I see from Facebook that the students plan to take to the streets again, though this time for a peaceful protest. though their banner does look like a cross between a socialist revolutionary poster and Irish republican lyrics/slogans – both movements well known for their peaceful nature. The Facebook group claims over 6,000 people are going to be attending, however looking out of my window I can see about 3 inches of snow on the ground and more falling. Now admittedly I’m on the edge of town but I don’t imagine it’s falling much less in the centre. So I wonder how many students will turn up today and if it’s the violence from the “small minority” of previous protests and of course the “brutal police actions” or if maybe the weather being more obviously less clement that may put them off.
I am of course quite happy to be proven wrong, and there to be a decent turn out with no trouble at all. I actually expect that there will be less trouble though as I somewhat suspect that those only interested in causing trouble will have far less incentive to brave the weather than people that might actually be affected by the changes in university funding.
