Rebel Yell

It’s hard to ignore a group of young adults wearing red and shouting for their rights, which is why students and faculty of Université du Québec en Outaouais spent the day outside their school protesting tuition hikes.

The student body voted for a strike to protest against rising tuition costs but were stopped by an injunction that told them they couldn’t demonstrate within 25 metres of the school.

This morning students were forced to show their student identification in order to enter the school and later in the day anyone wearing red in support of the protests was barred from entering regardless of ID.

The students decided to take action and blocked police cars from leaving the campus. They sat and chanted and eventually moved to form a human barricade in front of an entrance they were not permitted to use.

Students show their student ID to police officers keeping them out of their school.

One professor was arrested early in the day for Obstruction of a Police Officer, a situation that confused and angered fellow teachers.

“He was trying to get to his office and he was put to the ground by three police officers,” says Charmaine Levy, a professor at the university. “I assume he’s been taken to the police station but I don’t know.”

Around four p.m. officials from the school approached the protesters and told them they were no longer permitted to be on campus. When the student’s took to the streets they found their way blocked by over 30 riot police officers in full gear. The students turned back and settled on a patch of grass outside Gatineau Park.

Police officer in full riot gear greeted the protesters

One students said she feels like her hands are tied.

“What are we supposed to do?,” she asked. “We can’t go in our school, we can’t go to the street. We’re sitting on the grass and there are, what, 20 police cars here? How much does that cost in comparison to what we’re asking for?” she said.

Police told protesters that if they went back to the school or on the street they would be immediately arrested. Students decided to head home for the day around 4:30 but say they’ll be back tomorrow.

Gatineau Police say they too will be back tomorrow and there will be a zero tolerance policy put in place.