General update Sunday

First of all, an urgent call-out for art materials for the Viva Palestina convoy that will be leaving from London on Sat 14th February. This is a request from art students in Gaza, whose university was bombed. They are looking for paint, paintbrushes, canvases, sketch pads: in fact anything that an art student could use. If you can help with this request, please contact Harriett, from the Surplus Resources and Scholarships working group asap.

The national wave has gone international! We received news yesterday that the University of Rochester in New York had gone into occupation, and within nine hours they had claimed a complete victory! Their demands, which the Dean of Student affairs signed without amendments, were divestment from arms companies and other war profiteers, a day of fundraising for humanitarian aid for Gaza, twinning with the devastated University of Gaza and the sending of surplus academic resources, and five annual scholarships for Palestinian students. No students faced repercussions for their actions. Congratulations to Rochester for their swift success, and to other unis internationally: get on it guys!

In an amazing and appallingly unpublicised act of individual solidarity, Maria Gallestegui has entered the 4th week of a hunger strike in Parliament Square in London. She has been delivering a petition to Downing Street every day, having pledged not to end it until the blockade on Gaza is lifted. We hope that, with the blood of over 1300 Palestinians on their hands already, the British government will listen to the public voice before another life is lost to the Israeli occupation. Peace, solidarity and awe to Maria. 

On Saturday, a few members of the occupation went down to the demo at warehouse of Carmel-Agrexco, the main UK importer of produce from the occupied territories. After a few organisational hiccups, protestors arrived to find that the Met police had already set up their own blockade with 150 policemen blocking off the entrance having been camped out all night, so they waited around being photographed by the Forward "Intelligence" Team before the banners and the media arrived, and then had a bit of a chant and a rally. 

Last week saw a variety of different educational public events around campus including a moving performance of the Palestine Monologues, a panel including the Palestinian ambassador, and a screening of Occupation 101. All events were well-attended, showing the continued interest and energy  across campus around the issues motivating the occupations around the country.

We are also working hard to continue extending our links nationally with representatives attending the Stop the War conference on Saturday and a delegate visiting the Manchester occupation (which is still going and urgently need support: email VC Alan Gilbert at president@manchester.ac.uk) this weekend. We will also be hosting a national forum next Friday for representatives from the different occupations to meet and discuss our next steps as a national movement. 

And also on the subject of the national movement, check out the article in today's Independent, particularly notable for the following shock statement which almost sounds like an endorsement from NUS president Wes Streeting: "It's about time we got [sic] the student movement going again and had an impact." Glad to have you on board at last Wes! We look forward to seeing the national student union joining in with the national student movement! Check out as well the coverage of the occupation in the Badger last week. We made the front page! 

Manchester Uni Occupied, Strathclyde and Queen Mary Victories, and Sussex Updates

Over 150 University of Manchester students have occupied the main university administration building in a demand for a stronger and more proactive position from the university on the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, as reported on Indymedia. This is wonderful news and we wish them all the best in solidarity!

Please follow their blog at: http://manunioccupation.wordpress.com/

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Congratulations to the Strathclyde University Occupation, whose overnight occupation of the registry hall in McCance Building ended today in victory. They have issued the following statement:

"Following the overnight continuation of our occupation and a hugely succesful solidarity rally on the steps of the McCance, University of Strathclyde Principal Andrew Hamnett has conceded the following:

“1. We will not place any further orders with Eden Springs for operational reasons.

2. Funds for 1-3 scholarships.

3. Co-operation between students and management in posting Gaza Appeal on campus. Link on Uni website advertising Gaza Appeal.

4. Press Release reiterating Strath Uni longstanding relationship with the University of Gaza.”

We have also secured the uni’s commitment to a public debate between representatives of BAE Systems and anti-war student activists, on the weapons manufacturers’ ethical credentials and whether the talents of our engineering students should be used for BAE’s benefit.

We consider this a victory and have already done a lap of the uni in celebration. We are simultaneously elated, exhausted and looking ahead to the battles to come. The struggle must continue until BAE is evicted from Strathclyde and freedom and justice is secured for the people of Palestine.

Today we have taken a tiny step towards the final victory.

Solidarity forever,

The Strathclyde Uni Occupation"

There was a report that the police had been dispatched to remove the students last night, but a member of the occupation has sent out the following clarification:

"To clarify, the police were called (we believe by a member of the Estates Management security staff), only to be turned away immediately by the Secretary to the University. We are assured that the uni authorities will not engage in ‘provocations’, to use their words."

Victory also came yesterday to the Queen Mary occupation who, after eight days in occupation, were succesful in negotiating most of their demands, including the donation of surplus resources, and divestment from Cobham and a co-operative review of the university's ethical investment policy. They say

"Though the Occupation has ceased, the cause has not. We will still fight for freedom for Palestine."

Congratulations and solidarity to all involved

Keep up to date with national occupation news at http://occupations.org.uk/

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Here at Sussex, we are still going strong, with well-attended meetings on how to continue the movement. We had an amazing panel on Tuesday, featuring the Palestinian Ambassador, and we hope to have a video from that up soon. There are also other events being suggested and some currently being put together, so we are nowhere near being out of ideas and nowhere near allowing the atrocities in Gaza to become ignored again.

As a reminder to those on-campus and in the Brighton area, we still have two more events for Palestine Week:

TONIGHT: The Palestine Monologues - 7pm in Arts A 103 at the University of Sussex. An informative but emotionally charged live drama performance, The Palestine Monologues explores the day to day experiences of life under Israeli occupation and also highlights some of the turning points individuals have had when they have seen past the dominant and conflicting narratives perpetuating the conflict. Entry by donation.

FRIDAY: Film Screening of Occupation 101 - 4pm in EDB 121 (between Arts B and C). 'Occupation 101' presents a comprehensive analysis of the facts and hidden truths surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and dispels many of its long-perceived myths and misconceptions. The film also details life under Israeli military rule, the role of the United States in the conflict, and the major obstacles that stand in the way of a lasting and viable peace. The event is free and will be followed by discussion and refreshments.

Click to view the trailer for Occupation 101 on YouTube

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The final point is to draw attention to some new links in the "Media" section on the right hand side of the blog: the Emancipating Education for All website, which follows worldwide events and actions to make education available for everyone. Also, there are two articles from The Socialist Worker on the UK university occupations, featuring quotations from Sussex students!

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.

Campaigning workshops today!

There is still space on the these two workshops taking place this afternoon. They are both being run by Seeds For Change; a non-profit co-op providing training and resources to activists.

The following sessions will run concurrently from 2-5pm, Falmer House

Introduction to Campaign Planning - An effective campaign plan is vital if you want campaign success. A campaign plan is like a map that helps you get from where you are now to where you want to be - the goal of your campaign. In this workshop we'll practice using a series of campaign planning tools that will help you create a winning campaign.

Creative Campaigning - What draws a crowd and makes them stop? How can you communicate your campaign message? How can you get media attention for your campaign? We'll explore these questions and more in this workshop.

Email societies@ussu.sussex.ac.uk to book a space. You can also find the Facebook Event page here.

Exhibition and Talks taking place today

Today's Exhibition and Talks will be running as planned. This follows news that campus is open today, trains from London to Brighton and Falmer are running every half-hour, and the Tube service is mostly operational. Please check travel details before you depart, and consider allowing extra time for your journey.

Facebook event:
Facebook PALESTINE: Exhibition and Talks

The Street Theatre event will also continue as planned - meet in Mandela Hall at 10am. This is a great opportunity to raise awareness about forthcoming events after what has been a long weekend. All students and staff are welcome to take part.

The planned group meeting will also take place as scheduled at 6pm, meet in Falmer Common Room.

If you have any concerns or questions regarding today's events, please contact Josh at joshua.c.j@gmail.com.

National occupations update

Congratulations to King's College London who yesterday announced victory after two weeks of occupation and protest:

"The college has agreed to a series of measures to directly address the current crisis in Gaza, including the provision of scholarships for those directly affected by the crisis, and the donation of educational resources to institutions in Palestine", said Mido Khan on behalf of the student protesters. "In addition, the college has acknowledged the scale of discontent that the award to Peres has generated among the student population, particularly considering the award in the context of what has happened recently in Gaza."

Less welcome news from the Nottingham university occupation who yesterday were forcibly removed by security guards without prior warning. The protest had been peaceful and had explicitly stated its intentions of non-disruption to other students from the outset (although the university took the decision to disrupt lectures). Following this illegal eviction, many students were kept outside in the snow without jackets and prevented from retrieving their possessions still left in the hall. The media were denied access to campus. The actions of the university in collaboration with the local police are disgraceful, unnecessary and dangerous. There have been reports of injuries to students, personal items being confiscated, intimidatory recording of names and ID numbers, police and security refusing to take statements from students assaulted during removal and failing to help the process of identifying those members of security responsible for assault and injury. Please call and email the university to register your outrage at this disgusting behaviour.

Dark news also from Sheffield Hallam who have now been told that, following their eviction on 29th January after serious intimidation and threats of arrest, those involved are to be suspended from the university, which means that they will be unable to take part in exams and lectures. This is in breach of earlier assurances from university officials that there would be no repercussions for protestors if they agreed to leave the occupation peacefully (which they did). University security was subsequently sent to break up the arranged post-occupation organisational meeting. That students should suffer severe intimidation and academic penalty, effectively jeopardising their futures, for peaceful political protest of this sort is unacceptable and an extremely worrying precedent. Please complain to Sheffield Hallam University by ringing them on 0114 225 5555 or email Philip Jones the Vice-Chancellor at enquiries@shu.ac.uk.

Finally Queen Mary are still going strong and have achieved their first success, with the university agreeing to add the 'Palestinian Territories' to the Scholarship list. The occupation continues to press for all expenses paid scholarships for students specifically from the Gazan University for the coming Academic year 2009 - 2010 and 10 extra general scholarships to be created for future years so as not to disadvantage students from other parts of the world.

We urge all other universities who are still considering occupation to get on it now!

Street Theatre Postponed!

Due to an excess of weather, today’s Street Theatre event will take place later in the week.

If the buses and trains are running tomorrow, we’ll do it then - same time, 10am Falmer Common Room. It will be followed by a sledging session.

Have fun today!