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TRENT ARMY JOIN
THE MARCH I
t can be described as a day of unity for students, as well as political protest and physical destruction in some parts. It was the day that thousands of students from all over England took to the streets of Central London on Wednesday 10th November 2010 to take part in a nationally recognised demonstration against the proposal of higher fees in education. Our very own Trent students took part in their hundreds to make sure the march had some Trent army magic. An astonishing 52,000 students, lecturers, parents and protesters flooded the capital to ensure their voice was heard. It’s clear that the Coalition Government’s decision to raise tuition fees to up to £9,000 a year had sent our current and prospective students into fury.
A total of nine coaches were sent from Nottingham Trent University. Our excited and determined 375 students marched to their hearts content sporting trade-mark green ‘Trent Army’ T-shirts specially made for the demonstration and eye-catching yellow signs with the words ‘Trent says no’. Paul Crane, an ICT student at Trent Uni, was at the heart of the day’s action. He said: “My main reason for going was because I think it’s important to make your voice heard. In Britain we seem to have a bad habit of allowing governments to walk all over us - we need to be more like France! We need to get out on the streets and shout and scream until our feelings are acknowledged.”
He also spoke of his delight at the amount of Trent students that took the time out to attend the event: “I’m very proud of Trent - nine coaches! And Beeston [Nottingham University] only sent four.” Banners, costumes and creative pieces were seen as some students went the extra mile to stand out from the crowd. One individual wore a red deal or no deal box displaying the words ‘£9000 fees? No Deal’. Another student wore a Grim Reaper suit with a board saying ‘It’s the death of our education. Save our future.’ A group of students from Northampton hoped the demonstration would have some form of impact. They said: “We just hope our voices have been heard. We came here today because we’re being directly affected by the changes and so are younger members of our family.” A sit down protest was followed by a four hour standoff with police. Groups with megaphones shouted “Sit down and leave your mark! Don’t keep on walking! T h e government wants you to keep o n walking!”. The police presence appeared thin on the ground with the amount of students massively outnumbering the police. All around Parliament there only appeared to be a smattering of police officers, most of whom were lined along the building for protection purposes. It turns out that the Metropolitan Police force weren’t completely and truly prepared. With around 50,000 students in attendance marching past Parliament in a loud yet well behaved manner, another story was emerging nearby at Millbank,
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| Nottingham Trent Students Union Magazine