Puerto Rican students continue to protest education fees increases, US media continues to ignore it.

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Tear Gas, Rocks, Rubber Bullets. Egypt? No, in the U.S.

This morning, with good reason, much of the news in the twittersphere is focused on the popular uprisings in Egypt and the government’s harsh response by shutting down the internet, allowing for a mass cover up of violations of human rights. While it is easy to ignore what is happening in Egypt and the state response by dismissing it as something happening in a foreign land, tear gas canisters have also been opening over land currently occupied by the United States.
As we have been writing about, in Puerto Rico protests continue against rising fees in the university system but there are also protests against the violence being used against students and journalist attempting to do their jobs and cover the struggleMORE

Jan 21 article:Protests and Arrests Continue at the University of Puerto Rico

Yesterday marked the second day of coordinated civil disobedience at the University of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras as part of a strike that protests an $800 fee that some say is aimed at making the constitutional protected right to education in Puerto Rico a privilege.
Video from the first day of civil disobedience where at least 50 people were arrested. In one scene it looks as if about five police officers pile on top of one protester in order to arrest him. In the background you can hear a woman saying, “Ya, you have him already,” so that police will get off his back.MORE

Global Voices is providing some blog based coverage. If you've got an Spanish Language articles, please link?


ETA: The Stakes Modern School: Mass student arrests in Puerto Rico

Government crackdowns have become much more aggressive in the past few weeks.Assistant Superintendent of Field Operations, Leovigildo Vazquez, admitted to using pressure point compliance holds that many consider a form of torture. In protests last week, police used tear gas, pepper spray, batons, and Taser guns against students. One student was clubbed in the head and another hit by a car.

UPR serves about 65,000 students on 11 campuses, and is the largest university in the Caribbean. It is estimated that at least 10,000 students will drop out of the system as a result of the fee hike.

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