Save SF City College movement – Interview with Professor Bob Price

Dr. Price is a long-time City College chemistry professor and involved in many political struggles. I prompt the discussion around a few contentious issues. I prompt him towards straight discussion on the corrupt, disingenuous nature of this entire process and real motivations behind it.

Dr. Price explains how none of the audit issues have remotely anything to do with quality of education. While considered by many a “rogue” board with its own agenda, the overriding set of authoritarian actions against City College fit in quite nicely with the regressive sets of goals of Federal level Obama Administration educational policy. Several touched on are downsizing, privatization, and corporatization. The restructuring is resulting in private sector profiteers running the system directly, with a very limited focus toward fast-tracked Associate Degree and maybe certification programs in a few fields which supply corporations with free and cheap workers.

The audit demands and structural changes already put into place to accomplish these aims also fit overall system maneuvers to continue excessive profiteering for the top 1%, achieved by downsizing everyone and everything else involved in the system. Downsizing staff size, compensation, autonomy, and quality of teaching is a main objective. Additionally a climate in which official university bodies can’t even meet an a retaliatory criticism-free zone. I’ve read direct quotes in the newspapers from ACCJC spokes people and lawyers justifying these standards, along with insistence that the courts keep related parties, the general public, and local, state and federal government silent to maintain

The goal is to provide minimal, at will lower-paid lecturers teaching to rote, federally developed course syllabuses in private corporations. Students limited to fast-track two year full-time technical degree candidates, virtually all forced to go into Federal student loan and family debt for a chance to “compete” for an increasingly narrow set of adequate jobs. Students proceeding slower will be flagged for punitive threat to speed up or leave, per unilateral focus on speed of graduation rate.
No unions or staff involvement in school policy. No student involvement in any type of school policy. Especially no student, staff, or worker activism allowed. Private administrators rule with an iron hand. No programs for any of the diverse sets of individuals who use the school for a variety of positive community based aims. As example, downsizing and erosion of federally-mandated disability rights and the programs that facilitate them including rights to go at individualized pace with individualized student programs and counseling assistance.

Elimination of non-degreed programs for groups such as elderly, people in extreme poverty with
social service needs including transportation assistance. Empowering non-corporate alternatives such as gender studies, ethnic studies, arts and media, language and cultural classes, and physical education – all currently utilized actively – eliminated as too costly and non-essential.
Another group caught in the crossfire are students who are working towards a degree on a part-time and casual basis while working and otherwise supporting themselves and family without debt or overwhelm. Very low income people cannot afford to go into debt for a small “chance to compete”. The set of problems probably goes on and on…

Dr. Price speaks articulately and in some detail about some of these overriding issues. He discusses union problems and a current, very controversial internal quieting of direct action activism.