SOAS Occupied!

A few minutes ago, about 30 students from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) have occupied the Brunei Gallery situated in the heart of London and are currently drawing up a list of demands.

This is not the first time this year SOAS students have occupied university property, it is no surprise that they have taken the initiative to start occupations in London to protest the cuts both in education and in wider society.

Before condemning the students as middle class and selfish, learn a little about the context of their protest.  They will not be directly affected by the rise in tuition fees, the younger generation will.  We shouldn't think of this of a single issue affecting a certain group of people.  The marketisation of our education system affects society as a whole.

The cuts to our public services are not required because the country is on the verge of economic collapse, the cuts are required by a government ideologically opposed to public services and the welfare state, and committed to handing over more of our public assets to big business.

It should be noted that from 1918 to 1961 the UK national debt was over 100% of GDP. During that period the government introduced the welfare state, the NHS, state pensions, comprehensive education, built millions of council houses, and nationalised a range of industries. The public sector grew and there was economic growth.

For the sixth largest economy in the world, the government can easily afford to invest in education.  The government currently spends just 0.7% of GDP on higher education, which is less than even the United States. The economic crisis is being used to rush through economic policies that otherwise the public would not stand for.  The UK’s very own shock doctrine.

The coalition's decision to triple tuition fees was a political choice, not an economic necessity. Nick Clegg said “At the time I really thought we could do it. I just didn't know, of course, before we came into government, quite what the state of the finances were [sic].”  The facts tell a different story.  In the period between the election and the coalition taking power, the state of the public purse improved. Only ten days after Clegg became the conservative bitch, the deficit revised downwards from £163.4bn to £156bn, having previously stood at £178bn.

The students who were inspired by the X-Factor election have quickly learned that politicians lie compulsively making the limited access to politics afforded by the status quo, such as voting and petitioning, amount to nothing more than reaffirmations of our consent to be ruled, to have our political power handled by elites. As Eric Cantona recently said, protesters who take to the streets with placards and banners are passé.  We must actively resist.

Everyone has the legal right to organize and participate in peaceful protest in Britain - the Human Rights Act (1998) gives the right to freedom of assembly and association and the right to freedom of expression.

Ill leave you with a communication Leeds UCU had with Noam Chomsky with regards to Education cuts.

“I had a startling experience a few weeks ago.  I travelled to Mexico City for talks at the National University, an enormous and very impressive institution with high standards of achievement and scholarship.  Entrance is selective, but the university is virtually free.  I then visited an even more remarkable institution, the college in Mexico City established by former mayor Lopez Obrador.  Again, the facilities and standards are quite impressive.  It is not only free, but has open admissions, though sometimes that requires some delay and sometimes assistance for students lacking adequate preparation. Shortly after I went to San Francisco for talks, and learned more about the California institutions of higher education.  They have been at the very peak of the international higher education system.  By now tuitions are quite high, even for in-state students, and cutbacks are affecting teaching, research, and staff.  It would be no great surprise if the two major state universities, UC Berkeley and UC Los Angeles, will soon be privatized while the remainder of the state system is reduced considerably in scale and level. Needless to say, Mexico is a poor country with a struggling economy, and California should be one of the richest places in the world, with incomparable advantages. I mention these recent experiences only to emphasize that the recent cut-backs in higher education seen in much of the world cannot simply be traced to economic problems.  Rather, they reflect fundamental choices about the nature of the society in which we will live.  If it is to be designed for the wealthy and privileged, mostly engaged in management and finance while production is transferred abroad and most of the population is left to fend somehow for themselves at the fringes of decent and creative life, then these are good choices.  If we have different aspirations for the world of our children and grandchildren, the choices are shameful and ruinous.

Noam Chomsky”

Please send your messages of solidarity and direct any enquiries to.

Email: soasoccupation2010@gmail.com
Website: http://soasoccupation2010.wordpress.com/
Twitter: @soasoccupation2010 and the hashtag is #soasoccupation
Press: Ellie Badcock (07581418837) and Bernard Goyder (07551319742) available for interview 24hrs