By Caroline Alphonso
Two thousand students and education activists gathered at King and Bay Sts. and stopped traffic last Wednesday. Students marched and chanted, “People. United. We’ll never be defeated.”
As the speeched died down, a few students walked into the CIBC lobby. About 200 students followed their lead for a sit-in that dwindled to 80 students through the night.
Student protest slogans and demands were scrawled in the windows. Protesters unable to enter the building showed their support by chanting and banging on the windows outside.
Speakers attempted to keep fatigued students awake as the night wore on. Protesters were denied access to food, water and washrooms.
As daylight broke, students waiting outside passed flat foods, like cookies, crackers and licorice between two lobby windows to the protesters inside.
Students claimed a moral victory in the morning. They had fought through the night for a chance to complete their education.
The 18-hour fight closely resembled a ‘60s style sit-in. The night had taken its toll on these few remaining students. They walked out fatigued, hungry, but mostly looking for a toilet.
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