Philippines: Planking against Education Cuts | WPN World People News

Thousands of students in the Philippines took to the streets on July 19, 2011, to demand a higher budget for education from President Noynoy Aquino just a few days before his State of the Nation Address. The protesting students used the planking craze to register their grievances.

Planking is one of the latest trends to hit the Philippines. Described as “the practice of lying down flat with arms to the side, to mimic a wooden plank,” it involves posting photos of the participants on the net. They are usually photographed planking on unusual locations.

Some critics have connected planking to the stowing of African slaves upon the planks of a slave ship's lower hold during the slave trade era. The protesting students' riding on the popular craze puts a new dimension to the activity. From a form of slave oppression in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, planking has now evolved into a creative form of protest that involves occupying public space and contesting this space's original representation by the dominant social order.

The student protesters railed against the Aquino government's budget cuts for state universities and colleges and lack of decisive steps to curb tuition and other fee hikes by organizing the “Mass Planking for our Right to Education” event. Below are the photos of the planking protest in the University of the Philippines which were uploaded onto Facebook:

Source:Global Voices