University authorities shaking off sit-in shackles
The police intervention on Tuesday morning to end the occupation of the Theoretical Sciences Building of the Athens Law School on Solonos Street by a group of students and others signified that university authorities are beginning to break free from the shackles of past decades.
The occupation began on Monday night after an afternoon protest held in front of the University of Athens Rectorate by student associations, with the participation of labor unions and other organizations, demanding an end to the war in Gaza and Palestinian deaths.
The occupiers set up tents in the Law School’s forecourt and hung banners reading “Hands off Rafah” and a Palestinian flag. They prevented workers and students from entering the building. Police, acting at the behest of university authorities, arrested 27, reportedly including eight women from England, France, Italy and Germany who are not related to the Law School.
