There were no lectures taking place in the main Lecture Theatre Block (LTB) by 11am, as most students had walked out. At 12.30pm students and staff assembled on square 3 of the university for a rally with about 150 people. Several students remained there in the afternoon for banner making, and others joined a teach-in led by several academic staff. A group of about 100 then marched to Colchester Town Hall, where they met school and college students from the town and blocked the High Street. Earlier in the day, more than 300 of them had taken part in a sit-down protest in Colchester.

The student strike looks set to continue today (Friday 21 March) to coincide with a previously planned Students’ Union walkout against increased tuition fees.

The "Walk out/Teach-in" event was organised by the Essex University Peace Campaign. It had the backing of the Students’ Union, whose policy is to condemn "unnecessary, unjust and hypocritical military action against Iraq." A recent Students’ Union motion declared that "the millions spent on war could be better spent on higher education and other public services." It called for students to unite under the slogan "money for education not war."