There are almost 200 UC students studying in France this spring.’ But, because of protests against the government’s proposed laws regarding University administration, plaguing the country for nearly two months now, visiting students are faced with a radically altered academic year: Protests have halted nearly all public-university classes, leaving studying abroaders with questions about how this will affect their transcripts back home.
In Lyon, France’s second largest city, 28 UC students are currently participating in the EAP immersion program at public universities.
‘I’m not against the right of striking, and I actually support the French who are against the reforms ‘mdash; it’s just that I feel like as a study abroad student, I’ve been left out,’ UCLA student Mara Lasky said. ‘I had a lot of professors who didn’t even show up the first day, who didn’t even explain why they were going on strike. I don’t think that they realize how many study-abroad students there are here. They really don’t take us into account, and very little information is communicated to us.’
On Feb. 2, responding to a new law called ‘Libertes et Responsabilities des Universites’ voted on by the French government in 2007, students and professors at public universities began organizing general assemblies, demonstrations and blockades. The LRU, proposed by Minister of Higher Education Val’eacute;rie P’eacute;cresse, proposed new levels of autonomy for administrative management at institutions of higher education across France.
Opponents of the Law are protesting over concerns that the LRU would lead to the removal of the right to guaranteed job placement and salary as well as the modest salary that supports students during the concours (a multiyear program similar to a Master’s degree in education) from the 1984 statute of Teachers and Researchers.
Student organizer Guillaume Thenoz, from Lyon, said the autonomy of public French universities will be nothing more than a facade because too much power will be left in the hands of administrators rather than academics.
According to Christopher Newfield, UC Santa Barbara professor and academic coordinator for the EAP office in Lyon, the financial worries of French students and professors are similar to those in California; thus, observing and understanding the differing reactions between locations is an important lesson in itself. Newfield has encouraged EAP students to view the protests not as an obstacle to their study abroad experience, but as a valuable outcome of true cultural immersi
on.
‘This is a really unique opportunity, and one that could get [the students] to a whole other level than if they were just sitting in lectures,’ Newfield said. ‘We’re really trying to open up their free time to self-education using the events that are going on in the country, because it really is an education about the nature of higher education here in France and about the university system internationally, which is facing huge challenges.’
Though, EAP administrators have ensured that UC students will receive full credit for their time abroad, they already paid tuition for the months without formal’ instruction.
‘At first I was annoyed [at] having nothing to do, and it was kind of weird because I didn’t really know what was going on,’ UC Santa Barbara student Alexis Terriquez said. ‘I totally support their cause and I am totally for the strike, but I really needed to know how it was going to affect my academics back home.’
Only once in France’s recent history was an entire semester canceled due to strikes ‘mdash; and that was in 1968 ‘mdash; so Newfield said there is little likelihood that students would lose an entire semester of schooling.
Throughout France, other Spring 2009 EAP students have continued to receive instruction at private universities. On March 17, about 200 students from public universities around Paris snuck into Sciences Po ‘mdash; a private university ‘mdash; and staged an occupation of the auditorium,’ among other rooms.
According to Warren College junior and EAP participant Rochelle Emert, they were protesting the educational inequalities and hierarchical benefits at Sciences Po. The buildings were evacuated and surrounded by police.
‘I stayed for an hour and a half after being kicked out of my class and stood with everyone outside, asking French people questions about the reforms and what they thought about it, and discussing overall why there is this division among students in Paris that resulted in this aggression,’ said Emert. ‘Sciences Po students seemed split, some cheering and booing police, while others yelled at the occupants to leave.’
Despite personal disturbances and academic uncertainty, UC Irvine student Saori Murakami said she has gained a sense of pride and maturity from the experience. After two months without classes, students in Lyon got a firsthand look at French social change and political involvement.
‘I do feel like it’s a waste of money because we’re paying and we’re not getting educated, but we can look at it in a different way and appreciate what new opportunities are given,’ Murakami said.
Readers can contact Jake Blanc at [email protected].