Protesters call time on anti-fees occupation of Senate House

They ‘hoovered’ the rooms and left


The occupation at Senate House ended this morning.

The stunt began on Friday afternoon and saw women and non-binary activists occupying a suite of rooms in the University of London HQ.

The anti-fees and anti-capitalist protesters left the building at 10am chanting “no borders, no nations, free education”.

One of the group’s demands was open access at Senate House so that the occupied space could be used for discussions and debates about free education and feminism.

“The University of London did not let us have open access”, says Guinevere Carter, one of the protesters and a key organiser behind the occupation.

“However, we managed to sneak people back in by crowd surfing them over security guards.”

“Women also face the pressure to have a domestic role and not go to university at all. Fees are a further deterrent.”

She added: “We hoovered and kept things tidy. After all, we live in there too.

“We didn’t leave a mess for the cleaners. A lot of them are migrant women, whose rights we’re supporting and fighting for as well.”

There was no violence as the occupation came to a close.

The occupation coincided with yesterday’s International Women’s Day.