Sheffield Occupation

The occupiers believe that, since the University is willing to go to the length of threatening...

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:04:32 -0500

The occupiers believe that, since the University is willing to go to the length of threatening peaceful protesters with forcible removal by bailiffs and arrest, further continuation of the occupation would be counterproductive in fighting against the privatisation and cuts that our University are facing, as well as the continued attacks on our lecturers and support staff.

This is fundamentally the free choice of the occupiers, and is a damning indictment of the University management whose aggressive nature can be seen in the fact they would rather attempt to ban all protest by anyone on campus rather than listen to our reasonable concerns. This was never about the disruption to other student’s education (we have maintained that we wish all lectures to go ahead) but a political tactic to isolate the occupation which perhaps highlighted issues that the University did not want to consider!

It should be remembered that occupation is a legitimate method of political action, rather than an end in itself. As such, it should be constantly appraised and considered. However, as the occupation has become an obstacle to our wider aims we have decided to devote our energies to the creation of new campaigns on campus in order to combat the austerity agenda of our University.

Statement from the Students' Union Officers

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 10:07:24 -0500

Sheffield Students’ Union is pleased that the injunction issued by the University of Sheffield that restricted protests in University buildings has been pulled in Sheffield County Court this afternoon.

The injunction restricted the right for students to protest in University of Sheffield buildings. Many Students’ Union societies and committees have contacted us in the last 24 hours to express their fear that they would not be able to hold future protests, gather petitions or even run awareness raising campaigns without fear of being prosecuted.

Whilst we recognise the original aim of the University was to limit occupations, the wording of the initial injunction and subsequent copies had left students fearing that their right to protest was being infringed.

Following a discussion between the Students’ Union Officers and the Vice-Chancellor this afternoon, the University agreed to pull the injunction. We thank the University for listening to the concerns we raised on behalf of students and for negotiating with us a suitable outcome.

Statement from the Students Union

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 05:58:03 -0500

“We support the right of students to protest against a wide range of issues. We are concerned that the current wording of the Injunction applied for by (and granted to) the University limits this right without the prior permission of the University.

We understand many students, including our our campaigning societies, are concerned about this wording, feeling it will limit their right to protest about a wide range of issues. Many feel the University could use this injuction to limit activity such as gaining petition signatures and even general awareness campaigns relating to any variety of issues.

Whilst we recognise the University may well have no intention to limit protest actions other than occupations, the wording of the injunction doesn’t ensure this intent.

We are currently negotiating with the University with the aim of resolving this situation.”

Sheffield University Amnesty Group Response to Protest Injunction

Sun, 04 Dec 2011 12:15:23 -0500

What follows is the Sheffield University Amnesty Groups response to the Protest Injunction.

“Within the last 48 hours, Sheffield University have applied for and had successfully approved an injunction which bans any form of protest on campus without the university’s written permission beforehand. We, the Sheffield University Amnesty Group, are deeply concerned that this signifies a severe constraint on the freedom of expression of students and the right to protest. Amnesty International, whilst standing up for all human rights, has always had a defence of freedom of expression and non-violent protest at the heart of its work. It was founded by Peter Benenson after he heard that people in Portugal had been imprisoned merely for expressing their political opinion. Currently in the Middle-East and North Africa, people are putting their lives at risk in places like Syria and Egypt because they believe that they are entitled to peacefully protest against their authoritarian regimes. In our democracy, we take it for granted that we have the basic human right to express our opinion but we must remember this is always a privilege and never an inconvenience. Any accountable body must allow its members to peacefully object to what it proposes to carry out, especially when its members are so crucial to its existence. By banning student protest without written permission, Sheffield University are denying its students this essential right; a right that is set out in legislation under Article 10: Freedom of Expression and Article 11: Freedom of Assembly of the Human Rights Act 1998. Amnesty International has and always will stand with those who are silenced and give a voice to those who are not allowed one. This is why, as a Sheffield University Amnesty Group, we oppose this injunction and any further restriction on peaceful protest. We stand in solidarity with those who oppose it whilst remaining impartial and independent from any political movement.”

‘Persons (including students of the University of...

Sun, 04 Dec 2011 10:51:52 -0500

‘Persons (including students of the University of Sheffield) entering or remaining up the campus and buildings of the University of Sheffield for the purpose of protest action (without the consent of the University of Sheffield)’

Official Statement on the Court Injunction

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 15:48:00 -0500

Sheffield University Occupation has been served with a court injunction which constitutes an attack on the right to protest. The injunction, obtained by the University management, has placed a one-year ban on all protests on University property (which could potentially include picket lines and campaign stalls) that have not been given written permission from the University. It is of course extremely unlikely that they would grant permission for any protest criticising the University over cuts, fees and education reform, hence this constitutes an effective ban on all protest at the University of which management does not approve. This will affect all groups and societies at the University, as well as lecturers and support staff picketing on days of strike action.

The University management has furthermore broken off all official communication with the Occupation, refusing to consider any of our demands. We are still entirely open to negotiations with management, but we will not be intimidated by threats of forcible eviction. The University is threatening our imminent forcible removal at 9pm, and we need as many people as possible here in order to peacefully resist!

This is an escalation of management’s tactics, which began with the unnecessary cancellation of all lectures in the Arts Tower by University management (when we have specifically made clear that any disruption to education is NOT our aim). It is in the interests of all students and workers to resist these attacks on our rights, and we call upon all groups and individuals affected to give full support to our ongoing legal appeal. We can be contacted at the Occupied Space, Arts Tower Lecture Theatre 4, or on sheffoccupation@gmail.com.

The University Management have served us with an injunction. This will effectively ban ALL forms of...

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 15:39:44 -0500

The University Management have served us with an injunction. This will effectively ban ALL forms of protest, by anybody, across the whole of the campus. This is utterly ridiculous. Details to follow.

Film Showing: The Grapes of Wrath

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 09:00:00 -0500

The Grapes of Wrath is a 1940 drama film directed by John Ford. It was based on John Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name.

The film tells the story of the Joads, an Oklahoma family, who, after losing their farm during the Great Depression in the 1930s, become migrant workers and end up in California. The film details their arduous journey across the United States as they travel to California in search of work and opportunities for the family members.

9.30PM Arts Tower, LT4 - ALLL WELCOME

General Assembly Tonight 6:30pm

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 08:17:03 -0500

We hope to have some delegates from the electricians rank and file union speaking, which will be an interesting and informative talk.

We will also be discussing what the plans are for the next few days and for the future.

ALL ARE WELCOME (including Sheffield University Students, Hallam Students, FE Students, Lecturers, Support Staff, Administrative Staff..)

We invite anybody who was on strike yesterday, and those intending to go on strike in the next day of action, come down and tell us how it went, what you think, what you want from the universities/colleges/government in general.

If you’re being affected by cuts to your pension, cuts to course funding, redundancies, casual contracts and the like, we’d like to hear from you and hear how the cuts are affecting you and how we can show our support!

come on down and bring your friends!

Official Statement

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 19:53:00 -0500

The occupation of the University of Sheffield is a peaceful and non-violent protest – we stand in solidarity with the trade unions and the millions of public sector workers who went on strike today in protest against the decimation of their pensions, and against the austerity agenda of the ConDem government. We believe that the trade union movement must link up with workers in the private sector in order to defeat all cuts: we call on the TUC to set dates for further strike action as soon as possible in 2012.

We do not seek to disrupt lectures! We call upon all lecturers and students to continue to go to their lectures as normal, regardless of other arrangement made by University authorities, since our presence seeks to facilitate education and engagement with students.

Students from the Universities of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam are particularly aware of the attacks made on their own lecturers and the support staff at the Universities, and the occupation is in full and vocal support to the legitimate grievances of the staff of the Universities’ staff. Any further industrial action which the staff of the Universities take will receive full support from the occupation.

Students and workers share a common cause – we are both having our futures denied to us. Both public and private sector workers are seeing dramatic cuts made in their pensions; youth unemployment is now officially over one million, and graduate employment currently stands at 19%. Furthermore, cuts are already impacting the quality of our education: some departments have had their teaching budget slashed by 80%. We fully oppose all cuts and job losses in education, since they will impact both workers and students.

The tuition fee increases, pushed through Parliament at the end of last year, represent another step towards the commodication and privatisation of our education, the access to which will in future be decided on the ability to pay tuition fees rather than the ability of the student. The shifting of the burden of fees from the taxpayer to the individual will further increase the drive for our Universities to court morally bankrupt companies such as BAE, Thales and other arms dealers for funding. University tuition fees are an affront to the fundamental human right of free access to education.

This occupation seeks to create a viable alternative to the cuts agenda of all of the main political parties – working people, students, the unemployed, the elderly and the disabled are not responsible for the financial crisis, and therefore we should not pay for the crisis caused by the gambling financial aristocracy. We therefore fully support demands for the reclamation of the £120bn avoided in tax every year by the rich, by closing tax loopholes and hiring more tax collectors to plug the huge tax gap which makes up 85% of Britain’s budget deficit.

Finally, the democratic right to protest is being eroded by a series of politically motivated arrests and prosecutions such as that of the 109 activists mass-arrested at the peaceful Fortnum and Mason sit-in on March 26^th. We believe that these arrests and prosecutions, along with the increasingly authoritarian measures authorised for use by police, are clearly designed to intimidate protesters with legitimate grievances and tactics, and we condemn these developments in the strongest terms.

Therefore, Sheffield Occupation demand:

· We demand the implementation of a living wage for all university staff, including support staff and bank workers, of at least £7.20 per hour in accordance with the Living Wage Campaign.

· We demand that the Universities make all rooms fully accessible

· We demand that Sheffield Vice Chancellors take a pay cut before other staff who are already on low pay rates.

· We demand that the Universities publish a report on how the cuts will be implemented and what their effect will be on each department.

· Give Teaching Assistants a contract and end the casualisation of academic labour.

· We demand a No Confidence vote in David Willets and the Education White Paper be brought to University Senate.

· We demand that both Student Unions become more active in campaigns to defend the right to education, bearing in mind the overwhelming mandate for this expressed at last month’s student union elections. The SU letter, demand it to be more forceful.

· We demand an anti-sexism policy across campuses and that this policy be enforced.

· We demand a written undertaking that the Universities will stop all involvement with arms companies such as BAE systems within the next five years.

· We demand that the University does not victimise anyone involved in the Occupation or any other anti-cuts activism.

Today, the 30th of November, Sheffield Students occupied Sheffield University’s Arts-Tower, in...

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 12:13:07 -0500

Today, the 30^th of November, Sheffield Students occupied Sheffield University’s Arts-Tower, in order to show solidarity with striking workers across the UK, on the biggest day of strike action since the 1926 general strike.

Our occupation is in solidarity with striking workers nationally and internationally including the global Occupy movement, the Arab-Spring revolutions, the Chilean protests, and the European resistance movements against austerity.

We are a group of students from Sheffield who have many different political viewpoints. We are united against all forms of oppression including, but not limited to, sex, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, age and cultural identity.

We stand alongside unions, workers and students in the fight against attacks on all sectors; the public sector, private sector, the unemployed and pensioners. We have a list of demands which our universities must satisfy in order for this occupation to end. We will be releasing these shortly.

OCCUPATION

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 11:22:53 -0500

Over 100 Sheffield Students have occupied Lecture Theatre 4 of the Arts Tower. Statement and demands to follow…

Universities in Occupation

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 05:56:00 -0500

Following the NCAFC day of action yesterday (23rd Nov) the following Universities are now in Occupation:

Birmingham - http://brumoccupation.wordpress.com/2011/11/23/why-we-have-occupied/

Cambridge - http://www.defendeducation.co.uk/

Edinburgh - @EdinUniAntiCuts

Goldsmiths - @GoldOccupation

Warwick - @Occupy_Warwick

& The Bloomsbury Social Centre - http://bloomsburyfightback.wordpress.com/

Solidarity to all.

Careers Fair Protest

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 12:05:15 -0400

Today (30/03/2011) students staged an action at the careers’ fair to protest at the inclusion of Thales. Thales are the second biggest arms company in the UK, eleventh biggest in the world, with EUR 5 billion of military sales each year. Since 2002, Thales has been in charge of producing ID Smartcards in China, a regime known for its human rights abuses and harassment of human rights’ activists. Thales have also been involved in corruption and bribery in South Africa. Most importantly though, THEY MAKE WEAPONS THAT ARE USED TO KILL AND INJURE PEOPLE.

Students removed Thales’ harmful propaganda, encouraging graduates to become part of a company that directly profits from the murder and oppression of the working class; as well as staging a “die-in” to highlight the company’s involvement in the deaths of millions of people worldwide.

Whilst activists staged the die-in, students from SPEAK, who were distributing information outside, moved inside and supported the die-in, handing out leaflets and unfurling a banner which stated opposition to the university’s involvement with the arms trade.

Thales is a disgraceful example of a capitalist agenda which puts profit before peoples’ lives, not least in supplying arms to oppressive regimes, such as Libya and Saudi Arabia. This February Thales went (with the PM David Cameron) on a trip to volatile countries with outrageous human rights records in the Middle East, selling weapons under the pretence of defence.

Over the past 10 years, the University has accepted over £41million in research contracts from military projects. As of March 2008, the University held shares of £35.8million in arms companies, 1.2% of total University investment. Despite a Students’ Union policy that is “opposed to the University’s collaboration with arms companies, which develop the weapons that are used to kill hundreds of innocent civilians around the world every day” management continues to accept this blood money. We don’t want to see arms companies anywhere on campus and will oppose them whenever they turn up. It is horrific that our University welcomes such companies with open arms, inviting them to recruit a new generation of child killers and weapon manufacturers from our student body. Those involved in today’s actions are wholeheartedly opposed to platforms given to these instigators of mass murder and demand an immediate end to university involvement with all military projects. We will not be convinced by watery arguments that say these contracts are necessary in the face of the cuts; we see cuts as part of a larger, capitalist privatization of education and believe that this should be combated. With the University exposed to market forces, it is essential that arms companies are not allowed to further influence University policy. We advocate an ethical approach to all future University partnerships.

WE SUPPORT OUR LECTURERS!

Sun, 20 Mar 2011 18:56:02 -0400

On Tuesday 22nd and Thursday 24th, The Universities and Colleges Union has called a strike to defend their members’ right to a fair pension. Please support our staff and lecturers by joining them on the picket lines at Sheffield Uni and Hallam! Students and lecturers are organising a TEACH OUT from 2PM on Thursday in Weston Park (provisions are being made for weather).

UCU supported students by campaigning with NUS against recent changes to higher education funding and EMA, providing transport to the march in London on 10th November, as well as supporting student occupations. However, the strike is being presented by management as disadvantaging students in a dispute over pay. Strike action is as a last resort after employers have repeatedly refused to negotiate.

The same universities that have chased higher tuition fees and cut lecturers’ jobs now appear intent on wrecking a pension scheme that is one of the main reasons that quality staff stay in our universities. University employers have unnecessarily provoked a bitter dispute by forcing unpopular proposals on staff through a short-term desire to save money.

The privatisation of education has ramifications for the relationship between students, lecturers and the University. Exposing the university to market forces degrades education which should be a right, not a service. Universities shouldn’t be run like businesses. Lecturers are not just service providers.

For more information, find the “We support our lecturers” event on Facebook, or the UCU website http://www.ucu.org.uk/index.cfm?articleid=1680

Rage Against The Lib Dems- Stop Tax Evasion

Fri, 18 Mar 2011 14:07:33 -0400

Rage Against The Lib Dems- Stop Tax Evasion

Members of Sheffield occupation @ Rage Against The Lib Dems

Fri, 18 Mar 2011 14:06:41 -0400

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vcfMCRWOg0

Occupations

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 09:08:13 -0500

Just to say, solidarity with Glasgow who have just gone into occupation not only with their previous aims but also to defend a postgrad union building which is threatened with being shut down. When they cut back on education…

Also, much solidarity and love to Birmingham occupiers, I hope they come out of this unscathed.

Video

Thu, 30 Dec 2010 11:28:19 -0500

HSBC Dodge £2bn in tax

Tue, 28 Dec 2010 14:25:06 -0500

Afer Vodafone, Topshop and Boots, HSBC are the latest company be caught dodging huge amounts of British tax http://www.private-eye.co.uk/sections.php?section_link=in_the_back Maybe time to change your bank account? Co-op seem to be the most ethical