Two students have been taken into police custody after an ongoing protest at the University of the West Indies (UWI) St Augustine Campus over security concerns heats up.
The students chanted, “Attempted rape, not robbery!” before the arrests.
After the arrests, they began chanting “Let them go!” It is unclear why the two students were held and put into the back of police vehicles on the scene.
Student Guild president Darion Narine told Guardian Media the students want to hear from campus administration about what is being done to ensure their safety in the wake of a string of attacks against students.
The protest comes two days after a bloody attack on a second-year student on campus on Tuesday heightened students' concern about their safety.
The guild held a meeting today on campus to discuss the issue, but shortly after the meeting started the students were said to have decided to stand up by way of a protest. Around 2 pm, a large group of students blocked then blocked UWI’s south gate, linking arms along the pavement outside the gate and inside the compound, preventing any vehicles or people from entering.
A conversation with some members of the UWI management, however, only made things worse and when police attempted to reopen the gates after that meeting, tensions flared. This was when the police held the two students.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
