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Oxford Students Occupy Examination School in Protest of Top-Up Fees

Oxford IMC | 27.01.2004 02:25 | Education | Oxford

Update (2:30pm): The occupiers of the Exam Schools have decided to end the occupation at 4 pm, by marching together to the University Offices and handing in a statement of demands and principles to the Vice-Chancllor. You won't be breaking any University statutes if you join the march...so please come along and show your support for the people who have risked being fined and disciplined for their opposition to fees.

Update (27 January 10:30am): Examination School is still occupied by students. Many students left this morning to join the protest in London, while others stayed in Examination School. The University decided to cancel all lectures for today. Students emailed all lecturers and asked them to go ahead with their lectures anyway, but the ones who came were refused entry by the security guards. However the students organized an alternative lecture about top-up fees that will take place at 11am. The next student meeting in Examination School is at 1pm. Join the occupation!


At 4h30pm on Monday 26 January around 50 students of Oxford University, Brookes University and Ruskin College occupied the Examination School of Oxford University in protest to the top-up fees and to fees in total. They demand that the University opposes the government top-up fees bill. They also demand that the University reverses its stance of support for fees as there is strong evidence that many in Oxford also support full privatisation of the University.

Many other students joined the occupation later (there was more than 100 students around midnight), and the occupation is still going on overnight, especially after Tony Benn visited in solidarity! Anyone can come and go. The University may decide to cancel lectures tomorrow morning, but students encourage lecturers to give their lectures anyway. Students also decided to host their own teach-ins, with students presenting the case against top-up fees and the marketisation of education. Others will join the protest in London to express the viewpoint of Oxford students. Everyone is welcome to the teach-ins in the Examination School, and the more people is in occupation the more scope there will be for discussion and debate. Everyone who turns up will have an equal say in what is decided to do and how to proceed... come along and make your contribution!

Reports: [1] [2] | Reports and pictures: [1] [2] | Video | Solidarity statement from German students

Parliament backs fees - by 5 votes | Student pays fees in pound coins

OSAN (Oxford Student Activist Network) | OUSU (Oxford University Student Union)



Oxford IMC

Comments

Hide the following 5 comments

Stupid pathetic...

30.01.2004 00:15

immature little children. Again the student union and JCR banners fly when half the students are against protestors causing disruption and cancelling lectures. Did everyone protesting care that much over fees which will not affect them in any way, or were they just looking for an excuse to create a fuss? If it hadn't been for their efforts, the 5 vote margin would have been...a 5 vote margin.

scum


yawn

03.02.2004 13:22

please don't feed the trolls :)

yawn


Network this resistance

02.03.2004 16:52

Nice one oxford, you reprezented. time to do it again though. we need solidarity across the nation, and i need to speak to one of you guys from the occupation. drop me a line if you can...

Matt
mail e-mail: byronjah@hotmail.com


Again!

03.03.2004 16:39

Listen guys, respect for what you done, but is anyone up for another one? let me know asap as we have quite a situation brewing here, and we should really be thinking of linking up and getting organised. let me know....

Matt
mail e-mail: byronjah@hotmail.com


APPEAL FOR VIDEO fOOTAGE

08.03.2004 20:35

well done for your occupation, just to let you know, here we are making a documentary to capture the mood of the current neo-liberal reforms of Great Britain’s Higher Education system. We would like to include some information about your recent occupation. We are affiliated with Undercurrents (see www.undercurrents.org) and the aim of this video would be to inspire resistance amongst students at a national level. If you have any footage, would you be able to either email it to me, or send it to the undercurrents office in Swansea? You can find the address on the undercurrents web page. We would be very grateful, and will send you copies of the documentary once completed.
Yours in solidarity
Matt (Swansea Activist)

MATT
mail e-mail: byronjah@hotmail.com