On Friday, 17th December 2010, Bristol University student protesters will be dis-occupying Senate Room, Senate House. The occupiers will be leaving Senate House as part of a ‘Carnival of Dis-Occupation’ and have asked people to bring colours, noise and chalk. The carnival will emphasise the wider ongoing movement against cuts and fees and celebrate the achievements of the Bristol student protest movement over the past few months.

PRESS RELEASE 17/12/10

Dis-occupation of Senate House

The protesters have called this the end of a first chapter of demonstrations against the proposed cuts to Higher Education and rising fees, and the beginning of a new kind of student movement. Although the occupiers’ main demand that Bristol University Vice-Chancellor Eric Thomas take a public position against the fees and cuts, was not met, the occupation has, in many ways, yielded much more meaningful outcomes than being granted particular requests by senior management.

The occupation of Senate House has received an extraordinary level of support and activity from students and staff of the University of Bristol. Seven departments and countless individuals have written letters of solidarity and protest; a panel on the future of Higher Education was held in Senate Room involving lecturing staff and students across the University, and numerous conversations have been sparked with local schools, unions and Higher Education networks across the country. Although open access to the space was originally refused on principle, this collective pressure led to temporary admission for staff and students to the panel event – also broadcast live online to up to 200 remote viewers – and to access for all, including the general public, for a meal of celebration and thanks on Thursday (16th Dec) at 7pm.

The occupiers have stated that these expressions of support ‘evidence a process far more wide-ranging than the one we had hoped to achieve when formulating our original demands – specifically, a broad concern to realise a university that is critical, participatory and accessible to all.’ There has been an acknowledgement that although many student occupations are coming to a close this week, there remains a critical engagement with the University’s own ‘democratic’ structures – a crucial factor for the ongoing struggle against the Government-proposed cuts.

The full statement of dis-occupation is available to read at: http://bristoluniresistance.org.uk/2010/12/the-end-of-t...ning/
Follow the occupation:
Blog: bristoluniresistance.org.uk,
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#!/pages/Bristol-against-education-cuts/166916926663073
Email: aec.bris@gmail.com
Or come and visit: University of Bristol Senate House, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TH

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