Prati Kapoor
UFV’s Communist Revolutionary Students Club, currently in its third semester of operation, has been focused on creating a space for students interested in Marxism and communism. The Cascade sat down with President Jordan Holmes and Treasurer Jonas Dower to discuss the club’s history and what it aspires to do.
When was the club formed and what are its core missions?
Jordan: “I started the Communist Club two semesters ago. I noticed that there was really nothing on campus that advocated for communism. Nothing where students could talk and further their knowledge on campus.
“Academia is heavily indebted to communism [and] Marxism. Communist literature is heavily referenced in most classes, but they don’t get to hear what communists have to say about it. They hear it from their professors who may or may not be communists but not from students with real academic interest in it.”
How would you describe the club’s values to anyone unfamiliar with communism?
Jonas: “Marx tells us to always patiently explain. A key tenet of ours is patiently explaining to students what Marxism is and what we stand for as Marxists and communists. To help spread that education, we sell literature about Marxism and communism.”
Can you explain what Marxism means?
Jordan: “Marxism is the study of history [and] economy. It is the only scientific study of capitalism taken to its full extent. There are students who understand what capitalism is, but [not] what capitalism does. It’s a study [which] leads Marxists to communism. This idea that capitalism eventually leads to its overthrow, that capitalism is inherently unsustainable… we as Marxists understand the societal ills that face you are because of capitalism.”
Do most of your members come in already agreeing with communism or are just curious?
Jonas: “Both. We’ve had people who are curious … understanding communism under the Red Scare and thinking that we support Stalin… We don’t support Stalin at all — Stalin wasn’t a Marxist or we would argue even a communist. We have people who join out of curiosity and people who already agree with us and want to learn more.”
What role do you feel your club plays at UFV?
Jonas: “We hold lectures and public events where we discuss a certain topic under Marx’s perspective. So far, we’ve done six public events [and] a movie night. Our main priority is to help educate. We have a mini lecture afterwards that discusses the main tenets of the movie and how they ascribe to Marxism, followed by a hang-out session to get to know us.
“I think a misconception about communists is that we’re so stern and steeled almost. Nerds. And we are nerds, but we like to have fun.”
What events are you planning to organize this semester?
Jonas: “We have requested a weekly reading group and an event on American imperialism [in] regards to Venezuela. I’ll be presenting [on] the differences between Marxism and Stalinism [and] Jordan will be presenting a communist perspective on the UFV deficit.”
Jordan: “Our big approach this semester is looking at what students on campus care about [and] what they’re talking about and connect those to a communist program. Venezuela has been an ongoing talk around campus and we want to be able to educate them. Same with the UFV deficit; this is something that’s affecting the faculty [and] the students.
“UFV has such a large Mennonite community and so does Abbotsford. We get people who have family members who lived in Ukraine, USSR and were subject to repression under Stalin. It’s understandable for them to come to us with apprehensions about communism. But if we’re able to communicate to them that this is not what we stand for — this is not communism, then that’s a success.”
What conversations do you hope your club encourages on campus?
Jordan: “I hope that we can get students thinking about where their tuition goes.
“We want to get students asking, why is UFV run the way that it’s run? Faculty and students have so little say in how UFV is run, despite really being the backbone of the school. As people get more familiar with what capitalism means, we hope to encourage conversations around better democracy and participation within UFV students.”
What are your club’s goals for the rest of the year?
Jordan: “We’re hoping to connect to as many students as we can [and] build a really vibrant political community. We want to grow to a size that we can interact with movements outside of UFV. We want an energized student body who understands what’s going wrong in society and understands what needs to happen to fix that. I don’t think that we’re going to see that at this campus without a communist movement.”
If a student is interested in learning more and joining your club, what’s the best way to get involved?
Jordan: “See us at a table on campus [and] keep an eye on Rubric. We’re going to be more consistent with posting our events.”
Jonas: “I would encourage people who don’t agree with us to come to the event. Come hear what we have to say, but if nothing we say is persuasive enough, then we’ve got some more work to do.”
Interview has been edited for length and clarity.
