alonzomourning23
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This happened thursday at york university in toronto, ontario (50,000 students, 3rd largest university in canada). It's a little long, but if you sort through my rambling it should be interesting. One thing though, it seems that in Canada the charter of rights and freedoms (think constitution) does apply in public universities, unlike in u.s. schools. Anyway, a far left group held a protest of the schools increased advertising for and cooperation with corporations, as well as the inauguration of bush, and the university called the police. I actually almost went, since a left wing group I joined (I stopped going because I found them too extreme for me, but I'm still on their e-mail list) sent out e-mails about the protest, since I just wanted to see how it would unfold. It took place in the main hall of the school, so I figured it would be eventful. Now, my university used to allow protests, and had plenty of them, but the current school president has been attempting to crack down and stop these sort of things, though they have recieved plenty of criticism from faculty, as well as students. The group that was running the protest was on the verge of having their funding revoked, due to their participation in a housing takeover, essentially they took over abandoned apartment buildings and set it up so homeless people could live in them, which is technically illegal even though they are abandoned and were not going to be used again. Due to this illegal activity, the school already had little tolerance for them. Essentially the vast majority of the school, with the exception of the people actually running it, has condemned the school for repeated crack downs on dissent, calling the police (instead of handling it internally), and the police for using excessive and uncalled for violence. Even the head of faculty (whatever his position is titled), and the student president of the university, denounced it in the press conference (with the major news networks in attendance) held today by the group that organized the rally.
Basically, the the school didn't like where they were protesting or their noise level. But, instead of suspending them, taking academic action against them, or using campus security, they called the police. There is a video of it, and plenty of eyewitnesses, and while the students were loud (and protesting near classes) they were not violent or threatening violence, even when the cops first appeared. Now the cops began approaching them to break them up, but there seems to be no clear story. All those who witnessed the event said nothing happened, but yesterday the cops claimed coffee was thrown at them, but did not comment on any of the students who were injured. The videos. although poor, do not show coffee and none of the cops seemed to be wet. What they do show is a student, on the ground, being kicked and hit with extendable batons. Even if provoked, and it very well could have been the students who provoked the incident, the student was subdued already and should not have been kicked and beaten. Here are some of the videos event link (yes I know the website is extreme left, but that's who they decided should host it). The reason I say some is because they showed a longer one today after the press conference. Now when the cops arrested some of the protesters, they took two of them into a room the university had set up (the longer video showed them going to the room), instead of taking them directly in the police car. Now the kid that was beaten there did go to the hospital shortly, but that was not the worst part, as the police did stop beating him before anything serious happened.
Now, in the longer video (which no one has posted, it also showed a bit clearer image of the student being beaten) there is a kid in a blue shirt walking about 10 feet behind the police, shouting "cops off campus", which was what everyone seems to have been shouting. When they put two people they had arrested into the room (5 were arrested, not sure where the other 3 went) the university set up, a few students (along with the one in the blue shirt), went to the door of the room and started shouting either at the police or at the police to release the students (there seems to be conflicting reports). Now the blue shirt kid was not involved in the previous scuffle. After repeated shouting, the cops opened the door, grabbed the kid, and pulled him inside. I would like to point out that this kid was a twig, he had no real physical strength (I saw him at the press conference). In front of the other two handcuffed students they beat him, leaving his faced visibly bruised and sending him to the hospital from thursday- sunday. The other two students claimed they just beat him for no reason, and the police have not issued any statement that even mentions the incident. There was no reason to pull him into the room for shouting at them to begin with, let alone attack him. He was at the press conference, and there were pictures posted on the wall that were taken of him taken by the police when they booked him (no one seems to have posted these online). His right eye was all puffed up and blue, and he had cuts and black and blue marks all over his face. His face didn't look much better today.
Now, for a group that was on the verge of death (due to funding being revoked), this is, although an unfortunate event, a god send for them. They, among others including the student federation (student government), started making calls today, at the press conference, for a student strike. Outrage at the incident seems to be growing. I really have no idea if there is a real risk of a strike, but unlike in the u.s. they actually do strike here. The students had a strike 5 years ago over student health benefits and essentially shut down the entire school, the school eventually gave in.
Basically, the the school didn't like where they were protesting or their noise level. But, instead of suspending them, taking academic action against them, or using campus security, they called the police. There is a video of it, and plenty of eyewitnesses, and while the students were loud (and protesting near classes) they were not violent or threatening violence, even when the cops first appeared. Now the cops began approaching them to break them up, but there seems to be no clear story. All those who witnessed the event said nothing happened, but yesterday the cops claimed coffee was thrown at them, but did not comment on any of the students who were injured. The videos. although poor, do not show coffee and none of the cops seemed to be wet. What they do show is a student, on the ground, being kicked and hit with extendable batons. Even if provoked, and it very well could have been the students who provoked the incident, the student was subdued already and should not have been kicked and beaten. Here are some of the videos event link (yes I know the website is extreme left, but that's who they decided should host it). The reason I say some is because they showed a longer one today after the press conference. Now when the cops arrested some of the protesters, they took two of them into a room the university had set up (the longer video showed them going to the room), instead of taking them directly in the police car. Now the kid that was beaten there did go to the hospital shortly, but that was not the worst part, as the police did stop beating him before anything serious happened.
Now, in the longer video (which no one has posted, it also showed a bit clearer image of the student being beaten) there is a kid in a blue shirt walking about 10 feet behind the police, shouting "cops off campus", which was what everyone seems to have been shouting. When they put two people they had arrested into the room (5 were arrested, not sure where the other 3 went) the university set up, a few students (along with the one in the blue shirt), went to the door of the room and started shouting either at the police or at the police to release the students (there seems to be conflicting reports). Now the blue shirt kid was not involved in the previous scuffle. After repeated shouting, the cops opened the door, grabbed the kid, and pulled him inside. I would like to point out that this kid was a twig, he had no real physical strength (I saw him at the press conference). In front of the other two handcuffed students they beat him, leaving his faced visibly bruised and sending him to the hospital from thursday- sunday. The other two students claimed they just beat him for no reason, and the police have not issued any statement that even mentions the incident. There was no reason to pull him into the room for shouting at them to begin with, let alone attack him. He was at the press conference, and there were pictures posted on the wall that were taken of him taken by the police when they booked him (no one seems to have posted these online). His right eye was all puffed up and blue, and he had cuts and black and blue marks all over his face. His face didn't look much better today.
Now, for a group that was on the verge of death (due to funding being revoked), this is, although an unfortunate event, a god send for them. They, among others including the student federation (student government), started making calls today, at the press conference, for a student strike. Outrage at the incident seems to be growing. I really have no idea if there is a real risk of a strike, but unlike in the u.s. they actually do strike here. The students had a strike 5 years ago over student health benefits and essentially shut down the entire school, the school eventually gave in.
