Youth and the Social Crisis
“Turning Point UK:” A far-right offensive on British campuses
By Thomas Scripps, 14 February 2019
A check of its leading personnel exposes TPUK as a top-down operation of the Tory right, with the substantial backing of Turning Point’s US-based parent organisation and its fascistic supporters.
New Zealand government expands police training in schools
By Tom Peters, 14 February 2019
The Police Studies course is being increased as part of the Labour-led government’s policy of boosting police recruitment, instilling discipline, and controlling the increasingly restive working class.
One year since the Parkland high school massacre: A political balance sheet
By Genevieve Leigh, 14 February 2019
One year has passed since the mass shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which killed 17 people and sparked nationwide protests by students and youth against gun violence.
Oakland students walk out as school board prepares major cuts
By Jonathan Burleigh, 11 February 2019
Thousands of Oakland students voiced their support for teachers and hostility to planned budget cuts and school closures.
Students and youth must join the fight to oppose GM job cuts!
By International Youth and Students for Social Equality US, 31 January 2019
The International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) calls on young people to support autoworkers in their fight against General Motors’ plans to close five plants in the US and Canada.
Indiana school superintendent arrested, charged with fraud for using insurance to help sick student
By Matthew Taylor, 29 January 2019
The arrest of Casey Smitherman has illuminated the wretched living conditions the working class confronts in Indiana and across the US.
Report: 452 child workers died in the US from 2003 to 2016
By Jessica Goldstein, 5 January 2019
The number of children working and killed at work in the US reveals the stark reality that in one of the most advanced capitalist economies in the world, child labor is not eradicated.
Opioid overdose deaths triple among US teens and young children
By Kate Randall, 31 December 2018
The depth of the opioid crisis facing young people points to the woefully inadequate response of the government to this social catastrophe as it spirals out of control.
South Australian university partners with US defense contractor Lockheed Martin
By Eric Ludlow, 31 December 2018
The decision by the University of Adelaide, behind the backs of students and staff, marks the further integration of Australian universities into the US-led war drive against China and Russia.
“I decided that something was wrong with the world and not me”
College loan debt and the life of an adjunct professor
By Nancy Hanover, 27 December 2018
An adjunct community college professor speaks to the WSWS about the impossible situation faced by so many college instructors.
Columbia College faculty union convenes secret tribunal to discipline members
By Alexander Fangmann, 20 December 2018
The leadership of the Columbia College Chicago’s part-time faculty union has convened a special committee to discipline members who question the union’s authority.
The death of Jackeline Caal: A seven-year-old victim of Trump’s war on immigrants
By Patrick Martin, 15 December 2018
While Democrats denounced the death, they supported equally repressive policies under Obama.
Australian prime minister denounces students’ climate-change protests
By Oscar Grenfell, 28 November 2018
Scott Morrison’s comments expressed the acute fear of the ruling establishment that students and young people are beginning to enter into political struggle.
Sheffield Labour Students cancels anti-war meeting, citing police investigation of anti-Semitism allegations
By Laura Tiernan, 12 November 2018
The broader political purpose of the banning of Chris Williamson is aimed at silencing anti-war sentiment among students, young people and the entire working class.
Open letter by students condemns right-wing offensive at Berlin’s Humboldt University
By International Youth and Students for Social Equality (Germany), 11 October 2018
Student organisations from Humboldt University and across Germany published an open letter denouncing the cooperation of the university administration with the far right and its attacks on students’ social and democratic rights.
Australian university students face unprecedented financial pressures
By Martin Scott, 24 September 2018
Students confront a housing affordability crisis, low-paid work and a mountain of tuition debt.
US schools hiring private companies to spy on students’ social media
By Trévon Austin, 17 September 2018
Monitoring students’ social media accounts is a violation of privacy, revealing the partnership of the US government and tech companies in internet surveillance and censorship.
12,800 immigrant children detained in American internment camps
By Eric London, 14 September 2018
While the Trump administration is preparing for a massive expansion of immigrant internment camps, the Democratic Party has abandoned the issue.
A warning to students and the working class
Who are California Governor Jerry Brown’s appointments to the University of California Board of Regents?
By Evelyn Rios, 10 September 2018
Brown appointed his chief fiscal policy advisor, a top union bureaucrat, a former EPA official, and prior vice president of Lockheed Martin, the weapons manufacturer.
As classes begin, Detroit schools shut off drinking water due to high levels of lead and copper
By Eula Holmes and Patrick Martin, 31 August 2018
The pollution of the water supply is particularly devastating for children, whose brains and bodies are especially at risk from toxins.
Immigrant mother sues for $40 million after child dies following ICE detainment
By Kevin Martinez, 31 August 2018
The death of Mariee Juarez is one more casualty in the Trump administration’s brutal war on immigrants.
Join the International Youth and Students for Social Equality and take up the fight for socialism!
By the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (US), 31 August 2018
Join the IYSSE, the only organization fighting against war, authoritarianism and dictatorship, and for the socialist transformation of society.
US media, retired officers tout youth fitness as necessary to boost military recruitment
By Warren Duzak, 10 August 2018
Newspaper columns are proposing the creation of a pool of potential recruits for the US military as an important physical educational goal.
US hospitals fail to prevent unnecessary maternal deaths and injuries
By Brian Dixon, 30 July 2018
Based on recent data, a USA Today article last Thursday concluded that the United States was the most dangerous country in the developed world for women to give birth.
Report exposes rise in alcohol-related deaths among Millennials in US
By Isaac Finn, 20 July 2018
The increase is one part of a rising number of “deaths of despair” caused by suicide and drug and alcohol abuse, which have contributed to declining life expectancy in the US.
Far-right Identitarian movement attempts to disrupt IYSSE meeting in Dresden
By the International Youth and Students for Social Equality, 20 July 2018
On July 12 the far-right Identitarian movement attempted to disrupt a meeting of the IYSSE on the bicentenary of the birth of Karl Marx at the University of Technology in Dresden. The action failed because the meeting was switched to a larger room shortly before it began.
Sponsors of migrant children battle financial costs and bureaucratic red tape
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 5 July 2018
The steep financial costs of trying to obtain the release of migrant children held by the government puts a further burden on poor immigrant families.
Unaccompanied immigrant children sent to New York are “disappeared” by ICE
By Steve Light, 29 June 2018
As refugee children were separated from parents at the southern border while seeking asylum in the United States, some were transferred almost 2,000 miles to New York City.
Australian government pushes cuts to student loan scheme
By Oscar Grenfell, 29 June 2018
The Liberal-National government is seeking to force increasingly poverty-stricken young people to repay student debts.
US court documents reveal
Immigrant children tied down, hooded, beaten, stripped and drugged
By Patrick Martin, 22 June 2018
US immigrant detention centers are applying the techniques of Guantanamo Bay and CIA torture prisons on teenagers and even younger children.
Five die fleeing US immigration police as children spend Father’s Day in jail
By Eric London, 18 June 2018
The five immigrants died in a car crash in south Texas, while seven others were wounded in what police called “good police work.”
Youth suicide rate up 56 percent from 2007 to 2016
Government report shows sharp rise in US teen deaths
By Kate Randall, 2 June 2018
The new statistics on deaths among US children and teens expose the social crisis confronting America’s youth in the form of gun violence, suicide, the opioid crisis, poverty and war.
New effort to cover up impact of lead poisoning in Flint
By James Brewer, 30 May 2018
A resolution reportedly passed by doctors at Flint Hurley Medical Center puts forward the false narrative that no one was lead poisoned in Flint, but lead-exposed.
US government admits to losing track of nearly 1,500 immigrant children in sponsor homes
By Kevin Mitchell, 28 May 2018
Officials insisted that they were not “legally responsible” for the missing children.
University of South Florida one of the most militarized in United States
By Alex Johnson, 25 May 2018
The public university in Tampa, Florida is one of the country’s leading schools in military officer training and veteran enrollment.
Puerto Rican students at New York University ask to stay another semester
By Isaac Finn, 24 May 2018
Twenty-seven Puerto Rican students, who are attending NYU through a program to aid survivors of Hurricane Maria, have requested that the NYU administration extend the program.
Police engaged in 25-minute shootout with Texas high school gunman
By Kate Randall, 21 May 2018
According to the Galveston County sheriff, it is unclear whether some of the Santa Fe High School victims were in fact shot by police officers responding to the shooting.
Ten killed in mass shooting at Texas high school
By Trévon Austin, 19 May 2018
The horrific frequency of mass shootings in the US is indicative of a diseased society, combining extreme levels of social alienation with the endless promotion of militarism by the ruling class.
Back to the 19th century
Trump administration preparing green light to child labor
By Patrick Martin, 11 May 2018
The Labor Department wants to lift longstanding restrictions on use of heavy equipment, including chain-saws, by 16- and 17-year-olds.
CIA expands its Signature School program to University of Illinois Chicago
By George Gallanis and Kristina Betinis, 4 May 2018
The program permits the CIA to have a regular recruiting presence on the university’s Chicago campus.
NY Times, Mark Rudd on anniversary of Columbia U sit-in: Socialist revolution is a “fantasy”
By Patrick Martin, 26 April 2018
Mark Rudd, the most prominent leader of the student protests at Columbia University in 1968, has taken to the pages of the leading capitalist newspaper to deny the possibility of revolution.
US students hold national walkout against school violence
By our reporters, 21 April 2018
While Democrats are attempting to direct the anger of youth into the midterm elections and calls for gun control, the demonstrations have revealed broad hostility to the entire political establishment.
French students protest war, support striking rail workers
By Alex Lantier, 16 April 2018
Students at Tolbiac University spoke to the WSWS Friday about their opposition to war in Syria, plans to reinstate the draft, and social austerity in France.
Students oppose Portland State University tuition hikes
By Kayla Costa, 16 April 2018
Despite a student backlash, the Portland State University board of trustees still plans to vote to raise tuition by up to 9 percent for the coming semester.
University of Chicago student with mental illness shot by campus police
By George Marlowe, 6 April 2018
Suffering from a severe mental breakdown, Charles Thomas was shot and wounded by campus police Tuesday night. He now faces criminal charges.
Howard University students occupy campus building in Washington, D.C.
By Nick Barrickman, 2 April 2018
Students have been occupying the university administration building since it was revealed that campus employees had inappropriately received college grants and waivers.
Tens of thousands protest mass shootings in New York, Michigan, Boston and the southern United States
By Tom Hall, 27 March 2018
IYSSE members and supporters spoke to demonstrators at a large number of demonstrations throughout the country.
“This can be turned around by people who want to build a new society”
California: Protesters denounce war and social inequality
By our reporters, 27 March 2018
The large turnout in the most populous US state reflects a political shift, as a new generation of young people are being thrust into politics for the first time.
The international significance of the March for Our Lives demonstrations
By Eric London, 26 March 2018
The mass demonstrations in the heart of world imperialism point to the intensification of social tensions and the class struggle worldwide.
“No more wars, no more violence!”
Over 80,000 youth and students in Chicago protest against mass violence
By the International Youth and Students for Social Equality at the University of Illinois at Chicago, 26 March 2018
The March for Our Lives demonstration in Chicago was one of the largest in the city’s history and demonstrates a growing radicalization and movement to the left by youth and students.
“I am motivated to make that change for our future generations”
Students, youth speak about war, inequality at DC March for Our Lives rally
By Tom Hall, 26 March 2018
High school students and other youth who attended the rally had far more on their minds than gun control and the midterm elections—the issues promoted by the media and the Democratic Party.
Hundreds of thousands of students march against mass violence in America
By Tom Hall, 25 March 2018
The scale of the demonstrations show that the crisis of American and world capitalism is working its way into the consciousness of young people and propelling a new generation into political struggle.
The protests against school shootings and the growth of the class struggle
By Joseph Kishore, 24 March 2018
The simultaneous development of a movement among workers and student youth portends a major eruption of social and class conflict in the United States and internationally.
Now available from Mehring Books
New pamphlet: The social and political roots of mass shootings in America
By Shannon Jones, 24 March 2018
There is a growing awareness that something is deeply amiss with the present social order.
The significance of the mass student protests against gun violence in America
By Genevieve Leigh, 16 March 2018
While Democrats and the media have sought to restrict the protests to calls for gun control, there are much broader issues behind the politicization of young people in the US.
Reject the sellout on tuition waivers—for free higher education for all
Striking Illinois grad students speak out against attacks on higher education
By Andy Thompson and Jessica Goldstein, 9 March 2018
The Graduate Employees Organization is desperately trying to shut-down the strike of 2,700 graduate student workers at the University of Illinois.
After Parkland shooting, dozens of US students arrested for social media posts
By Genevieve Leigh, 2 March 2018
The tragic death of 14 students and three teachers at the Florida high school has triggered a law-and-order crackdown on students alleged to have posted threatening remarks on social media.
The Parkland shooting: Why are mass killings so common in the United States?
By Eric London, 23 February 2018
Thousands of students have joined demonstrations in the aftermath of the latest eruption of homicidal violence. But to stop the killings, they need to understand the deeper social and political roots of these tragedies.
IYSSE meeting draws together Flint, Puerto Rico, Kentucky workers to discuss water crisis
By our reporter, 23 February 2018
The meeting provided a forum for workers and youth to discuss the root causes of the mounting water crisis in the US and internationally and a socialist perspective to fight back.
Students and workers call for the unity of the working class following meeting on Flint water crisis
By our reporters, 23 February 2018
Students and workers who attended the meeting spoke to the WSWS and expressed their support for the struggle of workers in Puerto Rico, Kentucky and Flint.
Mounting protests, walkouts by US students against school shootings
By Kate Randall, 21 February 2018
Protesting students have aimed their fire at local politicians, the US Congress and President Trump over their failure to do anything to stop school shootings.
Germany: Youth leader Kühnert seeks to save the SPD—and the state
By Johannes Stern, 20 February 2018
Kühnert’s appearance on Tuesday evening in Berlin-Kreuzberg made clear which social and political interests, fears and calculations lie behind the campaign of the Jusos.
Students and workers denounce bipartisan attacks on immigrants
By Anthony del Olmo, 9 February 2018
The International Youth and Students for Social Equality has held meetings on the defense of immigrants at several US universities.
Columbia University refuses to recognize graduate student union
By Isaac Finn, 9 February 2018
Columbia University in New York City has refused to recognize the Graduate Workers of Columbia-United Auto Workers (GWC-UAW) Local 2110 as the bargaining agent for student workers on campus.
Record low temperatures kill at least nine people in US
By Trévon Austin, 3 January 2018
The wave of cold weather has exposed the disastrous state of social conditions in the US, affecting the most vulnerable: the homeless, impoverished elderly and youth.
Alabama announces freeze on children’s health program
By Shelley Connor, 21 December 2017
On Monday, Alabama became the first state to announce an enrollment freeze for its Children’s Health Insurance Program, as well as plans to end the program altogether by February 1.
Nearly three-quarters of Millennials in the US want a new party
By Tony Colton, 13 December 2017
A recent survey further confirmed the growing radicalization of students and young workers and widespread disillusion among the Millennial generation with the Democratic Party.
Homeless rate among Seattle public school students rises by 55 percent
By Alec Andersen, 8 December 2017
Between 2012 and 2016, in the city with the two richest men in America, the rate of homelessness among public school students skyrocketed.
Underpayment of international students and backpackers commonplace in Australia
By George Morley, 7 December 2017
Thousands of young people temporarily working in Australia are paid less than the official minimum wage and a small but significant minority work under slave-like conditions.
Canada: Federal and provincial governments underfund indigenous childcare
By Janet Browning, 4 December 2017
The chronic underfunding of indigenous childcare and the terrible conditions it produces are sharp expressions of a broader assault on public spending and social services.
Graduate students protest Republican tax bill
By our reporters, 1 December 2017
Demonstrations took place at more than 40 universities over plans to treat tuition waivers as income and compel students to pay taxes on them.
Brooklyn College students oppose NYPD spying on campus
By Josh Varlin, 1 December 2017
The showing of Watched, a film about police infiltration of Muslim student groups, sparked widespread discussion about the presence of the New York police on campus.
Democratic Party-aligned groups organize protests at University of Michigan against fascist Richard Spencer
By Genevieve Leigh, 30 November 2017
The groups organizing the protests, including the Campus Antifascist Network and the Democratic Socialists of America, are working to block a political movement that can oppose the rise of the far right.
Tennessee punishes workers who default on student loans, ignores politicians’ fines
By Warren Duzak, 28 November 2017
Tennessee is the nation’s most aggressive state in penalizing those who default on student loans.
Oppose right-wing censorship at Leipzig University!
By the International Youth and Students for Social Equality, 23 November 2017
As the Alternative for Germany has become the largest party in Saxony, the student council at Leipzig has barred the IYSSE, which combats right-wing forces, militarism and capitalism, from the university campus.
Access to selective US universities reserved for the wealthy
By Michael Anders, 21 November 2017
A new report from New America think tank shows the restriction of access to higher education for students from working class families over the past two decades.
Tens of thousands being dropped from US student loan relief program
By J. Cooper, 15 November 2017
After working in low-paying public service jobs for more than ten years, thousands who thought their loan balances would be forgiven are bitterly finding otherwise.
Youth suicides at a record high in the UK
By Alice Summers, 14 October 2017
Economic and academic pressures on young people are exacerbated by a systemic decrease of funding for mental health counselling.
UK school funding crisis worsens
By Tom Pearce, 14 October 2017
Due to budget cuts, schools have asked for donations from businesses to provide basic necessities, resulting in further reliance on the private sector.
Australian government snubs Indonesian lawsuit over teenagers jailed as “people smugglers”
By Max Newman, 13 October 2017
A legal class action has been brought against Australian authorities on behalf of 115 young Indonesians who were imprisoned as adults.
“Health care is a human right”
IYSSE speaks at health care rally at University of Illinois Chicago
By our reporters, 28 September 2017
While organizers of a rally at UIC promoted Sanders’ single-payer “Medicare for All” bill, the IYSSE outlined the socialist response to health care crisis.
New report counts 100,000 homeless students in New York City public schools
By Fred Mazelis, 25 August 2017
The number of homeless students has jumped by 50 percent during the past six years, alongside new Wall Street highs and amid the “economic recovery.”
Working class youth priced out of higher education in UK
By Alice Summers, 25 August 2017
Just one in five young people from the poorest areas in the UK will go on to university, compared to half of their wealthier peers.
New York high school football player killed during military-style practice drill
By Warren Duzak, 14 August 2017
Joshua Mileto, a 16-year-old high school football player, was killed last week while participating in a group exercise designed for US Navy SEALs.
Devastating toll of hunger on US school children
By Patrick Martin, 8 August 2017
A new report finds that as many as 13 million children go to school hungry in the United States.
Suicide rate among US teenage girls hit all-time high in 2015
By Kate Randall, 7 August 2017
A new CDC analysis shows that between 2007 and 2015 the suicide rate among girls aged 15-19 doubled, while it tripled for girls aged 12-14.
Australian state Labor government steps up punitive measures against youth
By Margaret Rees and Will Morrow, 12 June 2017
The Victorian government is attacking the rights of young people as part of a broader “law and order” campaign.
US study shows one-third of adults suffer severe income fluctuations
By Josh Varlin, 7 June 2017
A recent Federal Reserve study found that almost a third of adults have a variable income from month to month, which makes financial planning nearly impossible.
Amid protests against right-wing figures on US campuses
Wisconsin legislators seek to punish student protesters at public universities
By Nick Barrickman, 3 June 2017
The bill is a draconian response by public officials to a series of recent incidents in which students have booed, protested or shouted down right-wing speakers.
Tuition hikes implemented throughout the United States, placing ever growing financial burden on students
By Kayla Costa, 3 June 2017
Students returning to school can expect to pay even more on top of already unaffordable tuition rates.
Eastern Michigan University part-time lecturers face 25 percent pay cut
By Joseph Lorenz, 25 May 2017
Part-time lecturers at Eastern Michigan University are protesting administration demands to slash pay and eliminate promotions and job security.
US Federal student loan interest rates set to rise in July
By Anthony del Olmo, 15 May 2017
The rise in rates is an outcome of the stock market boom following Trump’s election, and comes at a time when the plight of students continues to worsen.
US children’s suicide-related hospital admissions double in last decade
By George Gallanis, 11 May 2017
The study, which included children as young as 5 years old, reveals a growing crisis among youth in the US.
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos reverses Obama-era decision on student loan debt
By Kayla Costa and Genevieve Leigh, 21 April 2017
The decision to halt plans for a single vendor to service student loans, a process started under Obama, marks an escalation of the attack on public education and indebted students.
One in eight community college students in the United States are homeless
By Bryan Dyne, 31 March 2017
A recent study by the Wisconsin HOPE Lab found that 13 percent of community college students in the US are homeless.
Heroin overdoses spike in Louisville, Kentucky
By Naomi Spencer, 17 February 2017
Last week, Louisville reported 151 overdoses over four days, 52 of them within a 32-hour period.
UK government proposes raising fees for two-year degree courses
By Alice Summers, 13 February 2017
The claim that raising fees is intended to improve educational standards and options for students is a barefaced lie aimed at covering over the continued attack on education.
Forty-three percent of US children live in low-income families
By Shelley Connor, 11 February 2017
The number of children living in families with incomes below twice the federal poverty level has increased one percentage point since 2009, the official start of the “economic recovery.”
How the Democrats paved the way for Betsy DeVos
By Jerry White, 10 February 2017
Nowhere in the realm of domestic policy is the continuity between Trump and previous administrations seen more than in the assault on public education conducted by both parties.
IYSSE resubmits application at NYU, draws large turnout for rally and meeting
By our reporters, 8 February 2017
The strong support provides a powerful rebuttal to NYU’s anti-democratic decision denying the group club status last semester.
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