# University of Sussex Occupied - call for others to do the same



## where to (Nov 15, 2010)

In the last hour or two.



> Students have just gone into occupation in the University of Sussex over the planned cuts and attacks on higher education. The occupiers, having taken over the Fulton building on the initiative of 170 students, are calling for other students across the country to join a national wave of occupations in resistance to the cuts.



http://leninology.blogspot.com/2010/11/sussex-students-in-occupation.html


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## DrRingDing (Nov 15, 2010)




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## where to (Nov 15, 2010)

> About 200 university students are occupying a lecture theatre following a protest against the rise in tuition fees.
> 
> The students decided to start an occupation in a lecture theatre in the Fulton Building, on the University of Sussex campus, Falmer, at about 5pm today.
> 
> ...



http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/8638..._lecture_theatre_following_protest_on_campus/


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## Random (Nov 15, 2010)

They must have been gutted that Manchester beat them to it


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## frogwoman (Nov 15, 2010)

Good for them.


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## JHE (Nov 15, 2010)

Well, yes, OK, good for them.  I wish their protest well... but I can't see how university occupations are going to persuade the government to change its policy.

If you are trying to pressure a university administration into changing its policy, an occupation is a good tactic, but, in this case, of course, it is the govt, not the people who run the university, whose policies should change.


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## editor (Nov 15, 2010)

> Sussex University goes into*occupation
> November 15, 2010
> 200 students went into occupation today ( Monday 15th November) at
> Sussex University. We are occupying against cuts and rising fees in education.
> ...



Loving it.


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## Mrs Redboots (Nov 15, 2010)

Delighted to hear it!  The apathy of students in recent years has been rather worrying, given the long history of student protest in the 1960s (led by Jack Straw, cabinet minister in the last government!) and before.


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## killer b (Nov 15, 2010)

did jack straw brick tory hq? nice one.


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## AKA pseudonym (Nov 15, 2010)

sweet!!!!


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## JHE (Nov 15, 2010)

killer b said:


> did jack straw brick tory hq? nice one.


 
Highly unlikely!  Some people prefer to protest without vandalism.  I think Jack Straw is and was one of those people.


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## Cobbles (Nov 15, 2010)

_"About 200 university students are occupying a lecture theatre following a protest against the rise in tuition fees"_

Christ - the things they have to do to get "students" into lecture halls, as opposed to lounging around in front of daytime TV!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Idris2002 (Nov 15, 2010)

My colleagues down there should be pleased. When I was in Sussex last april, they very proudly told me about how their kids had revolted so hard, the riot squad had to be sent in.


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## Louis MacNeice (Nov 15, 2010)

As an ex-Sussex student and one time occupier I'm very proud!

Cheers - Louis MacNeice


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## frogwoman (Nov 15, 2010)

so you should be mate


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## BigTom (Nov 15, 2010)

well done those students, hopefully this will be the first of many occupations over the next week running up to the 24th.


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## fractionMan (Nov 15, 2010)

nice one 

http://defendsussex.wordpress.com/



> -	We demand the University of Sussex management makes a statement condemning all cuts to higher education and rise in tuition fees
> -	We are opposed to all cuts to public services
> -	We oppose a rise in tuition fees
> -	We call for solidarity and support for those arrested or victimised on Wednesday’s demonstration
> ...


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## Belushi (Nov 15, 2010)

Well done students!


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## Flanflinger (Nov 16, 2010)

So what's happening now ?


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## sim667 (Nov 16, 2010)

Flanflinger said:


> So what's happening now ?


 
They're going home, countdown 'll be on soon.


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## sim667 (Nov 16, 2010)

.


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## creak (Nov 16, 2010)

So funny it was worth posting twice.


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## Vintage Paw (Nov 16, 2010)

Good on them.

Plans are afoot to make Keele independent again this spring. (There are still lecturers working here who have their old Keele passport from last time.)


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## SF-02 (Nov 16, 2010)

Good for them.

Are there any Lib Dem MPs in Brighton? If so after this occupation (though credit worthy is just symbolic) I would like to see them get down there to their office to protest. If not go to the local tory offices and protest there. Kick up a fuss.


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## sim667 (Nov 16, 2010)

creak said:


> So funny it was worth posting twice.


 
Apparently so......


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## JHE (Nov 16, 2010)

Vintage Paw said:


> Good on them.
> 
> Plans are afoot to make Keele independent again this spring. (There are still lecturers working here who have their old Keele passport from last time.)



Like Passport to Pimlico but further north?  Will those who declare indepedence for that windswept campus turn down funding from what they presumably regard as a foreign government in London?


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## Hocus Eye. (Nov 16, 2010)

This is good news, let's hope others follow suit and keep the issue to the fore.

Hmm "to the fore" sounds a bit old fashioned, but let it stand.


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## Idris2002 (Nov 16, 2010)

JHE said:


> Like Passport to Pimlico but further north?  Will those who declare indepedence for that windswept campus turn down funding from what they presumably regard as a foreign government in London?


 
No, more like the bit in Disaster 1999 where Bill Savage discovers that Oxford and Cambridge are being run as independent city-states.

Which then get crushed by the forces of the Greater London Legion.


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## Vintage Paw (Nov 16, 2010)

JHE said:


> Like Passport to Pimlico but further north?  Will those who declare indepedence for that windswept campus turn down funding from what they presumably regard as a foreign government in London?


 
There is no shame in foreign aid.


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## cantsin (Nov 17, 2010)

JHE said:


> Highly unlikely!  Some people prefer to protest without vandalism.  I think Jack Straw is and was one of those people.


 
.


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## cantsin (Nov 17, 2010)

some people, like Jack Straw and Aaron Porter, are concerned only about their careers - a pair of wankers


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## madzone (Nov 19, 2010)

I've posted the link to our uni FB page. Some of the youngsters may like the idea


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## Bernie Gunther (Apr 1, 2011)

Louis MacNeice said:


> As an ex-Sussex student and one time occupier I'm very proud!
> 
> Cheers - Louis MacNeice


 
Me too, what year? (I was '83 or so)


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## Louis MacNeice (Apr 2, 2011)

Bernie Gunther said:


> Me too, what year? (I was '83 or so)


 
92 was the occupation; I was in my third year and loving it.

Cheers - Louis MacNeice


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## sunny jim (Mar 25, 2013)

Today's demo was pretty mental, when I arrived the management building had been surrounded by about 1000 up for it protesters, with people already on the roof. The TSG/Riot squad turned up to try and barricade the locked doors and ended up getting kettled themselves by the students and had to ditch that for rubbish idea and left looking a bit sheepish to loud cheers and general piss taking!  More cops turned up but the mood of the demo was well militant and there was a stand off for a while. We went to get a coffee cos it was fucking freezing and got back to where the demo was to find the front doors completely smashed out and a load of bank documents smouldering in a now put out bonfire (Barclays has their office in the same building) Now the management building top floor has been occupied by over 500 people barricaded in!  Well done to all involved!
eta: check out #Mar25 on twitter for more updates


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## de_dog (Mar 25, 2013)

sunny jim
I heard two large bangs while I was walking the dogs in the woods up the back of the Uni - about 3.00pm, any idea what that was?


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## sunny jim (Mar 25, 2013)

dedog said:


> sunny jim
> I heard two large bangs while I was walking the dogs in the woods up the back of the Uni - about 3.00pm, any idea what that was?


 
Could have been fireworks/bangers or more likely the front doors of the building being smashed through.


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## DaveCinzano (Mar 25, 2013)

sunny jim said:


> The TSG/Riot squad turned up to try and barricade the locked doors and ended up getting kettled themselves by the students and had to ditch that for rubbish idea and left looking a bit sheepish to loud cheers and general piss taking!


 
Like this?




http://instagram.com/p/XSUHtVvLKN/


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## sunny jim (Mar 25, 2013)

DaveCinzano said:


> Like this?
> 
> View attachment 30621
> 
> ...


 

That was after the mass of the demo smashed the doors and steamed in. Before that happened they tried to form a line to stop people doing exactly that, but couldnt get through the crowd who were kettling/blocking them


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## sunny jim (Mar 26, 2013)

University of Sussex has to be the most militant, up for it university in the country. If you think different occupy stuff and make the pigs look like cunts at your place! Do it! Solidarity to all who struggle against capitalist bollocks!


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## ymu (Mar 26, 2013)

Brighton, innit. An outlier nationally, let alone in the commutable-to-London south.


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## sunny jim (Mar 26, 2013)

ymu said:


> Brighton, innit. An outlier nationally, let alone in the commutable-to-London south.


 
Brighton has a long history of militant anti fascism/anti capitalism. The nazis are coming on the 21st April - they are gonna get a ton shit upon them. This town aint some nowhere place up north - Antifa is big here plus all the locals hate nazis too. Stickers about Antifa are all round town already. We will scare the shit out of the scum cunts.

eta: Brighton Punx Picnic is that weekend too, so load of extras too.


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## ymu (Mar 26, 2013)

Yeah, I'd back the Brighton activist crowd over pretty much any opponent, given enough time. Tenacious lot down there.


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## sunny jim (Mar 26, 2013)

We'll get every body who went on the demo today (and ketteld the pigs) to come and fuck the nazis off. And when its nazis it means no rules at all, Golden Dawn UK are coming too, so the gloves are blatantly off.


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## DRINK? (Mar 26, 2013)

so funny


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## Sprocket. (Mar 26, 2013)

sunny jim said:


> Brighton has a long history of militant anti fascism/anti capitalism. The nazis are coming on the 21st April - they are gonna get a ton shit upon them. This town aint some nowhere place up north - Antifa is big here plus all the locals hate nazis too. Stickers about Antifa are all round town already. We will scare the shit out of the scum cunts.
> 
> eta: Brighton Punx Picnic is that weekend too, so load of extras too.


 
Good old Brighton. It's good that somewhere in the land stands out against the mainstream claptrap that is absorbed by the media.
Brighton as you say has for a long time been a hotbed of protest and action. A friend of mine was at Sussex Poly as it was in the late 70's, and it was a brilliant supporter to the ANL that we all belonged to at the time.
Another friend was arrested in Brighton in October 1984 when a bomb went off there. They were in town supporting a Miners Protest group at the Tory conference and some of them got lifted. 
I live in town you call nowhere up North. It's a great privilege to have to face these Nazis day in ,day out. It breaks my heart that here in what was the Workers Republic of South Yorkshire that these pigs are gaining such a foothold!. Resistance means everything, fight them every inch or the consequences are unthinkable.


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## sunny jim (Mar 26, 2013)

Sprocket. said:


> Good old Brighton. It's good that somewhere in the land stands out against the mainstream claptrap that is absorbed by the media.
> Brighton as you say has for a long time been a hotbed of protest and action. A friend of mine was at Sussex Poly as it was in the late 70's, and it was a brilliant supporter to the ANL that we all belonged to at the time.
> Another friend was arrested in Brighton in October 1984 when a bomb went off there. They were in town supporting a Miners Protest group at the Tory conference and some of them got lifted.
> I live in town you call nowhere up North. It's a great privilege to have to face these Nazis day in ,day out. It breaks my heart that here in what was the Workers Republic of South Yorkshire that these pigs are gaining such a foothold!. Resistance means everything, fight them every inch or the consequences are unthinkable.


 
Sorry about slagging up north, got loads of mates there and it is a nice place. Most people there are really down to earth, genuine and friendly


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## Mr.Bishie (Mar 26, 2013)

> Sussex University have taken out a high court injunction against the Occupation to ban all protest on campus until September.


 
Just getting retweets atm, so not too sure who originally tweeted this. That'll be one hell of an eviction if the occupation won't leave.


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## sunny jim (Mar 26, 2013)

They will need a fuck load more pigs than yesterday ( 9/10 riot vans and few cars) plus if try and evict the occupation its gonna kick off big style with more occupations in different buildings.


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## Mr.Bishie (Mar 26, 2013)

The top floor of Bramber will take some evicting! Will they try it on over the Easter break I wonder?


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## sunny jim (Mar 26, 2013)

Mr.Bishie said:


> The top floor of Bramber will take some evicting! Will they try it on over the Easter break I wonder?


 
Maybe 21 April when they know we'll all fucking the nazis off?


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## sunny jim (Mar 26, 2013)

Mr.Bishie said:


> The top floor of Bramber will take some evicting! Will they try it on over the Easter break I wonder?


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## Mr.Bishie (Mar 26, 2013)

sunny jim said:


> Maybe 21 April when they know we'll all fucking the nazis off?


 
I doubt it. Sussex needs out of county support as it is.


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## Mr.Bishie (Mar 26, 2013)

Apparently the injunction comes into force midnight tonight. I can see an Easter eviction planned.


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## Mr.Bishie (Mar 26, 2013)

> management have also kept entire bramber house closed and have turned off the Internet to the building and area surrounding it.


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## DaveCinzano (Mar 26, 2013)

An organ recital scheduled for today has been cancelled


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## ymu (Mar 26, 2013)

Mr.Bishie said:


> .


The occupiers have plenty of 3G data and wireless access points on smartphones, I assume?


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## Mr.Bishie (Mar 26, 2013)

I would assume so.

From what I can gather, the injunction document is over 200 pages & contains the whole Mar25 twitter feed & screenshots of fb event pages.


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## Mr.Bishie (Mar 26, 2013)

Sussex students break up for Easter tomorrow. Injunction hearing 9.30am tomorrow Royal Courts of Justice, for a possession order. I smell an Easter eviction.


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## equationgirl (Mar 26, 2013)

Why aren't the two seminar and public lecture events scheduled for today also cancelled?


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## Mr.Bishie (Mar 26, 2013)

Page one of the injunction order.


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## Mr.Bishie (Mar 26, 2013)

> University takes legal steps to end occupation


 
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/staff/newsandevents/?id=18552


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## ska invita (Mar 26, 2013)

some write up - this was the most intrestedting bit, but more in the linkhttp://www.weareplanc.org/reflections-on-mar25-at-sussex-university/#.UVIB45Z_QZQ

The first thing which struck me was the confidence demonstrated by those present. Judging by the intuition displayed in their distrust of the police and instructions for holding meetings, it would be fair to say most of the group were either seasoned student activists or had been influenced by their experiences of student-led occupations or the Occupy movement. However, the presence of ‘black bloc’ types was minimal and though Socialist Workers Party and Socialist Party paper vendors were out in force, they were generally side-lined. Rather, the impression I got was that most of those pushing down the doors or kettling the police could be summed up as angry and unaligned. This brings me to a second observation. As perhaps encapsulated by the vehement smashing of the doors before the frantic blocking of the threshold, or the conversation with our friend in the conference centre kitchen, a lot of the aims and ideas present were very clearly conflicting. This is not to be dismissive: the campaign at Sussex has shown an impressive tendency for creativity and experimentation, which has clearly come about through embracing difference and diversity.

However, I can’t help wondering if for every Sussex student who is relatively new to the world of student activism, there was present a self-styled ‘professional activist’, created by the events since autumn 2010. While both were without doubt attending out of a genuine sense of outrage at the creeping privatisation across the university sector, I wonder if the latter’s motivations are not coupled with a desire to recapture the ‘Millbank moment’ and a ressentiment both towards the atrocities committed by government and police, and the abject limbo within which their newly-formed subjectivity seems to exist. As Imingled among too many familiar faces in the occupied Bramber House, someone summed up the feeling with a glib remark, excitedly commenting: “It’s like a 2010 reunion!”

There was a notable absence from the demonstration, which prompts my third observation. Scattered across the #Mar25 hashtag, we were encouraged with forced enthusiasm to write to our MPs, asking them to support the Early Day Motion being introduced to Parliament by the Green MP, Caroline Lucas. On the ground at Sussex, this tokenistic and shoddy attempt by the National Union of Students (NUS) to meet and reflect the desires and anger of its members was met with indifference and even laughter. Far from the historical attempts of the at-times Trotskyist-dominated National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts to lobby the NUS into holding another national demonstration, the propaganda and activity surrounding the anti-privatisation campaign at Sussex has had a distinctly independent character, often even hinting at ideas of autonomism or communisation. Above all, it has been characterised by an unwillingness to be mediated. This is an interesting and, I would argue, welcome turn within the embers of the movement, which could well be the key to its reignition. Recent propaganda generated by the Imaginary Party points to the rejection of institutions such as the NUS due to its restraining effect upon activity, and the Sussex campaign has had an especially grassroots character.

Incidentally, the Sussex students’ union has been less than vocal in supporting its students and their staff, opting instead for a technical intermediary role as has become so familiar with SUs countrywide. Increasingly, students originally galvanised and radicalised in 2010 are finding their own feet and carving out their own, new, political identity. Having had two years to flirt with and become disillusioned by bureaucratic institutions and competing leftist factions, the Sussex occupation may mark the beginning of something exciting which will capture and better reflect the subjectivities created post-Millbank. In this light, perhaps one of the most interesting and promising developments to come from #Mar25 was the announcement of the ‘Pop-Up Union’, which is seeking to bring together workers from across the university whatever their relevant mainstream ‘trade’ union may be, in order to coordinate industrial action in a democratic, inclusive and horizontal way.


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## sunny jim (Mar 26, 2013)

Incidentally the NUS can go fuck themselves.


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## sunny jim (Mar 27, 2013)

So eviction tomorrow then - that wont be easy. The word is out and expecting 100's of up for it students and workers. If the pigs steam it they have to get through barricades first which wont be easy.


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## Mr.Bishie (Mar 27, 2013)

Statement from occupy_sussex



> STATEMENT - 9am - 27/03/2013
> 
> Monday 25th March saw the most magnificent student demonstration and in Sussex University’s history, stepping up the unity between students and workers against the commodification of higher education. In response to this historic day of action, the Management at Sussex served an injunction prohibiting any ‘protest action’ on campus without their ‘prior written consent’, much to our disgust.
> 
> ...


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## Sprocket. (Mar 27, 2013)

This will be known in history as 'The Good Friday Disagreement'


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## Mr.Bishie (Mar 27, 2013)

> _Moreover a clear message has been sent to Sodexo, (the company soon to take on catering services here) that they are not welcome on our campus, and action will continually be taken to prevent their presence._


 
Sodexo being the company who recently tried to sack 93 employees at Brighton & Sussex University hospital. The GMB won that one. For now.


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## Sprocket. (Mar 27, 2013)

Sodexo. Well tied in with government departments, ministry of defence, home office etc!
Back pockets getting filled, allegedly!


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## Mr.Bishie (Mar 27, 2013)

Aye, bunch of fucking cunts.


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## Mr.Bishie (Mar 27, 2013)

Injunction hearing adjourned until 2pm.


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## ymu (Mar 27, 2013)

> MartinRowson
> Stop the protest ban at Sussex University https://www.change.org/en-GB/petiti...&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=twitter via @change


 
Change.org getting in on it. You lot have gone mainstream. Yer fuckin' liberals.


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## audiotech (Mar 27, 2013)

!


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## treelover (Mar 27, 2013)

impressive,bit of branding going on there with the banner though...

Jo Cardwell still doing the student thing?


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## Mr.Bishie (Mar 28, 2013)

Latest news from the hearing - http://www.timeshighereducation.co....cupation/2002869.article#.UVQZoAWJJHw.twitter


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## Mr.Bishie (Mar 28, 2013)

Hearing postponed until 3.30pm.


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## Mr.Bishie (Mar 28, 2013)

From what I can gather - 

Judge has granted possession of Bramber House. Hearing concludes that, regardless of peaceful (occupation?), occupiers are in breach of the Uni's property rights. No arguable defence.  Eviction imminent.

The injunction imposed on Monday ('against protest until September') can be contested separately in court according to the Judge.

Get down there if you can Brighton peeps.


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## sunny jim (Mar 28, 2013)

Probs be after the long weekend?


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## Mr.Bishie (Mar 28, 2013)

Possession order comes into force from midnight tonight. Apparently injunction order granted on Monday against protest on campus does stand.
Anyone coming onto campus to protest gets nicked & certainly no access to Bramber House now.


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## Mr.Bishie (Mar 28, 2013)

sunny jim said:


> Probs be after the long weekend?


 
It'll be this Easter weekend without a doubt imo.


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## Mr.Bishie (Mar 28, 2013)




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## Mr.Bishie (Mar 28, 2013)

So they can't evict on the Saturday? They'll want to get it done after midnight tonight then?


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## Sprocket. (Mar 29, 2013)

Watch yourselves and each other folks. Keep your cameras going. Good luck.


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## Mr.Bishie (Mar 29, 2013)

Apparently eviction 12 noon at the earliest.


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## Mr.Bishie (Mar 29, 2013)

Anyone got any info on the change in law that prohibits bailiffs from evicting during darkness?

Rumours that one or two bailiffs were on a recce this morning. There certainly weren't any bailiffs there after 12pm. Anyone without permission from the Uni or without a press card carrying a camera will be asked to leave campus.


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## ddraig (Mar 29, 2013)

can only find a bit here from ITV on quick search
http://www.itv.com/news/2013-01-25/bailiffs-your-rights/



> The government has announced plans for new laws to "clean up" the bailiff industry and protect vulnerable debtors.
> Under the changes which will be introduced next year, late-night visits will not be allowed, and restrictions will be put in place over what property can be seized.


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## Mr.Bishie (Mar 29, 2013)

Cheers. Going off that, the late night visit change comes in next year.


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## sunny jim (Apr 2, 2013)

Its just been on twitter from @occupysussex that they're expecting an eviction tonight/early hours


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## Mr.Bishie (Apr 2, 2013)

Security allowed food to be taken in, & that was 7 hours ago. Sounds like they may well be evicted today.


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## ymu (Apr 2, 2013)

Delayed for an encouragingly long time so far. Or are they just busy securing all CCTV and clearing the place of people with cameras before they crack heads?


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## Mr.Bishie (Apr 2, 2013)

Mobilisation of bailiffs etc due to Easter hol imo. Plus most are back to work today so less support in that respect. I was kicked off campus on Good Friday.


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## manny-p (Apr 2, 2013)

It's all well and good having occupations of universities but to most people these are just students in their own little bubble being a bit rebellious.

What I would also like to see in the next year is physical resistance to evictions this is what will give our class back some confidence. Occupations wise- public buildings, bailiff offices etc. It would also be good if the majority of the people involved in these occupations were actual working class people rather than activists. But maybe that is wishful thinking.


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## ymu (Apr 2, 2013)

It's a bit much to expect students not to do activism where they live, and they are defending the workers who are about to be sold to a private company and have their support. The media might not report it like that, but you have the benefit of this thread.

Asking why the traditional organised left are not doing more on a practical level to help people resist evictions is a very good question, of course. The bedroom tax action thread is busy so I might have missed something.


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## sunny jim (Apr 2, 2013)

The eviction happened this morning using pigs and bailiffs, with at least 1 arrest.


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## Mr.Bishie (Apr 2, 2013)

http://www.defendtherighttoprotest.org/brutal-eviction-of-sussex-students-today/

Sussex plod throwing their weight around, again.


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## audiotech (Apr 2, 2013)

What I would like to see any year is less of the workerist bollocks, as well as the endlessly moaning on and on. But maybe that's wishful thinking.

The fact is that these austerity measures are hitting home right now and I expect there will be some resistance to these and it's up to activists, anyone for that matter, to prize themselves away from their keyboards and do their bit in their communities, workplaces etc.


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## manny-p (Apr 3, 2013)

ymu said:


> It's a bit much to expect students not to do activism where they live, and they are defending the workers who are about to be sold to a private company and have their support. The media might not report it like that, but you have the benefit of this thread.
> 
> Asking why the traditional organised left are not doing more on a practical level to help people resist evictions is a very good question, of course. The bedroom tax action thread is busy so I might have missed something.


Don't you agree that it is a bubble? A bubble more and more dominated by middle class folk IMO.


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## brogdale (Apr 3, 2013)

manny-p said:


> Don't you agree that it is a bubble? A bubble more and more dominated by middle class folk IMO.


 
Maybe it is a 'bubble' as you put it, but would rather these kids do/say nothing when the management bulldoze through their neo-liberal agenda?

I know that I'm tangentally tied up in this, but I'm delighted to see youngsters like this make a stand and also very pleased to see that some elements of the organised left have shown solidarity.


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## sunny jim (Apr 4, 2013)

> *occupy_sussex* ‏@*occupy_sussex*
> 47s​DEMO FRI 5TH 1PM LIBRARY SQ. demo in opposition to managements plans and their violent attempts to quash protest on campus. spread the word.


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## ymu (Apr 4, 2013)

manny-p said:


> Don't you agree that it is a bubble? A bubble more and more dominated by middle class folk IMO.


I think that is easy sneering based on an overly simplistic analysis that can only make us weaker. I couldn't give a shit about the circumstances of their birth or the good fortune life has thrown at them, they've been working steadily for 10 months to fight the outsourcing of jobs in their community. They've had support from the workers and earnt praise from the RMT, who have done a fuck of a lot more for the workers in this country than any halo-polishing left group.

Analysing the moral worth of an individual's CV before analysing the nature of their action, and lazily denigrating it because, you know, you can't just let people get on with doing what they see fit. Heaven forbid the revolution includes enough people to actually overthrow a government. That would mean including people of insufficiently pure ideological and social roots and that would never do.


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## manny-p (Apr 5, 2013)

ymu said:


> I think that is easy sneering based on an overly simplistic analysis that can only make us weaker. I couldn't give a shit about the circumstances of their birth or the good fortune life has thrown at them, they've been working steadily for 10 months to fight the outsourcing of jobs in their community. They've had support from the workers and earnt praise from the RMT, who have done a fuck of a lot more for the workers in this country than any halo-polishing left group.
> 
> Analysing the moral worth of an individual's CV before analysing the nature of their action, and lazily denigrating it because, you know, you can't just let people get on with doing what they see fit. Heaven forbid the revolution includes enough people to actually overthrow a government. That would mean including people of insufficiently pure ideological and social roots and that would never do.


Sneering. No. Telling the truth yes.


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## manny-p (Apr 5, 2013)

brogdale said:


> Maybe it is a 'bubble' as you put it, but would rather these kids do/say nothing when the management bulldoze through their neo-liberal agenda?
> 
> I know that I'm tangentally tied up in this, but I'm delighted to see youngsters like this make a stand and also very pleased to see that some elements of the organised left have shown solidarity.


 
Don't get me wrong. I would rather they are doing what they are doing and fair play for them for backing the workers. I just think for some of them it is a phase they go through and the minute they graduate the majority will drop out of politics (my own opinion that granted). I just find it hard to take certain students seriously when they go on about revolution when they have never went without and have never lived alongside ppl who are in poverty and seeing it day in and day out and when they are in the shit they can just phone mummy and daddy to make it all ok. But maybe I do have a chip on my shoulder. ta


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## stuff_it (Apr 5, 2013)

manny-p said:


> It's all well and good having occupations of universities but to most people these are just students in their own little bubble being a bit rebellious.
> 
> What I would also like to see in the next year is physical resistance to evictions this is what will give our class back some confidence. Occupations wise- public buildings, bailiff offices etc. It would also be good if the majority of the people involved in these occupations were actual working class people rather than activists. But maybe that is wishful thinking.


It's already too late for a lot of universities as well, with many even effectively outsourcing to themselves.


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## treelover (Apr 5, 2013)

manny-p said:


> Don't get me wrong. I would rather they are doing what they are doing and fair play for them for backing the workers. I just think for some of them it is a phase they go through and the minute they graduate the majority will drop out of politics (my own opinion that granted). I just find it hard to take certain students seriously when they go on about revolution when they have never went without and have never lived alongside ppl who are in poverty and seeing it day in and day out and when they are in the shit they can just phone mummy and daddy to make it all ok. But maybe I do have a chip on my shoulder. ta


 
Normally, would agree, but these students seem different:, they have massive academic support, more than I have ever seen before, they are inclusive, they have even created the idea of a 'pop up union' to put pressure on the management and union tops..


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## brogdale (Apr 5, 2013)

manny-p said:


> Don't get me wrong. I would rather they are doing what they are doing and fair play for them for backing the workers. I just think for some of them it is a phase they go through and the minute they graduate the majority will drop out of politics (my own opinion that granted). I just find it hard to take certain students seriously when they go on about revolution when they have never went without and have never lived alongside ppl who are in poverty and seeing it day in and day out and when they are in the shit they can just phone mummy and daddy to make it all ok. But maybe I do have a chip on my shoulder. ta


 
Yeah, maybe you're right about some of them; I suppose that's (statistically) inevitable. But, speaking personally, when I was a (lefty) student I once had a 'captain of industry' assure me that my socialism was a (passing) phase that I'd grow out of when I had some experience of the 'real world' and had some responsibilities. I hated being told that then, and I hated that old fecker and I've never been too keen on hearing that sort of lazy meme since. What good does it do to belittle the actions of motivated, conscious activist kids on the basis of a perception that they might lose their radical edge a they get older. tbf you've accepted that it is just your own opinion, but I assure you that not _all _of those kids involved in the direct action to fight the neo-liberal privatisation of our HE system are from privileged backgrounds. I know that as a fact.


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## AL 50 (Apr 5, 2013)

If you excluded all the activists who've historically not been from poor backgrounds, purely on that basis, you'd be excluding a hell of a lot of people. Maybe the Suffragettes shouldn't have demonstrated because they were middle class ? Or the US civil rights movement ?


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## brogdale (Apr 5, 2013)

AL 50 said:


> If you excluded all the activists who've historically not been from poor backgrounds, purely on that basis, you'd be excluding a hell of a lot of people. Maybe the Suffragettes shouldn't have demonstrated because they were middle class ? Or the US civil rights movement ?


 
Yup


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## brogdale (Apr 5, 2013)

Another petition...http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitio...on-drop-any-criminal-charges-against-students...I know, I know...but these kids need all the support they can get.

Wordy lot, aren't they?



> We, the undersigned, strongly condemn the eviction of students occupying Sussex University in opposition to privatisation plans, including the use of up to 100 police. some in full riot gear, accompanied by vans, bailiffs and private security guards to remove protesters from their own campus. The 8 week long occupation has been a source of inspiration for students and staff at Sussex and beyond at a time when education is under attack.
> 
> Instead of engaging with the arguments and alternatives being raised by the university community the university management has resorted to the draconian measure of imposing a blanket protest ban (all protest banned without prior consent of university management) until the new academic year referring to the widely supported occupation as "unlawful". This was supported by the courts on the basis that , “whether the occupation of Bramber House has been peaceful or not, there is no arguable legal defence for the protesters. The continuation of the protest would be a breach of the University’s property rights.”
> 
> ...


 
Please sign if you feel you can.

e2a : already got to just under 1500


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## ymu (Apr 6, 2013)

manny-p said:


> Don't get me wrong. I would rather they are doing what they are doing and fair play for them for backing the workers. I just think for some of them it is a phase they go through and the minute they graduate the majority will drop out of politics (my own opinion that granted). I just find it hard to take certain students seriously when they go on about revolution when they have never went without and have never lived alongside ppl who are in poverty and seeing it day in and day out and when they are in the shit they can just phone mummy and daddy to make it all ok. But maybe I do have a chip on my shoulder. ta


That is precisely why sneering from the sidelines is pointless. Those for whom it may not just be a phase need to understand what it is they are fighting for before they become too old and tired to be of any use. If you just leave them to their bubble, how can they learn anything?


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