It’s been too long. Needless to say, a lot has happened.

September 16 — “La Noche de los l�pices.” It’s a massive student march that takes place every year in honor of several high school student activists who were kidnapped, tortured and killed during the dictatorship in 1976 (high school students, mind you).

Because of the student movement occurring at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) and several high schools across the city, there was a huge turnout this year. Estimates reach 30,000. That’s mostly students but includes any other attendees — leftists, workers, parents — who supported the movement.

The primary slogan for the night is, “Y los l�pices siguen escribiendo,” or “And the pencils keep on writing.”

I was there and I’ll have to say, seeing the banners for my school, Facultad de Filosof�a y Letras, or FILO, I honestly felt proud. That is, as if I truly identified with the students marching underneath it, like it was an organization I could believe in.

I’m not one who usually gets proud of things like that. Whether it’s a country like the United States, my hometown high school in Stroudsburg, or even Penn State University — I don’t usually believe in institutions enough to feel that intangible sense of pride. But something about the student activism and the overall character of the student body at FILO makes me honored to say that, even if only for a semester, I’m a student of the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA).

That said, this night was insane. I want to say that the demonstration was entirely peaceful, but put 30,000 people anywhere in one place for a protest and there are going to be problems. Even so, only vandalism occurred, nothing worse, and no one was tear gassed or anything.

The march ran from Plaza de los Dos Congresos right to La Casa Rosada, where the president is housed.

People broke windows, spray painted and taped pencils, defacing selected buildings, like the Jefatura del Gobierno (more or less Government Headquarters) where they also burned what appeared to be an effigy of Mauricio Macri, the mayor of the city.

Police lined up to guard La Casa Rosada, complete with riot shields and blockades.

Of course, since this march happens every year, the police knew what to expect. What left me most surprised was that the government allows this sort of freedom of expression to happen. I’m not sure how this compares to large public gatherings in the States; I’m ashamed to say that I’ve never been to one of the political sort. But I feel that organized protests on this scale would be swiftly shut down. The students here go so far as to block off major roadways. I suppose all the government can do is take these things in stride.

Other than that, the night was also treated as a bona fide event. Street vendors were selling food and refreshments. Lots of people, like me, had cameras. News crews were there. At least one radio station was playing reggaeton music loudly.

It’s funny — it’s as if protesting is what people here do in their free time. Go out, protest, break a few windows, then go home and get ready for school the next day.

Of course, that oversimplifies things. And despite the ridiculousness of people treating the night as a business venture, I never felt that the undercurrent of severity was lost. The students were serious about their protest. Each high school and college marched underneath its own banner, and those banners were also united underneath umbrella organizations, like the Federaci�n Universitaria de Buenos Aires (FUBA), comprised of the schools Filosof�a y Letras, Ciencias Sociales, the Insitituto Universitario Nacional del Arte, etc.

So I don’t think it was the safest place in the city at the moment. But I don’t think it was necessarily dangerous.

My big take-away is that I’m sincerely invested in what the public university stands for here in Buenos Aires. The students at the UBA not only have ideals but hold fast to their principles. And I found myself unexpectedly swept up in the fight for what is truly their education, because they won’t stand to have it any other way.

Location: Avenida Paraguay, Buenos Aires, Argentina