Staff and students march on University House
University staff and students at The University of Warwick took part in an organised march around campus on Wednesday afternoon, culminating in an attempt to enter University House.
The march follows several days of strikes by the UCU (University and College Union) due to proposed changes to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS).
Protesters started the march with a gathering outside Warwick Arts Centre, progressing down Gibbet Hill road, past the Library before looping round to the Oculus.
The crowd let off several smoke grenades while chanting ‘no ifs, no buts, no education cuts’
During the march, the crowd let off several smoke grenades while chanting ‘no ifs, no buts, no education cuts’ and ‘5,6,7,8,9, do not cross the picket line’.
In sub zero temperatures, the parade then moved towards University House, which contains the University Executive Office. The protesters marched down Gibbet Hill Road again, stopping traffic in the process, before arriving at Uni and demanding to be let in.
While security guards stood behind the doors of the building, the crowd chanted ‘Uni House, let us in, all we want is to sit in’.
The parade then moved towards University House… and demanded to be let in
Upon failure to gain access to the building, the group then proceeded to make several speeches criticising the proposed cuts to pensions, before marching back to central campus in the snow.
Comments (1)
Interesting etymology of the signifier ‘grenade’ here, and more generally it seems… I wonder when this term was accepted to describe something that is not thrown, but held in the hand? Seems misleading.
You’d need to check with the authors of the chant, but I’m fairly sure it was “Uni House, let us in, all we want to do is sing”.
Moreover, I’d challenge the representation of this article that there was an explicit intent to enter the building. I don’t believe this is accurate. Though again, interviewing actual participants in the march would be useful to ensure the most accurate reflection events.