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Students from the Universidad Mayor de San Marcos are detained
Students from the Universidad Mayor de San Marcos are detained during a protest against the central government. The country's public universities were, from the start of the internal conflict, important spaces of action for subversive groups. Both Sendero Luminoso and the MRTA attempted to absorb the student movement and teaching staff into their ranks, and to make their presence felt within university campuses. During the 1980s, these campuses were covered with sectarian graffiti and murals celebrating armed struggle. The university function was seriously disrupted by these actions, which had been preceded by a strong ideologization of the student and faculty debate.