So I am in bed with horrible developing tonsillitis, while my friends are trying to fight their way through the big tuition fees increase protest in London. I have been following the BBC website and it just looks so terrific to me. When I heard about this event weeks ago, I thought it would just be an innocent and sophisticated protest, which would show how devastated we all are about this horrendous decision about University’s tuition fees being raised up to £9,000 per year, up from current level of £3,290. But it turned into a riot, or I would even call it a jungle. Anyone would get angry and upset, but not to this level.
The protesters are made up of university students and lecturers, as well as sixth form students. These sixth formers are the ones who are most likely to face the climb in tuition fees if it ends up happening.
Students found their way to Millbank Tower, where the Conservative Party is headquartered and smashed the windows on the main floor, and hundreds filled the entrance hall of the building. Police tried to beat back the students, but they seemed to be stronger. The ones that stayed outside set a fire outside the building. Protesters were throwing bottles and other items on fire at the police line. According to Sky News, 5 policemen and 6 students were injured and taken to 2 hospitals.
Now, is it actually a protest against dramatically increasing tuition fees or just an excuse to throw heavy things at the police, because in this situation it seems like they can? This surely isn’t the way to change the Government’s decision. And the injury of 11 people was certainly not worth it.
More importantly, did today’s devastation in London bring anything good into students’ life? I very much doubt they achieved what they wanted to achieve.
