"Spanfeller is a twat" (theaspiringengineer)
05/09/2019 at 22:15 • Filed to: None
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"Spanfeller is a twat" (theaspiringengineer)
05/09/2019 at 22:15 • Filed to: None | 2
| 9 |
Inside Mexico City, there is another city...whose police force carry no weapons.
It is the campus of the National Autonomous University, UNAM. It’s also called University City.
What makes UN A M special compared to regular public or private universities is that stingy little “A” in their name.
UNAM has always been the breeding ground of avant-garde thought in this country, you could trace back any social or political movement to it, and the main reason why they can behave that way is because UNAM is independent from the Mexican government, despite being founded by it.
Unlike regular state universities (even the autonomous ones) UNAM’s autonomy is written into the Mexican Constitution... because of that, it behaves almost as a city state; just one with no permanent population, and over 700 hectares of land. It’s reach goes beyond though, as UNAM operates university campuses and high schools across the country, even offices in other countries.
It is a fantastic college, and a symbol of resilience to many. But UNAM’s independence has been challenged lately, not only by significant funding cuts, but also by violence inside the campus.
UNAM is mostly considered a very safe area of Mexico City. Yet recent, and very public, flaws in their security apparatus have perpetrated the idea that UNAM needs to allow more security forces from the local governments.
Many say it would be a breach of the independence, some argue that people shouldn’t be shot and/or killed inside a campus belonging to largest university in the country.
In the end, no part of Article 3 of the Constitution grants UNAM sufficient autonomy for them to refuse Mexico City’s police, or in fact any other force, entry: the autonomy is down to academics, administration, and use of funds. But ever since 1968, when the Federal government violently quashed the student protest, it has been an unspoken agreement between UNAM and the borough, city, and federal governments that they can take care for themselves.
This agreement freed UNAM, and let it become a “safe space” for protestors and counterculture to grow inside an otherwise restrictive country. Those in favour of keeping police away claim that UNAM would be safer if “porros” -groups of protestors not part of the institution- were not let into UNAM and cause trouble. Those wanting more security claim that it is abnormal that murder, drug trafficking, and rape are occuring inside the campus.
Today, a fight between two street vendors inside UNAM culminated with shots fired and an injured man, which is not good for UNAM’s claim to autonomy, specially after one of their students was murdered a few weeks ago in one of the separate campuses.
Although it seems like a small conflict, the topic of administration and security has been the reason behind countless student protests in the last years.
It’s a strange time for universities here. UNAM’s sister instituion, UAM, just came out of a three month strike, and dozens of other institutions across the country face important funding cuts, or increased scrutiny into their administrative practices. As it develops I can only imagine UNAM is going to need more help to resist important and destructive change to their ways.
DipodomysDeserti
> Spanfeller is a twat
05/09/2019 at 22:35 |
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“ some argue that people shouldn’t be shot and/or killed inside a campus”
“ murder, drug trafficking, and rape are occuring inside the campus.”
They should just rename it to The American Autonomous University.
Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
> Spanfeller is a twat
05/09/2019 at 22:37 |
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Thanks for this interesting article. I had no idea that such a place existed.
Svend
> Spanfeller is a twat
05/09/2019 at 22:40 |
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Many say it would be a breach of the independence, some argue that people shouldn’t be shot and/or killed inside a campus belonging to largest university in the country.
Like most of the world then. Lol.
That ‘vigilancia’ vehicle is so curious to me. Because my English brain reads it as ‘ vigilante’ rather than translates it into ‘ surveillance’ .
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Spanfeller is a twat
> DipodomysDeserti
05/09/2019 at 22:47 |
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For it to be an A merican university, they would have to charge 250,000 dollars more than they do for a college degree.
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Spanfeller is a twat
> Svend
05/09/2019 at 22:48 |
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Well, independence is very valuable. You don’t want cops inside your school when you’re protesting the people that pay them. Which is what happened in 1968.
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DipodomysDeserti
> Spanfeller is a twat
05/09/2019 at 23:17 |
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No shit. Just looked up tuition to UNAM...glad my daughters are learning Spanish.
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Spanfeller is a twat
> DipodomysDeserti
05/09/2019 at 23:22 |
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#socialism I guess. See also medical tourism to Mexico... specially Los Algodones near Yuma,AZ.
Though I go to a private college and it is still a fraction of what it would cost in the US.
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DipodomysDeserti
> Spanfeller is a twat
05/09/2019 at 23:38 |
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The thought of Mexico being socialist is a Fox News wet dream.
Thankfully I received an academic scholarship for my undergrad degree. Hoping to find some more scholarships now that I’ve applied to grad school.
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Spanfeller is a twat
> DipodomysDeserti
05/09/2019 at 23:48 |
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We’re bipolar I guess. On one hand you have the private debt buyouts in 1994,NAFTA, the privatization of Telmex and on the other you have free healthcare and higher education, PEMEX, etc...
But, is free, public higher education socialist in a country where only 21% of the population has access to it? or in a country where high school is not obligatory?