Strike at USP: Deputy calls for expulsion of students – 09/30/2023 – Education

São Paulo state deputy Leonardo Siqueira (Novo) made a request to the state secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation in which he asked for an investigation into the current strike at USP (University of São Paulo).

In the document, he states that there was damage to public property caused by invasions and that students who participated in these acts should be expelled.

Member of the public institution’s advisory board —recommended by Alesp (São Paulo Legislative Assembly)—, the parliamentarian is a defender of charging tuition fees at public universities.

Siqueira sent five questions to the department headed by Vahan Agopyan, former dean of Usp itself:

• What actions has the university taken to resolve the strike?

• What actions does the university take to identify attackers?

• What criminal measures will be taken against those responsible for damaging the university’s physical facilities?

• What is the total material damage caused by the protesters to the university as a result of the strike?

• What administrative measures will be taken to the detriment of the university’s students and/or professors who were present at the demonstration resulting in material damage to the university?

The Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans) government said that it forwarded the questions to USP and that it would await clarification before taking any action, and that it respects university autonomy.

USP management stated that it is preparing its responses, and that there is no deadline for them to be released. .

For deputy Siqueira, the university environment values ​​freedom of expression and diversity of thoughts. However, he declares, it is essential to vehemently repudiate and condemn the portion of protesters who choose to interrupt classes and cause damage to public property.

He cites as an example of destruction the tearing down of fences installed around the ECA (School of Communication and Arts) during a demonstration last week.

“Such actions not only generate financial costs for the State, but also harm other students at the university. In this sense, it is crucial that the actions of the strikers are rigorously investigated and that exemplary punitive measures are applied,”

The USP Disciplinary Regime provides for the maximum punitive modality of suspension in cases of damage to property, if there is no recurrence.

Strike is expanded

All USP units in the capital have already joined the strike initiated by the teacher shortage. Now, the organizers’ intention is to expand the movement to campuses in the interior of São Paulo.

On Friday (29), FEA (Faculty of Economics, Administration, Accounting and Actuary), EEFE (School of Physical Education and Sport), FOUSP (Faculty of Dentistry) and FCF (Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences) decided to join the strike after majority support in their assemblies.

These departments then joined 25 others already paralyzed in Cidade Universitária, in Butantã (west zone), and at EACH (School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities), at USP Leste, which also stopped. Law and Medicine faculties are also at a standstill.

The strike seems far from over. On Thursday (28), academic leaders met with the USP rectory. There was no agreement. The managers argued that the demands presented by the students were inaccessible.

“The rectory’s stance was unacceptable. First, the rector traveled to fulfill an agenda abroad, at the most important moment of dialogue with students. The vice-rector only stayed for the first 15 minutes”, says Mandi Coelho, director of Academic Center for Letters, the course that started the movement.

This, for her, demonstrates that the university does not have a willingness to dialogue or concern about meeting agendas. “Thus, the strike continues and expands”, declares Coelho.

The claims

Students summarize their demands in five areas: hiring teachers; increase in student living aid; structural improvements at USP Leste; promotion of indigenous entrance exams; and valuing student rights.

The acquisition of new teachers is the most debated topic. Students present three demands at this point:

• Automatic trigger return for hiring teachers: Today, when a teacher dies, is dismissed or retires, the vacancy is not automatically replaced. Students demand feedback from this mechanism for vacancies to be answered;

• Minimum number of educators (1,683) to guarantee the functioning of the courses: this number is based on the return of the ratio of the number of students to the number of professors that USP had in 2014;

• End of the notice of excellence or merit: For students, this criterion is absolutely unfair and does not allocate new vacancies to units that need teachers.