A Place For Us: COLA4ALL and the Student Struggle for a Dignified Life

In this episode, the Xicana Tiahui crew linked up with special guests Bre and Carlos from student struggle COLA4ALL at the University of California, Santa Cruz. In this conversation, we learned about the experiences and motivations of graduate students who were unsatisfied with the limited reach of COLA, cost-of-living-adjustment. Graduate students like Bre and Carlos, amongst many, pushed the boundaries of obtaining livable wages for solely graduate students, and instead formulated a relational based praxis that struggles for a dignified wage and life for all students, all workers, and communities who are seen as disposable under the banner of the university. The crew delves into discussions about the role and limitations of unions and the paradigm of labor value. Lastly, we learn about how the collective A Place 4 Us emerges, and Bre shares how this idea blossomed from her relationship with Harriet Tubman and her desire for freedom. Music by Bread and Circuits and La Trova Pank.