Tuition Fee Protest - Part 1
All across Canada today, university students gathered to protest the increasing costs of tuition. In Nova Scotia, about 150 students from several universities got together in Victoria Park to march on the Provincial Legislature. Nova Scotia has the personal distinction of having the highest tuition fees in Canada so it was even more important to brave the subzero temperatures and come out in force here.
As can be expected with students, they were a bit late, but NSCAD was first on the mark and showed up with a solid representation.
And, like dutiful arts students, they brought crafts. The above looks a bit like the love child of a Dalmation and the terror dogs from Ghostbusters, but it's a cow. There was also a prisoner's-torso head piece and assorted hand-painted signs to complement the ReduceTuitionFees printed signs.
About ten minutes later, the students from Dalhousie, St. Francis Xavier, and King's College appeared over the horizon, on their way down University Ave. and up Tower Rd. to the park.
Next, the girls from Mount Saint Vincent pulled up and piled out of a charter Metro Transit bus, bursting into the demonstration in a bright explosion of pink cheer. The girls were awesome and with more than a dozen "radical cheerleaders" they had some great choreographed cheers to hammer home the protest.
The cold was going to pose a bit of a challenge but the mood was light and merry. It was something to see so many schools come together in one place, for one purpose. I'm not sure if Saint Mary's Univeristy was there however. I didn't see them come in and didn't hear them mentioned later when the schools were named in speeches, but one surprise was Université Sainte-Anne. That school is from Cape Breton, although they have a very tiny campus here in Halifax. Nonetheless they had a tremendously vocal and strong contingent there.
Next up came the rallying speeches by Canadian Federation of Stundents reps and the Halifax Coalition Against Poverty.
By about half past one, it was time to hit the streets. Police were on hand and rushed in to duty, blocking traffic and ensuring that the protestors had a safe path prepared down Spring Garden Road on onward.
With the road before them open, it was time to move out.
Stay tuned for part two, coming up shortly...
Labels: Halifax, Nova Scotia, photo gallery, universities
2 Comments
Can you imagine if every blogger would have connected during this day across Canada???
It would have been great!!!
10:55 PM
I just linked to your photos in an above post. Maybe I'll update it with some links to any photos I can find from other protests in Canada.
Going to put up the other photos first though. :)
11:16 PM
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