Solidarism was never more evident as on Wednesday when thousands of students across the country took to the streets to protest high tuition fees and spiralling student debt.
In Vancouver, in light rain and carrying placards and signs, hundreds of students gathered in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery to hear speakers such as Jim Sinclair, President of the British Columbia Federation of Labour, and Scott Payne, chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students British Columbia.
The National Day of Action saw similar gatherings in many other cities, with students braving all weathers to call on their politicians to reduce tuition and ancillary fees at public post-secondary institutions.
Natalie Bocking, a first year student at Simon Fraser University and one of the organizers of the Vancouver protest says a "huge number" of her classmates in her home town of Mission have decided not to pursue a post-secondary education, mostly because they can't afford it.
"The reasons why we are doing the National Day of Action are quite simple: the rising costs of education are prohibiting many students from attending post-secondary education and many that do manage to go to post-secondary education must take on huge debt loads in order to pay for it."
The average tuition fee for a university student in the 2006-2007 school year was $4,347—almost triple the average of $1,464 in the early 1990s. To add insult to injury, almost all provinces have scrapped their student grant programs, forcing anyone who wants an education to go into debt to finance it.
The average student debt in 1990 for four years of university came to $13,000. Today, it's almost double at about $25,000.
"People are admitted to post-secondary institutions based on their ability to pay, rather than on more important factors such as GPA or community involvement. Lower tuition welcomes a whole other group of people that could be much more qualified than those who simply have money," says Bocking.
BC students are asking for increased post-secondary funding, a 10 per cent reduction in tuition fees, re-instatement of the needs-based grant program, free adult basic education and increased funds for trades education.
Caitlin Hawkes Frost, a media spokesperson for the Canadian Federation of Students, says parents, university personnel, unions and teachers all supported the rally in any way they could.
"We believe that the government will take notice of all the protests across the country and that our voices have been heard," says Hawkes Frost. "We hope to get the things we are asking for, but any decrease in post-secondary funding will be a victory."
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