RIP The Free Hetherington, 1/2/11-31/8/11.

Closed.

The occupation of the Free Hetherington at Glasgow University ended on Wednesday 31st of August, after 7 full months. This makes it the longest student occupation in UK history.


After numerous meetings with Senior Management of the University, the occupation negotiated the following terms:

1. No more course cuts.
2. No more compulsory redundancies.
3. A new postgraduate club, to be opened in the next year.
4. No cuts for student services, a guarantee of transparency with the SRC.
5. A public meeting with the principal Anton Muscatelli, where students and staff may address their worries.
6. No repercussions from the University for staff or students involved in the occupation.
7. An assurance that no information will be volunteered to the police about people involved.

London, March 26th 2011

I 'joined' the occupation back in February, about two or three weeks after it first began. I had stood in University Gardens on the day it first began, watching Liam talk through a megaphone, attempting to make students listen from the first floor balcony. I'd had a class to get to that day, and I had never really considered myself political, nor the sort of person who took direct action as a form of protest. There was a demo organised against the proposed cuts to departments, including my own department, and I'd seen posters around the campus in those first couple of weeks. I'd already decided I was going, but first I wanted to see what was happening in 13 University Gardens. Curiosity took me over the doorstep, but as soon as I walked in the door I was welcomed by someone on door duty, and shown through to the downstairs room by someone else. There were people sitting around, chatting, to my left, people studying to my right. Directly in front of me, someone was busy behind the bar and offered me a cup of tea. That day, I ended up doing the dishes. A few days later, I came back and learnt how to knit. Over the following weeks I attended workshops, offered my opinions in meetings, found my political voice and somehow, only a month later, found myself marching through the streets of London, protesting against the government's cuts to education and public services. I slept on the hard wooden floors of the Free Hetherington, when there weren't enough mats or mattresses and peeled vegetables in its kitchen. I made endless cups of tea for visitors and cleaned endless dirty dishes. I stayed up all night writing essays, fuelled by complimentary coffee, accompanied by numerous other students doing the same. I attended workshops where I learnt about the experiences of others and more about myself than I thought I would. I went to lectures and seminars on subjects I wouldn't have gotten even at the university. I met some of my heroes in terms of writers, film-makers and musicians. I laughed, I cried and I took part. It was a very small part. There were some wonderful, dedicated, lovely people at the Free Hetherington who did so much more and I am so grateful to them for giving me the opportunity to be involved. In comparison, I did very little. They were the ones who made sure there were always people around, that there were always activities planned and that people didn't forget why we were there in the first place. I felt proud to stand behind that banner, and prouder still to say that the Free Hetherington gave me a voice I didn't know I had. I won't forget that. Long live the Free Hetherington and my best to all its occupiers. I won't forget everything I've learned.

(If you'd like to read Liam and Alistair's article in Thursday's Guardian, it is here. The final word from the Free Hetherington blog is here.)