Monday 10th March, 7pm, SOAS, Main Building, KLT
After a widely supported and effective strike by SOAS cleaners this week Lenin Escudero, UNISON rep for ISS cleaners at SOAS, will join a panel to discuss to discuss the neoliberal attacks on our universities and how this is also undermining democracy, free speech and our right to organise on campus. (a student has just been fined over £1000 for chalking in support of the 3 Cosas cleaners campaign)
Other speakers include:
Tom Wainwright lawyer and author of “The Protest Handbook” (http://www.theprotesthandbook.com) who has represented many students in court including Zak King, the co-defendant of Aflie Meadows (also speaking) who was acquitted of violent disorder charges relating to 2010 student protests.
Simon Furse one of three people charged with violent disorder following recent protests at Birmingham university, who remains suspended by Birmingham university despite the university withdrawing 3 other suspensions. (see http://www.defendeducationbrum.org)
Maia Pal lecturer at Sussex University and Michael Segalov one of the Sussex Five who have been involved in the ongoing campaign against privatisation at Sussex Uni and the criminalisation of protest which has seen blanket protest bans, suspensions and arrests which ultimately ended in collapsed hearings or acquittal. (see https://www.facebook.com/pages/Occupy-Sussex/298629560259092)
They will talk alongside Priya Gopal who will discuss the neoliberal university http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWeFPGySLmY and Nadine El-Enany ,law lecturer and Defend the Right to Protest activist, who will put the current policing practices on our campuses in historical context.
We hope this will contribute to helping to build effective defence of students facing criminalisation and a wider discussion about challenging the neoliberal project in our universities and the attacks on our right to organise accompanying it.
Facebook page for the event: https://www.facebook.com/events/820768641282982/?fref=ts
More info about the SOAS cleaners dispute: (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Justice-For-Cleaners-SOAS/487787121252241)