Sitting in & staring down

The law faculty occupation is a new type of protest

Occupying the law faculty isn't supposed to resolve the situation in Gaza. Anyone who thinks it's just a protest is missing the point. This was web-reliant activism for the 21st Century. And despite its success, the protest could easily have failed at the start.

Last Friday at around 7pm a small group of protestors entered the law faculty and refused to leave. Like so many student protests in Cambridge, this could have ended with issuing an obligatory and unrealistic list of demands to the university, a photo-shoot with the student media and then... nothing. Everyone goes home because, hey, they've got an essay in for Monday. Except this time something was different.

With less preliminary planning than the average Queens Ent, a group of concerned students have managed to lure over 150 students to the law faculty, keep them for over 3 days and maintain a sense of purpose beyond just irritating the University. This wasn't just a lucky accident; its haphazard, spontaneous nature was actually its key to success.

Mass emails to society lists meant that by 9pm over 150 people had converged on the law faculty. Because the group had no specific pre-arranged demands or leaders, it couldn't just present requests to the university and wait to receive the reply. By the time group demands were formally decided it felt like an occupation, not a meeting. Ironically, if the university had not threatened to prevent students re-entering the building, many would have gone home. In all likelihood, most would not have returned.

If the democratic process helped people feel appreciated, and continuing through the night ensured their commitment, then the final success has been the occupation's media team. Living on the ground floor of the law faculty is a dreary business - just ask the lawyers in exam term. Their success in contacting speakers, putting on events and maintaining a profile online meant that people stayed put instead of just passing through.

Maintaining momentum relied heavily upon the protest attracting interest from outside Cambridge. This story has been picked up by the BBC, internet news and blogs, as well as local, national and international newspapers. Even Israeli newspapers have been writing articles. Considering the looks of bewilderment from passers-by on the Sidgwick site, the protest may have greater impact outside the university than within it.

Further connection to other protest groups prevented any slow leak of morale. 17 other British universities have seen similar demonstrations in the last two weeks. The LSE and Oxford University have conceded to their protesters' demands. Manchester Metropolitan reportedly attempted to prevent food entering the occupation, whilst Birmingham University threatened students with "breach of the peace" removal by police. The Cambridge protestors have repeatedly said that knowing other groups were in the same situation was vital to their confidence. It was proof that they were not a few isolated Cambridge students.

The successes of this occupation have to be considered relatively. The protest is probably not going to win large concessions from the university. The likelihood of the university condemning Israel is minute. This might be the last event of its type, or the beginning of something more.

Nonetheless, this occupation will have been the largest, most protracted demonstration of 21st Century Cambridge and one of the greatest simultaneously co-ordinated protests in 21st Century Britain. That achievement is not to be sniffed at, whatever you may think of the cause. An anonymous student said on Saturday morning:

"Brunch will happen, rumours will spread. And people will turn up expecting to see protesters nailed to the walls with the faint smell of tear gas in the air. And people will be mildly disappointed that we sit around and discuss things... but I'm sure a fair few will understand."

Peter Wood is a 3rd year Geography student.

Peter Wood Robinson