Protesters march on London against student fees
London student protest 9 November 2011: One London Wall
London student protest 9 November 2011: Arrest of Occupy protestors in Trafalgar Square
On Wednesday, thousands of students and supporters marched in protest of education cuts and tuition hikes for England's universities. Supported by the Occupy London movement, it was originally thought that 10,000 people would turn up to protest. (Estimates suggest that around half that number turned up.) Around midday the students gathered in central London, near the University of London and began marching through the city's streets with placards and megaphones.
Rachel Turner, a 19-year-old protester who is currently on a gap year but plans on attending university next year, said she was marching because, like most of the protesters there, she thought "tuition fees being raised to 9,000 pounds is ridiculous." The chants of the crowd agreed with her. Others could be heard shouting "You say cut back, we say fight back" and "No ifs, no buts, no education cuts" throughout the day.
(PHOTOS: Student Protests in London)
As the march carried on, it was accompanied by nearly 4,000 police officers who maintained that they were there to ensure the protest went smoothly. Last year, when students first began protesting these hikes, demonstrations spiraled out of control as a fraction of the tens of thousands protesting became destructive. Back then, police arrested 153 people for invading a Conservative party building and launching items at police.
Clearly, police wanted to avoid a repeat and came fully prepared. In the days leading up to the demonstration, the Met sent out hundreds of letters to those who'd been involved in the previous protest, warning them they could be arrested for attending Wednesday's event. The police force also made it clear that officers would be armed with rubber bullets in case things got out of control – a controversial move that drew a lot of criticism and intensified the debate.
Yet, either the measures were effective or extraneous, as Wednesday's march kicked off peacefully. Early on in the day a police officer told TIME in passing that the force's main concern was to keep the protest peaceful and "keep them away from Trafalgar and Parliament Square." As the march, organized by National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts, had previously mapped out a route, the thousands of officers were there to ensure that the march stayed on track. With a row of horse-mounted police leading the way, and hundreds of officers flanking the students, the protest wound its way through the streets.
(PHOTOS: The Year of Guy Fawkes)
Though there was a boisterous mood in the air for the most part, there were some who expressed anger towards the police and the day wasn't incident free. Around 24 people were arrested, according to police, for minor scraps and wearing face coverings, something the Met had specifically warned people against doing. When the march neared Trafalgar Square, about two hours into the protest, a fraction of the group broke off and began to pitch tents in the area, mirroring the Occupy movement that's been taking place around the world. However, police were quick to clear the square as the march continued on.
While many protesters complained that the police had come out in unnecessary numbers and were intimidating with their barricades and riot gear, most of the officers seemed to be in a good mood. Many could be seen joking with protesters and prior to the demonstration, several officers were handing out maps to those wanting to join. Harriet Wood, an 18-year-old student at the University of Sussex said of the police, "they're really nice. They're just doing their job really, they have to be here."
By 5 p.m., the protesters had reached their destination at London Wall, where the atmosphere was festive. Music blared from speakers on wheels, and students milled about, the chanting giving way to chatting. The police warned the crowds that they couldn't hang around the area for too long, and by 6 p.m. the protesters had dispersed. Several were heading to St. Paul's Cathedral, where Occupy London continues to camp out, as the anti-greed protest had organized a show.
Altogether, the day was peaceful and the mood was pleasant. Early on in the day, taking note of the sunny skies and temperature nearing 60 degrees, a curly-haired protester who looked about 17 said to his fellow marchers, "it's a lovely day for a protest." And it was.
Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/11/10/thousands-of-students-take-to-londons-streets-to-protest-tuition-hikes/#ixzz1dJOlfu2v
Student Protest in London Goes Peacefully
A protest by U.K. students in London's financial district against education budget cuts and higher tuition fees passed off largely peacefully, after thousands of police were deployed to prevent possible violence.
At least 2,000 protesters marched through the center of the city before staging a rally at London Wall. Television pictures showed the marchers surrounded by lines of policemen. Extra police were brought in from outside the capital and U.K. media reported that 4,000 officers were on duty. Twenty people were arrested, 12 of them for breach of the peace, the capital's Metropolitan Police said in an e-mailed statement.
The police action was aimed at halting a repeat of the violence in central London in December after the House of Commons voted to allow universities to triple annual tuition fees to as much as 9,000 pounds ($14,350). Demonstrators and police clashed around Parliament, protesters attempted to break into the Treasury and attacked Prince Charles's car in the West End. In August, politicians criticized police for taking several days to halt rioting and looting that month.
"Officers are deployed to facilitate peaceful protests and that is the aim," the Met said in a statement before the march. "There are a range of tactics available if there is criminality and violence associated with the event. One of these is the authority to deploy baton rounds in extreme circumstances," though such ammunition was not carried by officers policing the route today.
Some protesters who broke away from the march erected tents in Trafalgar Square, pictures broadcast by BBC television showed. Police later moved in to remove the tents and demonstrators.
Tented Camps
The campaign organizers, the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts, said today's protest was directed toward the City, as the financial district is known, partly to coincide with the anti-capitalism demonstrations that have seen tented camps set up outside St. Paul's Cathedral and in Finsbury Square, near Moorgate.
The campaigners said they were aiming to overturn government proposals published in June to encourage universities to compete for students and to remove quotas that cap a college's intake.
To contact the reporters on this story: Eddie Buckle in London at ebuckle@bloomberg.net; Namitha Jagadeesh in London at njagadeesh@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Colin Keatinge at ckeatinge@bloomberg.net
-
London Calling: Students Flood the Streets to Protest Tuition Hikes
TIME (blog) - Megan Gibson - 59 minutes ago
Around midday the students gathered in central London, near the University ofLondon and began marching through the city's streets with placards and ...Student protests in London: Tents pitched in Trafalgar Square TNT Magazine
Student Protest in London Goes Peacefully Bloomberg
Vanguard - AFP
all 1020 news articles »
-
Dozens of students from Portsmouth join London demo
Portsmouth News - Aline Nassif - 4 hours ago
STUDENTS from the University of Portsmouth were among thousands who marched through central London in a protest against higher tuition fees ...200 Liverpool students join peaceful protest in London over ... Liverpool Daily Post
10000 Students Take London in Education Protest Death and Taxes
Professional perspectives on the student tuition fees protests The Guardian (blog)
Monsters and Critics.com - Xinhua
all 51 news articles »
-
Cambridge students join London fees protest
Cambridge News - Raymond Brown - 4 hours ago
Scores of "tense" Cambridge students joined a mass protest in London against a hike in university tuition fees – despite warnings plastic bullets could be ...
-
Students Protest in London's City Against Fees, Cuts
Washington Post - 19 hours ago
9 (Bloomberg) -- UK students are demonstrating in London's financial district today against education budget cuts and increased tuition fees, with police on ... -
Huge gathering of students in London ahead of demonstration
Fitzrovia News - 1 day ago
Thousands of students gather outside the University of London Union. There will be full and ongoing coverage of the march from the London Student Journalism ...Today's Protest March Route To The City Sky News
all 3 news articles »
-
London student protest over fees draws thousands
Newsday - 16 hours ago
Click here London student protest over fees draws thousands Originally published: November 9, 2011 9:49 AM Updated: November 9, 2011 5:08 PM By The ...
-
Student protest to march on City
BBC News - 18 hours ago
Students march through central London to protest against rises in ... The police were out in force as thousands of students marched through central London. ...'Betrayed' Students March On London Over Fees Sky News
all 496 news articles »
-
Students take to the streets of London to protest tuition hikes
Toronto Star - 1 day ago
Students gather outside the University of London Union building ahead of a demonstration against higher tuition fees and privatization in universities on ... -
Latest developments in the Occupy protests
Atlanta Journal Constitution - 19 hours ago
Thousands of students marched through central London on Wednesday to protest cuts to public spending and a big increase in university tuition fees . ...THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS AND 'OCCUPY LONDON' PROTESTERS RALLYAgenzia Giornalistica Italia
10000 Students March in London Daily Beast
all 264 news articles »
-
London student protests: a street-level view
The Guardian - 12 hours ago
Thousands of students and protesters marched from outside University College London to protest against tuition fee hikes and the 'privatisation' of the ...
- RT @DanielBODonnell: The Olympic torch route revealed - that's a nice link to the article I wrote in today's @LondonStudent. Pick up yo ...
- @NudeVicar Yes, absolutely. Thank you :)
- RT @TomWills: Baton rounds 'were available' during protests last year, says #Nov9 police commander in interview with@LondonStudent: htt ...
- RT @eastlondonlines: A breakdown of arrests so far by Hesham Zakai of @londonstudent: http://t.co/4wK9MSl9 #nov9 #9nov #studentprotest
- RT @Occupy2gether: Follow today's national student demonstration live: http://t.co/vxqwM5IJ #occupylondon @OccupyLondon@counterfireorg
- RT @freyapascall: Check out http://t.co/Ql9WsDzE for live updates on the #nov9 #demo against Willett's white paper throughout the day.
Welcome to the London Studentwebsite. Over the next few weeks, we'll be completing our redesign of the site and introducing a whole host of new features. In the mean time, please browse around our site using the navigation bars above. If you have any queries or suggestions, or if you'd like to get involved with writing, editing or designing, please get in touch at editor@london-student.net.
Comment
A plea for all universities to push for ethical investment
Comment, Newspaper | June 5th, 2011
In September 2010, following a longstanding campaign, Queen Mary University of London amended their ethical investments policy to, "exclude direct investment in armaments". We, the student-led Ethical Investment Committee, have decided to publicise the achievement after waiting a period of time to be comfortable that this decision will not be reversed and has been implemented [...]
Features
It's not journalism, but maybe it's not evil either?
Breaking News, Features, News,Science | November 7th, 2011
I recently had my first taste of the dark side of science writing: advertorials. I got to write a longish article for the purposes of what Insight publishers call 'research dissemination.' The idea is that a researcher who wants extra recognition amongst funding bodies, can gain it by paying a magazine targeted directly at funding [...]
Sport
Win tickets to World Sevens Series at Twickenham
Newspaper, Sport | May 12th, 2011
For the students of London, the sporting season is fast becoming a distant memory, flittering out as the exam season comes crashing in with petrifying pace. Fear not! London Student Sport is at hand with a cheeky little competition to keep your mind off the job in hand. We have, at our disposal, a pair [...]
Play
Forsaken – Marlene Dumas
Arts, Play | November 9th, 2011
Drawing back the door to Frith Street Gallery, my mind lumbers. Caught between this morning's snake through Oxford Street's material blaze and this exhibition foyer, white washed with minimalism, it flits dazedly. I'm in limbo. Dear Dumas, may you bring salvation by aesthetic baptism. On entering the gallery I find myself alone, swimming in concrete [...]
Breaking News
Summary of November 9 student demo
Breaking News, National, News,Newspaper | November 9th, 2011
London Student has been covering the student demonstration as part of the London Student Journalism Support Network throughout the day. To catch up on everything you've missed, you can visit the blog here. The demonstration, which started at ULU in Malet Street and ended at Moorgate, passed off largely without disturbance. Around 25 people were arrested in total, [...]
Top Met officer: rubber bullets could have been used at Milbank
Breaking News, National, News,Newspaper | November 8th, 2011
by Toby Thomas, News Editor. In an exclusive interview with London Student, the Metropolitan Police officer in charge of handling tomorrow's student demonstration has suggested that, if available, rubber bullets could have been fired by police during the chaotic scenes at Milbank last year. Commander Simon Pountain said: "If you ask me whether at that [...]
Interviews are horrible, fact!
Breaking News, Diary of a PhD,Newspaper, Science | November 7th, 2011
The prospect of being judged, by a panel of strangers, on your academic career so far is somewhat nauseating. In the past few years it has becoming increasingly common and necessary, to prepare a presentation for your PhD interviews. It seems that PhD interviews come in a variety of flavours – from interview panels with [...]
It's not journalism, but maybe it's not evil either?
Breaking News, Features, News,Science | November 7th, 2011
I recently had my first taste of the dark side of science writing: advertorials. I got to write a longish article for the purposes of what Insight publishers call 'research dissemination.' The idea is that a researcher who wants extra recognition amongst funding bodies, can gain it by paying a magazine targeted directly at funding [...]
Self-healing plastic?
Breaking News, Features,Newspaper, QMUL, Science | October 23rd, 2011
Nature has always inspired scientists to delve into unusual phenomena, and explore opportunities to produce new technologies. A recent study, carried out by researchers at the University of Illinois, was inspired by biological systems, and led to an emerging strategy for creating self-healing materials. It is well known that fluid flow in natural vascular systems [...]
No comments:
Post a Comment