Students occupying Leeds University’s
most important lecture theatre have now been in occupation for a week,
in opposition to the Tory attacks on higher education.
Students occupying Leeds University’s
most important lecture theatre have now been in occupation for a week,
in opposition to the Tory attacks on higher education. The occupation
began after the ‘day of action’ on Wednesday 24th, initially
attracting nearly a thousand students and schoolchildren. However, the
inevitable chaos of hundreds of people packed into a lecture theatre
with no decisive objective caused the bulk of the occupiers to leave
after a couple of hours. This left around two hundred occupiers in the
building, who settled in for a long stay, organising supplies and food
to be brought in. After further chaos, eventually some structure was
brought into the occupation, with the election of a chairperson, press
spokesperson, and a security officer.
On the following Saturday, over 250 local trade unionists, students,
schoolchildren, parents and teachers attended a General Assembly to
discuss further action against the attacks on education. This began with
a number of talks from union members, students, and parents, but the
most inspiring speeches were from school students who had organised
walkouts of hundreds of school students across Leeds. This is despite
the fact that for many of them, missing college meant the loss of that
week’s EMA.
Tuesday’s day of action saw fewer numbers on the streets than the
previous week, but hundreds of people still braved the snow and heavy
police presence to protest against the government. For the second time
in a week, the city centre echoed with the chant of “Tory Scum”. After
the demo, the march headed back up to the occupation.
After a week of occupation, students are still enthusiastic, with up
to 50 people sleeping over most nights. After weeks of sitting on the
fence, and threatened with a vote of no confidence, the president of the
NUS has come out in support of the occupations. This confirms the
perspectives of the Marxists, that the leaders of the traditional
organisations of workers and students will, under pressure, can be
forced to the left. This perspective is being borne out not just in the
student movement but also in the trade unions, whose leaders are
vocalising their support for the students. This is the basis for an
alliance of school and university students, parents, lecturers, trade
unionists, and the wider working class.
