University Occupations Begin!

It may not have been front-page news amid economic crises and devastating war, but an old leftie tactic has come back into fashion.

The occupation of SOAS's Brunei Suite at the beginning of the week came at the end of a four-hour long Union General Meeting, and it was provoked by strong feelings about Gaza and the fact that the school had allowed the Ministry of Defence to hold an exhibition on school property.

Schoolchildren who arrived the next day were more pleasantly surprised at its closure than the army officers tasked to show them around - and the occupying students gave their own lecture on the role of the British military in present-day racism, imperialism and war.

But the School was quick to give in, and in the face of total collapse to their demands the students reluctantly removed their sleeping-bags from the gallery, normally rented out to private companies at the rate of £1,000 a day.

Within an hour of this compromise on Wednesday, though, students at the LSE had taken over the Old Theatre to protest their institution's indifference to the Gazan War. Director Howard Davies has a record of being happy to make political statements in Israel's favour, but he now prefers to hide behind official neutrality rather than condemn them for their mass murder of civilians.

The LSE occupation is still on, and rumours have begun to circulate that Essex University have successfully pulled off their own occupation tonight. With the benefit of Facebook for the fast dissemination of ideas and tactics, our generation may soon lose its reputation for docility.

However, it makes sense first to find out what we can learn from those with experience. If you were involved in student occupations in the 60s, 70s, 80s or 90s, please comment here with your stories and advice.

Post Script: Anyone looking for information as it happens could do worse than add Solomon's Mindfield to their bookmarks or feeds.