;

 

eres

‘page seven

feature

‘Let’

by Fred Murph)
dian university fp)

Oleg Shmelo/,
old engineer, de}:
the Soviet Union a»

1980 at Gander Air}.
en route to an ass’
from 1971 to 1977.

In the Soviet Un
zens are complete’, |:
dent on the state fo.
their basic human ::/

As well the. state
deception, propagans:
even brutal force to «
total control over i:
zens. The technol:
repression, howevcs
developed more sut''
thods for keeping ci:
than were used in ‘:
time when  millic
Russians were sent ti: »
camps. The stat
different methods iv
mote citizens allegia:
and compliance wit!
state depending on
age, position, and «
geographical region.
versity students are su!)
ted to perhaps the A
rigorous applications o!
instruments the state u:
to bring up obedient «:
vants for the regime.

From Grade stn
through to graduating f:
university a Soviet stuc!:
is constantly reminded
has to subjugate his o.
interests to the interests
the state, surpress his is
viduality, and conform 1:
model. Every studeni
also aware that he is accoi:
panied throughout his 1.::
by a character report ©:
which his future depend:
This indirectly, but powe:
fully influences students
especially university si:
dents to conform to th:
state’s precepts of goo:

behavior. A student's back:-

ground is one of the mos!
important factors the autho
rities consider when a stu:
dent applies to a university

On the application forms
students are asked abou
relatives, nationality, and in
an indirect way about rela-
tives who had suffered un
der Stalin’s regime. At
many universities Jews are
not accepted at all, but they
are not denied the right to
apply, after all the Soviet
constitution states ‘‘all citi.
zens are equal’’. The
application process is a

mechanism for weeding out
students with bad character
reports and Jews. These
undesirable applicants may
often obtain outstanding
marks results in math, phy-
sics and chemistry, but
exams in history and liter-
ature can be grated arbi-
trarily. If the administra-
tion wants to fail the stud-
ent they can give him a poor
mark in these subjects and
it is pointless for the stu-
dent to argue because in the
Soviet Union there is no
logical approach to history

 

 

The Other Press

April 2, 198]

go, let’s go, to Moscow’

 

or literature. Even if a
student has passed these
two stages there remains an
in-with a panel that can ask
an applicant any question
they wish. This panel can
deny question they wish.
This panel can deny admis-
sion to anyone on the basis
of the interview and their
decision is final.

When applying to a uni-
versity in Moscow an out-
sider finds Muscovites seem
to be more equal. Since an
outsider has to compete for
a residence permit to live in
Moscow along with compe-
ting for admission to the
university, he faces a com-
petition for admission that
can be up to 10 times
greater than the Muscovite
faces. Successful applicants
from outside Moscow are
given temporary residence
permits which expire after
one and a half to two years
and have to be re-applied
for. This re-application
process again places a stu-
dent at the mercy of the
state and provides the state
with a lever for influencing
a student’s behavior.

Students at technical uni-
versities have to receive a
security clearance during
their university career. This
clearance functions as ano-
ther means the adminis-
tration uses for dismissing
or disciplining students
whose behavior is deemed
unacceptable. Students at
technical universities cannot
continue their studies with-
out security clearance. A
student’s answers to a ques-
tionnaire, his character re-
port, and reports from the
social organizations he is

involved with are all taken
into consideration when the
administration decides whe-
ther or not to grant a
student his security clear-
ance. This clearance is
granted with a set of condi-
tions he must comply with
so as not to void his security

clearance. For instance, the ~

student may be forbidden
all contact with foreigners.

Clearance is also required
for courses in military edu-

cation which are a necessary
part of the curriculum for
males at most universities.
-Perhaps the most impor-
tant lesson a Soviet univer-
sity student learns is that he
must please the state to get
ahead and to avoid trouble.
A student’s devotion to the
state is measured by his
degree of participation in
activities sponsored by the
Young Communist League
(YCL) and the Student Uni-
on which are under the total
control of the Communist
party. These organizations
also sponsor numerous so-
cial activities that are de-
signed, it would seem, to
insure that students have
little time to spend alone.
The YCL organizes a range
of activiteis which students
are required to participate
in. These include a socialist
competition, work on police
auxiliaries, free weekend
labour, indoctrination ses-
sions billed as lectures, and
rallies. When visiting
heads of state are in
Moscow the YCL is respon-
sible for rounding up stu-
dents to line the streets to
greet the visitors. A whole
day of classes is usually
cancelled for this type of

event as well as for May
Day and Revolutuin Day
rallies in Red Square. The
YCL and the administration
also make sure every stu-
dent participates in elec-
tions - on the ballots there is
always only one candidate
for each position. Character
reports on every student are
written by the administra-

. tion and the YCL annually.

The YCL also forces stu-
dents to write character
reports on each other. Most
students just write that so-
and-so is a good person but
in some cases envy, hatred,
or jealousy may cause one
student to give another a
bad report. These character
reports introduce students
to the fact that they have to
judge and be judged in
terms of allegiance to the
state. ;
Privileges are distributed
to students not only accor-

ding to their academic per-
formance but also according
to their participation in so-
cial activities and their de-
gree of advancement in the
YCL and student union.
These privileges include
special Lenin scholarships,
trips to winter and summer
recreation camps, admission
to popular hockey games,
concerts, plays, and parties,
and the best rooms in the
dormitories. In fact, during
times when rooms in dor-
mitories are scarce, only
YCL activists get rooms,
while other students are
forced to seek housing on
the expensive black market.
More important than what a
student may gain by his
activities is what he may
lose because of apathy or
not partaking in YCL acti-
vities. The YCL can give a
student a bad character
report that can plague him
for life or the YCL could
take away his room in the
dormitory. Even worse the
YCL could recomment the
student be dismissed from
university in which case he
is automatically drafted.
Students have to get used to
having their lives controlled
by YCL activists. In later
life this translates into be-
ing controlled by Commu-
nist party members. Stu-
dents are also exposed to a
basic truth of the commu-
nist system that success and
the privileges of the Soviet
system are attained, as YCL
activists well know, by
showing one’s devotion to
the state.

Besides being dismissed
on the recommendation of
the YCL students can also
be dismissed for bad marks
or a refusal to do farm work
- a necessary part of a
student’s obligation while at
university. At one univer-
sity in Moscow a group of
students were dismissed
and sent to the army for
mildly protesting about the
quality of the food at their
cafeteria. Students in vul-
nerable positions because of
bad marks or bad character
reports are often given the
choice of a trip to the army
or collaboration with the
KGB, who keep students
under close watch. The
YCL hierarchy are also ap-
proached and offered colla-
boration with the KGB; if
they refuse their downfall in
the YCL is inevitable.

While at university a stu-
dent has to work up to three
months every year on a
collective farm. In addition
the student may _ spend
many of his weekends doing
compulsory free labour,

part of his so-called socialist
obligation, organized by the
YCL. In the fall every year
students are required to
help with the harvest. In
the Moscow region a stu-
dent has to work for a
month on a potato or wheat

1500 rubles.

farm, while students’ in
southern regions can spend
up to three months working
in cotton fields. Discipline
is very strict at these work
camps and refusal to work
leads to an automatic dis-
missal. Weekend free la-
bour while university is on
often involves menial labour
on a construction site. The
work is usually trivial, un-
orgnized and inefficient. It
is designed more or less to
wate time than to accom-
plish anything.

Students are paid for
obligatory summer work.
This work is called building
detachment assignment and
is organized by the YCL.
Students are not allowed to
work independently, but
must work in groups whose
organization is based on the

YCL structure. Each group
has its own political watch-
dog who takes care of
brainwashing activities,
makes sure that students
donate to various funds
such as the Vietnam and
Chile funds, and who vo-
lunteers his group of wor-
kers for free Saturday la-
bour. This summer work
program is designed so that
the state’s control over stu-
dent’s minds and behavior
is not slackened during the
summer month. There is a
great variety of building
detachment jobs ranging
from agricultural and cons-
truction work to jobs as
venders or porters on trains.
The money a student earns
for his two months of sum-
mer work varies from 100 to
Another type
of summer work is ‘Com-
munist’ building detach-
ment work done by unpaid
volunteers who hope to put
good marks on their record
which will benefit them in
their careers. A good
record is of great impor-
tance to students of law, or

foreign relations; in these

disciplines the Communist
party is only interested in
students who have shown
they are attached to the
party/puppet strings.
Academic freedom is cur-
tailed as much as personal
freedom in Societ univer-
sities. Once a_ student
chooses his profession all
his courses are prescribed;
there is no choice of courses
or professors. Every stu-
dent must take courses in
the history of the Commu-
nist party, Marxist philo-
sophy, Marxist political
economy, and ‘‘scientific’’
communism. Soviet history,
as presented in textbooks,
is merely a chain of events
chosen from soviet history
to suit current Soviet policy.
There is no mention in
Soviet history of the mass
killings carried out under
Lenin’s and Stalin’s rules or
of power struggles within
the Communist party. The
textbooks for history are