Support the Sheffield Uni occupation!

Sheffield university are now in their 8th day of occupation! Please take a minute to help them out by copying and pasting the following text into and email (or writing your own) and sending it to the Vice Chancellor Keith Burnett at vc@sheffield.ac.uk to put some pressure on him to open up negotiations! CC to sheffieldoccupation@google

mail.com, and to Burnett's secretary at r.sharples@sheffield.ac.uk


Professor Burnett -

I understand that, despite a verbal agreement from yourself, negotiations involving the student occupiers and other interested parties are yet to take place. I further understand that the proposed negotiation process, if it takes place at all, will take place without input from the occupiers.

I believe that a negotiation process centrally involving the occupiers (as well as other relevant organisations such as the Palestine Society) is in the interests of all involved, as it is clearly the only way to move the situation forward towards a satisfactory conclusion.

I therefore call on you to listen to the increasing student pressure (on campus and elsewhere) for negotiations around the campaign demands.

[INSERT YOUR NAME AND CONTACT DETAILS HERE]

Our comment in the student newspaper last week

For original article see here.

Occupation protesters claim success

February 2, 2009 by The students of the occupation

Photo: facebook.com (Saï Mountand Glaad)

On Tuesday 27th, after a long, tiring week of sleeping on the floor of Arts A2, the occupation in response to the recent events in Gaza finally accomplished its aims of recognition and support from the University of Sussex for the people of Palestine.

Our demands were similar to those won by other academic institutions within the UK in previous weeks and designed to take advantage of the power and resources that we possess as students of a British academic institution to achieve real and immediate benefits for the oppressed Palestinian people. Among the resolutions accomplished was the creation of a scholarship fund to bring Palestinian students, many of whose universities have been bombed to oblivion with the aid of the UK government, over to Sussex to study. Another was for the university to divest its funds from arms companies that support the Israeli war machine, and thus to stop profiting from death in our names. Another achievement was the establishment of a scheme to pass on surplus computers, books and other educational equipment to Palestinian universities. These measures will make a real and concrete difference to some of the victims of the Israeli occupation.

Comments have been made about our methods. Some have asked us if it was really necessary to go to such extremes of an occupation: why not just lobby the management, for example? We answer that such methods simply have not worked. For five decades Palestinians have suffered whilst their geographical and cultural identity has been systematically eroded. And for three weeks the Israeli military has engaged in the massacre of 1300 Palestinian people, whilst the world sighed and expressed regret. It was always our intention to exert the maximum pressure with the minimum disruption. Lectures were allowed to continue as normal, with a two-minute explanation of our presence and cause at the beginning of each lecture, and only with the permission of the lecturer.

We organised by the most democratic means possible. Individuals organised themselves voluntarily into working groups, the composition of which was always fluid and open. No one group or faction exerted their will over others and the general atmosphere was always one of hard work and cooperation. Consistent efforts were made to engage the wider student population through flyering, dialogue, an info-stall outside Arts A2, daily open-access general meetings, and several organised discussions and educational events. Structures were agreed to allow everyone’s voice to be heard, including the introduction of a safer spaces policy, a dedicated welfare team, and a decision-making structure that valued the dialogue and consensus of everyone involved. We thank everyone who came and made a contribution and all those who expressed their support by signing the petition and by other means.

We came together from a varied spectrum of cultural and political backgrounds and represented many diverse perspectives. Many came with ideas based on ideological beliefs and theoretical understandings of the conflict, but many came with simply a horror of what they had seen (and what they had not seen) on the news. What brought us together was a determination to do what was in our power to help. We know that it’s a drop in the ocean. We know that it is not going to end the conflict. But it is what we can do. And when you can do something, anything, it is a crime to do nothing.

Record of negotiations

On Wednesday 21st January we issued a press statement outlining our demands. The next day we received a two-page sympathetic but very vague and non-committal response from the vice-chancellor's office. We responded the next morning (Friday) with a short, courteous, and equally vague letter. The university did not feel that they needed to respond to this, so we spent the weekend doing some more research, and on Sunday 25th sent a second response to the V-C's office, with some concrete proposals based on what they had said they were willing/able to do. On Monday 26th we received a draft agreement from the V-C's office agreeing to most of our demands and with a revised proposed statement. We felt that the concessions made in this response were excellent and many felt it to be a victory. However, although the document had been received along with strong verbal assurances from the university management that the proposals would be carried out in the spirit of the occupation's principles, some felt the wording to be too vague. At the general meeting that evening we considered the document in depth and made a few minor clarifications in order to ensure that this would be the case. On Tuesday morning, the university rejected our proposals and issued us with an ultimatum to vacate the lecture theatre by 9am otherwise negotiations would end. We were surprised by the severity of this response as the university had acknowledged our amendments to be minor. We did not vacate, and held an emergency meeting at 11am with 50 people in attendence. We sent a brief letter informing the university that a decision would be made at the general meeting that evening. Discussions continued throughout the day. At the general meeting that evening we discussed the response in depth and decided unanimously to accept the agreement without our final clarifications along with the verbal assurances of the V-C. The occupation was ended at 9:30pm on Tuesday 27th and a press release issued.

Some final messages of support...

"Congratulations to everyone involved in the occupation for the pathbreaking way in which you have conceived, organised, sustained, publicised and achieved such positive results from this campaign. I am proud to be part of a University that has such students." - Andrew Chitty, Department of Philosophy

"Good to see a positive end to it - great going, guys, let's hope this does give rise to a new movement of student activism! It's certainly an exciting time to be working at Sussex."

- Jon Mason

"Congratulations on having made an important statement and obliged an institution to face a cultural prejudice. Would that our media were free enough to report your and other student-body actions and achievements to those who have little or no clarity about the long suffering of Palestinian peoples." - Louis Loizou




"Respect is due for all your hard work. Please do not let the struggle die. We must turn Sussex into a non-militarist campus by protesting the international security agenda. This movement has proved that only united and organised students have the chance of making this a reality!" - Alana Lentin, Sociology Department

"I just wanted to say that I'm really happy to see that there is a new breed of fine activists at Sussex doing interesting, creative, engaging and innovative campaigns and events to support the Palestinian people.

I was Comms a while back and a staunch Palestine supporter during my whole time at Sussex. It really is great to see what you guys have been up to and in using blogs, facebook and gmail to communicate your activities I feel like I've been with you.


A huge congratulations for all that you have done and, I'm sure, will continue to do."

- Alexandra Molano

"You speak for the millions of young people throughout the world who are sick and tired of war and injustice, who simply desire a world in which the young grow up not knowing what it is like to kill and maim.You are an inspiration to us all and we wish you every success and call upon all those who want a more peaceful world to support your action." UCU NEC members (p/c)

Shame on the Cambridge University management!

The Cambridge University occupation in solidarity with Gaza have been having a tough time of it, with their university administration using such devious and intimidatory tactics as photographing occupants and recording their details (multiple times!), throwing away occupants' food supplies, stop-and-searches of staff and students to ensure that no food gets through (on "health and safety" grounds!), issuing legal threats, giving impossible time-frames for negotiations, preventing students from joining the protests and telling students that they would not be allowed to re-enter the occupation after they had already left. Yesterday visiting speaker Craig Murray was prevented from entering the building and had to address occupants and gathered crowds from within a ring of university officials acting like a police kettle. Cambridge students have explicitly stated their commitment to a peaceful occupation and to the non-disruption of their fellow students from the outset. Many staff and students and even politicians have expressed their outrage and support. The occupation says "Cambridge University claims to be stand for values of freedom of expression, and these worrying actions prove this claim false and set a dangerous precedent for future student activists." This kind of authoritarian harassment and siege from the University of Cambridge is unacceptable, hypocritical, disruptive to other students, and generally does them huge discredit. Please use the template on the right hand side of this page to send a letter of disgust (or write your own) to the vice-chancellor at v-c@admin.cam.ac.uk.

Statement from the university

This statement seems to have been removed from the university's website so the link previously provided no longer works. This statement includes the final version of the agreement.

Student sit-in protest ends

A protest and sit-in in the Asa Briggs lecture theatre ended peacefully last night (Tuesday 27 January), when the students involved agreed to a final statement which the University had presented earlier in the week in response to their original demands.

In common with other leading UK universities, a number of students at Sussex had been protesting at the events taking place in Gaza, staging a peaceful sit-in on campus in the Asa Briggs lecture theatre (formerly A2), since Tuesday 20 January.

The University entered into immediate discussions with the students, seeking to bring about a speedy resolution, in the interests of the whole University community. The conduct of the students had been peaceful and orderly and they had indicated their intention not to disrupt teaching within A2. However, their continued presence in the lecture theatre over a long period of time was proving to be increasingly problematic for lecturers and other students and complaints had been received from both students and staff.

The University made clear throughout that the situation in Gaza is something of international concern and that all universities will be saddened by the fact that civilian casualties have occurred in educational establishments. The University of Sussex also made clear it concurred with the call made by the President of Universities UK, Professor Rick Trainor, for an end to conflict in and beyond Gaza.

A full and detailed statement had been developed by the University in discussion with the students, in response to the six demands which the students presented. That statement –which is set out below in full – represents a positive response by the University to all the points made by the students, in particular through:

· confirming its ethical investment policy and reviewing its operation;
· seeking to create new scholarships for students from all areas affected by conflict or catastrophe, including Palestine;
· working with the students' union (USSU) and other UK HEIs to pass surplus educational materials to universities in Palestine.
Detailed discussion involving USSU on how these are to be taken forward will follow, now that the action has ended.
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Michael Farthing, has also said that the University, working with the students’ union, will now wish to look at these events and review how such matters are handled , so that the University can learn lessons from what has happened, in the interests of the whole Sussex community.
28 January 2009

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STATEMENT FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX

The Occupation Group of students and the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Professor Michael Farthing, are pleased to announce that the occupation of Lecture Theatre A2 in protest at Israeli military action in Gaza and in solidarity with the Palestinian people, ended at 23.00 hours on Tuesday 27 January, by mutual consent.

Professor Michael Farthing, has said of the crisis in Gaza that he fully understands the concerns felt by many students and by many others around the world about the events of recent weeks. The University concurs with Professor Trainor, President of Universities UK who speaks for the sector as a whole in calling for an end to the conflict in and beyond Gaza. As he has said, many civilian casualties have occurred in educational establishments. We give unqualified support to his statement which says that: “the UK’s universities are resolutely committed to the right of education, enshrined in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Higher education, in particular, is a global activity and we value our academic links with universities all over the world. The international nature of higher education means it is force for understanding, tolerance and respect between people.”

Professor Farthing has said the University will stand by internationally agreed conventions on conflict and human rights, in particular the United Nations Agreements on Human Rights (http://www.un.org/rights/). Accordingly, we condemn attacks on civilians, any obstruction of provision of humanitarian aid and the targeting of public buildings and facilities like universities, hospitals and schools, wherever such attacks take place in the world. The Vice-Chancellor noted the United Nations Secretary General’s call for an end to the Israeli occupation that began in 1967, and a just, lasting peace between Israel and its Arab neighbours. He further noted the UN Secretary General’s demand that where civilians have been killed and there are allegations of violations of international humanitarian law, there should be thorough investigations, full explanations and, where it is required, accountability.

The Vice-Chancellor also made clear that the University has a duty of care to all students at Sussex and will continue to work even-handedly and without favour to foster and preserve harmonious relations across the international community of students and scholars studying at Sussex..

The group’s concerns and representations were made in its Press Release: Sussex Students for a Free Palestine. Agreement on the following issues raised by the students was reached.

Ethical investment/divestment

The University is not aware of any investment or research directly or indirectly connecting Sussex to companies that are allegedly complicit in human rights abuses in Gaza or anywhere else.

The University will however review its ethical investment policy that aims to ensure the University only engages in making socially responsible investments. It will establish a working party of Strategy and Resources Committee to undertake this review. The working party will include the student representative on SRC. The working party will be pleased to receive any data or evidence that shows that the policy is knowingly or unknowingly being breached. Any such breach identified by the working party will result in divestment and cessation of the activity.

Sanctions against Israeli goods and products sold on campus

The University is not aware of a call for or agreement by the UN for economic sanctions against Israel. The University would wish to work with USSU to ensure that produce sold on campus indicates clearly its source or provenance so that members of the community can make an informed choice prior to purchase. The University notes that its catering and retail strategy already makes clear that it is the University’s practice to source food and other produce from local farmers and suppliers wherever possible.

Scholarships for Palestinian students

The University will undertake to work with USSU to establish an international scholarship scheme that extends opportunities available for students from regions affected by conflict or catastrophe. The University would seek to develop a scheme that has, as a minimum, six scholarships targeted at such regions in the world. The University will hold discussions with the Director of Development and Alumni relations and the President of the Students’ Union about how alumni and other possible sources of scholarship funding might be approached to establish the scheme.

Meanwhile, the University will review its promotion of the international scholarships that it has currently available in order to increase the number of applications from Palestine and other regions suffering conflict or catastrophe.

Support for Palestinian universities

The University will work with USSU and assist in efforts being made by other UK universities to dispose of or re-cycle surplus books, computers and other learning materials for the benefit of deserving institutions in Palestine currently affected by the conflict, meeting any reasonable shipping costs if necessary. We agree to explore the practicalities of getting this underway; particularly in ensuring that such stock is wanted, functional and in the case of IT, can be supported by the host institution.

No reprisals

The University acknowledges the constructive approach adopted during the protest and in particular the students’ commitment not to disrupt teaching, to preserve the quality of the teaching environment , and to respect the views of other members of the community. The University reaffirms that protest that is lawful and not in breach of the University’s Regulations will not result in action being taken against any student or students involved.
The University and USSU will consider the practical steps needed and associated timetable for implementation of the action agreed above.

27 January 2009

Communique to all universities occupying in solidarity with Palestinians:

Occupying students of Sussex University extend their full support and solidarity to all other university occupations that have taken and continue to take place in response to the current events in Gaza.

We are enraged and horrified by the unspeakable atrocities that have been committed by the Israeli military on the people of Palestine, and we will not tolerate the complicity of our own institutions of education in this violence.

We recognise that, as students, the university is a place for us to express ourselves as a community to the rest of the world. We call on all students to take action in solidarity with the plight of the Gazans and ensure that their university promotes human value over economic values.