Occupations

In the wake of massive student demonstration in London on 10th November and in opposition to the cuts in education 12 universities have occupied. Most of them have blogs and emails set up so you can find out what they are doing. Here is a list of the occupations so far including the dates they occupied.

SOAS occupied the Brunei Gallery on 22nd November.

University of the West of England (UWE) occupied UWE Frenchay campus on Monday 22nd of November.

Plymouth occupied the Roland Levinsky Building, Room 008, on Tuesday 23rd November.

Brighton occupied on 24th November.

Cambridge occupied on 24th November.

Edinburgh occupied Appleton Tower Lecture Theatre 2 on 24th November.

Leeds occupied a lecture hall on 23rd November and held huge student protests on 24th. The Guardian reported on it

Manchester occupied the Roscoe Building on 24th November.

Newcastle occupied the Fine Arts building on Wednesday 24th November and is being reported in the local press and on Counterfire

Sheffield occupied on 24th November

University College London occupied on 24th November

University of East London occupied on 24th November.

You can keep track of all the current occupations on the Edinburgh site.

12 student occupations ongoing

admin — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 16:00:46 +0000

Well after finding out about the Cambridge occupation on the grapevine it turns out there are a whole host going on. Students across the country are occupying in protest against the 75% cuts in education, proposed tuition fees of up to £9000, the ending of free school meals and the EMA and what this means for the future of education in Britain. The BBC reports that there are 12 student occupations started this week that are ongoing.

Cambridge students occupy Old Schools Building

admin — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 15:59:10 +0000

Students are occupying the Old Schools building in Cambridge in protest against the cuts in education funding and the proposed tuition fee increase. The protest started on the 24th with an occupation of the lawn outside the Old School Building and the Senate House. See Indymedia for details. Student then occupied the Old Schools building on Friday 26th and have been sleeping there all weekend.

Varsity show video of first day of the occupation
Indymedia report on the first day of the occupation
Varsity reports on day 2 of the occupation
Varsity report on the third day of the occupation

The occupation has a facebook page where you can keep up with what they are doing.

Students occupy HQ of Conservative Party protesting rise in tuition fees

admin — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 00:11:55 +0000

Over 200 students occupied the HQ of the Conservative Party at 30 Millbank Tower today in protest against the proposed increase in tuition fees. The fees, which are set to rise to £9000 a year, will effectively price a whole section of the population out of university education while saddling those who do go with a massive debt. This increase is unlikely to be the last and students who marched in London today were protesting not just about the increase but against a system which puts a price on education. The dividing of those who can be educated and those who can’t along money lines forces students to consider the choosing subjects that lead to lucrative careers. This trend will also show in a change towards universities promoting and supporting departments such as economics, business and science which will always be to some extent directed by the needs of business.

The protest which started off quietly enough changed significantly as the students occupied the building and burnt placards outside. You can see some of the coverage on the links below. There was widespread condemnation of the protest from the media, the NUS and students on the protest. Despite this or perhaps because of this the protest has made headline news all day. The occupation was just one manifestation of the widespread unpopularity of this latest move from the new government.

You can contact your MP here to let them know your views on the subject.

BBC coverage
Comment on Guardian site
The Telegraph
NUS condemnation

Students and staff suspended from Middlesex

admin — Sat, 29 May 2010 11:27:05 +0000

Four students and three members of staff have been suspended following the one day occupation of the library at Middlesex. The students have responded with a ‘I am Spartacus’ campaign and published photos of themselves on the web. Overall the campaign to save the Philosophy department has received a phenomenal amount of support from academics and groups and most recently from the UCU.

BBC article about the occupation

Evening Standard article

Guardian article

Middlesex keep on fighting

admin — Thu, 20 May 2010 23:21:33 +0000

Tonight students and staff have occupied the library at Trent Park campus.

Proof that the campaign continues after their twelve-day occupation ended on Friday 14th May after the University management served a High Court injunction to end the protest.

Keep on fighting Middlesex!

Middlesex still in occupation

admin — Sun, 09 May 2010 07:59:09 +0000

It’s all happening at Middlesex University. The occupation of the boardroom at Trent Park expanded to take over the whole of the main building on the Trent Park campus (the Mansion building). Although the university has confirmed their decision to close the department the students are still organising. There has been a series of events and you can check out their plans for today on their website. Please support them by checking out their how you can help page.

Their facebook account
Story in The Guardian.

Occupation at Middlesex University

admin — Tue, 04 May 2010 19:42:45 +0000

Students and lecturers at Middlesex University (Trent Campus) have occupied their Dean’s office in a bid to stop the closure of the philosophy department. You can send messages of solidarity to savemdxphil@gmail.com or 07799 156 481 or check out their website. The occupiers are demanding a meeting with the dean after a proposed one was cancelled.