It all began last week, when a local newspaper published a list of officials of the rectorate, along with their salaries. Not only were they lacking the proper qualifications for the positions they were in, but, as it turned out, most of them were also related to the Chancellor, he had two, working as secretaries.

Hundreds of students now surround the Seat of the Rectorate, demanding the Rector's resignation. They have skipped classes for the past three days, taking turns to sleep, improvising mattreses and meals, standing guard day and night along every side of the main Rectorate's building. Their demand is simple: they want the Rector - Mr. Froilan Peralta - to resign.

Mr. Froilan Peralta denied any wrongdoing, asked for a leave of absence while the matter was investigated, and promptly dissapeared from the face of the earth. His whereabouts were the subject of much speculation on social media, most of it quite amusing (but probably not for him).

He must have been talking to somebody, though, because a few of his subordinates showed up at the Rectorate and apparently tried to destroy or conceal various pieces of evidence: documents have been stolen or burned, computers have either gone missing or been remotely erased, people were seen working at suspicious hours, in the dark, while clearly hiding and running away from cameras. That's one of the main reasons the students decided to surround the building: to keep this people from destroying evidence.

Even so, a few tried.

A woman, later identified as Maria del Carmen Martinez, Director of Human Resources, was spotted trying to flee the premises with what appeared to be a folder full of documents, the students surrounded the vehicle she was in and stopped her from leaving, demanding that a prosecutor intervenes.

After a long, surrealist, potentially volatile night in wich various authorities shone mostly by their absence, a prosecutor finally charged the Rector with illegal collection of fees and ordered his arrest, along with 12 other officials of the institution, including the woman the students had kept from leaving.

Today brings news that the Rector has finally decided to resign.

It's still unclear at this point whether this will bring an end to the unrest among the student body, jaded and tired after years of corruption, widespread nepotism and outright incompetence, and understandably skeptic of any and all authorities.

Whatever happens next, they know now that indignation can lead to action. That standing together, peaceful but firm, respectful but loud, at least some small measure of change can be achieved. That's not an end in itself, but it's a great place to start.