Today I attended a demonstration calling for the abolition of tuition fees. However not as a demonstrator but as a member of my university TV crew and I must say it was quite an experience. Contrary to what many of the news outlets have attempted to portray the demo as, it was extremely peaceful despite the huge crowds of students. Yes we know that when emotions run high, things can get quite hectic and perhaps that explained the heavy media and even heavier police presence. However, it all went smoothly bar an incident where three or four people attempted to clash with police officers. Reports of being ‘kettled’ by police are also an exaggeration in the sense that the police formed a cordon to split the protest group but let them through after a group of students simply walked purposefully towards them.
That means for the media outlets, the march was disappointing. They had to make huge headlines out of twelve people being arrested as the usual expectation of chaos did not bear fruit. That didn’t stop Sky News from describing the march as ‘scenes of chaos’ which made me laugh. My definition of scenes of chaos does not include thousands of students following the guidance of a single protest leader and even stopping for traffic lights!
Anyway, as a cameraman, my role was to capture protest and so please have a watch of a teaser clip here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mOFD5FT7nE
And some interviews with protesters here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf-XMrSna9g
With regards to my views on the actual protest, I feel that perhaps it is asking too much. A reduction in tuition fees would be more feasible even if the claim that education is a basic human right in today’s age is a valid one.
Until Next Time
A Worried Student
A WORRIED STUDENT 
Nicely written. I was wondering where you have been.
LikeLike
love it
LikeLike