Against the strike, for the strike

I want to congratulate the striking students and the teachers and unions that give them their support. Thanks to their efforts, we may yet catch up with Greece.

Why not ask for everything, demand it as a right? It might be given you. Next time, why not a free lunch? It worked in Greece and other European countries when governments always said yes – until the day of reckoning. Pierre Meurice

Côte St. Luc

What has happened to our society when teachers and academics are showing support for people who are showing a complete disregard for the rights of others?

Is it right to destroy property, to defy an elected government? Is this what we want in our society?

They have displayed such a level of selfishness, and shown that they are a generation that wants it all and will not accept “no” to their demands. All political parties should be united in condemning violent behaviour. They are playing a very dangerous game for their own political interests and should be ashamed of letting society down. Since when is it acceptable in Canada to use violence?

It is so disappointing to see teachers supporting the students. Those teachers who are not doing their jobs in the classrooms should not be receiving their salary. We, the taxpayers, are paying them to teach. If they prefer to be on the streets, they should take an unpaid leave of absence.

If the students win by using violence, good luck to the teachers and administrators in the future. The students and our young population will have learned that violence is a means of getting what they want. Christine Siciliano

Montreal

I have been fascinated by the current student protests and surprised that no one has mentioned the real reason behind them. They aren’t at all about tuition hikes, but rather the fact that this is the generation to whom no one has ever said no. As a former high-school teacher, I can tell you that there are a scary number of young people who are absolutely charming as long as they get their own way, but who turn into fearsome monsters when someone says no to them or tells them that they have to do something they don’t want to do. And the adults who created these monsters are already repeating their mantra of “Just give them what they want!”

There are so many more important things that they could be demonstrating about, such as the fact that Prime Minister Stephen Harper is slyly changing the fabric of government in ways that will have enormous repercussions on their lives, but the only thing they’re interested in is punishing Premier Jean Charest and Education Minister Line Beauchamp for having the temerity to say no. Who will win? Albert Schenk

Laval

If Education Minister Line Beau- champ could look past the nose on Premier Jean Charest’s face, she might notice that what is at issue in the student protests is not $350 a year, but the future of education in Quebec. She might begin to appreciate that what these passionate students are doing is confirming the value of education here:

They want it, and they want it in the form it’s being taught, in institutions.

They are showing that they have learned to act on their knowledge, and they are showing up their elders’ delinquency in this respect.

They are resourceful enough to know that if free education for all fails in Quebec, it puts them on a par with most of the rest of the world, where institutions are being replaced by the internet. Maybe that’ll do.

These students are asking for responsible government and governance of public institutions, in the interests of all. Of the 50 per cent of the population who don’t support them, some are convinced that this is about $350; others think they’re spoiled brats because most people in the world fare worse (worse than $20,000-plus in debt? Not sure); and still others think educated people and universities are a waste of good money anyway, because people can be rich and powerful on Grade 8 schooling.

I take my hat off to the striking students, and encourage them to continue to stand up for the under-represented underprivileged whom they now represent in my books. It was Occupy that gave me the context to put them there.

Sandra Stephenson Teacher, John Abbott College

Beaconsfield

As an avid reader of The Gazette, I have become increasingly annoyed with the anti-strike stance that your newspaper has taken. Instead of constantly presenting editorials and opinion pieces about everything that is wrong with the strike (Henry Aubin’s recent columns come to mind), you should consider publishing a few prostrike columns as well. We anglos depend on The Gazette to present both sides of an issue. I highly doubt that I am your only student subscriber who would be interested in reading about the “other side.” Melanie Bernstein

Montreal West

The letter from Martin Van Nostrand (“The tuition battle: what next?,” Your Views, April 27) identifies one of the leading problems in the ongoing tuition battle. He writes: “The government should be doing what it knows is best … sweep it under a rug.” That is one of the larger issues driving the intensity of the demonstration. Not only are students fighting for the right for accessible education; they are also struggling to hold the government accountable – a struggle previous generations may have felt was too ominous, and thus complied with by simply “sweeping it under a rug.” Kathleen Donovan

Baie d’urfé