Movimentos estudantis na UFC e ecos de resistência de 1968 e 2016

Abstract

In 1947, students from Ceará Law School organized a petition with 10,000 signatures to demand a state university (Federal University of Ceará). During the “Um Terço” strike in 1962, Federal University of Ceará students fought for representation and voting rights within the deliberative bodies of the institution. To that history, this research adds the student movements at the Physics Institute (1968) and the School of Education (2016). Its premise is that Federal University of Ceará students, historically, have organized in pursuit of institutional gains and it aims to understand the representations in the occupation movements of Physics Institute and School of Education. The analysis highlights lessons learned through activism and the comparative analytical method discusses similarities and convergences between the occupations. The study consisted of a bibliography review, primary sources and interviews with protagonists and contemporaries of each occupation. Narratives tell the story of the student movement upheaval of May 1968 and cite its accomplishments: improvements to the building infrastructure, and meetings between students, faculty and technicians for curriculum reformulation. In 2016, with the support of “União Nacional dos Estudantes”, strikes and occupations on Federal University of Ceará campuses were organized by the student union, highlighting increased participation of students in the movements, as well as institutional gains: price freezes on student meals and expansion of breakfast to a greater number of underprivileged students. The School of Education occupation blocked access to the facility completely, including impeding the administration of the national secondary school exit exam. The narratives address high school students’ participation in the movement and highlight the difficulties of coexisting, but affirm the resulting political maturity and lessons learned, among them, public speaking and assembly organization. The meeting that determined the end of the Faced occupation resulted in two distinct records. According to the Faculty of Education Council version, the creation of a School of Education student and alumni Forum was approved. According to the occupation participants’ minutes, in addition to the Forum cited, there was a consensus to expand the computer lab hours and to change the name of the School of Education auditorium, which honors the member of the dictatorial government that took over, after the 1964 coup. The comparative analysis of narratives of the Physics Institute and School of Education occupations demonstrates that, in 1968, the number of college students was smaller, but student activism was connected to political parties and organizations. In 2016, the number of enrollments at the university had expanded, but the narratives indicate that more than half the students that were active in the School of Education occupation opted for militancy free from connections with political organizations or participated in autonomous collectives independent of political parties. One point in common between the Physics Institute occupation movement and School of Education is the organization of political action in protest against the established government, demanding better study conditions and greater public investments in education.