"There were Cambridge students from a wide range of backgrounds, from freshers to alumni, home and international students, all of whom were there because of their concerns about the issues: access to higher education, the issue of increased student debt, the effect that higher fees will have on widening participation. I am extremely disappointed that a tiny proportion of demonstrators let their anger about the issue turn into violence."

ANDY MCGOWAN, CUSU ACCESS OFFICER

 

"That some students took part in civil disobedience in no way detracts from the scale of today’s demonstration and their actions pale in significance to the criminal damage the Tories and Liberal Democrats are about to inflict on our universities."

LIAM MCNULTY, SDLP YOUTH MEMBER

 

"Wednesday was an embarrassment for the student population of the United Kingdom. The outbreak of violence didn’t just overshadow yesterday’s demonstration but has hijacked the entire discussion on Higher Education Funding. The NUS leadership should have foreseen that this would be an inevitable consequence of the unnecessarily inflammatory anti-government rhetoric that they have invoked throughout the whole academic year – the same rhetoric that has been passed down through student union’s across the country, and ours is not immune from this."

ROB MINDELL, CAMBRIDGE NUS DELEGATE 2010

 

"Everyone who was there and who I’ve spoken to are really against the violence. I saw a group on my way around with hoods up and scarves over their faces already, so there were obviously people there who had come just to cause trouble. The Tory HQ wasn’t even on the main route, they splintered off towards there on their own... I hope people remember that for every one idiot attacking Tory HQ there were 250 others marching peacefully to try and stop the government turning education into a two tier system".

KATE TALBOT, GIRTON 3rd YEAR HISTORIAN

 

"I think it’s a shame that the protest is being presented as mindless violence because it makes it easy for people to dismiss it. I felt there was real excitement at the protest, even if people didn’t necessarily want it to go that far. Still, it gave a message that we are not just going to sit here passively – people were willing to turn out and do something for once. It’s just a shame that that message got lost in translation."

ANONYMOUS, 2nd YEAR ENGLISH STUDENT