey. Fo r i ns tance , t h i s i dea was cap tu red int h e v e r y f ir s t s e s s i o n w h e n a s t u d e n t o r g a n i s e r

p r o c la i m e d t h a t ‘ l e ft s t u d e n t s k n o w a b o u t t h e s ei ss u e s m o r e t h a n a n y o n e e ls e ’ . T h is a s s u m e ss t u d e n t s n e e d b u t d o n ’ t h a v e t h e p o l it ic a lana lys i s t o unders tand the i r own s i t ua t ion . S inceo r g a n i s in g a n d p a r t ic ip a t i n g i n F r e e Sc h o o l,m y s e l f a n d o t h e r s i n Fe m S o c h a v e s t a r t e d t oq u e s t i o n t h e s e a s s u m p t i o n s a b o u t t h e s t u d e n ta n d t h e u n i v e r s i t y. T h e le v e l o f s u p p o r t a n d

e n g a g e m e n t w e h a v e r e c e iv e d fr o m s t u d e n t sa n d s t a f f w i t h in t h e u n i v e r s it y h a s s u g g e s t e dt h a t p e o p l e a r e e n g a g e d , w il li n g t o l e a r n a n d t opar t i c ipa te . Even m or e exc it i ng i s t ha t t hey a rew i ll ing to d i ssen t .

WHERE TO NEXT?

Ther e i s po ten t ia l fo r F ree Schoo l t o deve lopi n t o a b i g g e r e x p e r i m e n t o f s e lf - o r g a n i s e dl e a r n i n g t h a t c h a l le n g e s t h e s t r u c t u r e s o f t h eunivers i ty .

To a n e x t e n t , t h e f o r m a t o f Fr e e S c h o o l s e s s io n slas t semes te r was s t i l l based on h ie ra rch ica lt e a c h e r - s t u d e n t r e la t i o n s h ip s ; i n t h a t t h e r o l e o f

a c a d e m i c s w a s t o im p a r t t h e i r g r e a t e r k n o w l -e d g e t o s t u d e n t s . Alt h o u g h F r e e Sc h o o l ca n p r o -v id e a s p a c e w h e r e a c a d e m i cs c a n p r e s e n t t h e i rr e s e a r c h , i t w o u ld b e m o r e v a lu a b l e i f i t d e f in e d

k n o w l e d g e b y a s e t o f c r it e r ia b e y o n d h a v in gacadem ic c red en t ia l s. Ins tead i t cou ld p laceg r e a t e r e m p h a s i s o n t h e k n o w l e d g e t h a t co m e sf rom peo p le ’ s da i l y l ives and l i ved exper ience o fgend er, t he un ive r s i t y, e t c . As much as po s -

s ib l e , Fr e e S c h o o l s h o u l d t r y a n d c r e a t e a s p a c ew h e r e k n o w le d g e c a n b e s h a r e d , d e v e lo p e d c o l -l ec t ive ly and no t j us t consum ed. We have foun di t d i f f i cu l t t o b reak -ou t o f a t r ad i t i ona l l ec tu refo l lo w e d b y q u e s t io n a n d a n s w e r f o r m a t , b u t a r ew o r k in g o n w a y s t o in t r o d u c e m o r e w o r k s h o p si n t o t h e p r o g r a m t h a t a l lo w f o r a c a d e m i c s t os h a r e t h e i r r e s e a r c h a n d fo r e v e r y o n e e ls e t o

d i r e c t t h e d i s c u s s io n a n d p a r t ic ip a t e .

T h e o t h e r m a i n i s s u e w e a r e c u r r e n t l y d e a li n gw it h i s d e c e n t r a l is in g t h e o r g a n i s a ti o n o f Fr e eScho o l . Cur ren t l y, t he re a re o n ly a hand fu l o fd e d i c a t e d o r g a n i s e r s . H o w e v e r, w e a c k n o w l e d g etha t f o r F ree Schoo l t o b ecom e sus ta inab le it i ss u p e r i m p o r t a n t f o r u s t o s h a r e o u r s k il ls w it h

o t h e r s a n d c r e a t e t h e s p a c e fo r n e w p e o p l e t ob e c o m e i n vo l v e d a s m u c h o r a s l it t le a s t h e yhave t ime for .

F ina l ly, t he mo s t exc i t ing po ten t ia l ou r FreeSc h o o l h a s i s t o t r a n s f o r m a s m a l l p a r t o f t h edee p ly a li ena t ing and s t ress fu l ins t i t u t i on tha t i sthe un ive rs i t y, in to a fun , enga g ing an d ca r ing

s p a c e . Alt h o u g h w e b e g a n t h i s p r o j e c t t o d i s -c u s s a n d t a k e a c t io n o n g e n d e r, it h a s b e c o m ea p r o je c t w h e r e w e c a n c h a l le n g e t h e d o m i n a n tfo r m s o f p e d a g o g y a n d s p r e a d d is s e n t t o h o wo u r e d u c a t io n i s s t r u c t u r e d .

Wher e to nex t? Abo l ish th e un ive rs i t y. Frees c h o o l s fo r e v e r y o n e !



Solidarity andFragmentationat Sydney Uni:

Experiences of the Strike

K-Box

On the first strike at Sydney Uni I foundmyself on a picket chanting ‘no class,class war,’ as bemused young menwith sports bags walked towards usover the Parramatta Road footbridge. Throughout that day such a complex

welter of emotions stirred in me, but inthat moment I felt amusement and anoverwhelming sense of relief. It was arelief to be part of a collective responseto the larger undercurrents that havebeen responsible for the many smalldiscontents and everyday alienations of ten years of the university in my life.

The first strike was called in March thisyear, and four more followed, the lastin early June.

They were called as part of an enter-prise bargaining campaign but seemto have focused the energy of manypeople frustrated with university man-agement and their neoliberal push. Thishas been experienced particularly in

the form of job cuts, increasing casu-alisation and diminishing work condi-tions, and its consequences are widereaching and insidious. This economicagenda comes from beyond the uni-versity and engulfs it. Our experienceof its effects in the university is com-pounded by the ways it restructuresour lives outside the university. Theuniversity is a creator of workers aswell as an exploiter of labour, it cultur-ally assimilates people to middle classlifestyles and values, it offers a placefor some critique of the social order,but not the means or, it seems often,the inclination to act on these critiquesin substantial ways. The mounting pres-

sures of strident neoliberalism, and theexperience of the strike seem to havecatalysed around me a more robustresponse, and a more open discus-

5HÁHFWLRQVRQ6WULNLQJDW6\GQH\8QL



sion, about what people would like theuniversity to be.

For me, the strikes have brought anintoxicating coalescence of camarade-rie and action, allowed the forging of

new connections, and opened up thespace for more political conversations.My emotions, experiences and analysishave become entangled, and here Iwill try to explore and describe some of what I have felt and thought about thestrike and the university. I want, too, towrite something of the visceral experi-ence of the pickets, of the weeks of

strike: the joyfulness of the sudden re-lease of tension that comes when youdo the things you always dream of, andlive just for a minute in that precise andperfect moment of struggle, howevershort-lived, alongside all your new bestfriends and strangers.

I spent the first day of strike at the Par-ramatta Road footbridge picket. It wasa scratchy day. Those of us standingon the picket brought a mix of differ-ent political approaches and we lackedstrong affinity or trust as a collectivebody. We struggled to make democraticdecisions together, and as a result thepolitical discussion was made up of iso-

lated and prickly conversations betweenindividuals. Arguments centred on howto make decisions on the picket, andwhether and how to follow the union’sprotocol, which many of us did not feelwas binding as we had no part in mak-ing it. Union officials and several otherstried to control other picketers’ behav-iour without being willing to engage in

discussion. I was asked several timesto ‘control my friends’. I felt politicallysqueezed from different sides, as differ-ent friends and comrades were frustrat-

ed with each other’s tactics, but didn’tfeel comfortable having these conver-sations as a group. Students crossingthe picket seemed to have little ideawhat the strike was about, or whatcrossing a picket might mean – many

offering their support as they walkedpast. I felt ineffectual and inarticulate,wedged between different ideas abouthow to be effective with apparently nomeans to work out how to navigatethese in order to have some coherent,democratic strategy. It provided tangibleevidence of the way we are fragmentedat the uni, and have grown unused

to making decisions together withoutrecourse to some higher power.

Before the next 48 hour strike many of us put a lot of effort into spreading theword about why there was a strike andhow students could support it. At the48 hour strike, the campus felt morepolitically aware and tense. Argumentson the pickets about union protocolsand police continued, as more picketerschose to block traffic, and others tookmore disruptive action making noisearound the campus itself. Studentswho were antagonistic to the strikewere angry and threatening. To me,it seemed that at least some of these

conversations began to concentrateon the underlying political differenceswhich caused them: disagreementsabout what kinds of action are le-gitimate, strategic or democratic, anddisagreements about how the univer-sity should function. Police respondedto disruptive tactics with brutality andarrests. Widespread solidarity for those

brutalised was lacking, and some strik-ers even tried to defend police actionsand involvement. The feeling of conflicton campus was tangible, with politi-



cal faultlines exposed and raw. Afterthe arrests and police brutality, andthe antagonism and heartlessness of unsupportive students, I felt my ownrage and frustration mounting. Walkingaround on the second day of the strike,

beating a makeshift drum so hard Iturned my thumb into a bloody mess, Ididn’t notice the pain and even the in-timidating behaviour of macho studentsbarely registered above my own anger.After more arrests I reached my per-sonal nadir, crying pitifully in the gutteroutside newtown police station. The 48hour strike felt like the breaking point– the point when it became harder forpeople to pretend the strikes weren’thappening, but also the point when Ifelt the most broken.

At the next strike, union officials andothers still tried to enforce the unionprotocol, or even police interpretations

of it, but I felt that the attrition of politi-cal arguments accompanied by policeviolence and unreasonableness wasbringing people into tighter solidarity.Some of this might have happenedbecause people with convergent politi-cal persuasions sought each other outon particular pickets, but the result wasa stronger sense of support on those

pickets which chose to prevent theentry of traffic. I missed the next strikebut police violence continued, accom-panied by arbitrary arrests intended tointimidate and break the strike. Sincethen, university management andpolice have continued to threaten stu-dents, staff and community memberswith time-consuming legal proceedings

and other formal means of intimidationincluding campus bans.

In the face of these iniquities, solidarity

has swelled and strengthened, al-though still with hiccups. It seems thatthe strikes have opened up space forthe development of a more profoundpolitical conversation, and strengthenedties between different people and parts

of the uni. In a time of overwhelmingfragmentation, this solidarity is reassur-ing. Looking back to the first strike day,I find even my own self unrecognisable.Each strike, each conversation I feltmore confident in making the politicalarguments I wanted to make about theuniversity. My confidence stemmedfrom feeling the solidarity of others onthe pickets, from conversations withothers at the strikes and the meet-ings in between, and from the way thestrike helped me to comprehend myown experiences of the university in apolitical context. In particular, explainingto students approaching pickets whyI was there helped to condense many

of my own experiences with an unex-pected clarity. I realised, in the middleof a conversation with a student whothought staff had too much sick leave,that at the age of 29 I had never had a job with any kind of sick leave at all. Ithought of days suffering from chronicdepression, dragging myself from myroom to teach, never relating my expe-

rience to the neoliberal changes at theuniversity I had been involved in cam-paigning against. Explaining my work-ing life to others, in the context of theexcellent analysis provided by so manydifferent people around the strikes,helped me to comprehend it myself.

The strikes also helped me articulate

and understand the ways alienationoperates at the university. During thestrikes, when the force of the state andsecurity was most on show, it became



more obvious how it operates implicitlyon other days. The idea of professionalprotestors and outside agitators wasvery present, in media representationsand management emails, but also onthe pickets. Security pointed out to

me people who they thought weren’tstudents – class figured highly in theirrequirements of what students look like.Many students commenting on videosof pickets made comments such as“not a degree in sight” and suggestedthat none of the people in various clipswere staff or students. Leaving asidehow anyone could possibly know by

face all of the staff and students of theuniversity, and the fact that their claimswere patently wrong, visual profiling of the categories of people who ‘belong’in a university was common place as ameans to describe people as outsiders. These claims were used to diminish the‘rights’ of people to be involved in thedispute, but also to characterise any-one on the pickets as outsiders, thusreinforcing the alienation of people whodo not appear to be privileged and whoare not willing to culturally assimilate toelite values and political persuasions.

There are many privileges attendant onworking and studying at university, and

for a long time this has been coupledwith the nostalgic image of the universi-ty as being above or outside of capital-ism, which hides some of the ways theuniversity exploits my labour. And yet Ihave many experiences of neoliberal-ism in my everyday life which are asconspicuous as the brute force whichmakes it viable on the days of the

strike. As I ride along Eastern Avenueon busy mornings, my way is obstruct-ed by markets and I can never decide

what annoys me more, that thereare shops selling shoes and bags oncampus, or their pseudo market chic.Cops stroll about ever more confidently,military recruitment drives becomemore frequent, and entire haunted

castles, ferris wheels and fairy flossstands materialise as I race by to meetdeadlines and arrive at class on time. The university is decorated with ad-vertising for what is effectively privatetuition in the techniques of capitalistexploitation. The university has demol-ished and rebuilt at least one buildingeach year of my attendance, while it

claims to have no money for pay risesor resources for postgraduates. Whilstthere is a temptation to imagine theuniversity was once a pristine institutionoutside of capitalism, the truth is thiscampus has been intimidating from myfirst arrival. When I first attended uni innewcastle, it felt like a liberation fromthe social stratification and the intenseand gendered social gaze of school– but Sydney University offered muchmore intimidating versions, intensifiedby class politics.

On the picket line at the first strike, Ifelt confused about what I was defend-ing. At each succeeding picket, it be-

came easier to articulate that I wantedto challenge all of these things. Thestrikes offered some of my first satisfy-ing confrontations with particularly en-titled and arrogant students who havealways made me feel uncomfortable. Atlast I felt comfortable telling them whatI thought the university should be, andeven though it was pointless to engage

with them, I was glad to render theirease slightly less comfortable.



Interview with the Valeries by Jeremy Kay

This article is an edited interview from December

2012. It follows on from a set of interviews (pub-

lished in the last edition of Mutiny) which discussed

Spain’s economic crisis, massive social movements

(such as ’15M’), and anarchistic politics. This inter-

view focusses on anarcha-feminist organising and

perspectives. The Valeries are two radical anarcha- feminist squatters living in Madrid. The interview

was conducted in Spanish – I apologise for any errors

I may have made due to misunderstandings or poor

translation. – Jeremy.

-A story from Casa Blanca-

We’ll start with a story that illustrates the sort o

thing anarcha-eminists regularly deal with within

the anarchist movement in Spain.

Anarcha-

feminism

and anarcho-machismo in

Spain



It happened at Casa Blanca – a squatted, sel-man-

aged social centre in central Madrid. It was a very big

building with lots o space, and had more-or-less

anarchist politics. It was squatted in early 2010 and

evicted in September 2012. Hundreds o diferent

collectives participated in the space.

Sometime towards the beginning o the occupation,

a group o womyn asked the general assembly o

the building or a womyn’s autonomous space. [This

article uses the term ‘autonomous’ as is common

among English-speaking activists, but the term used

in Spanish is literally ‘non-mixed’.] The assembly said

yes to this request, and the womyn started xing upthe space – cleaning and putting in lights etc.

During this time, we put up a poster on the door o

the space that said ‘autonomous space – no machis-

tas’ [ie ‘no patriarchs / macho arseholes’]. Someone

wrote on the poster underneath ‘nor eminazis.’ That

was a sign o things to come.

There were some changes in the collective and time

passed, and then a group o us started to prepare the

space to be used or some new things like a gym and

workshops on sel-managed health.

We sent an email to the main group to ask or a key

so that we could enter at will. All the collectives had

their own key. They responded that we had to go toan assembly to ask or the space. We ipped out a bit

at this, since we didn’t think it was necessary, as the

space was autonomous, and that process had already

happened anyway. But we said OK, ne.

But the ‘assembly’ was a joke. There were only

two guys rom the social centre – it wasn’t a ull

assembly, but rather a ‘welcoming committee’. Otherpeople brought proposals, and the two guys said

what they thought. It wasn’t a very horizontal way

o making decisions! All the other proposals were ac-

cepted. We were last. The two guys didn’t understand

what an autonomous space was, and didn’t know

that the space had already been designated as such.

They also didn’t know about the work that we had

already done. So we explained (yet again – as we’ve

been doing since the 1960s!) the reasoning behindautonomous spaces. They said they couldn’t decide

on the spot, and maybe another group wanted the

space. We said that we knew no-one else wanted it

because we’d been there a lot, using it. But they said

that they would pass the proposal to the assembly

and that in a week there would be a response.

Well, we waited a week, then two weeks, threeweeks, one month, and still there was no response.

So we sent an email asking i they remembered us

and i they’d made a decision. They didn’t respond.

But one o us was on the internal email list or the

social centre and saw an email that said the space

was going to be used or a diferent group, a non-

autonomous group. We were pretty pissed at that!

From then on we didn’t send emails obviously.

Instead we wrote a communique to the internal

group o the social centre. We also did some small

posters to put up in the social centre in which we

explained briey what had happened and that we

considered Casa Blanca to be a patriarchal space

with a lack o understanding o gender politics. We

went to put up the posters on the day o the 2 yearanniversary when it was ull o people. Many people

looked at us in a malicious way, but didn’t ask us

anything when we put the posters up. One womyn

started insulting us, and two others asked what was

happening. We told them the story, and they said

they would talk with the guys rom the welcoming

committee, who then said to them (not us) that it

had been a mistake, and so we should take down theposters. We ound out later that those two guys rom

the welcoming committee had never passed on our

proposal, they had just ignored it. According to them,



they had orgotten.

Later we received emails with insults that we were

sabotaging the social centre and ‘ragmenting the

movement’, and that we should get lost.

-On anarchism and machismo-

There are many people here who call themselves

‘anarchist’. But how do we understand who is

an ‘anarchist’? Is it someone with a certain aes-

thetic – who wears a ew badges, or is it someone

who actually reects on the values o patriarchy,

class, race and sexuality that exist in society andwithin ourselves? It’s unny that when you call some

anarchist ‘machista’, they get all ofended, and don’t

look within themselves. Whereas i you point out

when someone is being racist, they take it seriously

and look within. For me honesty is very important.

I you really are an anarchist, you will look within

when you are criticised. You won’t let your pride

get in the way. The macho pride here is very strong.This is to be expected in general, but it’s sad when

you nd it among anarchists. In act, oten anarchist

boys take greater ofence i they’re called out on

their behaviour, than non-anarchist boys. Because o

course, as soon as you call yoursel ‘anarchist’, you’re

a mountain o marvellous things, and don’t need to

change. In reality, new ideas are always dicult to

accept.

The didactic role that we are required to play is one

o the paradoxes. Because one o the roles you have

to assume as a womyn is to be sweet, patient, calm,

understanding and caring. As this is a role created by

patriarchy, we have to ght against it. This doesn’t

mean that I’ll never be caring, just not all the time.

But when anarchists around me don’t understand

eminist ideas, they expect me to be caring and

lovely and explain things to them. But I get angry –

since the ideas o eminism aren’t exactly new, and

i they’re anarchists, they should have some idea o

them! For me it’s a problem here that as soon as a

person squats and wears a hoodie and dumpster-

dives, they consider themselves an anarchist. I that’s

all anarchism means to you, then you don’t eel likeyou need to develop any deeper political ideas. I

those who call themselves ‘anarchist’ truly opposed

all hierarchies, we wouldn’t need to call ourselves

‘radical anarcha-eminists’, just ‘anarchists’. But

because the term ‘anarchism’is used poorly, and just

as a ashion, it loses its meaning.

There’s also a perspective among some anarchistshere, that separates anarchism and eminism. They

see eminism as an institutionalised, reormist ght.

They don’t see the strands within eminism. We think

this perspective is just an excuse to avoid working on

any eminist actions.

-On the anarcha-feminist movement in

Spain-

In general, the anarcha-eminist movement in

Spain is quite well connected. We put on talks and

workshops about issues such as gendered violence

and aggression, gender roles and authoritarianism.

Proposals and actions oten arise out o these events,

although distance is a problem or us. We have a

loose network across the Iberian peninsula o people

who have a good perspective on gender.

One idea that we’ve been discussing a lot is about

how to move on beyond sel-deense. So much o our

energy is directed at men. And this includes having

to explain eminist ideas to them all the time. Sure,

we want to include male comrades in the struggle,

but not at the cost o ourselves. They also have to

take steps and realise how to act, how to educate

themselves, how to critique themselves. This isn’t



our responsibility. We need to employ our time and

energy on ourselves, or ourselves. I not, we can’t

advance. We don’t want to spend our whole time

justiying and legitimising ourselves. This afects us

– it afects our ability to believe in ourselves.

It’s important to spend some time in womyn’s

autonomous groups. It helps to be able to come back

to mixed groups and see them in a new way, to see

the gendered constructions. A strong network o

womyn’s autonomous spaces exists in Madrid and

other parts o Spain. We’ve spent time working just

with womyn, and time working with men – either

way we get called ‘eminazis’! This is one reason whywe need autonomous groups – to be away rom this

sort o machismo.

We also want the term ‘eminist’ to include the

trans reality. Feminism is advancing all the time

and nowadays the concept o ‘woman’ doesn’t t so

well – it doesn’t include the ideas o lesbianism or

trans. Trans-womyn are included in our autonomousspaces.

We also attempt to use language in ways that chal-

lenge patriarchy. For example we use the eminine

orm when speaking in the plural (instead o the

masculine orm which is normally used in Spanish).

[In this article, the spelling ‘womyn’ is used as an im-

perect way to reect some o the eminist linguisticactions used by the Valeries in Spanish.]

We call ourselves ‘radical anarcha-eminists’ because

many people here call themselves ‘anarcha-eminists’

without really having the critique o patriarchy. We

eel we’ve done a lot o work and personal reec-

tion to develop our critique o the construction o

patriachal values. We also consider patriarchy to beone o the roots o the problem – and or this reason

we like the term ‘radical’, which originally comes

rom the word or ‘root’.

We think a radical anarcha-eminist posture is

good, because it’s about making change now. Others

say ‘it’s not the time’. But radical anarcha-eminists

reply that that we’re not waiting until the world

understands – we have to act now, whether they

understand or not. We have to avoid being victims.

-On the reformist feminist movement-

Within the broad 15M movement, there exists the

group ‘Feminista Sol’. It’s an assembly and nominally

the eminist part o 15M. On one hand we like it,

on the other, it makes us araid. It highlights the

issues o eminism and patriarchy – a very importantaction in this society – but it has a very reormist

character, like 15M in general. The strategy is all

about asking the State or things, which leads to a

loss o autonomy. It’s absurd – we can’t ask the State

or things and at the same time ght against it. It’s

like the International Women’s Day rally: the one day

when we’re given permission to go on the street and

shout – and the rest o the time we have to shut up.All o the political parties participate in the rally. It’s

ridiculous.

Similarly, we think the demand to legalise abortion

is very problematic. [In Spain abortion has been

legal since 2010 – with some procedural restric-

tions. Beore that it was decriminalised but not legal

and womyn had to prove ‘serious risk to physicalor mental health’.] Some anarcha-eminists have

participated in campaigning or the legalisation o

abortion, as well as eminists who are not anarchists

o course. But we think it is dangerous to ask or

more laws which end up delegating more o our own

power to the State. Control over our own bodies is a

responsibility that we need to assume ourselves.



IN PRAISE OF CHALK

We h a v e w r i t t e n t h is b e c a u s e e v e r y o n e t a l k s a b o u t s t r a t e g y a n d n o t e n o u g h o f u s t a l k a b o u t t a c t ic s . A tb e s t o n e h e a r s d i sc u s s io n s a b o u t b r o a d c l a s se s o f t a c t i c s “ m a s s t a c t ic s ” v e r s u s “ i n s u r r e c t i o n a r y t a c t ic s -essen t ia l ly t h i s i s j us t ano th e r s t ra teg ic d i scuss ion ( tho ugh necessar y ) . When tac t i cs a re spo ken o f , t heyare o f ten d i scussed in an ap o l i t ica l mann er, in D IY gu ides o r l is t s o f c rea t i ve ac t ion ideas . Th is shor tpaper cons ide rs the po l i t i ca l s t reng ths o f t he tac t i cs o f cha lk ing , mos t espec ia l l y a t r a l l i es .

We a re o f ten to ld tha t t h e re i s a com p lex d ia lec t i ca l r e la t i on b e tween fo r m an d con ten t . I t is sa id tha t i t isn a i v e t o c l a im t h a t a fo r m e s s e n t ia lly h a s a p a r t ic u la r c o n t e n t .T h is m a y b e ! Wh e r e i s t h e t a c t ic o r s t r a t a g e m t h a t h a s n ’ t b e e n u s e d b y t h e e n e m y a s w e ll? Wh e r e is t h eo r g a n i s a ti o n a l f o r m , h o w e v e r, d e m o c r a t i c o r p r e - f ig u r a t i ve , w h ic h h a s n o t b e e n a d o p t e d b y s o m e b u s i -n e s s o r b o u r g e o i s ie t h in k t a n k s o m e w h e r e ?N o n e t h e l e s s , t o c l a im t h a t o r g a n i s a t io n a l fo r m i s n e u t r a l i s t o c o m m i t t h e o p p o s it e m i s t a k e . Fo r m m a y n o td e t e r m i n e c o n t e n t , b u t i t’ s p r e t t y b lo o d y im p o r t a n t .One no t ab le th ing ab ou t go ing to a r a l ly, demo ns t r a t ion o r p ro tes t i s t ha t i t usua l ly invo lves be ing ta l ked

a t . Ther e i s m os t t yp ica lly a p r e -es ta b l ished spea k ing l i s t , w ith l i t t le o r m in ima l f lex ib i l it y. Ther e i s t he vo iceo f t h o s e w it h s o m e t h i n g t o im p a r t , a n d t h e e a r s o f T h o s e Wh o M u s t H a v e Wo r d s B a t t e r e d A g a i n s t Th e m .I n t h is s e n s e i t m i r r o r s t h e w o r s t e x ce s s e s o f a u t h o r i t a r ia n e d u c a t io n s t r u c t u r e s .Jus t l ike the lec tu re , t he ra l l y may be u navo idab le in ou r p r esen t c i r cum stances . Bu t du r ing recen ts t r u g g l e s a t S yd n e y U n i ve r s i t y w e h a v e d i s c o v e r e d a s o l u t io n t o a l l o w e v e r y o n e a v o i ce w i t h o u t m e r ecacophony .Ju s t h a n d t h e m a p i e c e o f c h a l k. Gi ve e v e r y o n e c h a l k . Ta k e a b u c k e t o f t h e s t u f f a n d p a s s i t a r o u n d . H a v ea f e w p r e a r r a n g e d m i lit a n t s s t a r t , s o a s t o g i v e e v e r y o n e e l s e a v is u a l e xp l a n a t io n o f w h a t t h e c h a l k s t ic k

you ’ ve pu t i n t he i r hand i s fo r.I d o n ’ t k n o w w h a t p r i c e s a r e l ik e w h e r e y o u l iv e , b u t h e r e y o u c a n g e t a b u c k e t f o r t w o d o ll a r s i f y o u s h o ps m a r t ( y o u c a n a ls o m a k e y o u r o w n - a s i m p l e r e c ip e n e e d i n g s im p l e s u p p l ie s ) . I d o n ’ t k n o w w h a t l a ws a r el ike wher e you l ive , bu t h e re cha lk gen er a l ly i sn’ t con s ide red g r a f f it i because i t wash es o f f. Th is isn ’ t a D IYgu ide , bu t I do have o ne t i p , we t t he cha lk be fo r e the r a l ly - i t las t l onger a nd g oes o n m or e n i ce ly.Ther e ’ s no th ing qu i te as sa t i s fy ing as w r i t i ng ob scen i t ies on a po l it i c ian o r m anag er ’ s do or.U p o n g i v in g o u t c h a l k w e fo u n d t h a t t h e r e s u l t w a s a b e a u t i fu l ( m a k e s u r e t o b r i n g c a m e r a s !) m u l t i-c o l o u r e d s y m p h o n y o f s lo g a n s , s y m b o l s a n d e t c h i n g s . M a n y w h o f in d r a l li e s a li e n a t in g n o l o n g e r f e lt l ik e

s p e c t a t o r s , b u t a s a g e n t s .Our eng rav ings p e r s i s ted bo th ph ys ica l ly ( f o r i t t akes a wh i le to o rg an ise a wash o f f ) an d e lec t ro n ica ll y.O u r p h o t o g r a p h s l o o k e d b e t t e r t h a n d u l l s n a p s o f p r o t e s t o r s w a l k in g i n a li n e .“ E xp r e s s i o n ” i s r a r e ly a s t a t ic r e p o r t in g o u r t h o u g h t s , b u t p a r t ic ip a t e s i n t h e ir c r e a t i o n ; a n y wr i t e r ca nt e ll yo u t h i s . M a n y o f t h o s e w h o h o v e r b e t w e e n r e fo r m a n d r a d i ca l is m s e e m t o f in d a r a d i c a l v o ic e w h e ng i v e n a s t ic k o f c h a l k a n d a w a l l. T h e m o s t n o t a b l e m o m e n t w a s o n e y o u n g m a n w h o w r o t e A CA B , a n dr e l a ye d a f t e r w a r d s t h a t i t w a s in t h e m o m e n t o f w r it in g i t t h a t h e h a d b e c o m e s a t i sf ie d o f it s t r u t h . Wehave s ince exper imen ted se vera l t imes and the r esu l t is s im i la r.

T h e f e a r o f a r r e s t i s g r e a t ly l e ss e r t h a n t h a t e n g e n d e r e d b y t h e s p r a y c a n . Th e l ib e r a l’ s c r ie s a r e q u i e t e ro r n o n - e x is t e n t . Do z e n s o r e v e n h u n d r e d s c r e a t e a m u r a l o f t h e i r o w n d e s i r e s . Wi th e a s e w e a c t b e y o n dt h e r o p e s o f a n y Tr o t s k y i st o r R e fo r m i s t w h o w o u l d s e e k t o m a k e t h e e v e n t a n e n d l e ss r e p e t it io n o f t h e i r

mutiny zine: a paper of anarchist ideas and actions, issue #70 (single page view)

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