The occupation ended voluntarily on December 6th – we decided to take the fight beyond Old Schools
On the morning of the 26th, Old Schools, the nerve centre of the University of Cambridge, was occupied in protest against fees and cuts. >facebook
Our action comes at a time when our education system and public sector are being destroyed by duplicitous politicians without a mandate, and University management is failing to speak out against these proposals. In fact, the University said it “welcomes” the possibility of charging up to £9,000.
The occupation of the Senior Combination Room of the Old Schools follows the protests on Wednesday 24 November, when one thousand Cambridge and ARU students, 6th formers, academics and residents took over the streets of Cambridge, hundreds breaching the fence to occupy Senate House lawn and issuing a statement: “We demand that the University completely oppose the increase in fees, fight against it, and fight against all cuts to education, welfare and all vital services”.
We have claimed this space to give students a voice in their University; everyone is welcome to join in or support the occupation in any way they can.
A few things you can do are:
Join the occupation
Bring food and bedding
Spread the word: tell your friends and get in touch to help leaflet
We need your support; whether you are a student, an academic or a security guard, speak out in favour of the occupation!
Extension Leads
Camdefendeducation [at] gmail.com
www.facebook.com/camdefendeducation
For media enquiries, please call 07746209823 and 07958 658 176.
Why we chose this space
The Old Schools is the nerve centre of the University- this is where the decisions about which shape the future of the University are made. The Vice Chancellor, Finance Office and many other senior positions are housed in the Old Schools- we are in the belly of the beast. We are just next door to the Senate House, one of the most emblematic buildings in Cambridge.
We also chose the Senior Combination Room of the Old Schools because it is not a student space, so we are not disrupting the learning of students. We are right next to Caius Library, but of course we are not disturbing that space in any way. Please do come in for study breaks!
Senate House is an iconic location- this is where exams, graduations and big events happen. There is a graduation event on this weekend, we will make sure that it is in no way disrupted, and we assure the University that it can go ahead- any disturbance is the decision of the University.
Wish List
Things that it would be really useful if people brought along/donated are:
- Food
- More bedding – sleeping bags, duvets
- Any money donations to Cambridge Defend Education would be much appreciated – contact defend-education-fundraising@lists.aktivix.org
Why occupy
All over the country, people are realising that we can no longer rely on the politicians or university management to do what is best for our education system and the country. We need to act together and act now- occupation is the proportionate response to a political system which is absolutely broken.
I want to help but I’m super busy!!
- Make sure you are on the announcements email list where we will be doing shoutouts of easy ways to help and updates- subscribe at https://lists.aktivix.org/mailman/listinfo/defend-education-announce
- Become a fan of Cambridge Defend Education on Facebook facebook.com/camdefendeducation
- We are doing our best to make sure that there is a quiet space where people can study- so please bring your books, computers and notebooks.
- Volunteer to do some leafleting- for as short as 15 minutes! email defend-education-outreach (at) lists.aktivix.org
- Do shout outs at the beginning of your lectures
- Talk to your supervisors, lecturers, friends.
We are committed to making every attempt not to disrupt the education of our fellow students, in particular, we want to avoid hampering the operation of Cauis library and disturbing the those working there. With this in mind, we are keeping all passages to the library open. However, we cannot predict or control the reaction of the university itself, and cannot take any responsibility for its decisions to disrupt or close the library.
heya, outstanding wordpress blog, and a decent understand! 1 for my book marks.
This is a fantastic and brilliantly executed action. It deserves to be widely disseminated and supported. It is of prime importance that the parents and grandparents of the occupiers (and all students) understand that they are culpable and responsible for this sorry State of affairs, and their economic clout and purchasing power could be the truly secret weapon to help swing political favour against the cuts. If the Tory parents of Oxbridge students threatened to withdraw their support financially for the party…if they withdrew from Lib Dem & Tory parties and councils across the country it would send a truly united and damaging message to the governing fools.
Students should expect their parents and grandparents to add support to the campaign. It’s also important that the Lib Dems understand that abstaining on the vote is as bad as voting for, and that they will be targeted at the next election if they abstain or vote yes, and that goes for councillors as well as MPs—the Lib Dems could be broken forever if everyone acted against them at all levels of government, local and national.
So, this Xmas, take the demo home and bring the family together for a brighter future.
Congratulations! Keep up the good work. I was President of my college student union in 1976 and led a 6 day occupation against Denis healey’s IMF cuts. History repeats itself!
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Thanks for going out there when it’s so freezing cold!!! I would of come but it means that I would get a 2hr detention or something! Good Luck.
Lowkey: ‘If you are currently involved in an occupation of your University, give me a shout on here because Jody McIntyre, myself and Logic Mc would like to pass through and support in anyway we can.’
– See Lowkey’s Facebook page.
As former CUSU Sabbatical Officers (1999-2000) we wish to offer you all our full support for your ongoing occupation. You have undertaken an amazing feat of organisation, and done very well to gain such strong support for the campaign. We campaigned against the introduction of tuition fees, the abolition of the old maintenance grant than an hike in rents, saying that it would lead higher education becoming the preserve of the rich. It is vital that as much pressure as possible is put on the government to abandon these plans as they are damaging to students, academics, education and society at large. Threats like this necessitate strong direct action, and not backing down in face of the institutional power and prestige of the University.
Keep up the good work!
Daniel Blaney
Katie McClymont
Mary Webber
Respect and solidarity from an NUT member and special educational needs teacher in the LB of Wandsworth. Much gratitude for your struggle in support of education. CamDefendEd REPRESENTS!
Yes the Cambridge!
Looks like a banging occupation.
University of Bristol (Senate House) is occupied as of Monday 6th December. We are currently fighting for free access to the building, to enable open negotiations on our demands. Czech our website for more information and to see if you can help us or we can help you at all.
Solidarity and respect