If you left home on the rainy afternoon of Sept. 22 and found yourself confused amidst a reiteration of the student protests that reached their height in May, you certainly weren’t alone. Many Montrealers were puzzled by the Saturday protest—after all, hadn’t the newly-elected PQ just rescinded the tuition increase after months of unrest?

The demonstration, organized by Coalition Large de l’Association pour un Solidarité Syndicale Étudiante (CLASSE), was both a celebration of the hike reversal and a call for a move toward free education—the student group’s ultimate goal.

The issue of the tuition increase may have been settled, but only for the time being. A minority Parti Québécois government is hardly a model of political stability, and the party has already discussed indexing tuition to the cost of living. CLASSE’s demonstrations for free education, even on the heels of what many consider to be a huge victory, is hardly misguided.

What concerns this Editorial Board most, however, is not the timing of the protest, but the reports of violence committed that day.  Among other physical confrontations, rocks were hurled at police, and protestors hit and chased cruisers along Peel Street. These actions are unacceptable in a civil, peaceful society. We understand that police are—in many cases—the first to aggress, by kettling protestors and employing dispersal tactics which compromise participants’ safety. Violent reaction is unwarranted on both sides, but a special onus lies on CLASSE, especially because achieving its goals requires that it win the approval of the greater public.

The central problem lies in the way CLASSE has dealt with violent confrontations and damage to property in its demonstrations. Though it was forced to issue a statement condemning “deliberate physical violence against people, except in cases of legitimate defence,” during strained negotiations with the government in early April, the group does not systematically condemn violence. More specifically, no statement was issued following the protest on the 22nd, and the group failed to provide authorities with a street route of the protest.

This is not surprising—anti-police sentiment still dominates much of the group’s rhetoric, and perhaps with reason, since police often do react to protests with unnecessary violence.  Although peaceful protests are often co-opted by more radical and violent groups, failure to condemn acts of aggression and separate themselves from those who commit these acts means CLASSE is permitting them to happen. If CLASSE seeks legitimacy, it needs to rise above this, even if it’s not ‘fair’ in light of police reaction. Groups looking to affect change need to hold themselves to a higher standard.

Above all, CLASSE struggles most with its public image. The student group cannot possibly achieve free tuition without the support and approval of the greater Quebec public. Improving its publicity can only begin with a separation of its vision and activism from hooliganism and violence. Contrary to its portrayal in the national media, CLASSE’s membership is incredibly principled—their belief in the merits of free education stem from a well thought-out ideological stance on how to improve society. They are hardly whiny, entitled teenagers, as they are often portrayed in the national media. Their perseverance these past months has more than demonstrated this commitment and idealism.

Now that the tuition hikes are repealed, many expect greater stability in Quebec, and this is why violence is so much more delegitimizing for CLASSE. The Tribune acknowledges the important role a group like CLASSE plays in Quebec society, particularly in its contribtions to the national debate on education. While the feasibility of free post-secondary education is hardly undisputed, it is undoubtedly an ideal worth aspiring to.  Rights to civil and peaceful protest, in all its forms, must be actively protected. Violence, however, has absolutely no place in this process. To strengthen its image and broaden its appeal—two goals it must achieve to ultimately change policy—CLASSE must condemn all acts of violence committed at its demonstrations.