At least 40 places saw 'Day X2' actions for Tuesday 30 November, keeping up the momentum after last week's walk-outs, protests and occupations (some of which are ongoing) by students across the country resisting government plans for cuts.

Actions took place in these places and more: Birmingham | Council Chambers occupation | Film: Council Chambers occupation | cuts protest speeches | Bournemouth | Bradford | 2 | Video | Bradford University occupation 1 | 2 | 3 | Photos | Brighton | Video | Direct Action skillshare | Bristol | 2 | 3 | 4 | Feature | Call-out | Bristol Uni occupation 1 | 2 | funeral procession | Bromsgrove | Cambridge 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Photos 1 | 2 | 3 | Occupation public meeting | Cambridge occupation ends | Canterbury | Cardiff | Colchester | Cornwall | Tremough occupation | Dorchester | Dundee | Edinburgh | End of Edinburgh occupation | Exeter University occupation | Harrogate | Huddersfield | Lancaster | Leeds | Ziff Building occupation | Video | Photos | Leeds Cuts Cafe | Analysis 1 | 2 | Eviction notice | Leicester | Liverpool | London 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Timeline | Slade occupation | Kings College occupation | Funeral march | UEL occupation | LMU occupation | UAL Camberwell College of Arts occupation | Goldsmiths University occupation 1 | 2 | Analysis | Videos 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Photos | Photo Reports Tues afternoon | Report and future actions | Arrests in Trafalgar Square | Fitwatch | NCAFC statement | Analysis | UCL court case | Manchester | Morecambe | Newcastle | Council Chamber occupation | Newport | Nottingham | 2 | 3 | Nottingham occupation 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | End of Notts occupation | Video | Oxford | 2 | 3 | Council Offices occupation | Feature | Plymouth | Reading | Scunthorpe | Sheffield | 2 | Feature | Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | Richard Roberts Building occupation | occupation public rally | Roy Bailey plays at Sheffield occupation | Southampton | Stafford | St Andrews | Sit-in | St Andrews occupation1 | 2 | repression | Sunderland | Swindon | Swansea | Taunton | Tavistock | Warwick | Wolverhampton | Worcester | York | University of East Anglia occupation | University for Strategic Optimism | Occupations spread to schools

The second day of student action against the cuts, dubbed Day X2, saw a spate of new university occupations, as well as spirited protests, marches, rallies and creative actions all over the place.

New Occupations on or since Day X3

Exeter University was occupied by university and Exeter college students along with supporters following a march through the city centre on 8 December. Exeter University's vice-chancellor, Steve Smith, is president of Universities UK and has been the leading voice amongst university bosses in favour of the £27,000 degree. The occupation aims to challenge Steve Smith on his home turf and to make it clear that he does not speak for staff or students in Exeter.

Reports are starting to come in of occupations by school pupils protesting against the cuts and proposed tuition fee increases. On 8 December, Camden School for Girls was occupied by over 100 pupils staging a 24 hour teach-in, Hogwarts Flying Squad picketed Greig City Academy in Hornsey and head teachers elsewhere were reported to be shutting schools where occupations were thought to be imminent.

On 6 December, students occupied the library of Goldsmiths University in London and have issued a set of demands. On 7 December, the occupiers hosted a range of events, from the Lewisham Anti-Cuts Alliance weekly meeting to skillshares on kettling tactics and how to keep mobile on the streets, followed by an evening of 'great acoustic music, spoken word and informal fun times.' An ongoing programme of events is being planned for the coming days.

Bradford University students and staff held a meeting with the Vice-Chancellor of the university on the evening of 6 December, following which students occupied the management suite opposite the V-C's office. A day later, the Vice-Chancellor issued a statement on his blog expressing his concern about the proposed changes to university education, saying that he didn't think they had been 'fully thought through.' The occupiers welcomed the statement and have stated that they intend to continue their occupation.

UAL Camberwell College of Arts on Wilson Road was occupied on 6 December. The occupiers have said: "We now have an amazing space... the Lecture Theatre will become a space for students to plan action, make work and perform. It will act as a student union and catalyst to create ideas for action and organisation. We call for more support and involvement!"

Students at St Andrews occupied Parliament Hall on 6 December in protest against the University of St Andrews' stance on the Browne Report. However, by the following day, students were reporting severe repression, besieged by cops and by university officials, who have switched off the heating in the building as well as preventing the free movement of students in and out of the building and cutting off the occupiers' food supply. However, by 8 December, after supporters had inundated the university with complaints, the heating and internet were miraculously restored to the occupied space. However, the occupiers report that their specific demands to the university have not been met and they have agreed to end the occupation on Thursday to head out into the streets of Edinburgh in advance of the parliamentary vote.

Bristol students occupied the Bristol University Senate House on 6 December. This is in addition to the ongoing occupation at the University of the West of England (UWE), also in Bristol.

On 2 December, students at London Metropolitan University (LMU) occupied the Tower Building in Holloway Road and issued a list of demands.

Early on the morning of 2 December, students took the council building of the University of East Anglia (UEA) and began an occupation. One of the occupiers is quoted as saying: ‘This is a peaceful occupation. We will do no damage to the building but we feel this is a necessary action to show that we feel we have been betrayed by our university and by the government.'

50 students in Birmingham occupied the City Council Chambers on 30 November. The occupiers have demanded to speak with council education officers in the presence of the media.

Students at Nottingham University occupied the Great Hall on 30 November and have issued a list of demands. Veggies Vegan Catering Campaign of Nottingham has stepped in to provide food for the occupiers. A third day of action is planned in Nottingham for Saturday 4 December. On Wed 1 December, students were busy getting themselves organised with a general meeting and a programme of alternative education, film screenings, workshops and talks. As the Great Hall is mainly used for corporate functions, the occupation isn't interfering with student classes but is hitting the university where it hurts, in the pocket. On 2 December, the occupation was reported to be under threat with university security saying they would evict at 4pm. More information about the occupation can be found here. This occupation ended on 3 December, after the Vice-Chancellor apparently agreed to a meeting.

In London, the Slade School of Art, part of already occupied UCL, was occupied on 30 November, with three days of alternative education, art, activism and disobedience planned for this weekend from Friday night to Sunday (3-5 December). Kings College London has also been occupied.

In Sheffield, police imposed a Section 14 [Public Order Act 1986] on the Day 2X demonstration and then got very cold enforcing it. The protesters marched several miles from the university concourse to Nick Clegg's constituency office in Fullwood, where he has been conspicuous by his absence in recent weeks, then back to the University, where students went on to occupy the Richard Roberts Building. The occupation was still going strong on 1 December and a public rally was held in the occupied space on 5 December, during which the university management publicly backed down on a possession order which had been served on the occupiers, stating that no immediate attempt would be made to evict. After the rally, musical entertainment was provided by singer songwriter Roy Bailey.

In Cornwall, students from Falmouth and surrounding areas occupied Tremough Campus Stannary.

Edinburgh University Occupation is keeping a list of all occupations regularly updated.

News from Day X2

A march of about 1,000 students through the centre of Manchester to a rally at Cathedral Gardens was heavily policed. Five arrests were reported.

Cambridge saw another lively day of action and treading on the grass. The Cambridge Business School lawn at The Judge Institute and the Senate House lawn in front of the ongoing University occupation were both invaded, the demo passed through the Grand Arcade shopping centre twice, with students having a bit of a rest on the shiny floor en route, and a smaller group of people went to the Guildhall (town hall) to protest against the LibDem council. The NUS President is reported to have finally pledged his support for the ongoing Cambridge University Occupation. Students blockaded Old Schools, effectively shutting the university's administrative centre for the morning of 3 December. This was followed by a brief occupation of the nearby Guildhall, during which police and security turned up at Old Schools to try to intimidate the depleted numbers of students there with 'concerns' about fire exits and thinly veiled threats about students' academic prospects. Still in occupation on 5 December, the students held a public meeting in the occupied space. The Old Schools occupation ended on 6 December with the University's Vice-Chancellor being pursued through Cambridge by chanting students demanding that he speak with the student body after he failed to make a statement against the ConDem government's proposed cuts to public services and increased tuition fees.

In Warwick, University students held a day long teach-in, followed by a sit-in protest at the busy public Arts Centre foyer, an action which received a lot of public support.

Lancaster students of all ages from schools, FE, adult education and the University marched through the town. Many were roughly treated by the cops when they attempted to break out of a kettle in Dalton Square and the protesters were also denied access to the University of Cumbria campus. Cops had attended school assemblies on Monday to warn children of arrest if they attended the march, apparently also claiming (wrongly) that the protest was illegal.

At St Andrews University, dozens of students held a sit-in at the Old Psychology Library for a General Assembly to discuss education cuts.

About 1,000 Brighton students thwarted police efforts at containment, marching from Old Steine and going on to surround Hove Town Hall, where they hung a banner with the words 'Education is a right not a Privilege' from a nearby multi-storey carpark. A local Vodaphone shop was also attacked. Police reported five arrests.

In Oxford, two groups of students, mainly sixth formers, held separate marches before meeting up for a rally in Bonn Square and then occupying the offices of Oxfordshire County Council briefly, presenting a list of demands and then going on to take Castle Hill by storm. See also this feature on Oxford student action over the past week. Two Vodaphone shops and two banks were reported to have closed after coming under attack from angry protesters.

There were reports from Bristol of police violence towards protesters, charges by mounted police, kettling of people not involved in the protests and some arrests. However, the word from the streets was that most protesters avoided being kettled and managed to protest in spite of the cops' best efforts at repression. One report describes how the march, full of enthusiastic young protesters 'moved fast and with impressive sense of purpose from one target to the next, holding a space long enough to let others catch up or join if they wanted to, moving on before the police could assess and kettle. It took roads, but parted smoothly for ambulances twice, before reforming to stop other traffic. And it got around a bit.' Later, there was a demo at Trinity Road police station in solidarity with the ten protesters arrested. More action has been called for in Bristol on Sunday 5 December from midday.

In Bradford, lollipop ladies and men popped up at pelican crossings, libraries and educational institutions, highlighting the need to resist the cuts with a view to seeing today's young people safely through their education. After a demo in Centenary Square, Bradford College was occupied briefly before the protesters moved on to stage a sit-in at the Bradford Uni. Atrium. Some students were reported to be extremely unhappy that all but one of their elected sabbatical Student Union officers had chosen to stay in their warm offices and watch the day's action unfold on their computers and launched a spontaneous mass phone attack on the SU from the demo. College and Uni students will be meeting again on Sunday 5 December at 2pm in Student Central of Bradford University.

In London, a massive police presence was reported in the West End and around Parliament. When the march, which had been agreed with the police, assembled in Trafalgar Square, cops made a bid to kettle everyone, with the effect of scattering groups of protesters all over the place. Video of protest at Holborn. Cops were later reported to be kettling small groups, a tactic that appears not to have been wholly successful. One report describes how, 'despite the snowstorm and freezing winds blowing through us, people... managed to avoid being kettled in the beginning and just kept moving, with a trail of coppers running after them looking like they might have heart attacks at any moment from all the exertion.' A statement from the ongoing University College London occupation said: "UCL Occupation unconditionally condemns the police attempts to pre-emptively kettle a peaceful protest.” The National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts made this statement. By 10pm, it was being reported that 120+ arrests had been made in a short space of time in Trafalgar Square. See also this detailed report and photos from Trafalgar Square. Total arrests for the day in London are put at 153. It has been suggested by Fitwatch that the mass arrests late in the day in Trafalgar Square were made by the cops in revenge for students not allowing themselves to be kettled at the start of the march and keeping cops on the run all day. There are concerns about the information gathering tactics used by the Met on this protest.

Also in London on Tuesday, the Royal Holloway Anti-Cuts Alliance held a funeral march to mourn the death of education. The ceremony was attended by both the Principal and Deputy, who observed a minute's silence to mourn the death of education. On the Old Kent Road, the University for Strategic Optimism, a university 'based on the principle of free and open education, a return of politics to the public, and the politicisation of public space' gave a lecture to shoppers in Tesco's megastore.

There has been a Call-out for protest on Saturday 4 December at the London LibDem Conference at Chalk Farm in London.

300+ Leeds students were kettled by cops shortly after gathering at the University for a Day2X march to the Town Hall for a rally. There are reports of stewards shepherding people into the police kettle. Later, the Ziff Building, which contains the Vice-Chancellor's Office, was briefly occupied. The Michael Sadler building remains under occupation. Leeds Cuts Cafe has announced a week of action on the cuts for 6-11 December. The flash occupation of the Ziff building is reported 'to have brought to the fore tensions over the ‘control’ of the unfolding politics; Who gets to make decisions? Who is subject to these decisions? Who is accountable to who?' The occupation effectively voted that no autonomous action would be tolerated. An article analysing the situation can be found on the Really Open University website. An eviction notice has been served at the Michael Sadler Building occupation and students are expecting to be evicted at 8am on 8 December.

International actions

The University of Puerto Rico (UPR) has seen student protest after it announced that there would be an $800 per student levy charged from January to make up a funding shortfall of almost $200 million. Students blocked off the main gate to the UPR offices at the Botanical Gardens, pledging to only allow the finance and financial aid offices to continue working.

Students in Turkey were subject to violent attack by the cops at a demonstration in Istanbul against a summit between the Prime Minister and University Rectors, with many injuries and one young woman losing her unborn baby after being kicked in the stomach by police. Reports also suggest that cops used agent orange against the students.

In Athens, over 1,000 Greek protesters took to the streets on Thursday 2 December in solidarity with British students as well as in opposition to Greek 'austerity' measures and education reforms.

Italian Students have been protesting in the streets for two days over the 'Gelmini' reform of education policy which will see universities privatised and operated for profit. Gelmini was narrowly passed by the Chamber of Deputies on 30 November. On Tuesday, at least 18 major train stations were occupied and completely stopped for hours; motorways and airports were targeted. On Wednesday, thousands of students went back to the streets, many more schools, colleges and faculties have been occupied and plans are being made for futher mobilisations. Some of the demonstrations have been subject to violent policing. In Bologna, cops at the student protests were left very red-faced.

In Dublin, 100 student activists occupied the grounds of the Department of Education on Marlborough St on Wed 1 December for a 'Surprise Conference'. Activists said they had organised the event to 'demonstrate the presence of a dedicated, organised body of students in Ireland who are prepared to have their voices heard and to act independently and in their own accord when they feel that pre-existing systems and channels of communication do not reflect the urgency and seriousness of their message.' The participants argue that 'the current education system is expensive and inefficient and rather than simply making financial cuts we should make long term structural changes.'

More post-DayX2 news

Bristol students held a funeral procession on 8 December in protest at the death of higher education.

In Cambridge, students invaded the shopping malls en masse again on 8 December, reclaiming the streets on their way to the offices of local Liberal Democrat MP Julian Huppert.

London occupations organised a day of 'teach-outs' on the streets for 8 December.

The occupiers at Brighton University are offering a Direct Action Skillshare on 8 December from 11am.

In Newcastle on 7 December, around 20 students occupied the main Council Chamber of Newcastle Civic Centre. Newcastle University Fine Arts building remains under occupation.

The occupiers at University College London have been in court for two days arguing against the university's application for an injunction. A decision is expected on 8 December.

On Saturday 4th December, students in Newcastle took action against tax evaders Boots, Topshop and Vodaphone, getting their message across loud and clear to shoppers with the aid of a megaphone.

At midnight on 2 December, students occupying Edinburgh University decided to voluntarily end their occupation.

A group of about 20 students from Brunel University along with some school students visited Vince Cable's Twickenham constituency surgery on the evening of 3 December. After a rather pointless discussion outside the office where Vince offered very unsatisfactory answers to their questions, the students were prevented by the cops from peacefully occupying the space, so they occupied the road instead to prevent the slippery minister from escaping. He was only able to leave once the protesters had been forcibly moved out of the way by police.

The University of East London (UEL) occupation was reported on Thursday to still be going strong.

Newcastle students took direct action at the University finance building on Wed 1 December, on the seventh day of their occupation of the Fine Arts building. After attempts to negotiate with the Vice-Chancellor over their demands got nowhere, students lay on the floor of the newly built Kings Gate building with their mouths gagged in protest at the undemocratic nature of the university decision making process.

Before Day X2...

A flashmob action took place on Monday 29 November in Oxford Circus under the banner 'They marketise our education; we educate their markets.' Targeting Oxford Street Topshop, the mob pointed out that 'Philip Green's taxation could pay for education.'

Workshops, meetings, teach-ins, talks, films, music art and poetry have been happening in occupied spaces and the NUS has been forced to do a U-turn from its previously unsupportive position towards students' actions. It will now 'call immediately for a new wave of occupations as a legitimate form of protest against fees and cuts' as well as agreeing to 'organise financial, legal and political aid for all current and future occupations.'

For more details of previous actions, see also this indymedia feature.

More advice for students and others out in the streets

In addition to the helpful advice already offered by indymedia users, here's some more, plus some advice for dealing with cops with riot shields.

Previous advice shared via indymedia is reproduced here for information:

Advice has been offered via indymedia for students on occupying university and college spaces | taking part in demonstrations and protests | taking photos and video clips | escaping from a police kettle | making reinforced banners.

Not to be outdone, the cops have offered some advice of their own via the mainstream media. The Met has admitted that 'there is only so much we can do' to protect children when protests become violent, presumably referring to violence by its own riot cops, police medics who spray fire extinguishers in people's faces, and mounted cops who charge through crowds of peaceful protesters. However, instead of doing something about the problem, like removing violent cops from the streets, the Met prefers to warn parents how dangerous such events are for vulnerable young people. Yeah, especially when the cops make you join in when you thought you were just going for a Big Mac. Message from the Met: Kids - if you want to stay safe, don't eat at McDonald's.