College tuition increases, problems with affordability of health care, bailouts for the big banks and the pros and cons of various forms of socialism dominated an animated presentation and discussion held by the UConn Youth for Socialist Action held in a classroom at Arjona last night.
Standing in front of a blank green chalkboard that would later be bear the names of people waiting to express their views, Christopher Hutchinson, from the CCSU branch of the organization, gave a presentation on world problems and possible socialist remedies.
Hutchinson advocated a struggle for a socialist government system. He said that most reforms in the past “were not passed down from above.” Then he asked the question, “How can we create a world to fulfill our social and economic needs?”
A large portion of the discussion involved the differences between socialism and capitalism. The amount of violence that has historically occurred in each system was a source of debate. Hutchinson said that capitalism was responsible for many deaths through conflicts such as the world wars and the Vietnam War while some audience members pointed out deaths that occurred under socialist governments such as Mao in China.
Saeed Ahghari, a 58-year-old South Windsor resident and emergency room doctor, was one of the discussions oldest participants. Ahghari said that his experience growing up in a colonized country and now living in a colonizing country has shaped his views. He spoke about the economy, saying, “happiness is not money in the pocket. We’re one of the most unhappy nations on earth. Countries who are happy don’t start wars.”
Hutchinson also covered the issue of rising college tuition, which he attributed to the “privatization” of universities. He said that money used to fund the military could fund education at home.
Other topics of discussion included immigration, which also involved a debate on whether to call people not officially registered in the U.S. “undocumented” or “illegal,” and health care.
The debate reached a point where people began to speak out of the order established on the board, prompting Hutchinson to ask the audience to respect the time of each speaker.
“Tensions were high,” said 2nd-semester English major Carolyn Friedman. “It stirred productive conversation, but at least they’re passionate.”
“It was more fiery than I expected,” said Jason Ortiz, a 7th-semester public and community engagement major and Daily Campus columnist. “I was happy to see diversity in the crowd. This event drew layers of opposing ideologies. It’s not something that you can find in any meeting or class.”
A Q&A session followed the event.
Be the first to comment on this article!