Italian Students Protest University Reforms

nytimes

ROME — Tens of thousands of students took to the streets on Wednesday to protest planned changes in the university system but stayed away from the historic center here, much of which had been cordoned off by the police to avoid a repeat of last week’s violent demonstrations.

The protest turned out to be peaceful, allaying widespread fears, as thousands marched from the city’s main university, La Sapienza, steering clear of the historic center but blocking traffic on a main highway.

Other protests in Palermo and Milan turned violent, with skirmishes between demonstrators and the police. In Turin, students occupied a landmark building.

In Rome, some protesters carried fake presents labeled with politically minded holiday wishes — “Social welfare for students and temporary workers,” one read — to oppose what they said were cuts to Italy’s famously dysfunctional universities.