DIRECT ACTION AT UNI. GETS RESULTS.

     

       The following is part of an account, taken from The Commune of the Free Hetherington occupation which ended this week after a long and successful campaign. Once again proving that direct action gets results. 

       Liam Turbett reports on a victorious conclusion to Glasgow’s seven-month university occupation

After over 200 days in occupation, the Free Hetherington occupation at Glasgow University finally ended on Wednesday 31^st August. The decision to leave followed direct negotiations with senior management, who allowed the occupiers to declare victory by handing over several major concessions.

Police tried in vain to evict the occupation.

 As previously reported in The Commune, the Free Hetherington was established in early February, when students and anti-cuts activists from across Glasgow took over a disused post-graduate social space at the heart of the Glasgow University campus, transforminglanguage teaching, anthropology and the entire department of adult education entirely.

SOLIDARITY.

        Senior management’s initial approach of ignoring the occupation and hoping it would falter away failed, and now famously, on 22^nd March an attempt was made to end it by force. With dozens of police, alongside the dog unit, the force helicopter and university security charging in to drag out the 15 or so occupants, around 500 students and supporters rapidly gathered outside. Hundreds then marched on the historic administrative centre of the university, and forced their way into the University Senate, which was held for the rest of the day. By midnight, management had handed the Hetherington building back, in exchange for the occupiers leaving the Senate rooms. In doing so, they handed legitimacy to the occupation, strong-arming them into negotiations, and the day’s events reaffirmed the level of support that the anti-cuts movement at the university could draw on.

Continue reading the article in The Commune

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STUDENTS DIRECT ACTION.

By fleabite, submitted on Fri, 25/03/2011

      On Tuesday university security and approximately 80 police, including a canine unit, police horses and a police helicopter circling overhead from about 10am evicted us from the Hetherington in a heavy handed operation lasting several hours. Those of us that were not inside at the time resisted by sitting down in front of the doors and blocking the entrance in. Many of us sustained injuries including concussion caused by a security guard hitting an occupiers head off a wall and floor, several shoulder dislocations and many cuts and bruises. So far there have been 3 arrests as well.

       After the final occupier was carried out by several police, we marched on the main University building and approx 100 of us occupied the Senate rooms – the incredibly plush suite of rooms where the senior university management is based and where they host their meetings and events.

      After several hours the senior management team came and finally agreed to have the mass meeting we’ve been requesting of them for weeks! Escalating tactics clearly works!At that point access to the building was also restricted which meant that the folks who had gone to get food and, inevitably, coffee weren’t able to come back in. Donation from others who showed their solidarity in all sorts of wonderful ways including some yummy roasted vegetable pizzas (thank you whoever you are!) were not being allowed in. However we had a very cunning plan. Tying together the tablecloths that no senate room would be the same without, within the hour we brought all the food up and were able to hand out fresh, hot pizza in front of the management who had banned access to the building. They then agreed that those who had been involved earlier should be allowed back in as it was undemocratic that decisions were being made without them.Also at this time David Rovics appeared.  So immediately following the meeting with management we set up chairs in the biggest room and enjoyed a gig.About an hour into the gig, which included us going out onto the balcony so that those stuck outside could be a part of it, word came that management were offering us the Hetherington back, in return for us vacating the Senate rooms.  Direct action gets results!

       We had a meeting to decide what to do and agreed to return to the Hetherington, but that before we would leave Senate we wanted a delegation to be inside the Hetherington so that we could be sure it wasn’t a trick. We also wanted the water and electricity checked out as both had been turned off after the eviction. Finally the phone call came through and singing and chanting we left the Senate rooms and returned to the Refreed Hetherington to watch Jack give a fantastic performance on Newsnight Scotland

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