Underground Highschool Newspaper

[ArseCynic]

I have started a mini "underground" paper at my Canadian highschool. It's one page double-sided and folded like a flyer. We write about current local and internaitional events that seem relevant. While every editor in the paper is leftish, not all are marxist per say, so the paper isn't really a "communist" paper. I try to write the marxist opinion on current events when I write in it, but I'm not always sure what I should write about and what I should put in it to make it more Communist.

The idea to make the paper was originally made in reaction to a corporate magazine that has been given out at the schools by teachers and other school officials, that corporate magazine is called "YouthInk". The main point of the paper is to cause revolt within the students but I'm not entirely sure how.

Anyone have any good ideas?

[citizen of industry]

When I was in highschool in the US, there was a democratic students club and a republican students club. Both were related to the debate team and they were dorks. Someone started a democratic-socialist club. It was an official after school activity in one of the classrooms, supervised by a teacher. The text was communist manifesto. I think there was some waver our parents had to sign emphasizing the "democratic" part of the socialism. I joined it because I had just quit baseball and my parents demanded some kind of alternative and it was cool and a couple of my friends were in it, unlike the democrat/republican nerd clubs. We never debated anything, I never even grasped the content of the manifesto, I was 16 and didn't care.

But I did come from a working class family, I did despise capitalism, and as I got older and political I kept returning to that manifesto. For most people in the US, Marxism is a dirty word. For me, I had a fun experience and it made me open to ideas down the road. My two cents, organizing a study club of this sort is more productive than circulating a paper, especially if you get consent to do it openly.

Another point, I worked UPS and didn't give a shit about unions. I ignored everything the union rep had to say. He was a stodgy old deuche and I was 19. Then everyone on our whole belt was fired because someone stole and they didn't know who it was, so fire everybody. The union got all of our jobs back in short order. Later in life I join a union if one is there or make one if there isn't. Point being, if you don't have any tangible success in high school, you may have developed some class-consciousness that pays off down the road, even if you'll never know about it. So keep it up, comrade. For most people, the second go is more productive.

[ArseCynic]

When I was in highschool in the US, there was a democratic students club and a republican students club. Both were related to the debate team and they were dorks. Someone started a democratic-socialist club. It was an official after school activity in one of the classrooms, supervised by a teacher. The text was communist manifesto. I think there was some waver our parents had to sign emphasizing the "democratic" part of the socialism. I joined it because I had just quit baseball and my parents demanded some kind of alternative and it was cool and a couple of my friends were in it, unlike the democrat/republican nerd clubs. We never debated anything, I never even grasped the content of the manifesto, I was 16 and didn't care.

But I did come from a working class family, I did despise capitalism, and as I got older and political I kept returning to that manifesto. For most people in the US, Marxism is a dirty word. For me, I had a fun experience and it made me open to ideas down the road. My two cents, organizing a study club of this sort is more productive than circulating a paper, especially if you get consent to do it openly.

Another point, I worked UPS and didn't give a shit about unions. I ignored everything the union rep had to say. He was a stodgy old deuche and I was 19. Then everyone on our whole belt was fired because someone stole and they didn't know who it was, so fire everybody. The union got all of our jobs back in short order. Later in life I join a union if one is there or make one if there isn't. Point being, if you don't have any tangible success in high school, you may have developed some class-consciousness that pays off down the road, even if you'll never know about it. So keep it up, comrade. For most people, the second go is more productive.

Actually Me and a few others also started a club. called the "political awareness club". I originally wanted to make a communist club but we could barely pass our club as the political awareness club, took some speechcraft just to convince them to allow that. We just recently started getting a little more productive but really we aren't very organized, I am pushign the club to have a direct-democratic structure but according to the other founders we don't want to be a bureucracy and my structure is too complicated. but oh well, we're much more productive than the environmental club(should be called the pro-pollution club) and the debate club(ran by the same type of people). All of the other clubs at school are ran by preps who really just want to make friends and to have something to put on their resume so they can have an advantage at selling their labour power. The student council at school is really a senate aswell.
But really I shouldn't be complaining, we don't have a lot of conservatives or creationists or anything at school.

Hmmm I like your idea of reading out material such as the manifesto. I should find a hard copy of Das Kapital somewhere, its quite relevant ot the paradigm in our sector of society.

[citizen of industry]

Capital is really meaty though. Do you have time and enough interest for that? I've always thought the manifesto and wage labor and capital are the best for study groups of half-interested people with little time, and they get the basic point across. Like I said, even the manifesto was too much for me at the time. I think they printed out a copy for each of us with study guides. It was just the idea. But later in life is when it paid off because I saw marxism as a credible alternative.

[citizen of industry]

Also, a political awareess club is straight awesome, assuming you can choose the topics and materials. It's like a front organization to get around the school administration. Is your political paper tied to the club?

[ArseCynic]

The paper is independent of the club, but all of the contributing members of the club are involved in the paper.

also on another note, the student council at our school is really really bad. its sole purpose is to further itself and to make rules for clubs about what they can and can't do, while at the same time pretending to represent the student body(the clubs). I accidently started an independant movement to attempt to delete the council, it is separate from the political awareness club, but all of the members are involved and the club(and the environmental club) openly supports it. We are gathering teachers and students from around the school to join and try to take the whole thing down. Right now the council is scared shitless and has been taking every measure they can with the information they have available about our movement, to try to self-preserve, even reading out my facebook page in a few classes. It looks like we have the upper hand on all levels and we might just win this one.

[ClassWarMutualist]

The paper is independent of the club, but all of the contributing members of the club are involved in the paper.

also on another note, the student council at our school is really really bad. its sole purpose is to further itself and to make rules for clubs about what they can and can't do, while at the same time pretending to represent the student body(the clubs). I accidently started an independant movement to attempt to delete the council, it is separate from the political awareness club, but all of the members are involved and the club(and the environmental club) openly supports it. We are gathering teachers and students from around the school to join and try to take the whole thing down. Right now the council is scared shitless and has been taking every measure they can with the information they have available about our movement, to try to self-preserve, even reading out my facebook page in a few classes. It looks like we have the upper hand on all levels and we might just win this one.

Hell to the yeah man! fuck the state :D *high five*

[Bostana]

I have started a mini "underground" paper at my Canadian highschool. It's one page double-sided and folded like a flyer. We write about current local and internaitional events that seem relevant. While every editor in the paper is leftish, not all are marxist per say, so the paper isn't really a "communist" paper. I try to write the marxist opinion on current events when I write in it, but I'm not always sure what I should write about and what I should put in it to make it more Communist.

The idea to make the paper was originally made in reaction to a corporate magazine that has been given out at the schools by teachers and other school officials, that corporate magazine is called "YouthInk". The main point of the paper is to cause revolt within the students but I'm not entirely sure how.

Anyone have any good ideas?

It's Great that you have A High school "Communist" Paper.

But why is it underground?
They ban Left Wing opinions at your school?

[Prometeo liberado]

I was always impressed with the papers I saw on campus that made it a point to analyze events with a marxist perspective without ever writing the words Marx, Socialism or Communism. People would read it more thoroughly and not dismiss it as quick. Point being that people start to entertain the idea of marxism without knowing it thus making it more palatable. Kinda like when your ma let you think cough syrup was candy. A lie? No. Propagandist? Yes.

[Aloysius]

I've always wanted to start an underground leftist paper at my school. Definitely pro-union (the teachers get treated like shit here), but only vaguely Marxist.

It's a shame I'm the only person in my group of friends that publicly identifies as a radical leftist.

[ArseCynic]

It's Great that you have A High school "Communist" Paper.

But why is it underground?
They ban Left Wing opinions at your school?

They ban all opinions at school, unless they are gaining money from it(example: bank of montreal trying to sell us credit cards).

[ArseCynic]

The teachers in our province are currently on strike but they have been named "an essential service" by the liberal party.

[Binh]

What's your paper's name? (A suggestion: YOUthink? Or some play on the other paper's name.)

I did a lot of good work in my high school (12+ years ago!). We had a paper, Little Red Schoolhouse that annoyed a libertarian pro-capitalist who started his own Little Red Foolhouse (a grown middle-aged white man making weak/awful jokes about people three decades his junior was pretty unseemly!). Also started a political club, had speakers, organized demos.

I say write some funny/provocative stuff, go after someone without using their name, something like that.

[ArseCynic]

What's your paper's name? (A suggestion: YOUthink? Or some play on the other paper's name.)

I did a lot of good work in my high school (12+ years ago!). We had a paper, Little Red Schoolhouse that annoyed a libertarian pro-capitalist who started his own Little Red Foolhouse (a grown middle-aged white man making weak/awful jokes about people three decades his junior was pretty unseemly!). Also started a political club, had speakers, organized demos.

I say write some funny/provocative stuff, go after someone without using their name, something like that.

It's name is "CynicalYouth". the logo is a Y ontop of a C, so its like a piece sign with a bite in it. if you search cynical youth on facebook im sure the page will pop up(though there isn't a lot on the page right now).

we are currently causing the administration alot of headaches :D.

[Drowzy_Shooter]

What's your paper's name? (A suggestion: YOUthink? Or some play on the other paper's name.)


good idea, I suggest you name it YOUthought

[ArseCynic]

good idea, I suggest you name it YOUthought

that's geneous! I'll use it for atleast an article title.

[Drowzy_Shooter]

that's geneous! I'll use it for atleast an article title.

thank ya :cool:

[TheGodlessUtopian]

@OP: To cause revolt? Try writing about issues which relate to youth culture. Relate current events-such as the authoritarian nature of censorship-to language that they can understand.Connect politics with local events and shade it with concepts which are familiar to them.This way a connection is made and they are radicalized.

[Ocean Seal]

It's Great that you have A High school "Communist" Paper.

But why is it underground?
They ban Left Wing opinions at your school?
Not officially, but they do make it very hard to get things done. I know because I had a communist club in high school which I tried to make legitimate and it they basically set up walls everywhere. So the solution was an underground communist club.

[NewLeft]

What the heck? Communist clubs in high schools?!? Maybe the Right isn't so delusional after all. :confused: There's a political club at my school, only about 5 people are in it and they don't really discuss politics. The thought of a social democrat, let alone leftist in the hell hole that I go to sounds radical.

[TheGodlessUtopian]

What the heck? Communist clubs in high schools?!? Maybe the Right isn't so delusional after all. :confused: There's a political club at my school, only about 5 people are in it and they don't really discuss politics. The thought of a social democrat, let alone leftist in the hell hole that I go to sounds radical.

I know the feeling bud, my school was a piece of crap as well.

How is the Right not so delusional though?

[Ocean Seal]

What the heck? Communist clubs in high schools?!? Maybe the Right isn't so delusional after all. :confused: There's a political club at my school, only about 5 people are in it and they don't really discuss politics. The thought of a social democrat, let alone leftist in the hell hole that I go to sounds radical.


I know the feeling bud, my school was a piece of crap as well.

How is the Right not so delusional though?

He's referring to the fact that actual communist clubs exist in certain high schools and the right wings "the communists are brainwashing our children in their highschools" rhetoric.

But anyway my high school was also filled with reactionary fuckwits and some really awful students/teachers/administrators. Find a group, fight back, unless you fear for your physical safety in which case it might be of use to back off.

[NewLeft]

He's referring to the fact that actual communist clubs exist in certain high schools and the right wings "the communists are brainwashing our children in their highschools" rhetoric.

Marxist analysis of my own writing! :lol:


But anyway my high school was also filled with reactionary fuckwits and some really awful students/teachers/administrators. Find a group, fight back, unless you fear for your physical safety in which case it might be of use to back off.

There's literally no political group of any stripe active where I live.

[TheGodlessUtopian]

There's literally no political group of any stripe active where I live.

Good opportunity to form a political education group, eh? ;)

[Decolonize The Left]

I have started a mini "underground" paper at my Canadian highschool. It's one page double-sided and folded like a flyer. We write about current local and internaitional events that seem relevant. While every editor in the paper is leftish, not all are marxist per say, so the paper isn't really a "communist" paper. I try to write the marxist opinion on current events when I write in it, but I'm not always sure what I should write about and what I should put in it to make it more Communist.

The idea to make the paper was originally made in reaction to a corporate magazine that has been given out at the schools by teachers and other school officials, that corporate magazine is called "YouthInk". The main point of the paper is to cause revolt within the students but I'm not entirely sure how.

Anyone have any good ideas?

Congratulations on your idea and progress, you should be very proud of yourself for putting this together.

Don't worry about the paper being 'Marxist' as you'd like, be happy that it even exists and that students have complete control over the content and production.

As for your contributions, it's best to avoid preaching and stick to articulating critiques of issues which every student can understand and relate to. You would then attempt to take these issues and relate them back to a broader critique of capitalist culture, etc... Avoid hot-button words like "communism," "anarchism," "radical leftism," etc... Stick to general terms and keep your content a critique rather than a soapbox. No one wants to hear you rant about how Trotsky was right or whatever, but people do what to hear someone say that shit is fucked up and possibly explain why it is that way and possibly further how to fix it.

Good luck to you. :thumbup1:

- August

[ArseCynic]

What the heck? Communist clubs in high schools?!? Maybe the Right isn't so delusional after all. :confused: There's a political club at my school, only about 5 people are in it and they don't really discuss politics. The thought of a social democrat, let alone leftist in the hell hole that I go to sounds radical.

It's not really a communist club, but the majority of the members are communists(or atleast the contributing members). not alot happens with it in terms or revolt though.