80 police officers, 18 police vehicles and a helicopter were deployed today to evict students from a 7 week occupation at Glasgow University. One women had to be carried out in a stretcher and taken to hospital with concussion. This represents a major attack on the right to protest and organise on campus. It was organised with the full knowledge of university management and appears to have been timed to coincide with a major demonstration against education cuts in Edinburgh and on the day of an England wide strike by lecturers which saw several other universities go into occupation.
Students are now asking for your support. Please send letters of complaint to:
- Vice Chancellor Anton Muscatelli principal@glasgow.ac.uk
- Secretary of Court David Newall David.Newall@glasgow.ac.uk
- copy in the students at glasgowoccupation@gmail.com
More Information:
Go to: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-12819114
After 50 days of occupation, students at Glasgow University were today evicted from ‘The Free Hetherington’ (formerly Hetherington Research Club), occupied in protest against the cuts Management took advantage of the absence of many activists attending an NUS demonstration in Edinburgh to deploy campus security and the police to break in to the building and forcefully eject the remaining occupiers. A crowd gathered outside to protest the eviction which resulted in a number of arrests and one woman being taken to hospital with concussion.
As news of the incident spread the crowd outside the building swelled, totalling 500 students and staff who then marched on the offices of senior management. 100 students are now in occupation.
The occupation has released the following demands:
1) Freedom of access to the occupied space.
2) There should be no repercussions or criminal charges for those involved in the occupation.
3) Immediate investigation into today’s events; an explanation of who invited the police onto campus; condemnation of the violence used by security and the police (no more police on campus.)
4) immediate re-opening of The Free Hetherington and guaranteed security of possessions that were in the building.
5) Immediate resignation of the principal Anton Muscatelli
6) A response to the Freedom of Information request recently made by staff members regarding the status of the Hetherington Research Club.
7) An end to the current program of cuts at Glasgow University.
8) Greater transparency in university finance and around the consultation process.
9) The consultation should be mediated by an independent body, not management themselves.
Please support them by sending messages to the emails above.
