The mobilization of the Unicamp community, this May 15th, went beyond protest chants. After acts inside and outside the University, some of the protesters remained in the city center, to talk about their research and dialogue with the population. The actions were part of the demonstrations that took place across the country, this Wednesday (15), against the cuts in Education announced by the Federal Government.
“We are here today to promote what we do. As a biology student, I want to show the importance of our research for the entire country”, said Nathan Drumond Gonçalves Simioni, from the Biology Institute (IB). The event, called Science on the Street, spread along the promenade of Rua 13 de Maio, on the afternoon of this Wednesday (15). Among passers-by, traders, street vendors, religious people and street artists, Unicamp was present showing its research and debating the country's situation.
According to Francisco Manoel Barra, postgraduate student at the Faculty of Food Engineering (FEA), the cuts announced by the government are a direct attack on any possibility of maintaining the public university. “We decided to participate in the movement because we feel firsthand what is happening. The huge investment made in science in recent years is suddenly disappearing. This reduction will not only reduce the volume of science that is carried out today, we will lose a lot of the investment that has already been made”, he highlighted.
Jamile Almeida Feitosa, who is pursuing a PhD in Physics applied to Medicine, made his service available to the population: “Stroke patients: 24 FREE RABILITATION sessions with virtual reality. Leave your contact.” According to her, the objective of the act is to overturn the belief that research carried out at the University has no return for the population. “I work with the rehabilitation of stroke patients. It’s a very direct return,” she highlighted.
Kemily Teles Coelho and Adria Cristina Lopes, third and first year high school students from Escola Estadual Hildebrando Siqueira, who were passing by, heard for the first time about Profis, the Higher Interdisciplinary Training Program that reserves places at Unicamp for the best students from public schools in the region. “I found it very interesting. I want to do medicine. But the test is very difficult. I didn’t know about this program,” said Adria.
With a sign reading “Do you know what Cosmic Rays are?”, Luiza Pires Ferreira, student at the Gleb Wataghin Institute of Physics (IFGW), attracted the attention of Cleones Barbosa dos Santos, economist and founder of the dance group Montana Country, who was passing by the place. “It is important for young people who are studying to take to the streets and show society and our governments that this is a serious business. What parent doesn’t want to have their child at Unicamp one day?”, said Cleones. For Luiza, one of the problems is that Unicamp is better known outside than inside the country. “My advisor discovered a new celestial body. It was a discovery that had enormous international repercussions and nothing was said here. She is one of the greatest researchers in the world in this area and we don’t value that,” she added.
In an attempt to establish dialogue with the population, Pietro Henrique Carvalho Nunes, from the Geosciences Institute (IG), said he encountered some obstacles. “Some people get defensive, they say: if it’s about politics and communism, I don’t want to know. But, by talking and telling about the research we do, people start to listen and better understand what happens within the university”, he concluded.
Protests
In the morning, still at Unicamp, students, teachers and staff walked from Basic to the Rectory, protesting against the cuts in funding for education and the attacks on universities carried out by the federal government. The key to the movement was the unification of categories in defense of the public university.
Afterwards, the protesters went to Largo do Rosário, to join the other events scheduled for the city of Campinas. The protest extended along Avenida Francisco Glicério to Largo do Pará. Part of the protesters continued on to São Paulo, where the protests were scheduled for the afternoon.
According to Milena Tibúrcio Ciccone, student at the Institute of Philosophy and Social Sciences (Ifch), representative of the Academic Center for Human Sciences and the Central Student Directory (DCE), the strike this Wednesday (15), decided in an assembly with more than 800 students, was consensual. “Since 2016, we have not had a movement that stopped the university at this level. The students are very willing to fight and understand that these cuts are coming to destroy the university, destroy critical thinking and destroy public education in the country”, stated Milena.
For João Raimundo Mendonça de Souza, Kiko, from the Unicamp Workers Union (STU), the act was fundamental in marking the joint position of employees, students and professors in defense of the University. “This is a very important act. It is a response to the attacks on education carried out by the Bolsonaro government and also to the deconstruction being carried out by the Government of the State of São Paulo, manifested in a CPI. It is the struggle of resistance to defend the public university, what employees, students and teachers are doing on the streets today”, he pointed out.
Wagner Romão, president of the Unicamp Teachers' Association (ADunicamp), assessed that the strong reaction of students, employees and teachers, at Unicamp and across the country, is related to the attempt to demoralize the University by members of the government and the Ministry of Education. “Public higher education has expanded a lot in recent years. This generated considerable rooting. Several municipalities that did not have access to higher education now have it in the Federal Institutes of Higher Education that have spread throughout Brazil”, he reflected. Romão also drew attention to the particularity of the State of São Paulo. “The CPI of public universities in the State of São Paulo, which involves USP, Unesp and Unicamp, seems to us to be a gateway to reducing public resources in universities”, he emphasized.
Students from Unicamp Technical College (Cotuca) were also present at the demonstration. According to Rafaela Altenfelder Vernucci, representative of the Cotuca guild, the mobilization at the school began three weeks ago, with assemblies and WhatsApp groups. “The issue is that it directly affects us. Many institutions have already announced that they will close in the second semester. We have this fear of something happening to Cotuca. Our role is to be here saying that we are not complicit and will continue to fight,” she stated.
For professor Pedro Rossi, from the Institute of Economics (IE), the massive participation of the Unicamp community in the demonstration is an important reaction. “The attack on public universities through budget cuts has started now and is likely to intensify. The government's fiscal austerity agenda serves large private interests more than public education and health policies. It is an important step for civil society to stand against this type of policy,” he said.
