This past semester, I took part in the Syracuse University Abroad Chile program and spent six months traveling to Ecuador, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile. I can honestly say these months were some of the most exciting and influential in my life, providing ample time for self-discovery and a fix for my adventurous spirit.

While attending classes at two top Chilean universities, I spent a lot of time taking photos and finding those moments I could bring back home. One of these moments, which I found to draw a particularly interesting parallel between Chilean and American college students, was a protest I photographed outside of the Universidad de Santiago de Chile building.

One Tuesday in early September, I arrived at the front gate of the campus, home of the SU Santiago office and the location of the dictatorships and human rights class held Tuesdays and Thursdays. Though unlike others, I did not simply head to class.

This particular Tuesday, I stopped to watch a large group of Universidad de Santiago de Chile architecture students block the street in front of the main gate, banging on drums and chanting in protest of a recent increase in tuition. The group blocked traffic for a good half-hour before the carabineros, or the Chilean police, arrived in full riot-gear, accompanied by large tanks armed with highly powerful water cannons. As the carabineros moved in, the students quickly withdrew from the streets through the university gates and locked the gate behind them. In that moment, the giant tanks drove into gear, swinging their giant water guns to face the students and began to fire.

The carabineros and their tanks stayed until every last tomato-throwing protester had been either knocked to the ground, soaked by the powerful jets of water, or disappeared into the Universidad de Santiago de Chile building. I then walked through the very same gate only 15 minutes late for my class.  

Now don’t get me wrong. This is a normal day in Santiago, Chile. Students are always protesting, and the giant riot tanks rarely miss the action. I tell this story not because that Tuesday was any more special than any other day but rather the opposite. A day like this is a startling departure from what any of us have seen here at SU. When it comes down to it, those architecture students are you, me,  and that kid who lives down the hall. They are our age, they study, and they love to party. But this is their norm.

hekramer@syr.edu

Published on January 31, 2011 at 12:00 pm