The students: “We are ready to do anything for our schools”

They arrived, punctual at 8 o’clock in the morning, from 15 schools of the Province for the large demonstration organized in the centre of Busto Arsizio. According to the organizers 7,500 students (less than half, law enforcement say — editor’s note) replied to the appeal launched by the newly born student committee of the city, but in any case the demonstration was successful.

“Everyone of us is here to defend our right to education, explains Ilaria Crespi, facilitator of Tosi senior high school, because the reforms which are under discussion in Rome put our future at risk.” Many times during the demonstration the students contested the stability law “which cuts further funds” and the bill law of the Honourable Valentina Aprea (PDL) which “carries the risk of cancellation of the student delegation in the decision-making organs of schools and, above all, “gives the go-ahead to the entry of private organisations in the public schools.”

 Frightened and worried because of this prospect, thousands of students overflowed into the square after two days of student mobilization in every school. Everything has began with the encampment outside of the Candiani school, and  then, passing through the assemblies of Tosi school, the experts convened to the second level college of science and the turbulent protests of Facchinetti school, they came to the square. “We wanted to put to use an absolutely peaceful and nonviolent demonstration”, explains Monica Rizzo, head girl of the art school, “in order to give the real message of this student mobilization.” In fact, the student’s fear was that the echo of possible brawls or conflicts with police could overcome demonstrators’ voices and for this, all morning long, an impressive law enforcement immediately crushed any form of tensions, such that officers, in riot uniform, left their shields on the armoured transport.

In these days of mobilization, the students demonstrated that they want to respect laws and rules of their institutes, but in the next days the protest against education cuts could change. “We will decide what to do in the next assemblies,” says Luca Cerri, head boy of Candiani,” without exclude the possibility to ‘stop following the legal way’ if the silence which surrounds the protests in all Italy, doesn’t end and we don’t have an open discussion. This means that, if answers don’t come, in the next days the students will assess if occupying or not their institutes, joining the hundred of schools which today are already occupied day and night. “We don’t want to remove the right to education to anyone”, Luca says, “but if we are not listened to, we will assess how to carry on this protest.”