RESISTING THE CORPORATIONS

Sussex University represses resistance to the commoditisation of education

The commercialisation of education has been meeting fierce resistance at the University of Sussex. In 2006, a new Vice-Chancellors Executive group were appointed at Sussex and, in 2007, new VC Michael Farthing came into office. Since Farthing came in, this new administration has been dedicated to a complete restructuring of the university along pro-market lines. One aspect of this has been the restructuring of the departments within the university and the closure of the linguistics department.

The 'Sussex Not For Sale' campaign, begun in 2006, has been instrumental in building a mass movement against the marketisation of the university. Mass demonstrations were held on campus and petitions were distributed. However, on 31st May, 2009, the announced plan to close linguistics lead to a group of autonomous students setting up a camp occupying the area outside the Vice-Chancellor's office.

The protest camp was ostensibly over the immediate plans to close the linguistics department but was also an attempt to highlight how the university was being run, more and more, as a business dedicated to increasing profit, rather than to education.

The camp drew widespread support from students and staff at Sussex. Noam Chomsky, a long-standing opponent of the commoditisation of education, expressed support for the camp in a video link with the university.

On the twelfth day of the camp, Vice-Chancellor Michael Farthing issued a statement saying that the university would "act to remove the camp." During the same week, a fundraising gig for the 'Camp Against Cuts', organised at a Student Union venue, was closed down by the university management.

On day fifteen, at 4.30am, campus security accompanied by private bailiffs evicted the camp on the grounds that it was aimed at 'bringing the university into disrepute'. An order was later obtained against the camp in Brighton County Court.

The order that was given by Brighton County Court banned similar protests at the campus until January, when the linguistics department will have closed.

The students participating in the camp have been threatened with disciplinary proceedings should they continue campaigning around the issue of university restructuring. This is not the first time Sussex University has used coercion to silence student resistance to management. In 2006, an occupation of the university's library, again in protest at the marketisation of education at the university, was ended by the university management obtaining an injunction against the students.

UK universities are acting more and more as entities dedicated to profit rather than education, research and student welfare. Corporations are playing an increasing role on university campuses through research collaborations and recruitment. As this process continues, universities will inevitably be required to play an ever more repressive role in silencing dissent by students and workers.