But, not convinced they’d done enough, students across the country took to the streets again today, though this time in a (generally) far more controlled manner. This morning, I saw a figure knocking around somewhere, that said that 1 in 10 students were expected to take part. There was, however, some violence; with fires started, eggs and fireworks thrown, and arrests made in connection with other public order offences across England.
“I was just trying to get across to them that the cause that we’re here for today isn’t about ‘I hate the police, I want to burn the police and I want to destroy everything they represent’”
– Zoe Williams, schoolgirl, 24 November 2010
I finish with some of today’s good news: following the Tory HQ riots from a fortnight ago, a man who threw a fire extinguisher from the roof of Millbank (one Edward Woollard) has pleaded guilty to a charge of violent disorder, meaning that theoretically he could be behind bars for five years.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m against the expected £9k-a-year fees for a university education, but I am completely against violent protests. You will probably find that a fair proportion of the police who are injured (and remember, they are only doing their job) are against the cuts too – they have daughters, sons, nieces, and nephews who all want to go to uni. Look, if you can’t see it from a human side, in Bristol this afternoon a police horse was very nearly injured after a firework was thrown. You can see the terror in the dear animal’s eyes in the video half way down this page. I’m certain that there is no need for that.