Petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/stcsussexsix/

Sussex Stop the Cuts campaign is a self-organising group of students and staff who oppose the extensive cuts to staff and services being pushed through by the University of Sussex management. We have organised large demonstrations, mobilising hundreds of students and staff, occupied university buildings, organised alternative teach-ins and supported our staff in their overwhelming vote for and undertaking of solid strike action.

Last term management attempted to break the Stop the Cuts movement by victimising 6 students and unilaterally suspending them from University after an occupation of the main admin building, Sussex House. They were met with fierce opposition: a week long 'illegal' occupation (following a High Court injunction), an Emergency General Meeting of USSU with over 900 students voting 'No Confidence' in management and demanding the immediate reinstatement of the Sussex Six. The University Senate also called for the reinstatement of the Sussex Six. Both Senate and the USSU EGM called for an independent investigation into the events of the day being used to suspend the students (and grant the High Court injunction) when management called riot police onto campus under the guise of a falsely construed 'hostage situation'. (Reported in the Times here: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=411436&c=1)

In the Diaspora

The University of Puerto Rico (UPR), one of the largest universities in the Caribbean with close to 65,000 students across its 11campuses, has been paralyzed since April 21 due to a student strike. What began as a 48-hour stoppage became an indefinite strike, ratified by a majority vote at an assembly attended by thousands of students last Thursday.

The broader context for the student strike action is the increasing move towards privatization of public services that has characterized the island’s government in recent years. The changes proposed at the university are part of the government’s wider Fiscal and Economic Recovery Plan which has sought to reduce public expenditures by more than US$2 billion through massive layoffs and the gutting of government services and institutions. Puerto Rican citizens have been protesting these measures consistently.

Middlesex Management issues court injunction against student protesters at Trent Park

Students are asking that supporters go to the campus as early as possible on Saturday morning.

From: http://savemdxphil.com/
The student protesters occupying the Mansion Building at Trent Park campus were informed on Friday morning that the university management was seeking a court injunction to end our sit-in protest.

This news came as a surprise to us since we were in the midst of negotiations with management over the future of philosophy at Middlesex.

We are disappointed at the management’s provocative decision to bring lawyers in to resolve this dispute. We are currently seeking legal advice in response to these threats. We intend to continue our campaign to save philosophy at Middlesex University and intend to continue our protest at the Mansion Building in order to achieve that aim.

We urge everyone who supports our campaign to come and visit the occupied Mansion Building. We have a programme of speakers and events lined up over the weekend, including Eyal Weizman on Friday evening and Tariq Ali on Saturday afternoon.

Sofia - Hundreds of students and professors protested Tuesday in front of Sofia University against a reduction in state education subsidies, Bulgarian media reported.

The protest, in front of the country's oldest university, was stagedunder the motto "Today's policies kill tomorrow's education."

"We are here to show that we care about Bulgaria's higher education,"one of the protesters was quoted by local media as saying.

Students and professors warned that Bulgaria's education would "die ifthere were further cuts in funding" and have asked the government tomake education a priority.

Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said that the country had to do some"belt tightening" and that everyone was facing a crisis.