Barely 150 students turned out for the demo against the new law on universities yesterday, declared a nation-wide day of strike in colleges and universities throughout the country. A spokesperson for the Balearic students' union admitted that the turn-out was much lower than expected and they were on the point of calling the demo off. However, they put it to the vote and decided it was worth the effort, marching from the Plaza del Tubo to the government representative's office. Xavier Alonso, the union's president, blamed the low numbers to the work of the PP (Popular Party), with its members and school heads, the teachers who had set exams for that day and sent notes to parents. He added that they had not had the backing of the Balearic University students. Alonso explained that the protest was not just against the law on universities, but against the government which has been tightening the screws on State education, and something had to give way. He added that the explosion in the Balearics was not as strong as other parts of the country. The demonstrators arrived outside the government representative's office shortly before 1pm and chanted their slogans at a thin line of national police officers.
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