ita, did you and brenda know each other at McGill? Were you there the same years?

We've a VERY different educational system here, obviously. Think more "binge drinking" and less "social consciense."

Well, obviously. I mean, even the age differences alone - students here are very rarely under the age of 21, and in most of the cases only start their after-highschool studies after a minimum 2 (girls) or 3 (boys) years of mandatory army service

College students have sit-ins and other kinds of protests here, all the time. A sit-in is kin to a strike, I think.

Do all the students in a country (or, well, a state, I guess), as a whole, not just of one university, go together on this "we won't enter classes until our demands are met"? Because that's what's going on here.

I don't think we overlapped, Cindy. But I was there for four years after I graduated, so we may very well have passed each other in the street (or on campus, since I spent quite a lot of time there after graduating).

Nope. We're not that organized.

No, but our country is so big. In so many ways, it's like fifty countries. Plus, some of our universities are private and some are state funded, but different states run their state universities and colleges differently.

The Vietnam war was probably the biggest issue over which American college students demonstrated.

Also, most US college students are paying large sums of money to attend college. Not going to class would be sort of hurting yourself, to the students who care (to the students who don't care, not going to class is an everyday occurrance.)

I don't think we overlapped, Cindy. But I was there for four years after I graduated, so we may very well have passed each other in the street (or on campus, since I spent quite a lot of time there after graduating).

I always wonder which Buffistas knew each other before they were either Buffistas or active on Salon's TT. The Bronzers knew each other, obviously. I know Sean, Emily, MM and Aimee knew each other. Obviously flea and Nutty knew each other. Amy Parker and connie knew each other. I think Daniel and askye knew each other somewhere else.

In so many ways, it's like fifty countries

That's why I asked about states. But I see from your post that it's even more complicated than that.

most US college students are paying large sums of money to attend college

Here, too. Well, not as much as in the USA, of course, but it's still quite a large sum of money. That's what the protest is all about, in fact.

Also, in America it's a lot easier to vote with your feet and transfer to another college if you don't like where you are.

And even more, colleges and universities are a mix of state-run (like where my dad works) and private (where I attended school), and funding the schools seek can also be a mix.