Young worker on socialist education

I am a community college student and worker in northern Lower Michigan and I’m writing in response to the Workers World Party Midwest Fightback Conference which I attended on Saturday, March 25, in Detroit. There were many inspiring and effective speakers and workers there, all of them congregated to express the urgency of theory and action to develop a socialist society which will benefit the people.

The conference was cosponsored by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at Wayne State University, but I noticed that the topic of socialist education wasn’t really explored.

The current model for higher education excludes the majority of the population from the many opportunities attending a college or university presents. As a full-time student, I believe it’s our duty to fervently fight for socialist education for all individuals.

One of the greatest changes we will see by switching to a tuition-free, socialist system of higher education is increased enrollment rates. A socialist society, where the public is welcomed into these institutions, instead of being charged money by them, is so unlike this society. Under capitalism, individuals who live in poverty, work full-time jobs and live with pre-existing debt fear the economic consequences of further education.

I encourage us all to demand that local and federal policymakers treat universities as public institutions rather than corporations whose intentions are only to profit off education. Instead, we must fight for the right to free, quality education for all.

Emory P.C. Whaley
Charlevoix, Mich.