The California Autonomous Student Movement is a horizontal anti-capitalist & direct action organization building a student powered movement. We believe in the power of social movements and are wary of elections which funnel people’s movements into meager reformism, and into the capitalist agendas of both the Republican and Democratic parties. We are also skeptical of third party alternatives within capitalism. Revolutionary mobilizations on horizontal and directly democratic lines is what will get us the goods.
We seek to create student popular culture that is separate from the university administration and student government, in order to fight for free education, the abolition of student debt, the socialization of education, ending tuition hikes, student housing, and we believe that universities should be run by those who learn and teach.
We are inspired by the global student uprisings of May 1968 and their connection to workers’ movements, the Student Non Violent Coordinating Committee of the Civil Rights Movement, the contemporary sustainable student movements of Latin America, and so on and so forth.
Please read our pamphlets and reach out to us if you are interested in connecting with CASM at your school or starting a CASM network at your university. We exist at CSULA, CSULB, LACC, and ELAC, but our goal is to expand our vision of an anti-capitalist student movement across California capable of making demands and winning gains.