UCL Take Part in 4000 Student Protest

UCL students took part in the large protests through London yesterday as part of a huge student body protesting against higher tuition fees and cuts to education.

Around 60 UCL students gathered in the quad this morning, with free soup, badges and pickets for all, before heading down to Malet Place to join the large ULU feeder march.

The contingent of nearly 1200 students gathered outside ULU were flanked by police so as to ensure the march proceeded peacefully, In contrast to the 2010 protest, the crowd appeared defiant but not disruptive or troublesome, and marched under the banner of ‘Tax the rich to fund education’.

There was a good atmosphere among the demonstrators; the incessant beat of drums backed up the numerous chants, our personal favourite being: “There’s only one solution: revolution!”. The demonstration not only included students from a variety of institutions, Ruskin College Oxford displayed a particularly prominent banner, but protested against wider issues such as Gaza and ‘hating the Tories’.

Education, however, was undoubtedly the day’s central theme. Nathaniel Andrews, a 2nd year Spanish and Russian UCL student who was marching, told The Tab:

“We’re marching to defend education against cuts. We believe that education should be a right and not a privilege.”

When asked if he thought UCL students felt engaged with the protests, Mr Andrews added:

“I think people certainly should be engaged, and we have been very encouraged by today’s turnout. A lot of people have turned out in spite of the rain which is a good sign.”