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In a bid to recreate that golden era for American youth, progressive student activists today try to take inspiration from the 1960s. What they fail to realize however is that today’s students face diverse challenges today as compared to students of the sixties.

American Dream is no more a reality as the quality of education in our country is fast dwindling. Almost every student is saddled with a huge student loan debt.  No student is able to find the right job after they graduate.

This is a dismal situation where our youth find themselves without a future. A movement is currently being built by our youth to address all the challenges facing them. Their presence can be felt in tenant associations and on campuses across the country. Strong student unions are being built by them and this movement is definitely moving forward actively.

The National Student Power Convergence is held recently by student activists is a standing testimony to their efforts. At least 300 activists attended this program held in Columbus, Ohio. They engaged in four days of strategizing and networking in a hope to identify common issues and bring together youth organizers to strengthen their vision.

Momentum and energy was very high at the convergence that is a major first step towards bringing youth from around the country to work towards the same empowerment goal. Of course, there are the skeptics who are sure this effort is a part of the same hierarchy and will follow other similar student organizations and groups.

Concerns were led by a small organizer group behind the scenes and were addressed at the convergence. This is a stark deviation from the traditional decision-making process. People came in large numbers and discussed their experiences relating to being vegetarians, people of color, gender non-conforming and white anti-racist allies.

In Quebec, there was a proposal to raise tuition by $1625 spread over five years and this proposal was shut down effectively by agitating students last semester. Streets were filled since February by protesting students who did not agree to the offer of a few concessions promised by the government. They achieved success through one of the largest agitations in the history of North America.

CUNY or City University of New York students take inspiration from Quebec to protest against austerity measures imposed on our schools. It is a hugely challenging preposition for our students to have that kind of impact on our universities as in Quebec. Our student participation at present is very weak. If we need to make a real impact, we must first re-think our student unions.

We must first identify students with similar interests in terms of academics and establish departmental assemblies. This is the only way students can work around the bureaucracy and achieve something significant.

From the bottom up, we must build across New York City and at the CUNY, a student union that is participatory democratic. It remains to be seen whether the Quebec model can be adopted successfully in our country.