Chilean Student Protests Fueled By Creativity, Passion
October 28, 2011
Elizabeth Roberts discusses her experiences while on an ARHU Chilean study abroad course.
Elizabeth Roberts discusses her experiences while on an ARHU Chilean study abroad course.By Elizabeth Roberts, USA TodayWhen 13-year-old Fabian Arancibia Vidal performed Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” in Valparaiso, Chile, he had no idea that 3,000 Santiago students would be utilizing this same dance as a form of protest four months later.
Since May 2011, Chilean students in high schools and colleges have been protesting in a collective effort to demand free education. Many students have boycotted their classes in favor of gaining visibility through nonviolent demonstrations. These unconventional methods include Michael Jackson flash mobs, mass public displays of affection and superheroes on the front lawns of parliament.
Although they are met with tear gas and water cannons from Santiago police, Chilean students continue their protesting agenda.
I learned about the layout of the education system last winter in my University of Maryland study abroad course, “Chilean Literature, Democracy and Social Change.” In three weeks of experiential learning, I participated in community service with Vidal and became educated on the transition of a dictatorship to a democracy. I also visited La Moneda Palace, which houses the president of the Republic of Chile. On the very lawn I visited, college students used La Moneda’s front yard as a stage for public political agency; a mass of zombies dancing toward a less financially oppressive education system.
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