Latest news with #studentprotest
Reuters
a day ago
- Business
- Reuters
Cuban students seek concessions as frustration grows over internet rate hikes
HAVANA, June 4 (Reuters) - Cuban students clamored on Wednesday for further concessions to roll back a rate hike on internet data, saying a decision on Monday to offer them discounted access did not go far enough. Students of at least one department at the University of Havana, the country's largest, called on their peers to skip classes in protest of the price hikes, which have been rebuked across the Caribbean island nation. Reuters spoke with several students outside the university on Wednesday who confirmed the calls for a class boycott in some departments. They said the situation remained tense on campus, and the issues unresolved, despite concessions on Monday from state-run telecommunications firm Etecsa that offered deeper data plan discounts for university students. Haydee Fernandez, a 28-year-old student, said the price increases were unreasonable. "I can't study if I don't have up-to-date (online) information," she said. "If it's necessary to stop classes, they should be stopped until there's a logical response to these needs." Four students said attendance appeared largely normal on Wednesday but that many students continued to threaten walkouts. Hany Blanco, 19, a first-year student, said she would continue going to classes but felt prices needed to be rolled back immediately. "The old prices were accessible but now it's gotten very difficult." Etecsa on Friday capped subsidized mobile data plans - offered for a steeply discounted rate of 360 pesos (less than $1 on the informal market exchange) - at six gigabytes, well shy of Cuba's average monthly usage of 10 gigabytes, according to state data. Prices for an additional three gigabytes soar to 3,360 pesos ($9), more than Cuba's monthly minimum wage of 2,100 pesos ($6). The price hikes - billed by the government as necessary to upgrade ailing infrastructure - have touched a nerve in Communist-run Cuba, where inflation has soared in recent years. The University of Havana acknowledged the debate over the hikes but warned in a statement late on Tuesday that it would not tolerate disruptions to its classes. Cuba rolled out widespread mobile internet in 2018, well behind much of the world. Cellphone data use on the island has soared since, with over 7.5 million users.
New York Times
a day ago
- General
- New York Times
To Bolster Columbia Inquiry, Prosecutor Likened Hamas Graffiti to Cross Burning
The Justice Department, intent on pursuing a criminal case against student protesters at Columbia University, argued that graffiti with a Hamas symbol outside the home of the school's interim president threatened her life and was comparable to a racist cross burning, newly unsealed court documents show. The documents offer new insight into a contentious fight between political appointees in the department who told the civil rights division to open the case in late February and federal judges and career prosecutors who believed the move was risky overreach. The records also underscore how determined the Trump administration was to press forward with a case judges viewed as weak. Justice Department leaders pushed for an investigation of a student group, Columbia University Apartheid Divest, but federal judges in New York rejected the administration's efforts to get a search warrant four times, in what some veteran lawyers described as an unusually prolonged disagreement between federal prosecutors and the courts. The release of the records came in response to a request from The New York Times, which first reported on the dispute and then filed a court motion to unseal the documents. The nonprofit news site The Intercept later joined. The new details come at a time of heightened security concerns for Jewish Americans. Last month, two Israeli Embassy staff members were fatally shot outside the Jewish museum in Washington. On Sunday in Boulder, Colo., a man used Molotov cocktails to attack a group of people peacefully marching in support of hostages taken by Hamas. The suspects both shouted 'Free Palestine' at the scenes, the authorities have said. Campus protests against Israel's military actions in Gaza have roiled college campuses for more than a year, particularly at Columbia. The Trump administration has promised to take on such demonstrations, saying they reflect antisemitism that must be punished. A Justice Department spokesman said Wednesday that the agency 'makes no apologies for our zealous efforts to prevent violent acts by antisemitic groups.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- General
- RNZ News
Students urge council to improve safety at Christchurch Bus Interchange
Christchurch Bus Interchange. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon Two Christchurch high school students have urged city councillors to improve safety at the city's bus interchange. Year 13 student Ruby-Grace Miller and Year 12 student Freya Scott surveyed a group of 235 students from 10 schools across the city about their experience at the Colombo Street bus hub, which has has a reputation for after-school fights, bullying and other bad behaviour. They told councillors at a meeting on Wednesday that 74 percent of respondents reported feeling unsafe or uncomfortable at the interchange. More than 80 percent said they had seen at least one instance of aggressive behaviour, intoxicated people, vandalism, property damage, security guards acting unprofessionally, or had felt watched or harassed. Miller, an Ao Tawhiti Unlimited Discovery student, said she had been harassed and cat-called by homeless people using the bus interchange for shelter, rather than public transport. She said security guards needed better training. Freya Scott and Ruby-Grace Miller presented to Christchurch city councillors on Wednesday. Photo: Joe Shaw "Too many of us have seen them vaping, ignoring fights or acting in ways that escalate harm. That is not protection, that is putting us in more danger," she said. "Security guards on the bus who are dealing with behaviour on the bus cannot deal with it at the interchange. That is an issue." Scott, a student at Avonside Girls' High School, said she was harassed when she first took a bus in Year 7. "That was terrifying. I did not bus for two years after that until I started taking the school bus again. That experience was horrible and should not be happening on the buses," she said. Christchurch City Council said Red Badge provided security within the bus interchange, while the Canterbury Regional Council said First Security staff worked on board buses as part of a trial that began in April 2024. The regional council's acting general manager of public transport Sonia Pollard said the "customer support team" was responsible for responding to any safety issues and helped commuters. Freya Scott and Ruby-Grace Miller. Photo: Joe Shaw "The team has proved to be effective at reducing incidents on the network and customer feedback has been positive. As a result, we have extended the trial, and the team may become permanent," she said. The city council was blasting classical music from speakers at the interchange in a trial aimed at making the bus interchange safer and discouraging big groups of people from loitering outside, while The Igloo youth hub opened last year as part of efforts to tackle youth violence. Miller called for more funding for Igloo youth workers and suggested extending the youth hub's after-school opening hours. "It is a small space but it delivers such amazing resources. It is staffed by trained youth workers and I see them as a middleman between another friend and a security guard," she said. "They are there to de-escalate, they are there to make you feel safe, but they are also there as a friend, you can talk to them and they are a lot more approachable." Separately, the Otago Regional Council's public and active transport committee would consider a review of local and international city safety plans on Thursday, following the stabbing death of 16-year-old Enere Taana-McLaren at Dunedin's bus hub in Great King Street in May 2024. The report noted 2024 police victimisation data showed that the area around the Dunedin Bus Hub and parts of the Octagon had a higher concentration of reported crime. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
CNN
2 days ago
- General
- CNN
A community rallies for the release of a beloved high schooler detained by ICE
Federal agencies Immigration Student lifeFacebookTweetLink Follow Calls to 'Free Marcelo' are echoing beyond the high school campus of a Massachusetts town where a standout student was arrested by ICE over the weekend. A vocal contingent of students at the high school in Milford – many wearing white in a show of solidarity – staged a walkout on their campus Monday supporting classmate Marcelo Gomes da Silva, an 18-year-old junior who's now in immigration detention. The governor and a US senator have called for his release. And the school volleyball team – which has a home playoff game Tuesday night – is dedicating the match to him. 'He is a student who was learning every other subject like every other student who is excited about his future,' one classmate told affiliate WCVB on Monday. Gomes da Silva's detention is the latest example of the Trump administration widening its sights beyond violent criminals and gang members without legal status, and another likely case of a collateral arrest in which someone who is not the target of an investigation is swept up by immigration authorities. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Gomes da Silva on Saturday while the honors student was on his way to volleyball practice with two teammates, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said. Agents stopped the car and spoke with all three students. 'By the time I had turned back around, and I was done talking to (the) ICE agent, he was already in handcuffs and being put into the back of the car, which was devastating,' Yago Sampaio, 17, told WCVB. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the traffic stop that resulted in Gomes da Silva's detention, saying in a statement the target of the 'immigration enforcement operation' was the student's father. The statement said his father is in the country illegally and local authorities told ICE he'd been driving recklessly. 'Upon conducting the vehicle stop, officers arrested Marcelo (Gomes da Silva), an illegally present, 18-year-old Brazilian alien and the son of the intended target,' the statement said. 'While ICE officers never intended to apprehend (Gomes da Silva), he was found to be in the United States illegally and subject to removal proceedings, so officers made the arrest,' wrote Tricia McLaughlin, the department's assistant secretary for public affairs. Attorney Robin Nice, who is representing the high school student, insists her client has no criminal history and entered the country lawfully in 2013 using a B-2 visa, which allows foreign nationals to visit the United States for tourism or visiting family and friends. Gomes da Silva eventually received a student visa which has since lapsed, Nice said, though it's unclear when it expired; Nice told CNN she expects him to be eligible for asylum and he intends to apply. 'His strong community ties, consistent academic achievement, and involvement in positive extracurricular and faith-based activities underscore the fact that he poses no danger to the community and is not a flight risk,' Nice wrote in a statement to CNN. 'The actions by ICE do not make the community safer, they just sow fear among … immigrants and their loved ones.' Gomes da Silva remained in immigration detention Tuesday, according to ICE records. A federal judge issued an order Monday saying the young man must remain in Massachusetts for at least 72 hours, starting Sunday afternoon, to 'provide the judge who would be randomly assigned the action a fair opportunity to review the merits' of the case. Gomes da Silva is scheduled for an initial hearing before an immigration judge in Massachusetts on Thursday, his attorneys say, at which time he plans to request to be released on bond. Those who know him describe Gomes da Silva as active in his church and community. 'I think because of Marcelo and how he acted towards people, is why so many people came out here today to help support Marcelo,' a Milford High school student said in an interview with WCVB at Monday's student walkout. Healey, the governor, demanded answers from ICE following Gomes da Silva's arrest. 'ICE has had plenty of opportunity to examine whether or not they made a mistake,' Healey said in a video posted to her official X account. 'Unless ICE has additional information that would substantiate that this individual had some criminal involvement, he should be released.' The community launched a fundraiser to help with Gomes da Silva's legal and court expenses and to help support his family. As of Tuesday evening, it had raised nearly $40,000. Ahead of its Tuesday night home playoff game, the Milford High School boys volleyball team dedicated the match to their detained team member and wrote in an Instagram post, 'We will continue to pray and fight for our brother.' 'THIS IS FOR YOU MARCELO,' the team wrote in capital letters. 'PACK THE STANDS, NO EMPTY SEATS. WEAR WHITE. WE LOVE YOU MARCELO.' 'Marcelo should have been playing the drums at Milford High's graduation on Sunday, not trapped in a detention center,' said Sen. Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, in a video posted on X. 'This isn't about public safety,' Markey added. 'This about cruelty, and power, and fear engendered by the Trump administration. To the Milford community, I'm with you as we tell the Trump administration to keep its hands off your kids. And I am with you in calling on ICE to free Marcelo.' CNN's Caroll Alvarado contributed to this report.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hundreds of NYC students walk out of school to protest Trump after ICE arrests 20-year-old Venezuelan classmate
About 500 Big Apple students staged a walkout Tuesday after federal immigration agents detained a 20-year-old Venezuelan migrant who had been attending a Bronx high school. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested an Ellis Prep Academy student identified only as Dylan on May 21 when he showed up for a mandatory immigration court hearing, reported. 'It seems like a dirty game on their part,' Raiza, Dylan's mother, told Chalkbeat. 'When someone appears in front of a judge, it's because they don't have any criminal record, they want to do the right thing,' she told the outlet. 'The only thing he wants is to study.' Dylan had graduated high school in Venezuela but was looking to improve his English and prepare for college at the academy, which is a school for English language learners and older students, the outlet said. He had been living with his mother and two younger siblings, who also fled Venezuela, the report said. More than 500 students skipped school at around noon Thursday to attend an anti-Trump protest in Union Square park, blasting the president for his hard-line immigration and border policies. 'A lot of my friends from my school are not citizens or even permanent citizens of the United States and I want to protect them, said Shera Zhou, 18, a senior at Stuyvesant High School. 'I want their voices to be heard even though they can't be here. 'I really think everyone should have the right to stay in the United States because we are a country built on immigrants.' Nava Litt, a Bronx High School of Science senior, said the Trump administration was taking actions that were 'undemocratic,' threatening free speech rights and education. 'We can't just sit by and let that happen,' Litt, 18, said. 'Something that we think is a big concern right now is that students are being detained by ICE for exercising their free speech rights.' Dylan had turned himself in at the US border in April 2024, applying for asylum through the temporary protected status program initiated by the Biden Administration. The Trump administration has since scrapped that program after President Trump campaigned on cracking down on illegal immigration. The courts have blocked or ruled against some deportations that are enforced without adequate notice or due process but the repeal of temporary protected status remains in effect. Chancellor Aviles-Ramos has also called out the detention. 'New York City Public Schools stands firmly with our students, including our immigrant students, and our schools will always be safe spaces for them,' the chancellor said in a statement. 'Our hearts go out to the student who was detained by ICE, and we are deeply saddened for their family. While this incident did not occur on school grounds, we want to reassure our families: we will continue to speak out and advocate for the safety, dignity, and rights of all of our students.' Aviles-Ramos said the city public school system will support 'every child and family — regardless of immigration status' and 'we encourage families to continue to send their children to school.' Mayor Eric Adams sidestepped the controversy during an unrelated news conference Tuesday, declining to question or criticize the student's detention. 'I want to be extremely clear. That did not happen in a school,' Adams said. 'We do not coordinate with ICE on civil detainers. I think that is a question for federal authorities.' ICE had no immediate comment.
