Students occupied their own faculty
Engineering students at the University of Rome are hoping to win the sympathy of the people with non-violent methods. The goal is to make Berlusconi rethink his policies on education.
It is early on Saturday morning in Rome, and most of the city is still asleep. Behind a gateway closed with chains and a padlock, there are four wakeful students in their twenties. A sign above the gateway, with the words «Ingeniera Occupata» printed on it, tells us what these students at the University of Rome’s Faculty of Engineering are up to.
– We have taken over the faculty building, the students say.
The reason for this is that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has suggested an education reform feared by students. During recent weeks, many Italian students have been gathering in small action groups in order to protest, both by marching in demonstrations and occupying university buildings.
Later the same day however, the padlock is gone. Have the police stormed the building, or have the students given up, perhaps? No, the area used as an office space by the occupants is filled with ten to fifteen people.
– We do not wish to prevent students from attending lectures. The whole reason for us being here is that we want to learn, says Flaminia, who, like the other activists that Universitas talks to, does not wish to disclose her surname.
– It is important to emphasize the fact that we are peaceful and politically independent, Arnando says.
A careful protest
A fondness for lectures and learning is not the only reason for the gates being open during the daytime. If they kept the gate closed, it could give the police incentive to intervene in the situation, stating that the protesters were obstructing access to a public building.
– Then why do you lock up at night, then?
– We want to prevent people from coming in and vandalizing the building. If this happens while we are occupying the building, it would be our responsibility and we would be blamed. Then the police would come, says Francesco.
In addition to this, the students claim to have obtained permission from the faculty president and support from the professors. This is not a case of wishing to make trouble; this is about PR, and getting both students at other faculties and the general population to understand the case.
In Italy, politics is very «noisy», according to Fransesco. By informing ignorant and apathetic students, as well as the local population, they are hoping to get the people on their side. If enough people turn against Berlusconi and the government, the students hope to create enough pressure to change the education policies.
– Do you think that you will succeed in changing his mind in this way?
– He has to, Fransesco says.
Physics department has closed its doors
Their faculty is not far from the popular tourist attraction Colosseo and the Circus Maximus area. The activists are using this for all it is worth. Lectures are given in the area, and just a few days ago they gathered for a torchlit protest in the Circus Maximus area, which formed the message «No to law 133». This law is among the issues worrying the students.
– I would not have been able to afford studying to become a civil engineer if the universities were privatized, Flaminia says.
Around the faculty, there are pictures from various demonstrations that the resistance movement, as they are calling themselves, have participated in. In addition to this, there is extensive information in the entrance area about what is going on, again to make sure that everyone knows what Berlusconi is planning for the 2009 budget.
However, certain other faculties in Rome have taken more drastic action, Flaminia informs us. The Faculty of Physics has chosen to close everything down. They will suffer even more than engineering students, as most physics students in this town have ambitions of doing research, and they will lose the financial support they need to do this if this controversial law is put into force.
– All the faculties are doing things slightly differently, Flaminia explains.
Saturday evening and night, the padlock and chains have been removed. The resistance movement is arranging an open party for the students at the university, again with PR in mind.
– But aren’t you worried about damage being done to the building?
– Heh heh, yes, a little bit, Flaminia explains.
Neither the Italian Ministry of Education nor the Embassy of Italy in Oslo were able to comment when Universitas went to press. Berlusconi did however state in a press conference in October that he would not tolerate occupations of buildings, as he considered this a violent act, according to AFP.
