Guest Writers, TOC International, Top Story, Youth Focus - Friday, February 27, 2009 10:10 - 10 Comments

“Free Education for All” – students protest in London

TOC International guest writer, Elaine Toh, who is doing her MPhil/PhD in London, witnessed the protest and gives her personal take on it. (Article updated)

Elaine Toh

The muffled rumblings of a gathering, the scene of students holding banners and standing in the narrow street just outside my school became a temporary distraction from the drone of my afternoon lesson. My tutor was quickly ignored (to his dismay!) as curious yet easily distracted students in my class left our seats to witness the hullabaloo outside. Apparently, a large number of students were protesting . 

As a Singaporean, what was interesting to me were the messages on some of the placards consisting of angry vulgarity, ironically painted in childish red scrawls. Is this freedom of speech at its best? I also wondered about the sudden hive of activity at that street while walking to school that day. There were more students than usual. Many were manning booths lined along half of that street with plentiful handouts for the interested passers-by. For the brave souls who had stopped to take a brochure, they were treated to a polite but animated verbal defense of the issue that these passionate students were concerned about.  Continue…