Students - The real story behind the protest.

Only a week ago today, on the 24th November, students across England participated in a country-wide protest against the raising of the cap on university tuition fees. This event was broadcast all over the internet and news stations and has been perceived in many different ways. However, the events I have witnessed took place in Manchester. The protest in Manchester began as a peaceful procession through the streets of Manchester, mainly down Oxford Road, but as the sun began to set, the procession turned to violence.

Due to the violence that had erupted from the event, many students were dubbed 'Thugs' and 'Vandals', however I do not believe that this is the case. Being a student myself, I believe that all of this violence would not have erupted if the police were not so abusive. After the sun had set, the Manchester Metropolitan Police moved in, with only one intention, destruction. As I and my fellow protesters rallied down the street once more, we were viciously attacked by police officers wielding shields and their 'oh so handy' batons. However, we expected the riot police, what we didn't expect was the army of police horses running full throttle into the crowd with no consideration for anyone that may be caught in their path. A few students were trampled by the horses and many students, some whose ages only ranged between 14 and 16, were frightened to the state of nervous wrecks at the side of the road, shaking and crying due to the terrifying sight.

Once the protesters had been 'successfully' detained on each side of the road, the arrests began. Many students were cheering and shouting 'Martyr to the cause!', but are they martyrs or victims of the judgmental police service? After a while of detainment, the students got their wits about them and began to head down the street again, shortly followed by the police. The police stopped me and the other students for good not long after, but not before we got our point across.

The detainment was one aspect of the protests that sickened me. 'Kettling' was its nickname, and it was the sickest display of police discipline that I'd seen before. It was an abuse of power and sheer luck that chaos did not begin again. The students- and other passersby caught up in the protest by no fault of their own- were cornered into a pen of police officers, kept there for hours with no food, no drink and no toilets. That alone is bad enough, but take into account the spiteful cold weather, and we have a mass of students stripped back to their raw primitive nature. It was surprising that riots did not start again.

The initial Mancunian protest ended at approximately 8 o'clock, with several arrests, bruised and battered students and more crafty students occupying University buildings.

Only six days later, another protest sparked in the heart of Manchester, the weather was rotten, freezing temperatures, but even the cold couldn't stop the students (if anything possibly could). The student strike took place at 10:30am in most colleges and high schools and the meeting took place at noon, causing many students to be reunited with the friends they had made only a week before. Unlike last week's display, the protest yesterday ended with few casualties, and less damage to the city. However, this kinder demonstration didn't stop the police from making another few arrests.

Currently, students are still occupying the University of Manchester Roscoe building and are growing in numbers.

Some may say that all of these protests will not achieve much as 'the decision has already been made', however, the decision has not been made yet, and there is still time to change people's minds on the subject. Most Lib-Dems have already backed out of the vote, leaving the decision to the Conservative party, the Labour party and the smaller parties that I'm sure will vote in favour of the students in order to gain popularity. (This may possibly be a time to pay gratitude to the B.N.P - but not too much.)

Due to the turn of events with the Liberal Democratic votes, this must only urge students to keep on fighting, and surely make it unanimous that with the right will power, and numbers, students can make change happen.