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color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">The University of Kent Occupation ended

at 2pm on Wednesday 5th January 2011, exactly four weeks after the

occupation began.

 

The protest was staged in response to

the increase of tuition fees, and the protesters consisted of five University

of Kent students. The Occupation was the longest running student occupation in

the country.

 

The students had demanded that the

university’s vice-chancellor, Julia Goodfellow, retract her signature from a

letter published in the Telegraph advocating the government’s proposal and

publish a statement admonishing the rise in fees.

 

In a statement, the students said, ‘This

decision was made on our own terms as we feel this particular occupation has

achieved all it can. We are still in dispute with the university’s

administration and will therefore be reconvening to decide on how to take our

campaign forward. Between now and the start of term we will attend a national

meeting of university anti-cuts groups and occupations to help co-ordinate a

national anti-education cuts movement.

 

‘We have decided to release a letter as

a counter measure to the letter published in The Telegraph which we will be

encouraging all university students and staff to sign. We hope that the Archbishop

of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, will see the mediation of our dispute with

the university administration as relevant to his position as Visitor to this

university. The dispute still stands regardless of the concluding of this

occupation.

 

‘The struggle against cuts is ongoing

and this occupation is one form of opposition to the government’s austerity

measures.’

 

The conclusion of the occupation predates

the court summons issued on 22nd December for 7th of

January, addressed to ‘persons unknown’. The protesters claim that the university has encroached on their right to peaceful protest whilst they were in the Senate building on the University of Kent's Canterbury campus.