Student fees protest: 'This is just the beginning'

[alienlovechild 75]

Tens of thousands of students took to the streets of London in a demonstration that spiralled out of control when a fringe group of protesters hurled missiles at police and occupied the building housing Conservative party headquarters.

Ministers and protesters acknowledged that the demonstration – by far the largest and most dramatic yet in response to the government's austerity measures – was "just the beginning" of public anger over cuts. Police, meanwhile, were criticised for failing to anticipate the scale of the disorder.

An estimated 52,000 people, according to the National Union of Students, marched through central London to display their anger over government plans to increase tuition fees while cutting state funding for university teaching.

A wing of the protest turned violent as around 200 people stormed 30 Millbank, the central London building that is home to Tory HQ, where police wielding batons clashed with a crowd hurling placard sticks, eggs and some bottles. Demonstrators shattered windows and waved anarchist flags from the roof of the building, while masked activists traded punches with police to chants of "Tory scum".

Police conceded that they had failed to anticipate the level of violence from protesters who trashed the lobby of the Millbank building. Missiles including a fire extinguisher were thrown from the roof and clashes saw 14 people – a mix of officers and protesters – taken to hospital and 35 arrests.

While Tory headquarters suffered the brunt of the violence, Liberal Democrat headquarters in nearby Cowley Street were not targeted. "This is not what we pay the Met commissioner to do," one senior Conservative told the Guardian. "It looks like they put heavy security around Lib Dem HQ but completely forgot about our party HQ."

The NUS president, Aaron Porter, condemned the actions of "a minority of idiots" but hailed the turnout as the biggest student demonstration in generations. The largely good-natured protest was organised by the NUS and the lecturers' union the UCU, who have attacked coalition plans to raise tuition fees as high as £9,000 while making 40% cuts to university teaching budgets. The higher fees will be introduced for undergraduates starting in 2012, if the proposals are sanctioned by the Commons in a vote due before Christmas.

Inside parliament the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg – the focus of much anger among protesters for his now abandoned pledge to scrap all tuition fees – came under sustained attack, facing 10 questions on tuition fees during his stand-in performance during prime minister's questions. He said there was consensus across the parties about the need to reform the system.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/nov/10/student-fees-protest-conservative-hq

[Kang Lang 7]

i totally feel their pain! i am a csu student and just last night they approved another 15.5% tuition increase while cutting more classes, they also infomred us the we may register for fewer units ensuring we'll be around longer for them to collect fees. they have eliminated the bulk of the distance learning programmes (online) which would certainly alleviate some of the problems with classroom size etc.

it's the 3rd increase of more than 10% in less than 18months. i wish that we had some friggin recourse but they have us over a barrell. i am fortunate enough to work for a company that underwrites a significant portion of my fees including books but it doesn't assuage my frustration it simply allows me to be debt free while getting my education.

viva la students!!!!

[Peikko 1,575]

Can't be true - UK folks are subjects of the crown, have no rights and are not allowed to revolt, have access to free speech and certainly have no right to congregate and object en mass to the will of the glorious rulers in parliament. Scurrilous lies!

[Heracles 417]

i totally feel their pain! i am a csu student and just last night they approved another 15.5% tuition increase while cutting more classes, they also infomred us the we may register for fewer units ensuring we'll be around longer for them to collect fees. they have eliminated the bulk of the distance learning programmes (online) which would certainly alleviate some of the problems with classroom size etc.

it's the 3rd increase of more than 10% in less than 18months. i wish that we had some friggin recourse but they have us over a barrell. i am fortunate enough to work for a company that underwrites a significant portion of my fees including books but it doesn't assuage my frustration it simply allows me to be debt free while getting my education.

viva la students!!!!

You pay $5k now right? That's a freagin joke for a school in CA. At the very least you guys should be paying $10k.

Can't be true - UK folks are subjects of the crown, have no rights and are not allowed to revolt, have access to free speech and certainly have no right to congregate and object en mass to the will of the glorious rulers in parliament. Scurrilous lies!

What students were paying in the UK is a CA equivalent joke. It's also why I worked with so many Brits in AUS who acquired an education there, then moved abroad to work. Guess who is left to foot the bill for their education in the UK?

[Kang Lang 7]

You pay $5k now right? That's a freagin joke for a school in CA. At the very least you guys should be paying $10k.

What students were paying in the UK is a CA equivalent joke. It's also why I worked with so many Brits in AUS who acquired an education there, then moved abroad to work. Guess who is left to foot the bill for their education in the UK?

what makes you think i pay 5k? i get no aid and that's fine as i am fortunate enough to have a company who subsidizes the bulk of my education but 5k is a wild understatement and additionally i make a very good living, so i am certainly ahead of the game. my books for this quarter alone were $1k.

with all that said, regardless of where one goes to school it is never acceptable to increase fees 3x in 18 months each time at more than 10% and cut services every single time.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

There are always anarchist groups looking to take stoke up violence and take advantage of these sorts of events.

With the G20 riots earlier in the year, the police should have prepared for it a bit better.

The NUS president is right - violence like this is counter-productive because it shifts the conversation away from the rise in tuition fees and onto the merits (lack thereof) of criminal damage.

[SuperDuper! 230]

RB is on point again!

[alienlovechild 75]

There are always anarchist groups looking to take stoke up violence and take advantage of these sorts of events.

The NUS president is right - violence like this is counter-productive because it shifts the conversation away from the rise in tuition fees and onto the merits (lack thereof) of criminal damage.

The majority of students did nothing to stop the violence so they have little right to complain now.

Now imagine in this country if a few fringe types by tea party protestors starting going beserk- the whole lot of them would be deemed guilty. Heck, they are all guilty based on a couple of protest signs.

Rioting over politics in Europe seems more common but I'm not sure why.

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

What is going on in London?

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

The majority of students did nothing to stop the violence so they have little right to complain now.

Now imagine in this country if a few fringe types by tea party protestors starting going beserk- the whole lot of them would be deemed guilty. Heck, they are all guilty based on a couple of protest signs.

Rioting over politics in Europe seems more common but I'm not sure why.

It was a big protest Dave.

[Heracles 417]

what makes you think i pay 5k? i get no aid and that's fine as i am fortunate enough to have a company who subsidizes the bulk of my education but 5k is a wild understatement and additionally i make a very good living, so i am certainly ahead of the game. my books for this quarter alone were $1k.

with all that said, regardless of where one goes to school it is never acceptable to increase fees 3x in 18 months each time at more than 10% and cut services every single time.

You're undertaking a BA and an American organization is actually paying for it?

This comparison is interesting, as it shows the fees to be $$4,893. $4.9k in California, a state where even a burger at Macas cost almost double the price to one here and you think its expensive. George Mason is down the road and their fees alone are $8K. Heck, UVA here is now $10,836 a year. http://www.calstate.edu/budget/student-fees/comparison-fees/

[Danno 1,228]

I suspect many western countries will go down for this very reason, no one will accept less than they have grown accustomed to believe is their DUE.

Like fools they will look to the super wealthy to be fleeced to bail things out.

The democratic system is not built for this kin a thing (huge cutbacks) instead People get what they want...... up until total collapse.

At that point even the function of fire and police may be gone, as will the wealthy.

[Heracles 417]

I suspect many western countries will go down for this very reason, no one will accept less than they have grown accustomed to believe is their DUE.

Like fools they will look to the super wealthy to be fleeced to bail things out.

The democratic system is not built for this kin a thing (huge cutbacks) instead People get what they want...... up until total collapse.

At that point even the function of fire and police may be gone, as will the wealthy.

Good old Danno / Teaparty / Beck / Rush style pick-n-choose the international examples. Are these going to be the same western countries that currently rank in the top ten for Q.O.L? Basically, pick the bad incidents and try make them out as some sort of failure or movement, ignore anything they are beating you in.

Funny you should mention fire and police, as I have never heard of paying a fee otherwise your house burns down. Not since the 19th century. Not to mention the police are severely under-quipped and underfunded in a majority of counties here, non-existent in others but shhh, let's not tell anyone about that little inconvenient reality.

Edited November 11, 2010 by Heracles

[Danno 1,228]

Are these going to be the same western countries that currently rank in the top ten for Q.O.L? Basically, pick the bad incidents and try make them out as some sort of failure or movement, ignore anything they are beating you in.

Yes these are "those" countries..... and the credit card is about Maxed.

We in the USA are about there too.

Q: when does the "Great Society" finally get up and rolling?

[Kang Lang 7]

You're undertaking a BA and an American organization is actually paying for it?

This comparison is interesting, as it shows the fees to be $$4,893. $4.9k in California, a state where even a burger at Macas cost almost double the price to one here and you think its expensive. George Mason is down the road and their fees alone are $8K. Heck, UVA here is now $10,836 a year. http://www.calstate.edu/budget/student-fees/comparison-fees/

yes my company pays for it,yes it's american and i do realize that i am very fortunate that i will graduate at some point next year with zero debt. but i am here to assure you that my quarterly fees are just over 1700 per quarter which if my lousy math serves me is $6800 (and a 15.5%increase approved yesterday, and therefore imminently forthcoming) a year not inclusive of books etc so that is a significant difference from the website you are quoting and will in fact price many truly struggling students right out of college. i also realize my education is a bargain given what opportunities i believe it will afford me, doors it will open that would be shuttered without a degree. those points notwithstanding, i absolutely empathize with the frustrations of the aforementioned students (not necessarily the methods) and deal with my own daily frustrations related to inflated fees and decreased services.

Edited November 11, 2010 by Kang Lang