Police called to Aberdeen uni protests after onlookers express concern for protestors’ safety

On Wednesday, police were called to the protests at Aberdeen University after being called by onlookers who were concerned about how the situation was being dealt with. The main issue seems to have been the fact that the students occupying the space outside the Vice Chancellor’s office were enclosed in a very small space, with ecurity guards occupying the locked exits.

There are mulitple different recollections of the events flying around, with claims of both staff injuring pupils and pupils injuring staff. A University of Aberdeen spokesperson told the BBC:

“Police were called to the University Office this afternoon by our staff following an incident whereby a group of protesters forced their way into the building, leaving staff shaken and distressed and resulting in one staff member being knocked to the ground and having their head trodden on.”

However, a member of the group of protesting students released the following information this morning, as part of a statement describing the events of yesterday:

‘The University security team acted in a manner entirely contrary to proper health and safety practice. We believe that the safety and wellbeing of students and staff was put in serious danger by the actions of security management. We saw members of security shoving students against the door they were apparently attempting to move them away from, resulting in a potentially hazardous crushing effect for students caught in the middle of the incident. No attempt was made to open doors on either side of the small enclosed stairwell around fifteen people were crammed into.’

The protesting students are showing no signs of ending their peaceful protest, urging others to join them in supporting lecturer strikes. Aberdeen is currently amongst 60 other British universities about to enter into its fifth week of striking.