Friday, March 16, 2012

IFSA-Butler staff in Chile and the U.S. are monitoring high school and university student protests in Santiago. The protesters are accusing the Chilean government of failing to meet student demands from protests in 2011, and they say many of the student movement's leaders were not allowed to register for classes this semester due to their participation in previous protests.

Because the march was not authorized by the government, there was police presence which resulted in clashes between students and police. News outlets are reporting that over 50 protesters were arrested.

The IFSA-Butler resident director in Santiago, Isabel Yevenes, notified students on Wednesday to stay out of downtown Santiago on Thursday. University classes were not disrupted on Thursday, and all IFSA-Butler students followed their normal academic schedule. Isabel has accounted for all IFSA-Butler students, and will continue to notify them of any new planned protest activities so that our students can avoid demonstration areas.

Any pertinent updates will be posted on our website. For more information, please see the following news outlets:

BBC
Santiago Times