Glasgow University Student Occupation Attacked by Police

Glasgow University Protest (Image by JackSteruk309)

As many as 100 police attacked students at Glasgow University, on March 22, in attempt to evict them from Hetherington Research Club, which they have occupied for the past seven weeks. Police utilized dogs and helicopters, according to Steve James, of the WSWS. Students were dragged out by force, with at least one suffering a concussion and several suffering other injuries.

Students have been protesting cutbacks to courses and students services and attempts by Principal Muscatelli to make the university more profitable to business. The university faces a 450 million pound shortfall. Protests and occupations have also been ongoing at the University College London (UCL), Glasgow University, Goldsmiths, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of East Anglia, Edinburgh University, and the University of Kent, according to reports by Occupy CA (see UCU Strike and Occupations).

In response to the heavy handed police tactics, students marched to the main university building and occupied the Senate, according to Occupy CA. The Hetherington building was quickly re-occupied with the consent of the university administration which agreed to keep the police off campus. The attack on the students was condemned by professors, with over 100 signing a statement criticizing the university’s excessive use of force, according to the WSWS.

For more on Scottish University protests:

http://sosglasgow.wordpress.com/

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=584667994&aid=378457

Thousands Protest Dutch Education Cuts

Between 11,000 and 15,000 Dutch students and professors demonstrated today against cuts to education spending. The cuts will force some university students to pay an extra $4,000 per year in fees and lead to the elimination of as many as 7,000 jobs. By the end of the day, riot police clashed with the hundreds of protesters that remained.

Mass Student Arrests in Puerto Rico

At least 50 demonstrators were arrested today protesting fee hikes at the University of Puerto Rico. According to some Twitter reports, there may have been as many as 80 arrests. Activists shut down UPR for two months last year to protest fee hikes and privatization schemes. Among those arrested were student movement leaders, such as Adriana Mulero, several nuns, and a teachers’ union leader, Rafael Feliciano.

Government crackdowns have become much more aggressive in the past few weeks. Assistant Superintendent of Field Operations, Leovigildo Vazquez, admitted to using pressure point compliance holds that many consider a form of torture. In protests last week, police used tear gas, pepper spray, batons, and Taser guns against students. One student was clubbed in the head and another hit by a car.

UPR serves about 65,000 students on 11 campuses, and is the largest university in the Caribbean. It is estimated that at least 10,000 students will drop out of the system as a result of the fee hike.

Violence and Repression of Puerto Rican Students

Students went on strike again today at Rio Piedras, the main campus of the University of Puerto Rico, in a continuation of the ongoing protests against fee hikes and to keep public education from being privatized. Some protesters tried to occupy buildings and smashed windows, eventually leaving campus when riot police arrived. There have been no report of injuries or arrests so far.

"They fear us because we don't fear them" (Nos tienen miedo porque no tenemos miedo).

William Francisco Ayala beaten by private guards

While not receiving the same media attention as those in London and Rome, there have been numerous militant student protests in Puerto Rico over the past year. In November, students were met with riot police, SWAT teams, military helicopters and rooftop snipers. The protests started in response to an $800 per student fee hike. Then the Supreme Court outlawed student protests. Hundreds of students defied the order, carrying banners that said, “Nos tienen miedo porque no tenemos miedo.”

Thousands protested again in December. This time parents, teachers and unionists joined students in demanding lower fees, a halt to privatization, and an end to police violence. 17 were arrested and many were injured. The police attacks were violent and some of the injuries quite serious.

Stay tuned for more . . .

La Lucha Continua

More Attacks On University Employees

University of California regents voted Monday to push back the retirement age by five years for future employees and to reduce their contributions to retiree health care from 89% to 70% by 2018. UC President Mark Yudof said that the changes were a “de facto pay cut” for everyone. However, the plan will most significantly impact the system’s lowest paid workers.

Many of those affected are custodians and gardeners who do debilitating and career shortening stoop labor. They worry that they won’t be able to work long enough to enjoy retirement benefits because the nature of their work causes so many career-ending back, knee and shoulder injuries.

The plan still requires approval from the 42% of the UC employees who are unionized. Many plan to oppose it and they should. This is another example of the state of California squeezing workers to pay for the mistakes and greed of the richest members of society. Rather than increasing taxes on the wealthy and on corporations, the legislators continue to cut education funding and impose austerity on the rest of us.