News

Chilean students end symbolic occupations after 6 months

Thursday, 22 December 2011 22:55

Written by Joe Hinchliffe

Student ‘toma’s’ over in Chile’s most prestigious public university and high school.

Students have voted to end occupations at two of the most symbolic institutes of Chile’s public education system, but they have vowed to continue demonstrations after months of protests have failed to achieve significant reforms to the country’s highly privatized, class based education system.

In the early hours of Wednesday morning students began cleaning up the Casa Central (Central House) of the Universidad de Chile in the heart of downtown Santiago after nearly seven-month-long “toma” or takeover.

They took down the enormous banners that turned the historic building’s facade into an ever-changing mural, pulled off the hood of that covered the face of the statue of university founder Andrés Bello, and they began removing the possessions of students who have maintained a constant presence on site for over half a year.

Their move was a significant one as the Casa Central had been the country’s focal point of the student movement, serving as a forum for ideas and discussion and a place where the student movement interacted with the general public. Street lectures and concerts were held in front of the building and radio programs broadcast from inside, including the popular “cultural barricade” show, which interviewed passers-by and gave them free books.

But all that came to an end when representatives of the Fech, the university’s student federation, officially relinquished the building to university authorities after students decided to end the “toma” and initiate new forms of protest.

“The leadership council of the Fech decided to end the occupation of the Casa Central and return it to the administration of the entire community,” said the new Fech president Gabriel Boric, “so that repairs, dating back to the [February 2010] earthquake, can be made.”

Fech representatives - including vice president Camila Vallejo, who was recently voted “person of the year” by readers of The Guardian - reached an agreement with university dean, Víctor Pérez. The building will now go through a period of repairs that have been pending since the devastating 8.8-magnitude earthquake of 2010.

Boric stressed that the hand-over of the building did not signal the end of Chile’s student movement, but was rather the beginning of a new phase of demonstrations.

“This doesn’t mean that the student movement is over,” said Boric. “There are still many issues pending. The demands that we have made as a student movement were not achieved this year. From here and into the future, the Casa Central will be open for different activities and to continue with demonstrations, but it always open to the community.”

Meanwhile Chile’s most prestigious public high school, Instituto Nacional, also voted to end its occupation this week, which lasted 195 days.

“It was no longer an effective instrument of pressure,” said José Soto, president of the school’s student group.

After opening its doors to the public, the school was inspected by the Santiago Mayor Pablo Zalaquett and school principal Jorge Toro.

Toro, who described the school as “unpresentable” and accused the protesters of “having no love for the school,” told La Tercera that students who caused damages would be identified and have their enrollment “examined.”

Mayor Zalaquett said that he would not ask for money from the Education Ministry unless the whole school community agreed to undertake a public commitment to take care of the school.

The mayor said that he would review school admissions for 2012, saying, “I can’t open the school to admissions that will allow what happened this year to repeat itself, in the most emblematic public school in Chile, were young people and their families dream of studying.”

The school’s student group agreed to help pay for repairs, but president Soto denied that the ending of the “toma” was a blow for the student movement.

“If this is a defeat, it is a defeat for the whole country,” he said.

The end of occupations of the Instituto Nacional and the Casa Central of the Universidad de Chile comes as high school representatives announced that 70 schools around the country would remain in “toma” over the school holidays.

In the district of Instituto Nacional, Santiago Central, eight of 16 public high school remain in “toma.”

Meanwhile students are set to end the year’s demonstrations with a Christmas-themed protest in Plaza de Armas, Santiago, at 5 p.m. on Thursday, when students of the Universidad de Chile will hand “Santa Claus” a letter asking for a better education.

“The government is not listening so we have to ask for our dream [of quality education] from Santa,” read a Fech communique.

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My Favorites places

In this blog, I am going to talk about three different places which are my favorites. These places are Dominican Republic, Easter Island and Stockholm. I choose these ones because they are really beautiful and the tourism is closer to the hand.

 Dominican Republic which is on the Spanish Island in the Caribbean Sea is a wonderful and exotic place. The Landscape that is known as a paradise of sun, sand, sea and joy Caribbean is hilly and wooded with large both plains and valleys as plains. The soil is very fertile. On the north coast, east and southeast, there are excellent beaches of fine sand. If I could go to there, I would like to visit some of beaches like Playa Grande, Santo Domingo and Cayo Arena. Also, I want to know Punta Cana which is considered to be one of the most scenic in Dominican Republic. Those are interesting places where you can swim, take sunbathe, and relax with the ocean waves sounds. Then, I would like to do another activity. It will be to find out why the dolphin swim is the most popular program at Ocean World. A typical dish which enjoys great popularity and acceptance is the stew. You can find one wherever you go.

Another place that I would like to visit is Easter Island. Although this place is expensive, I love it.  Easter Island which is a Polynesian island is located on the southeastern Pacific Ocean in Chile. This island is famous since it has 887 extant monumental statues. Those ones which are called moais was created by the ancient Rapanui people. Obviously,  If I could go to there I would like to visit them. The island that is small, hilly, now treeless island of volcanic origin has a unique special beauty. The climate on this island is perfect because the sun and rain are mixed to form a subtropical climate. Te Pito O te Henua which means the Center (or Navel) of the World is the traditional name of the island.. There, I would like to visit Ahu Vinapu, Puna Pao quarry and Ahu Akivi which are beautiful natural caverns. Then I am going to eat some typical food like Curanto, Chupe de Jaivas and  Po’e which are extravagant, famous and delicious dishes. My aunt said that a common activity between native people and the tourists is bartered things. You can barter your clothes for some souvenirs like earrings, rings, or necklace. Besides, I love the adventure so I would like to take class of Scuba diving and snorkeling. Trekking which is a satisfying activity is another sport that you can do there.

The last place is Stockholm. While the others places are islands, Stockholm is an archipelago. It is located on the southwest coast of Sweden and occupies an archipelago of 24,000 islands crisscrossed by numerous waterways, which gives it a unique appeal that sets it apart from other cities. More than 30% of the area occupied by the city's water and another 30% is made up of parks and green spaces, which makes Stockholm one of the cleanest capital in Europe. This natural oasis is complemented by the stunning Old Town (Gamla Stan), which has been preserved in very good condition throughout the centuries. If I could choose the season for going, I choose winter. When it is cold Winter, I could visit some of museum because there are many of them. My grandmother said that there are many naturally spa and recreational opportunities. Also, my grandfather who was there told me about the Royal National City Park. It is the first National City Park in the world. Also, He told me how difficult is understood people there because they have 100 different languages.

How you could read, I love those places. There are many activities that you can do like surfing, visiting restaurants, and museums, taking photos, dancing, eating typical foods and so on. 

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The Obesity

Healthy lifestyle

Currently, in Chile and in many countries, obesity and overweight prevalence is high and increasing since the early years of life. Obesity today is a global health problem, so we talk about the Globesity. 

Obesity is a disease caused by energy greater than the energy actually spent, or an imbalance between consumption and spending. Unspent calories are deposited in the body as fat as it accumulates over a given level is called obesity becomes a disease. The main problem of that disease is that it becomes a risk factor for developing other diseases as high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol and some cancers. This problem is the result of the changes we have experienced with modern life. On the one hand, increased consumption of high calorie foods with foods high in industrial salt, fat and / or sugar such as candy, sausages, baked goods and soft drinks. In addition, consuming less food low in calories and high in fiber that are beneficial to health as fruits, vegetables and legumes. On the other hand, more and spend less energy on the tasks of daily life, many have a sedentary job, household refuse and the work conducted today with the help of machines, each time we walk less, and few people take the time to a sport or physical activity like dancing or cycling. 

Dr. Karin Papapietro, nutritionist at the University of Chile Clinical Hospital and President of the Chilean Association of Clinical Nutrition, said "today we have 25% obesity in the country, but in 4 years could be a country that 7 out 10 Chileans have excess weight, but do something to counteract this figure. Last year the figure reached 300,000 people, certainly a warning for the country and for each of us. "

"Nobody says eat less because you're going to get sick, everybody says eat less because you're fat. A more or less a esthetic concept that has no force or you'll eat less sick," said nutritionist.

For that reason, we must begin to make good decisions about our health, the question is simple, Do you want to live a healthy life? Living a healthy life is eating a balanced diet and physical activity regularly. The practice of a healthy lifestyle leads to a better quality of life, feeling more vital and energetic, increasing their great performance at school or work, reducing the costs associated with these diseases, and prolonging his life in optimal health conditions.