Sheffield Students Occupy Hicks Building

Student activists, with the support of local workers, have occupied two
lecture theatres in the university campus in solidarity with the Palestinian
people. Students at our university are outraged by Israel’s recent, brutal
invasion of Gaza. The attack in which over 1,400 Palestinians were killed,
of whom over 400 were children, is the latest chapter in the sixty year
oppression and occupation of the Palestinian people.

These demands have been forwarded to the University management:

1. Issue a statement condemning the disproportionate actions of the
Israeli state against the Palestinian people.

2. Create a special programme of five Palestinian scholarships and waive
all fees for current students from the occupied territories.

3. Enter into an academic partnership with the University of Gaza.

4. Donate old books, computers and other relevant equipment to the
University of Gaza, and pay for the transport of these materials.

5. Publicise the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal on Sheffield
University notice boards, website and via email.

6. Initiate a programme in partnership with students of divestment and
ending links with the arms trade.

7. Allow those studying medicine to carry out their electives in the
occupied territories of Palestine.

8. Commemorate the United Nations Palestine Solidarity Day on November
29th.

9. Echo the Occupation's statement of support with Israeli students who
have been imprisoned for refusing to serve in the IDF.

We believe our university should be run democratically from below by
students and staff, and not in the interests of corporate profiteering.
Because of this belief, we express our solidarity with university workers
and demand:

10.That they face no cuts in jobs, wages or conditions.

We further demand:

11. That participants in, or supporters of, the occupation face no
repercussions.

This student occupation is the result of the university management’s
failure to continue in negotiations on this urgent matter despite our
repeated attempts to engage them in talks.

At present, our University is in partnership with arms companies producing
weapons that have been and continue to be directly responsible for the
deaths of thousands of Palestinians.

The Palestinian people are suffering from a humanitarian disaster,
continually underplayed and ignored by the western media – which, we
believe, is the result of the heavy financial, political and military
involvement of Western countries, in Israel.

As students and citizens we all have an obligation to make sure that our
university adopts responsible policies and actively campaign for justice for
Palestinians.

We call upon everyone to join in this country wide movement and take direct
action in their local communities, workplaces, schools and universities.
Everyone is welcome to come and join us in Lecture Theatres 5 and 6 in the
Hicks Building, Sheffield University.

This is the 31st occupation of a university in solidarity with the
Palestinian people.



In solidarity,

*The Occupiers*

Notes for editors:

- The occupiers can be contacted by emailing
 sheffieldoccupation@googlemail.com

- The website of the occupation is
 http://www.sheffoccupied.blogspot.com

- Student occupations have varied in length; some, such as Manchester,
have lasted for weeks whereas others, such as Bradford, have lasted only 24
hours.

- Details of other student occupations can be found by visiting
 http://www.occupations.org.uk

- Negotiations with university management are expected to begin on the
morning of Tuesday 17th March.