Student Occupation in Glasgow: An Interview

For over a year, the British government has been cutting funding to public services, including university funding. Naturally, students are frustrated with the situation and do not want to see their education chipped away at because the government and university administrators do not deem certain aspects of it necessary. At Glasgow University in Scotland, this frustration has manifested itself as a student occupation of the Hetherington Research Club.

What follows is an interview, conducted via e-mail, with a student involved in the occupation. She does not speak for the whole occupation, but as an individual. It is a look into the anatomy of a student occupation and an example of what can be done through collective student power.

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Middlebury Gadfly (MG): First, tell us what you can about the Free Hetherington. What is it? 

Hannah: The Hetherington Research Club (HRC) was, until last year, the postgraduate students' social club at the University of Glasgow. They ran various club nights and pub quizzes, and offered a space for postgraduate students to meet, get a drink, chat and learn form each other. Last year, the university shut it down, saying it was unprofitable and citing financial mismanagement issues. This meant the loss of a valuable space on campus, as although Glasgow Uni has two other student unions, neither offers the same relaxed atmosphere that the HRC did, and are geared more to undergraduates, drinking and club nights than they are to postgrads or to discussion and learning.

The building was occupied by students on the 1^st of February, which means that at the time of doing this interview we're coming up for our one month anniversary in occupation, which is pretty cool! As far as I'm aware, what we're doing is pretty unusual in terms of UK student occupations, although there are numerous other student groups in occupation around the country right now.

Having this building, run autonomously, provides students and staff at Glasgow Uni with a valuable physical base for meeting and organising to fight the savage budget cuts at the universities in Glasgow. Since the 1^st of February, the Free Hetherington has been run by students on donations, and we're open 24 hours a day. We have two people stationed on the door at all times for security reasons and to let people in. We offer free tea and coffee to all comers, and provide two free cooked vegan meals a day, prepared on site by our amazing volunteer chefs and helpers. Every day we run events, from direct action workshops and legal awareness training for demonstrators to life drawing and sewing classes. We even have children's film screenings! Everything at the Free Hetherington is decided at meetings where anyone can come and have their say and we vote on proposals democratically. 

MG: Budget cuts at Glasgow University prompted the occupation, correct? Can you tell our readers what the current situation is?

Hannah: The Tory-Lib Dem coalition government is cutting public services in a way that is just unprecedented in modern British history, and using the financial crisis as an excuse for cuts of an ideological nature. While Scotland isn't seeing the worst of this right now thanks to many of the issues involved being devolved to the Scottish Parliament, we have a general election here in May, which could see changes. As far as the current situation at the University of Glasgow goes, we're seeing extremely serious cuts proposed by senior management, who are proposing a “consultation” which will be overseen by the senior management team themselves before they confirm the drastic and frightening cuts that have been announced.

Currently they are proposing cutting the nursing department entirely, despite it being one of the best in the country with an excellent employment record for graduates. They are also proposing entirely cutting the school of Slavonic Studies, the only course of its kind in Scotland, which would include getting rid of Polish, Czech and Russian. German might also be for the axe. The most extreme proposal for the School of Modern Languages and Cultures (SMLC) would see language provision reduced to just French and Spanish, leaving the West of Scotland entirely without a university which provides a range of language options. They also want to merge archaeology with history, losing jobs. The scrapping of the Department of Adult and Continuing Education is also on the table, and this department has an important role to play in the wider community and as an access route to university for those without traditional academic qualifications. At the same time as they are proposing such drastic cuts in languages – an area in which Glasgow excels – they are investing in the departments which make the most money from non-EU students' fees, namely medicine, business and economics, and new professorships are being advertised in these areas while staff are being laid off elsewhere.

The Free Hetherington provides a space to organise protests against this destruction of our education, and we've had fantastic support from a broad base. Last week around 3000 students marched on the university court where management was meeting to discuss these proposals, the largest student demo Glasgow has seen. There is serious and broad-ranging opposition to the cuts being made and we will keep fighting. This is not just about our own educations; this is about the principle of education for its own sake, and the education of those who will come to Glasgow Uni in the future.

MG: When did the occupation start?

Hannah: On the 1^st of February, a group of students occupied the abandoned building by entering through an unlocked fire door. No criminal damage was caused in entering the building. People have been in the building 24/7 since then.

MG: What are you hoping to achieve through this occupation?

Hannah: We want to see an end to the drastic cuts at Glasgow Uni, and to the government's ideological decimation of our public services. We also want to see the HRC return to being a building for student use, not turned into offices as the University wants. Additionally, though, we are building on the activist community in Glasgow, and providing an important space for people to meet with each other, discuss issues and organise. 

MG: Does a particular political/social ideology dominate the occupation, or is there a wide representation of views and goals?

Hannah: People here come from various political hues, from anarchists across numerous socialist denominations to people who're just opposed to the government's and the university's cuts, and although I think it would be fair to say we're a broadly left-wing group, we're certainly not party-political. Any disagreements are dealt with respectfully. People of any political ideology or none are welcome as long as they're open to respectful discussion. We try to be a respectful, safe space, and have firm policies against racist, sexist or homophobic behaviour.

MG: What is a typical day inside the Hetherington?

Hannah: It depends on the day! Those who've slept over wake up in the morning and put away communal bedding so the hall can be used for workshops and meetings. Coffee and tea is always going on in the bar downstairs (we don't serve alcohol, but you can BYOB!) and people will be popping in and out on their way to and from class, both regular users of the building and new people coming in to check it out. Someone will go out to get the papers so we can have them around for people to read. Some days meetings will be happening upstairs, for a variety of groups as anyone can book the space for free.

Throughout the day two people will always be on the door, in two-hour shifts. No one likes doing the 3-5am or the 5-7am, but someone always does! Lunchtime will come around and the chefs will bring up something tasty that anyone who wants can come in and eat, so we'll take some out to whoever's on the door. We also always have someone with medical and first aid training in the building, 24/7, who can often be found in the hallway by the medic station, and can otherwise be spotted by their fluorescent medic jacket!

In the evening we're usually a little busier. At least three nights a week we have an occupation meeting, where we gather to discuss issues and vote on things to do with the day-to-day running of the space. Dinner happens at various times whenever it's ready, and is always free, vegan-friendly and delicious! 

Throughout the evening people will come in to hang out and chat, or to attend a poetry open mic night or a pub quiz. Often people are up late in the hallway hanging out with the people on the door, singing and playing guitar or just chatting or knitting. It's a very friendly and open space, but also a place where people care and are passionate about things.

MG: Is it just students, or is the larger community encouraged to engage?

Hannah: The building is used by staff and both under- and postgrad students, and lecturers from the university have even come down to deliver free, open lectures. However, it's not exclusive to people from the university, and anyone is welcome to come in to attend events or just to check it out. The only exception is that we're not prepared to admit drunk or confrontational people who turn up the door. Also, obviously, police in uniform and the university security guards are not allowed into the building, although we do take the security guards cups of tea and coffee when they're outside, and we maintain a very good relationship with them. 

MG: What about administrators? Or police? Has there been any sort of conflict with those who are against you? If so, how did you handle it?

Hannah: We have been largely left alone in the building; I think the management was initially thinking we would get bored and leave quickly. Last week, the principal's PR man sent out an email to the entire staff and student body that made some pretty libelous and untrue statements about the occupation, asking us to end it. It should be noted that this mass email is the only communication we've ever had from senior management, who have never contacted the occupation directly and chose instead to make accusations and misrepresentations to a wide audience, while implying that they had had contact with us. We've released a reply, but we're being denied the right to send it out to the same mass audience that the principle was able to access, so we're trying to spread the word via Facebook and other social media. 

We have still not been directly asked to leave, and at the time of this interview we are attempting to set up a meeting with senior management to discuss our concerns.

MG: Is there anything else you’d like to share?

Hannah: For anyone who thinks of student activists as angry, hateful, violent people (and let me be clear – many people do think of us that way) the Free Hetherington is the opposite of that. We're a community space, for learning and discussion, and for fighting against the cuts, which will affect everyone at the University of Glasgow. It is an open place, where I've learned a lot and had my mind opened. We're providing a valuable service to the university and wider community, and it's just the happiest, most stimulating and encouraging place I've ever been lucky enough to spend time. I've met so many different people from around the world and from all walks of life, but everyone's voice has equal power within these walls. The people really do have power. Stand up and fight for what's important, and don't let governments and businessmen take it away.

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For more information about the Free Hetherington, you can visit their website here:

http://freehetherington.wordpress.com/

or their Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/FreeHetherington

Solidarity from an american anarchist.

t h e   g a d f l y

*UPDATE* On 22 March 2011, the occupiers at The Free Hetherington were evicted by the police. The police gave a girl a concussion and refused her water and medical attention. Click the links above to find out more information as it is available.