strike received well over fifty per cent support.
Unless something was done soon, it would be too late for the four students to complete this academic year. So a couple of days before the proposed Senate meeting of 5th November, a group of 70 or 80 people who felt very strongly about the four cases of injustice agreed to appear outside the Board Room where Senate were due to meet, soon after the meeting began. We agreed that we would not let the Senate out until the four students had been reinstated. We arrived at a quarter to three. It was not until just before seven that the first senator was peacefully prevented from leaving. He was told to return to the meeting to tell his friends that they would not be let out until the four students had been reinstated. Senators were allowed to go to the toilet and one or two, who had strong reasons for leaving like kiddies birthday party, were let out. A barricade was erected and every time they attempted to make a rush a human barricade of linked arms prevented them. One by one they came out to reason with us (and we later found out, to identify names) and to threaten us with immediate expulsion. Although the students (fluctuating between one and two hundred in number) took these threats seriously, they were not deterred. Unknown to the Senate, some of us were listening to them through the skylight. At one point a suggestion that the Catholic chaplain and two students be allowed in to discuss the situation was howled down by Senate. Most of their discussion centred around not the four students, but how many to discipline. Another suggestion was made that anybody who could be identified as having been outside the Board Room at any time (up to 200 if necessary) should be expelled immediately. Their proposed methods of escape were: i) Forcing their way, which was abandoned after an advance party failed; ii Escaping through the skylight, but this was too undignified; iii) Five people chosen at random from outside would be expelled. If the blockade was not removed, five more would be thrown out, and so on until they were released; iv) The police originally refused to come, but eventually they got hold of some top knobs. Just after eleven Chief Superintendant Wood and Chief Inspector Rush arrived, informing us that the Director of Public Prosecutions had approved the laying of charges against us if the Senate were not let out next time they tried, and that 200 fuzz would be here within minutes, if necessary. We discussed this for half an hour and shortly before midnight voted (by a narrow marain) that Senate the senior "acad. Students of the North Western Polytechnic occupied their Kentish Town building begin. ning Tuesday night, 2nd December, for a 24hour period. Some 150 people were at the Union meeting that voted for the occupation, and as many as 250 people were present at 1.30 a.m., including students from all four buildings of the Polytechnic and visitors from Borough Poly., Enfield, Hornsey and Bedford College.
The issue which sparked off the action was the college principal's refusal to call an emergency meeting of the academic board, or even to discuss the matter with students' union officials, on the currently 7-months-old question of student participation. That history began when the College Main Academic Board first consid ered a Students' Union request for 50% participation in its activities last May. It referred the matter to a joint negotiating committee com prising the Board's Executive Committee and six students.
This year, the negotiating committee held its first meeting two days before the Academic Board's only scheduled meeting this term. The negotiating committee discussed the matter for two hours, whereupon the Executive Committee curtailed discussion, despite earlier assurances that adequate time would be set aside. The Executive Committee refused to make a recommendation to the Board, despite a mandate to do so from last year's Board meeting So with a total of two hours joint discussion on student representation, the main Academic Board met on November 5th. The Board's offer called for significantly less than 50% student representation, and included a "safe"method for selecting the representatives. This offer was rejected by a Students' Union meeting.
The Academic Board was not due to meet again until next term, but the principal had pointed out that an emergency meeting could easily be called if necessary. When requested to do so by the Students' Union president, however, he refused to do so, claiming that there was no procedure for doing so. It has been pointed out that the principal managed to find a procedure when he himself called such a meetcount showed only 95 people who would be able to stay the following day. The committee wavered; but again the willingness for militancy prevailed. (Just a week earlier, a general meeting at the Highbury Grove building changed a "left" proposal for a one-day canteen boycott into a week-long boycott, and several days later went on to call for dismissing the catering firm and running the canteen under student and staff control.)
Tables were piled up at both ends of the two corridors and about 40 students manned each pair. Spirit was very high. Students manning an information table greeted arriving students with an occupation issue of Stereo (the college paper) produced that night. Most arriving students agreed with the occupation, and many joined the barricades.
Leaflets were distributed at the other three buildings and at Northern Polytechnic, soon to be merged with North Western. At Northern, the principal asked the North Western student distributing leaflets to leave. So much for recip rocal membership.
The expected confrontation with the princi pal, however, did not take place. He and all the other administrative officials carefully stayed away from the college. Although the occupation had decided not to interfere with lectures and classes, these were cancelled by a meeting of heads of department in order to enable as many "moderate" students as possible to attend the 11.00 a.m. general assembly held in the main lobby. The "moderates", however, voted to continue the occupation for the remainder of the twenty-four hours.
At a general assembly that afternoon, it was decided to unilaterally increase student "repre sentation" at a departmental academic board meeting scheduled for 2.30. About 40 students waited outside the room for the academics to appear, but the latter decided it was not necessary to meet after all.
Lunch was taken in shifts. When the staff canteen refused to serve students, and then shut down service entirely, the occupying students purchased their meals in the students canteen and then carried them up to the staff canteen. One practical reason for this gesture was that all the tables and chairs from the downstairs canteen had been taken for use in the barrica. ded corridors.
At 5,00 the barricaders left for a general assembly in the staff canteen. This time, to the consternation of two well-known outs' de revolutionaries, very strong support appeare. for
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