Sheffield University Occupied, send messages of solidarity!

[Patchd]

After one inadequate response to our demands and refusal to continue with negotiations, Sheffield university students overwhelmingly voted to move into occupation to win our demands. Over 40 students and workers are occupying lectures theatres 5 and 6 in the Hicks building, with many more supporting. The occupation ratified the existing demands and added others to support Israeli students victimised for refusing to fight in the army, to oppose repercussions for any students and staff involved in the occupation and to support staff fighting wage and job cuts at the university. A list of the demands sent in a letter to the Vice Chancellor are below. We welcome students and staff to join us in our occupied space. We are planning on holding discussions, debates, film showings and meetings in the space and will have a stall on the concourse from 10 till 4 each day.

Updates will be put on http://sheffoccupied.blogspot.com/ and messages of support can be sent to [email protected]


As student activists and members of the University of Sheffield community, we call on the university to:

1. Issue a statement condemning the disproportionate actions of the Israeli state against the Palestinian people.
2. Create a special programme of five Palestinian scholarships and waive all fees for current students from the occupied territories.
3. Enter into an academic partnership with the University of Gaza.
4. Donate old books, computers and other relevant equipment to the University of Gaza, and pay for the transport of these materials.
5. Publicise the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal on Sheffield University notice boards, website and via email.
6. Initiate a programme in partnership with students of divestment and ending links with the arms trade.
7. Allow those studying medicine to carry out their electives in the occupied territories of Palestine.
8. Commemorate the United Nations Palestine Solidarity Day on November 29th.
9. Echo the Occupation's statement of support with Israeli students who have been imprisoned for refusing to serve in the IDF.

We have taken this action because we believe our university should be run democratically from below by students and staff, and not in the interests of corporate profiteering. Because of this belief, we express our solidarity with university workers and demand

10.That they face no cuts in jobs, wages or conditions.
We further demand
11. That participants in, or supporters of, the occupation face no repercussions.


Also, please sign the following petition.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/sheffield_occupation/

[benhur]

These self-proclaimed socialists can't even protect their local workers, and they're worried about international goings on! No wonder, workers are ignoring the socialists and moving toward BNP and other fascist parties.

And we wonder why socialists aren't taken seriously anywhere in the world. Practicality is missing in most socialists, they're too vague and idealistic, which is why workers are avoiding them.

[BobKKKindle$]

These self-proclaimed socialists can't even protect their local workers, and they're worried about international goings on! No wonder, workers are ignoring the socialists and moving toward BNP and other fascist parties.Can you get any more stupid? You can't divide revolutionary politics up into "local" and "international" issues - the situation in Palestine is completely different from the UK on a superficial level in that the UK is an imperialist state that is not being attacked and bombed on a regular basis, whereas Palestine is, but the fact remains that both Palestine and the UK are both components of a global capitalist system that can only be destroyed through revolutionary action on a global scale, and that, above any humanitarian concerns, is why socialists see covering Palestine as important, and go to such efforts to make sure that people are aware of what is happening in Palestine and will hopefully become part of campaigns aimed at raising further awareness and reducing the role of the British state in perpetuating the suffering of the Palestinian working class. If you think that only students care about "international issues" then you need to take a look at the recent political history of states such as the UK when the governments of these states have threatened to wage war on oppressed populations - millions of workers have participated in anti-war demonstrations, and political organizations backed by trade unions and working-class activists such as StWC have emerged out of the widespread opposition to militarism, and the Iraq War in particular. The most important impact of these organization lies not only in the fact that they have organized opposition to specific wars, but also in that they have allowed large numbers of workers (particularly Muslim workers, who constitute one of the most oppressed and exploited segments of the working class) to become politically active for the first time, and gain experience of collective action, helping to overcome barriers between workers, and exposing workers to political arguments on other issues, such as capitalism, and social discrimination. This is also true of university occupations - the most importance aspect of the occupation for me was the democratic decision-making process that emerged almost as soon as we decided that we were going to stage an occupation, because it demonstrated that direct democracy is not only possible, but is ultimately desirable when it comes to radical forms of political action. That experience of collective struggle had an impact on the consciousness of all of the participants and is going to change the way they approach other political issues in the future. In addition, the action itself wasn't just limited to students - we gained the support of a local trade union, and one of its members (an SWP comrade, in fact) came along to tell us that he and his fellow workers supported what we were doing and would support us in any way they could by printing leaflets, spreading awareness, and so on.

Your dismissive and patronizing attitude towards the working class is most evident in the way you understand the role of socialists. The job of socialists is not to "protect" workers, because socialists are workers - specifically, the most advanced and militant section of the working class, and so all genuinely socialist organizations are firmly rooted in the ranks of the working class. This doesn't mean that students or academics don't have any role to play or are incapable of being good socialists, but it does mean that any socialist worth her salt recognizes that the working class must always play the central role in the struggle against capitalism, and in any movement intended to achieve progressive change. The SWP has always recognized that socialism cannot come into being through the decisions of an elite, imposing its aims on the rest of society, as advocated by both Stalinists and reformists, but only through the collective actions of the working class, led by a democratic organization that draws its strength from workers. You completely neglect this vision, because you see socialists as coming from outside the working class, and lecturing workers on how they should liberate themselves from capitalism. This is, in other words, the old conflict between socialism (or what some people describe as socialism) from above, and socialism from below.

[h0m0revolutionary]

These self-proclaimed socialists can't even protect their local workers, and they're worried about international goings on! No wonder, workers are ignoring the socialists and moving toward BNP and other fascist parties.

And we wonder why socialists aren't taken seriously anywhere in the world. Practicality is missing in most socialists, they're too vague and idealistic, which is why workers are avoiding them.

Might want to actually read the demands the occupation has come out with. Sheffield Uni staff are facing redundancies, wage decreases and contract hour cuts. The occupiers to their credit have clearly seen that the situation in Palestine is not an isolated phenomia - from the decimation of the poorest people in the world to local job cuts, this is all part and parcel of the absolute absurdity of capitalism.

The demands do not focus exclusively on 'international issues', but even if they were to are you seriously suggesting the working class would be alienated by focusing on anything other than the goings on of their local area?!

[YKTMX]

These self-proclaimed socialists can't even protect their local workers, and they're worried about international goings on! No wonder, workers are ignoring the socialists and moving toward BNP and other fascist parties.

And we wonder why socialists aren't taken seriously anywhere in the world. Practicality is missing in most socialists, they're too vague and idealistic, which is why workers are avoiding them.

Christ almighty.


Good on the occupiers at Sheffield!

Solidarity from someone who was involved in the occupation at Glasgow Uni!:thumbup:

[Hegemonicretribution]

Not far from me at all...if I had even £5 left on my overdraft i would get on down there. I completely missed the occupation here because I live off campus, and there was hardly any publicity until it was over which is a shame. I wasn't on the internet at the time so missed electronic invites :(

Benhur, yes such actions may deter certain people, but they will be deterred by any such actions until they have been appealed to on a level that works for them. There are also other people who will seek solidarity with those supporting a cause that mainstream organisations do not.

Can we quantify what will garner the most support for the left? Nope. To pull out of all such projects for fear of alienating certain people would mean that there would be no activism. Internet discussion groups etc would be all that is left. This perception itself alienates people because they think the left is primarily intellectual wankery.

Students in general aren't taken very seriously, no matter what cause they support.

[brigadista]

i signed the petition and wholeheartedly support the occupiers and their demands - i have also passed the link on...

many students these days are working class and having to work as well as study to support themselves,,we should be supporting all involved in this occupation

[The Feral Underclass]

There is the blog, but for those not reading it we have been offered the opportunity to negotiate so at present we are trying to work out the details of how that negotiation will happen with the University management.

We have had huge support and packed out lecture theatres for our evening programmes. We're all very optimistic about it.

Further to that we have been told that our court date for the injunction is Tuesday 24th meaning we don't face eviction until then. But we think we'll be out by then in any case.

Although we may not be able to start negotiations until Monday, but I'm thinking they will meet with us tomorrow.

[brigadista]

more power to you all!!!

[Patchd]

These self-proclaimed socialists can't even protect their local workers, and they're worried about international goings on! No wonder, workers are ignoring the socialists and moving toward BNP and other fascist parties.

And we wonder why socialists aren't taken seriously anywhere in the world. Practicality is missing in most socialists, they're too vague and idealistic, which is why workers are avoiding them.
FAIL.

You haven't even read our demands, stop wasting my time with your senseless drivel.