Students End Occupation in Mexico City
Hundreds of applicants rejected from Latin America’s largest university ended a nine-day occupation of the administration building Saturday after signing an agreement to negotiate with school officials.
The accord apparently ends a series of protests by students representing thousands of applicants who took entrance exams but were not admitted to Mexico’s National Autonomous University.
It was reported Saturday by Radio Universitario, the school’s radio station.
At a table placed at the entrance of the Rectory Tower, officials and members of the Excluded Student Movement signed the accord to begin negotiations Wednesday.
The students had claimed that many faculty members favored children of friends and helped them pass entrance exams. Mexico’s recession is making it harder for students to pay private school tuition and has increased the number of students seeking to enter UNAM, as it is known. The occupation of the 14-story building on the Mexico City campus had turned into a serious problem for UNAM.
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