Rediscovering the power of peaceful student protest

LEFTFIELD:There is a clear danger that violent student protests could turn average citizens against the higher education cause, writes FERDINAND VON PRONDZYNSKI

I AM A CHILD of the 1960s. I grew up with radical political ideas; Mao, Ho Chi Minh, and Che were part of my political landscape. Protest came naturally to me. The first protest march I participated in was in Germany in 1969 and it was about the growing prominence of a German neo-Nazi party, the National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD). Our concern with the NPD was connected with the then imminent German general election, as some people feared it was about to enter the German parliament, the Bundestag. So we marched and protested, and as the statute of limitations has run out on this, I can confess that I may have defaced an election poster or two, actually not all of them the NPD’s. Anyway, the NPD wasn’t successful, and I have always liked to think I played my part in that result.

Shortly afterwards, I joined another demonstration, protesting about British involvement in the Nigeria/Biafra civil war. Though of course these marches didn’t necessarily change the course of history, I remain proud of my involvement in these and some other protests. I mention this in order to stress that I am not opposed to protest, and believe it to be one of the key civil liberties. Nor am I opposed to demonstrations that express views with which I disagree.

So does this mean that I am cool with the growing student protest movement that has suddenly become part of the landscape in Ireland and Britain? Do I believe that it represents a new culture of engagement by young people and a change in our system of politics? Well, these are not easy questions to answer.

First, let us look at the issues that have been the subject of recent protests. Both in Ireland and in the United Kingdom (mainly England), the students were protesting about the imposition of, or increases in, tuition fees, and cuts in higher education funding. The pressure group “Free Education for Everyone” (FEE) labels these actions as being in opposition to the “neoliberal restructuring of education”. There may also be an element of awareness of the wider public sector funding context amongst some of the protestors.

I am not of the view that we can, or should, maintain a system of higher education in which the wealthy have a part of the costs of their degree programmes paid for by the poor (which I believe is one of the consequences of “free fees”), or that the taxpayer can afford to resource a world-class system of higher education in Ireland. Having said that, the protestors are entitled to put forward their views and to get some attention in doing so.

And yes, there is something to be said for these protests, because they encourage engagement and a sense of participation. Furthermore, if they lead to a greater feeling of engagement with wider social and political issues – in other words, if the protestors broaden their horizons beyond self-interest – then the result is a positive one.

Secondly, what about the violence? In both Dublin and London, small groups of students have attempted occupations and there has been some vandalism and destruction of property. I think I shall steer clear of the vexed questions of who did what and in what order, and whether protesters or the police were more violent in either Dublin or London.

Rather, I am wondering about the politics of it, or rather the political judgement. Some sections of those who were involved in or who have supported the less peaceful elements of the Dublin protest have referred to the alleged benefits of scaring the establishment. That’s dangerous talk. Dangerous because the opposite is true, and these actions have the clear potential to turn average citizens against the higher education cause.

Right now, the future of many universities in a number of countries rests on a knife edge. To survive and prosper, we need to harness the support of those outside higher education whose voices could be influential: in politics, in business, in the voluntary sector, and so forth. Raising our voices may have some potential for influencing society; raising our fists does not.

On the day of the first large student demonstration in London I was in a pub in Dublin. As the television showed footage of students occupying a building and breaking windows, one man sitting next to me muttered, “Great, now all we need is bankers going on the rampage to protest about reduced bonuses”. That may seem a totally inappropriate analogy, but it is easy for those in higher education to forget that many outside the sector regard it still as being elitist and pampered.

However, much I might query the cause of “free fees”, I am personally glad that we are witnessing a re-awakening of student activism. In the 1960s and 1970s, student protests changed politics. I hope that this sense of activism takes on a broader perspective, and goodness knows there are enough issues to bother us. But I also hope it is peaceful and constructive. We are now moving into a hugely uncertain and probably not very pleasant future; having a debate about how that should be faced by society can only be good.

Ferdinand von Prondzynski is a former president of DCU