CEGEP students head back to class
Posted May 14, 2012 11:14:56 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
GATINEAU – Students at Cepep de l’Outaouais are heading back to class for the first time in 9 weeks.
Their session has been disrupted by demonstrations and a strike by some students who were angry with Quebec’s proposed tuition hikes.
Nearly 1,600 students met Friday for a student association vote where they narrowly decided to end their strike mandate.
Students returned quietly to class Monday, many wearing smiles and looking proud to be back. A group of about 30 former protesters stood in a group outside the school saying they are still a force to be reckoned with but they won’t disrupt classes.
The decision came down to less than 20 votes, but the strike mandate has been ended and the red-square wearing protesters said last week they would respect whatever decision was reached through a democratic AGEECO vote.
The school administration said Monday they will find a way to allow students to finish their semester but it will take some planning. It will likely run into late June.
Protests escalated at the Cegep de l’Outaouais when students wanting to return to class brought in a court injunction that forced the school to try to hold classes each day.
That’s when the red square wearing protesters started swarming the school and running through the halls trying to force the administration to cancel classes because of safety concerns.
The green-square wearing students have been standing their ground. About 25 of them have been showing up to class daily hoping to get their education. They vowed to garner enough support to end the strike mandate in Friday’s vote.
