Outcry Outside an Office

Students Protest Tuition Hikes at Ministry of Education

NewsAdam Kovac — Published October 10, 2011

With signs held aloft and plastic horns, megaphones and whistles turning the peaceful fall air into a roiling cacophony, several hundred students gathered outside the office of Quebec Education Minister Line Beauchamp on Oct. 5 to protest looming increases to university tuition.

“It’s kind of like a warm-up [for the province-wide Day of Action against tuition on Nov. 10],” said Concordia Student Union VP External Chad Walcott, who organized the Concordia contingent.

“It’s about getting students pumped up about going to these demonstrations. I feel like there’s a lot of skepticism involved with coming to protests, [but] it’s to show them that it’s fun, people just get pumped up and make a lot of noise.

“We come together as a community of students, which is something I really want to convey coming up to Nov. 10, so that way we can really maximize how many students come out.”

Walcott acknowledged that few Concordia students made the trek to Montreal North for the affair, but he hailed the spirit of co-operation that enabled students from different schools to collaborate, saying, “Everyone’s on the same page.”

Many in the crowd were students at Montreal’s CEGEPs. These college students are among those who will be hardest hit by the tuition increases, which will see the cost of attending university go up by $1,625 over the next five years.

Lenny Leprince, Director of External Affairs for the Dawson Student Union, cited concerns about his own looming university career when explaining his opposition to planned increase.

“I’m going to university next year and if the tuition hikes go up, I’m going to pay $325 more [every semester] and won’t receive any more service than the students that are currently in university,” he said.

“I think we’re sending a clear message to the government that, wherever they are, we’re going to find them, and we’re going to stop them from doing whatever they want to do.”

While chants and signs were predominant, towards the end of the demonstration students were encouraged to get creative with how they got their message across. Chalk was supplied, and students scrawled notes and slogans into the asphalt of the parking lot. Loud cheers erupted as passing cars and trucks honked their support for the students.

Despite a constant police presence, the demonstration had no serious altercations, though one small group did taunt officers by asking of they were part of the GAMMA Squad, a section of the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal assigned to investigating fringe political movements.