'Spark in Athens, Fire in Toronto'

In December, Greek protesters occupied 700 high schools and 100 universities amid days of massive riots, after police shot and killed 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos. His death fuelled anger at economic policies as the global financial crisis hit Greece, with demonstrators rallying against the privatization of education, barriers to immigration, police repression, and poverty. Their chants echo at solidarity protests across the world

In Toronto, U of T students joined others to raise banners outside the Greek Consulate. Dubbing their demonstration “Spark in Athens, Fire in Toronto,” two dozen protesters sought to connect the unrest in Greece to local issues. The rioting in Greece comes at a time when higher education is increasingly more difficult to access, and when graduates face soaring unemployment.

“We're also here because we believe in universal access to education. The University of Toronto's priorities are all wrong. Instead of spending millions to build an elite sports facility, they could put their dollars towards supporting marginalized students,” says Joeita Gupta, VP Internal for the Association of Part-time Undergraduate Students. U of T has publicly lobbied for the deregulation of tuition fees..

Protesters also drew parallels between Canadian and Greek immigration policy.

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