PublishedbytheRadicalEducationDepartment(RED)2019radicaleducationdepartment.comradicaleducation@protonmail.comNotes:Manythankstothecomradesinconversationwithwhomtheseideasdeveloped,andtoCuttingClass,whofirstpublished“EducatetoLiberate.”

RED: BREAKING

GROUND

RED Alert Manifesto

TheRadicalEducationDepartmentisanautonomouscollectivededicated to theconstructionofaradical internationalistLeftthroughthetrainingandfederationofitsculturalwarriors.Weassert theseprinciples tobetheworthiestofbeingput to thetestofcollectivemobilization:

1. Despitetheirinsidiousclaimstoindependentneutrality,culturalandeducationalinstitutionsservetoreproducesocio-economic hierarchies and constitute crucialbattlefields for the perpetuation or transformation ofrelationsofpower.

2. The dominant educational system indoctrinates anddominatesby

• mis-educating the general public and imposingdisempoweringworldviews;

• transforming individuals into vocational cogs inthecapitalistapparatus;

• stratifying the population throughinstitutionalized class warfare, which is oftenrenderedinvisibleviamythsofmeritocracy;

• providing credentials and intellectual cover forworldwide capitalist oppression, as well as itstechnocratic,fascist,andracistapologists;

• providing research and development for thelucrative business of war and ecologicaldestruction;

• privatizing knowledge and subjecting it to acompetitiveexchangeeconomy;and

Indevelopingourinternationalconnections,wewouldliketocollaborateandcoordinatemorewithotherradicalgroupsaroundtheglobe.WewouldalsoliketoforgeconnectionstosomeofthemostimportantreferencepointsforradicalLeftorganizinginourconjuncture,suchastheZADinFranceandtheZapatistasinChiapas.Thiswillallowustolearnmorefromtheirexperiencesandalsohelpusspreadtheirmajorworktoevenlargeraudiences.

Enavant!

It is remarkable for us to be able to celebrate so manyaccomplishments by such a small organization with nofinancial resources,whichspeaks to the radicalanti-capitalistspirit that animates us. There is, however, much work to bedone, and RED Year II will require energy, commitment andcreativity.Weareexcitedtomoveforward!

DirectAction

RED emerged out of direct action and the joy of workingtogetherforacommoncausewhenyouhavetoputsomethingontheline.Ithascontinuedtobeimportantasanintermittentreference point for our struggles, but we have been lesssuccessful on this front largely due to time constraints and aconcernforavoidingunduepenalization.

Direct action is an areawherewe reallyneed todevelopourstrengths by tapping back into some of our earlierwork andfindingthetimetomakeincisiveandimportant interventionsthat nonetheless keepourmembers safe. In the coming year,we would like to develop our abilities to immediately bepresentonthesceneforimportantissuesinourarea,followingthe lead of our friends at the Philly Coalition for REALJusticeandothers.Wewouldalsoliketobemoreproactiveinplanning ahead for important moments and organizingsignificant contributions on the part of RED. This can rangefromparticipatinginmajormarchesoreventslikeMayDaytomakingcontributionstothelatestflashpointsofstruggle,suchasanti-ICEorganizingortheprisonstrike.Finally,weplanonlaunching a guerilla education series that will bring radicaleducation to the streets and corporate universities in andaround the Philadelphia area. We are looking forward toblowingsomeminds!

Internationalism

RED has always recognized that the struggle against globalcapitalism needs to be international, andmany of our groupmembers work across various geographic regions. We havedrawn on these experiences inmyriadways andmade someimportantconnectionstogroupsabroad.However,thisisalsoanareawherethisisampleroomforgrowth.

• purposelymisdirecting intellectual labor poweror hitching it to the wagon of academicbureaucraciesandmarketimperatives.

It isthereforenecessarytore-educateourselvesregardingits sordid histories, social functions, and contemporarystruggles.

3. Wresting control over knowledge production from thecorporateeliteentails transformingextant institutions,producingcounter-institutions,andengaging inradicalmodes of guerilla education and cultural training bothwithinandbeyondacademicwalls.

4. Struggles against the exploitation, bureaucratization,and vocationalization of academic labor are at theforefrontofthebattleoverknowledgepower.

5. Against the private property regimes imposed onknowledge production by capital and its bureaucraticadministrators,theradicalizationofeducationrequiressocializing and collectivizing both the process ofproducingknowledgeanditsproducts.

6. Transforming extant cultural and educationalinstitutionsnecessitatesdirect actions that contest thepoliced hierarchies operative within them, not fallingprey to the ideological traps set by fascists and theirliberal apologists, if these be so-called civil discourse,fair and balanced debates, free speech or other suchshibbolethsforpower.

7. Whereas themilitary-industrial-academic complex hasmilitant capitalist elites lavishly funding research anddevelopment efforts for global warfare, reactionarythink tanks and pseudo-intellectual ideologues,researchcollaborativesofandfortheradicalLeftcreatecommunities of alternative education that seek tobenefit all by providing verifiable–rather thanideological–accounts of history and social life aroundthe globe, as well as mobilizing knowledge foregalitarianandemancipatoryends.

8. Partof theprojectof radical education is learningandteaching the long and deep histories of left strugglesaround the world, including those around education,particularly because these battles have often beenbanishedfromthehistoricalrecord.

9. Recognizing the reactionaries’ strategy of divide andconquer, theprojectof radicalizingeducationworks tofederate across struggles, including across thegeographic and ideological span of the global Left,whichpositionsitself,bydefinition,againstcapitalism.

10. Thesetacticsmustbemobilizedfortheoverallstrategyof constructing and strengthening an egalitarian,anticolonial, ecological, anti-patriarchal andinternationalistLeft.

We issue this RED alert as awake-up call to the necessity ofcollectivelyre-educatingourselvesandtakingactiontocreateanother world, which is not only possible, but absolutelynecessary!

—RD&ED,foundingmembersoftheRadicalEducationDepartment

which will include printing and distributing them free ofcharge. We have also begun discussing the possibility oflaunchingREDpresswith shortbooklets, andmanyofusareinvested in the long-term project of seizing the means ofintellectual and cultural production. In this regard,wewouldalso like to develop the aesthetic contributions to RED bycollaborating more with artists and creative culturalproducers,whichwillalsoallowustoreachdifferenttypesofaudiences

RevolutionaryCoalitionBuilding

RED is not committed to a single party line, and most of uswould identify—or be identified—as anarchists, communistsorrevolutionarysocialists(orsomecombinationthereof).Thishasallowedustoworkbroadlywithnumerousothergroupsinorder to avoid the siloing that has sometimes plagued therevolutionaryLeft. Someofourmost successfulpubliceventshavebroughttogetherpeoplewhoworkwithvariousdifferentgroups in order to share their experiences and brainstormabout themost productivemodels for future collectivework.Wehave also enjoyed the opportunity to serve as a platformforactivistsaroundtheworld,andwehavedevelopedtiesovertime with like-minded groups with which we have beguncollaborating,suchasCuttingClass.

In RED Year II, we would like to see our project ofrevolutionary coalition building deepen and expand. Takinginspiration from FredHampton and other radical organizers,we would like to establish innovative but workableframeworksforcoordinatingbetweendifferentradicalgroupsin such a way that they can maintain their autonomy butmaximize their impact by working with others. Much of thisworkwillbe local to thePhiladelphiaarea,asweexplore theoptionsforcreatingumbrellastructures,butitwillalsoinvolvegreater coordination with other groups around the countryand the world for more expansive modes of solidarity andsupport.

AThinkingTank

Asarevolutionaryleftistorganization,oneofourprojectshasbeen to function as a research collaborative that collectivelyproduces informativeand insightful articlesoncontemporarypolitics and organizing. We have successfully forgedcollaborationswithsomeofthemostimportantvenuesfortheradical intelligentsia and general public (suchasCounterPunchand Truthout) as well as for activistcommunities (such as It’s Going Downand Enough IsEnough),whichhas allowedour articles to circulate inmuchbroadercircles.Thecontentthatwehavecollectivelyproducedhas arguably had an impact in at least twoways.On the onehand, we have diagnosed and conceptually dismantled thestandard liberal framework used to make sense ofcontemporarymediadebatesonsuchthingsasviolence,antifa,directactionand free speech. On the other hand, we haveincreasinglybeen invested inaskingandproviding responsesto timely tactical questions of organizing, encouraging ourreadershiptoalwaysbethinkingabouthowwecanmoveouractions to the next level (see our work on anti-ICEmobilization, radical struggle in Philadelphia,insurrectionarycouncilism, the insurrectionary campus, antifa on aconservativecampusand popular-front antifa). It is verydifficult to know howmuch of an impact these interventionshave had, but they have at the very least been extremelyhelpfulforourownpoliticaleducation,andtheyhaveledtoaseries of productive discussions and interviews (likeourdiscussionsof revolutionary strategy on IGD and onviolenceandantifaonKPFA).

Inthecomingyear,wewould liketocontinuedoingthiskindofwriting,whilealsoaddingadditional frontsof struggleandconnectingtonewpublicationvenuesandaudiencesacrossthehard Left. Our recent launching of a zineprojecthassuccessfully brought together significant voices on timelyissuesandwewouldliketocontinuetodevelopourzines,

Why RED, Why Now?

TheRadicalEducationDepartmentorganicallygrewoutofourorchestrated direct action campaign, as Nova Resistance,against the over-funded and over-securitized lecture by racisteugenicistCharlesMurrayatVillanovaUniversity in the springof 2017 (click here to read a recent post about this action).However, its roots, for some of us, stretch back further to ouractivitiesatOccupyPhilly,aswellasourcollectivepublishingofOccupy Philly: Machete. In what follows, I reflect on why wedecidedtolaunchREDinthesummerof2017.Ihavealwaysstronglybelievedintheimportanceofcollectiveorganizing and institution building in order tomaximize ouragencybyworkingwithothers toconstructplatforms for thefuture. In my various experiences organizing and foundingalternativeinstitutions,however,Ihavealsocometolearnthatmanyprojectsnevergetoffofthegroundbecausetheyarealltooquicklyensnared inthebrambleofpettydebate.Thiscanincludesuchthingsasindividualsbeingmoreinvestedintheirsubjective preoccupations than in collective action or—particularly in intellectual circles—the sophisticationOlympics, in which pedantic posturing and problematizationexercise their domineering, disheartening and imperial ruleoveranythingpractical,tacticalorproductive.Whenagroupofus came together so seamlessly to contest the promotion ofwhitesupremacistmisogynyandtop-downclasswarfareonaconservative college campus, it struck me that we had thebaseline of shared convictions that would allow us to moveaheadproductivelywithotherprojects.Indeed,oncewestartedsharingideas,Ibecameconvincedthat

our modus operandi of diagonal or transversal organizationwas a powerful practical solution to other models I hadencountered.Inmyexperience,iftheverticalismofatop-downchain of command can smother important ideas from below,thehorizontalismàlaOccupycansometimesfosteranendlessplethora of ideas with little or no direction. Our decision toorganize diagonally—by which I refer to our conviction, forinstance, that a RED endeavor be defined as anything that atleast twomembers agree on—meant that we could do awaywith a single leader without bottoming out in obligatoryconsensus.Thisformoforganizing,whichoverlapswithsomeof what I had been trying to thematize in my writings andinterviewsontheNuitDeboutmovementinFrance,hasmeantthatwe canwork very efficiently and autonomouslywithoutneeding to constantlymeet to debate our next steps. It is anenormous boon, in this regard, that we are all on the samewavelength and trust one another due to our years ofintermittentlyorganizingtogether.

Sinceweareallcurrently involvedwith institutionsofhighereducation, itmade sense for us to do everything thatwe canwhereweare.Thefocusoneducation,however, I thinkweallunderstandinthebroadestpossiblesenseoftheterm(liketheancientGreeknotionofpaideia): it isthecollectiveprocessofforging a collectivity, by mutually fashioning its thoughts,feelings, representations, values and worldviews. Moreover,sincewearethebearersofmyriaduniversitycredentials,Iwasvery drawn to the idea that we could mobilize them in thename of radical social transformation. Instead of the anti-capitalistLeftbeingaffiliatedbythepropagandamachinewithdestitute,dirtyanddrug-induceddropouts,RED—whosemostpowerfulsymboltodateisaradical“dressedtoteach”àlaJPSconfronting Murray—can send a very strong message aboutwhyweshouldallbeon thehardLeft.For ifwespendyearsseriously studying the history of the modern world whilecultivating intellectual autonomy from the ideologicalincarcerationwithincapitalistthoughtfactories,wewillreach

In the coming year, it would be great if we could find a fewmore dedicated torchbearers. At times,we have been spreadtoothin,anditisimportantforourgrouptomaintainastablecore,aswellasconcentriccirclesofdedicated,aswellasmoreorlessintermittent,collaborators.Someofourearlymembershave had to step back for numerous reasons, but others arealso stepping up. We look forward to integrating them intoREDandbuildingupourconcentriccirclesofcollaborationinthecomingyear!

AFocusedOrganizationNotaPoliticalParty

We knew from the very beginning that we did not want todevelopamassorganization,andweconceiveofourrolemoreasaradicalgroupusculethatcanpushtheenvelope,workmoreflexiblyandinterveneincisively,whilesimultaneouslyworkingwith and across other groups. Our mode of organization isneither strictly hierarchical, nor is it purelyhorizontal, aswediscussed here. In order to maximize the autonomy of ourmembers, we decided that RED activities would be thosesupported by at least twomembers, which does not requiregroupconsensusorasingleleader.

As we develop, we would like to shore up and clarify ourmodesoforganizationbasedonourexperiencesthusfar,andalso inorder to fine-tuneourdecision-makingprocess. It is adelicateoperationtomovebeyondtheextremesofverticalismandhorizontalism,andmanyofusareconvincedthatthisisanextremely important tactical shift that needs to be furthertheorizedandput intopractice.Givenourpastexperiencesinvarious political groups and in Occupy, we recognize theenormous strengths of this transversalmode of organizationandwould like tobeable, throughexperientialknowledge, tobeable tomodel it forothergroups,whilealso continuing tolearnmore about all of the interesting organizationalmodelsthatarealreadyinpractice.

RED Year I: What Is Done

and to Be Done

RED was founded approximately one year ago, and it hasdeveloped in myriad unforeseeable and exciting ways, whilealso confronting obstacles and limitations along the way. ByprovidinganoverviewofwhatIconsidertobeoursuccesses,aswellasanoutlineofgoalsforthecomingyear,itismyhopethat I can contribute to the autonomous process of collectiveeducationthatiscruciallyimportanttotherevolutionaryLeft.Justaswehavelearnedandcontinuetolearnfromsomanyoftheradicalgroupsatworkaroundtheworld,Ihopethatotherscantakeinspirationfromourmodel,andalsohelpusreachourgoalsforREDYearII!

DoingSomethingwithNothing

ThebasisforRED’ssuccesstodateistherecognitionthatyoucanmakea significantpolitical impactwith limited resourcesandnomonetarysupport.Wehave, since theverybeginning,beenasmallgroup,andeachpersonhascontributedaccordingthe their abilities and what their time commitments allow.Everything has been extremely shoestring, but there is acommon egalitarian energy and anti-capitalist drive thatinvigoratesustopickuptheREDtorchwheneverwecanfindtime.Thismeans—anditwasanimportantlessonforallofustolearnexperientially—thatanytinygroupofafewpeoplecandiveinandgetthingsmoving.Thereisnoneedtowaitarounduntil thetimeisripe,therevolutionisonourdoorsteportheEstablishmentpushesthingstoofar.Thetimeisnow!

thesameconclusion:anotherworldisnecessary!

This focus on education goes hand-in-hand with communitybuilding and the development of an autonomous pedagogicalplatform. In fact, in many ways, I understand RED as acollectiveprocessofself-education. Insharingourviewswithoneanotherandabroadercommunity,providingfeedbackononeanother’sprojects,creativelybrainstormingtogether,andsoforth,wearecollectivelyteachingoneanotherthroughthedirectactionofproductivetheoreticalandpracticalexchange.RatherthantryingtomakeREDintoanadvertisingcampaignthat simply garners asmany votes as possible like a politicalparty,Itakeitthatwehavefoundedanorganizationinthebestsense of the term: an autonomous collective invested in self-education in order to foster a process of group socialtransformation.Anorganization,wemightsay,“takesthelongwayaround”inthesensethatitisinvestedinadeepandlongprocess of autonomous pedagogical metamorphosis ratherthaninthe“quickreturn”ofapoliticalpartythatmultipliesitsfollowers as hastily as possible through thoughtless banner-wavingandpublicrelationscampaigns.

There are also important conjunctural elements thatcontributedtothe foundingofRED.Oneof these is thepaltryresponse of liberals—who exercise an unmerited monopolyovertheterm“theLeft”intheUnitedStates—totheelectionofawhitesupremacisttrustfundbabytotheWhiteHouse.Oneoftheways inwhich the systemof pseudo-democracyworks isby corralling the administered masses into camps anddetermining theirstruggles for them. In theU.S., this tussle isdefinedasonebetweenliberalsandconservatives,andthereisverylittleinquiryintowhythesearepurportedlytheonlytwooptions. This is particularly important because both of thesecamps are defenders of imperial capitalism, and the majordifference is in their public relations campaigns. If liberalswant to keep the gloves on and conservatives take them off,they both agree that the world should continue to beunremittinglypummeledbytop-downglobalclasswarfare.

In blindly accepting amarketing campaign intent ondefining“resistance”as“oppositiontoTrump,”liberalsswallow—hook,line and sinker—the bait tendered to them by pseudo-democratic administered reality. They thereby contribute tothe perpetuation of the very system that produced this trustfundbabyandsomanyothersthatareintentonadvancingthesame basic project (the imperial record of the Clintonites,which includesObama,hasbeenwelldocumentedforanyoneinterestedinexaminingit).

Meanwhile, any position to the left of liberalism is violentlysubjected to the reductio ad Stalinum, as if opposing aneconomic and political system that is fast destroying theconditionsofpossibilityof life onplanetEarthwas a formofbloodthirsty terrorism. This “blackmail of the Gulag” alsoeradicates—or, at least, attempts to—the memory of anyradical leftism irreducible to Stalinism, like the anarchistinternational,egalitarianSovietsocialprojects,thevarietiesofanti-colonial struggle, autonomous indigenous movements,radical ecological politics, and so forth. Unfortunately,however, the inter-generational assault on the academy,markedbytheredandblackpurgesoftheMcCarthyera(thathave never really ended), has assured that the universityserves its functionof ideological social reproductionbybeingdominated by conservatives and liberals with little or noawarenessofthesehistories.

In this setting, it has been particularly important for RED tolaunchafrontalassaultontheideologicalpillarsofliberalism,insofar as they usually function in perfect harmonywith theconservative perpetuation or intensification of globalstructuresofoppression.Alongwiththeswordofdirectaction,then,wehavetakenupthepenofintellectualguerillawarfaretosystematicallydismantlethepervasivebutmisguided

One of our members has close ties with United StudentsAgainst Sweatshops, which can, we hope, be an ally in thefuture; and we’re beginning to connect with the CampusAntifascistNetwork at theUniversity of Pennsylvania.One ofourmembersteachesatGraterfordPrisonandisconnectedtovariousactivistnetworkaroundprisonabolition.

Westillhavealottodo,buttheworkcontinues!

Counterpunch—and we’ll be running an interview with himandotheractivistssoon.Wewould likeourplatformtoallowlocal,nationalandinternationalstrugglestobenestedtogetherso that it’s clear that—even though we are based inPhiladelphia—thatourstruggleisglobal.

CC:Whataresomeshortandlong-termobjectivesyourcrewhasbeenworkingtowards?

RED:BasedonwhatI’vesaidabove,Ithinkthereareafewkeytasksforaradical,campus-basedmovement:

• Building leftist spokes-councils on college campuses,made up of members of the most radical feminist,worker,anti-racist,etc.groupsoncampusandpushingcampusliferadicallyLeft.

• Connecting those local, radical councils acrosscampuses via direct, coordinated actions, speakingevents,publications,andsoon.

• Connecting those local councils to feminist, worker,anti-racist, etc. movements off-campus: coordinatingactionsinsolidaritywiththosemovements;puttingtheresourcesofacollege(printing,meetingspaces,etc.)intheirhands,andsoforth.

CC:Whatisyourrelationshiptotherestofthecampusleft?

RED: We’re still at the beginning stages of building theconnections we need, and some of us are struggling withstudyingorteachingatconservativecampuses(we’vewrittenaboutorganizing in thiskindof climateelsewhere).However,wearedevelopingsomeinterestingconnections.

practico-theoretical framework surrounding issues like freespeech,directaction,violenceandantifascism.

Wearefullyawareofthefactthatpro-capitalist—andusuallyjingoist—liberalism has much broader support in theuniversity and themassmedia,which inevitably restrictsouraudience. Politics, however, is not a popularity contest or anadvertisingcampaign,despitewhatwearetaughttobelieve.Itismost fundamentallyabouthowacollectivity forges itsownreality. And we, at RED, are invested in qualitativetransformation,notsimplyinanumbersgamethatisanotherone of the baiting mechanisms of administered pseudo-democracy. Rather than reducing politics to pandering to theideologicalmasses,inordertoguaranteethattheygetwhatthesystemtellsthemthattheywant,itshouldbeaboutqualitativecollectiveeducationandsocialtransformation.

I think that I cansafely speak forallofusatREDwhen I saythatwearenotsimplyopposedtothelatesttrustfundbabyinthewhite house.Whatwe reject is the system that producedhim,andsomanyothers,andwillcontinuetoproducethemifitisnotdismantled.Astheetymologyoftheadjective“radical”suggests,theRadicalEducationDepartmentseekstogototherootofthecurrentcrisesandtakepowerintoourownhands,rather than remainingwithin the comforting illusion thatwejust need to elect different members of the ruling class toadministerrealitytous.

Educate to Liberate: A Conversation with the

Radical Education Department

NotefromRED:ThisinterviewwithREDoriginallyappearedonCutting Class. Our comrades atCuttingClassare assembling aseriesofinterviewswithgroupsthatarepartofradicalstrugglesagainst and beyond the university. Find out more atcuttingclass.noblogs.org

Cutting Class: Over the next few days, we’ll be publishingpieces to highlight the work of some of the groupsparticipating in theCutting Classcounterinfo network.Wehopethiswillprovidesomeclarityonwhereourcrewsarecoming from and how that affects the way we haveorganizedthisproject.

We also hope that theseinterview questionscan provide atemplateforotherautonomousgroupstodistillacollectiveunderstanding of their context and projects. If your crewfinds these questions useful, write up a summary of yourconversations and send them our way as a form ofintroduction!Cutting Classcan be your platform, andwe’dlove to publish an interview with your crew and startcollaborating—not just aroundCCbut also with any otherprojectsthattheseintroductionsmightincite!

Today’s featured organization isRED (Radical EducationDepartment), an autonomous collective based inPhiladelphia.

o Analyze the university system, and how it fitsinto the global capitalist system—to find “weakpoints”toattack

But again, this is just a suggestion that we hope will spurfurther discussion. The strategy we’re proposing here couldand should undoubtedly take on different forms in differentcircumstances.But the central feature is the establishmentofstrong, highly coordinated networks of allies invested inrevolutionaryleftistorganizing.

CC: How does your project connect with/support radicalmovements in your city and beyond? Are there goodrelationshipsworthmentioning?Badones?

RED:Buildingconnections locallyandbeyond—butespeciallyinPhilly—isamajorfocusforREDrightnow.We’resomethingofanewgroup,sowe’reatthebeginningofthatproject.

Still, in mid-March we’re hosting an event at the anarchist,volunteer-run bookstore, the Wooden Shoe, on “AntifascistEducation.” Ania Loomba, who has been involved with theUniversityofPennsylvania’schapteroftheCampusAntifascistNetwork, will participate, as will Kempster (Ghani) Songster,oneof the co-foundersof theRedemptionProject.We’re alsocreatinganinterviewserieswithsomeofthemostinterestingradical groups in the Philly area thatwe can find (to appearsoon). First up is an interview with someone in thePhiladelphia chapter of the anarchist Black Rose/Rosa Negrafederation. We are also in touch with activists who weretargetedintheinfamousMOVEbombinginWestPhilly.

Moreover, we’re emphasizing the need foraninternationalperspective, which is absolutely essential forunderstanding how capital works. One of our membersconnected with an activist in the recent Iranian protests—RahmanBouzari,whojustpublishedapieceontheeventsin

But to help further provoke that conversation, here is apotential strategic framework designed to link and amplifyradicalleftiststrugglesoncollegecampuses:

• Recruiting the most radical members from the mostradical anti-racist, anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist, andanti-patriarchy movements on campus into a smaller,preliminary,central“spokescouncil.”

• From here, coordinating ways that the several groupsinvolved can stand in radical solidarity with oneanother’sgroups.Thecouncilcould,moreover,serveasaspurtopushtherelevantgroupsasfarleftaspossible.(As the relevant groups in question become moreconsistently connected and coordinating, the centralcouncil shouldopen itself todemocraticcontrolby thebodiesinvolved).

• Atthesametime,thiscouncilwouldprovideabasistoeasily coordinate actions across campuses. Ascommunications increase between radical campusgroups, it becomes possible to generate highlycoordinated, radical, multi-campus actions regularlyWith thiscouncil framework,we’dhavea tool tomoreeasilycoordinateon-campusstruggleswithoff-campusstrugglesbyfeminists,anti-racistmovements,workers,etc.

• Morethanthis, linkingon-andoff-campusmovementscouldputsomehelpfulresourcesinthehandsofpeopleoutsidetheuniversitywhocouldusethem(e.g.,collegeprinters,sincesomefacultygetunlimitedfreeprinting;abundantmeetingspaces;plentyofcomputerlabswithinternetaccess;placestoholdconferences;etc.etc.)

• This strategy entails its own research engines (whichwould need to tap into the ideas of both on- and off-campusmovements).Weneedresearchto:

o Re-learn what worked, and what didn’t, inpreviousmovements

Introduce your crew:what projects are some youworkingon,how longhaveyoubeenaround,whereare youbased,etc.etc.

RED: RED—the Radical Education Department—is based inPhiladelphia and is made up of undergraduate and graduatestudents,contingentfaculty,andfull-timefaculty.Wegrewoutof “Nova Resistance,” which was a collective that we hastilyformedtoplanadirectactioninthespringof2017atVillanovaUniversity.WedisruptedatalkbytheeugenicistfakeacademicCharlesMurray,whowas invitedoncampusbyaKoch front-groupcalledtheMatthewJ.RyanCenter.Westormedthefrontof theeventwithabanner, chantedandyelled todisrupt thetalk,andthen(whenweweretakenoutbysecurity)createdanimpromptu,radical teach-indirectlyoutsidetheeventspace’swindows.

Footage of our direct action is embedded above. We alsoprepared a statement about the event, as well as a broaderinterventionaimedatreframingthe“freespeech”debate.

From there, the core of Nova Resistance decided to lookbeyondresistanceonasinglecampus.WeformedREDtohelpbuild and connect revolutionary struggles across variouseducational sites, as well as to add to the efforts of thosedeveloping tools to integrate antifascist resistance into abroader,positiveprojectofsocio-economictransformation.

Our research and writing fights back against the liberal andconservative ideologies that demonize radical struggle, andwe’reaimingtocultivateconnectionsbetweencampusgroupsin order to spark broad, radical,multi-campus actions in thefuture. That kind of project—involving revolutionary,federated students, teachers, and campusworkers—can be apowerful tool, especially when merged with off-campusmovements.

CC: What are some challenges you’ve faced (internal orexternal)?

RED: The biggest challenge has been an extremely practicalone: lack of time and energy. It takes a lot of time to be anorganizer, and there’s a lot of work that goes on behind thescenes: sending and responding to emails, posting to socialmedia, coordinating with other groups, writing articles,providing feedbackonworkbyothers in thecollective,etc. Itcanbeextremelyhardto findtimetodoallof thiswhilealsodoingwhat’sneededtokeepupwithfamilyobligationsandthemundanetasksofsurvivalunderneoliberalcapitalism.

We’vefoundafewwaystoworkaroundthisissue.

• A“core”and“periphery”:we’ve identifieda few“core”members able to make more time and energycommitment than others. There should probably be atleasttwotothree,toallowfor“rotations”ofkeydutiesincaseoneofthe“core”isswamped.Butit’salsocrucialtokeepthingstransparent—givingothertrustedgroupmembersthechancetodiveinwhenevertheycan.

• Deadlines: It’s often not easy to meet a deadline. Butsimply having deadlines (even when we fail to meetthem) is crucial to helping keep the project movingforward.

Noshaming:Everyone isbusy,and it isunproductive tostartguiltingpeoplewhoaredoingwhatevertheycan.Inourgroup,we all know that everyone has unique sets of constraints—someareparents,someare internationalstudents,othersarein a tenure gauntlet, some are swamped in new graduateprograms—and we are simply happy to have anyonecontributewhatevertheycan,whenevertheycan.

CC:Whatdoyouthinksomeofthemajorlimits,andmajor,untapped possibilities for radical campus organizing aretoday?How canwe address those limits and realize thosepossibilities?

RED:Historyshowshowmuchpoweron-campusstrugglescanhave—like in May ‘68 and in the massive 2007 uprising ofCanadian students. And radical, on-campus struggles haveexplodedinrecentyears,especiallyanti-racistandanti-fascistmovements.Now is the time tostart thinkingseriouslyabouthow to make connections across campuses and betweencampuses and the streets, all the while helping push thingsfurtherleft.

But whether they’re on college campuses or beyond, radicalgroupsareoftendeeplydisconnected fromoneother, so thatwe’re working without a common strategy. This doesn’t justmeana fracturedandweakLeft. It alsomeanswecan’t learnfrom the accumulated knowledge and experience each groupcarrieswithinit.

Evenwhenwedowork together in largergroups,we tend tobe inreallyunstable, “umbrella”movements(thinkofOccupyor large-scale student marches) that fracture and disappearfairlyquickly,especiallywhenthey’repressuredbyauthoritiesorthestate.

All this raises some key questions. On a particular campus,whatarethebestwaystobreakdowntheboundariesbetweenthemostradicalstudents, faculty,andstaff?Howcanwehelpbuildadurable,cohesive,andtrulytransformativemovementacrossmanycampuses?Howcouldthatmovementbridgeon-andoff-campusstruggles?

Peopleareansweringthesequestionsinsomeinterestingandimportantways—forexample,CuttingClassisamodelforhowdifferentgroupscanlearnfromeachotherandcoordinatewithoneanother.