Today the camp received a letter from University delivered by the Security guards.
This letter names 7 individuals who had their IDs checked on one particular morning, Wednesday. The management clearly do not understand the non-hierarchical mode of organisation employed in the camp, as they asked for the letter to be delivered to the "leader", who does not exist. Also they clearly underestimate the strength of our protest by only naming those seven individuals, presumably as they assume that they are the only people at the camp. In fact there are several times more campers than this and our numbers are increasing every day.
The letter claims that disciplinary proceedures "may" be undertaken against students involved in the camp, as we are supposedly breaching the campus ordinances. However the claim that the camp breaks ordinances is very weakly supported by the actual text of the campus regulations. The only way the text can be interpreted to mean that we are actually breaching regulations is if it could be demonstrated that the camp is disrupting students, education, or that we are damaging the "good name" of the university. To these implicit claims we respond that not only are we not disrupting revision for exams (which are the only form of "education" occuring on campus at this point in the year), we are actually assisting it by using the space in the camp to hold revision sessions. Also, rather than damaging the university's reputation, we are aiding it, by trying to preserve, among other things, the linguistics department, which is world reknowned, and also by carrying on Sussex's proud tradition of student activism.
If anyone is damaging the reputation of this univeristy, it is the current university management by eliminating some of the most respected departments our university has and by clamping down on their own students' freedom to protest.
We urge all who are appalled by this intimidatory action by the university management to come and help us defy their order to dismantle the camp by 5pm on Friday. Come along, bring your tent and any other camping equipment you have and let us show management how strong the opposition to their neoliberal restructuting agenda is.
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i was just at the camp for twenty four hours. i had a good time and hope to be back soon. it's a pretty strange protest camp in that it has a 24 hour library, toilets, showers, shops and bars all within a few minutes' walk! as mentioned above, the university administration is making some spurious claim that we are bringing the good name of the university into disrepute - well, obviously we are not, we are upholding the fine tradition of student activism at sussex and further we could argue strongly that in doing such things as awarding farthing, the vice chancellor, a 40% pay increase (he is earning over 200 grand now!!) and trashing the linguistics program, the administration might itself be considered to be bringing the uni into disrepute. all the feedback we have had was positive, although sadly most students don't appear that interested, even if it is exam period there is perhaps the feeling that this protest doesn't concern them. yeah right. not now it doesn't maybe, but it will. the commodification of life continues on many levels and we have to fight it wherever we can. see you at the camp! all are welcome (and it would be nice to see more linguistics students down there, since for them there is at least a direct link, if one is required!)
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