The streets of Montreal have been the arena for protests against the hike of tuition fees for over three months and Bowen Islander Riley Sparks has been right in the thick of things.
The Concordia student has gone out with a camera to document the events for The Link, Concordia's campus newspaper and his photos can be viewed at www.sparksriley.com.
He has been arrested twice and says that some of his colleagues are approaching double digits for being detained mostly due to what he calls "kettling."
"Kettling is when police quickly encircle a crowd in order to make mass arrests," Sparks explained in an email interview. "It's not a new tactic, but it's become something the Montreal police specialize in. Over the past few years, they've been using it more and more, and the tuition protests now almost invariably end in mass arrests of hundreds of people. Last week, we saw the largest yet - police surrounded a march that spanned over a block, arresting 506 people at once." At that event, the police also arrested 12 outside the kettle, according to Sparks who says that most protesters are being charged under a municipal bylaw which prohibits participating in an unlawful assembly. "They've been fined $634 each. It's pretty crazy," he says.
Sparks says that he and his colleagues have a pool going to see who gets nabbed the most. "Kettling is completely indiscriminate," he said. "The police almost always grab people who happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The first time we got arrested covering these protests, we were next to at least five American tourists, arrested while walking back to their hotel. This happens all the time."
Members of the student press are not recognized as "official media" which makes it harder for them to get released. But in Spark's opinion, professional conduct is important. "As students, the issue affects us more directly than it might other reporters. But our job is to report the news, not get involved in it. When we're covering these protests, we're working, not participating," he said.
For many student reporters, the challenges lie in having access to the right equipment. For instance, having a camera without a strong telephoto lens meant that photographers have to be right in the middle of the protests to get good pictures and Sparks says that his colleagues' work has been exceptional. "Journalism as a career is something I've been interested in for a while, and something I'm still thinking about," he said. "This whole mess has been a great opportunity for student reporters."
But it hasn't been an easy job. "Seeing people get hurt isn't great, but it's important for us to be there to document," he says. "Two kids have lost eyes (one to a tear gas grenade and another to either a plastic bullet or a rock, depending on who you ask). Another [student] was in a coma for quite some time, and for a while it was unclear if he would live. A lot of cops have been hurt as well. I saw one police officer get hit in the neck with a brick, which is pretty bad."
Sparks thinks that members of the National Assembly might not fully understand how ugly the situation is on the streets. He encourages people to be informed by reading, watching and listening to the news. "I don't think this is an issue that will be going away any time soon," he said.
