Today students of the University College of London entered their eighth day of protest against impending fee increases and resource cuts.  Follow their remarkably organised and civilised protest here, which has been described as a spontaneous "academic conference".

With dedicated media-savvy protestors and incredible organisational commitment, the students of UCL enter their eighth day of a sit-in protest, occupying the Jeremy Bentham Room.  Their principle protest is against the impending rise of tuition fees, to nearly three times their current levels.

The BBC reported "These are well-dressed, articulate youngsters, there's no damage to the room, and the occupations leaflets are mixed up with sleeping bags and text books about biology and Spanish grammar.  This look like a revolution that probably does the hoovering when it's finished."

Other visitors include Professor David Colquhoun, who wrote of the protest:

"The press may like to portray students as irresponsible and revolting . When I visited the occupied Jeremy Bentham room last week, i got a very different impression. That was more than confirmed yesterday (29 November). The students aren’t just sitting around grumbling. They have organised a very impressive series of events...  I was asked if I’d like to come back a bit later for group discussions, so I did. I found the students had split into groups. It could well have been an academic conference.

This could be the best educational experience of the year for some of them, and they were making the most of it.

It is really rather beautiful.


You can check out their formidable Calendar of events here which has the appearance of an incredibly intense conference.

Their comprehensive and frequently updated website is here, and check out their blog here, and their flickr account here, which currently leads with some horrendous police violence which unfolded in Trafalgar Square.

Annual tuition fees are set to nearly treble to £9,000 if plans proceed.

Their demands

We demand that UCL:
    •   Issue a statement condemning all cuts to higher education and the rise in tuition fees.
    •   Implement a complete open books policy with regards to existing budget constraints.
    •   Ensure no redundancies for teaching, research or support staff.
    •   Reverse its outsourcing policy by bringing staff back in-house
    •   Implement the full living wage package for all cleaning, catering and security staff with no cuts to hours and jobs.
    •   Ensure no victimisation or repercussions for anyone participating in the occupation.
    •   Allow free access in and out of the occupation


Relax and participate people.