WALKOUT OF YOUR SCHOOL, COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY ON 24 NOVEMBER

November 21, 2010

 

 

 

 

WALKOUT OF YOUR SCHOOL, COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY ON 24 NOVEMBER

Make the walkout happen
Walkouts have been one of the major ways school and college students in Britain have traditionally shown their discontent.
They took place at hundreds of schools and colleges against the Iraq war in 2003, against “third world” debt in 2005, and several colleges walked out against cuts and privatisation in 2009-10, including the Dover Christ Church Academy this month.
University students haven’t staged a walkout for a while in Britain. But last year we did manage an impressive wave of occupations against the attacks on Gaza, and many universities occupied lecture theatres and even management offices against cuts.
Now, with the very nature of further and higher education under threat school students, college students and university students need to fight together. This isn’t just phrasemongering – if we are to defeat the proposals of the Browne Review we need to build a mass movement like the current general strikes in France.
That’s why a school, college and uni walkout out is a vital first step for us to take, demonstrating our unity in action.
Organise a time
First off, we need to find and talk to the small groups of students in our school/college/university who are most in favour of walking out.
Agree what time you will meet up on the morning of 24 November, BEFORE the official walkout time of 11am – 10am is probably a good time, at school, 8.30am might be better. This will allow you to catch students on their way into school/college/uni and get them to join the protest on the day itself.
Spread the word

Use email, facebook, texts, phone calls to advertise the time AND PLACE of your protest. But it may be wise to set up an anonymous email address and facebook profile so you don’t end up getting personally victimised.
If at any point you are asked who has organised the protest, say it “has been organised collectively by lots of students together”
You should organise some leafletings by downloading our NATIONAL LEAFLET at ANTICUTS.COM, writing on the details of your local meet-up point. Take it to your local cornershop for photocopying, cut them up and hand it out to as many students as possible.
If you go to school, you should be discreet about doing this, don’t hand them out openly next to the entrance of your school or you will get in trouble. But as long as you are not on school property, you have a democratic right to hand out leaflets.
Coordinate
In towns and cities where colleges, schools and universities are close together, we want the protests to converge.
In the weeks before the walkout, contact us if you need help finding the people organising walkouts at other schools/colleges/unis in your area.
In particular, we would like to see university students planning to march around their campus, bursting into lecture theatres and spreading the word.
Then they should march to the next school/college/uni, picking up local protests, so the demonstration gets larger and larger. This is called a “flying picket”.


On the day

Make sure you turn up to your initial meeting point (which should be in a highly visible location) with placards, whistles, and good chants. We will list some suggestions below
Grab students planning to go into their lessons, and persuade them to join your protest.
After creating lots of noise and pulling in lots of students it is time to take to the streets! Don’t be afraid to block traffic if you have enough people and most importantly:
AS SOON AS YOU WALK OUT SEND TEXTS TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS IN DIFFERENT SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES TELLING THEM YOU’VE WALKED OUT AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO DO THE SAME.
When you’ve linked up and converged with other walkouts in your area march around your local town and city.
You can finish up with speeches, a meeting on how to continue the struggle, or even occupying a building at the local university if uni students agree this is possible.
[Text above taken from National Walkout Facebook page: http://tinyurl.com/3xgs9d8].  See also National Campaign Against Cuts and Fees:  http://anticuts.com]

PLANNED PROTESTS AND WALKOUTS SO FAR

London:
9.30am QMUL students gather at Library Sq.  Circle Line tube to ULU for approx 10.30am.  (See QMUL Facebook below).
10.30am Walkouts begin across London
11am Carnival of Resistance procession from Malet St, ULU to Trafalgar Square – all welcome
12noon Students from across London and surroundings assemble at Trafalgar Square (called by National Campaign Against Cuts & Fees)
1pm March from Horse Guards Avenue to Parliament (called by Youth Fight for Jobs)
5.30pm Mass protest at Downing Street to link student action with wider trade union movement
Manchester
12 noon Assemble at Uni Place (tin can)
12.30pm March to MMU
1.30pm March to town hall
Glasgow
12 noon Co-ordinated walkouts of educational establishments throughout the city.  Glasgow Uni gathering point from 12 noon at main gate; Strathclyde Uni from 12noon at McCance building.  Feeder marches into city centre.
3pm UNITED ACTION in the city centre.  All Glasgow students assemble from 3pm at Royal Concert Hall (Donald Dewer statue), Buchanan St.
5pm Rally in George Square for all workers and students, supported by student groups & trade unions. Speakers include Dave Moxham (STUC), Pete Murray (NUJ), Phil Whyte (NUS) etc.
Liverpool
11am LJMU walkout, head to Guild of Students, Mount Pleasant for noon.
12noon All students (school, college, university) from across the city to assemble outside Guild of Students, Mount Pleasant.  Followed by a march through the city centre to the Town Hall.
Bristol
All are welcome – Universities, schools and public alike – from across the South West.
11:00 UWE Walkout begins across all campuses
12:00 UoB Walkout begings
12:30 All students (school, college, university) from across the city to assemble opposite Senate House, Tyndall Avenue
13:15 March to Wills Memorial Building
Leeds
8.30am Leafletting begins at Leeds University
11am Leeds University students walkout
12.30am Leeds University students march from Parkinson Steps, past Leeds Met and other colleges from Leeds, to unite students across Leeds, to a protest outside the Art Gallery to be joined by school students.
Thereafter – Really Open University programme runs at Leeds University:  http://reallyopenuniversity.wordpress.com
Edinburgh
Pick your nearest meeting point then march to Lib Dem HQ at Haymarket.
1pm Students from across the city (Edinburgh University, QMUC, high schools, Jewel and Esk College etc),  gathering at Bristo Place (one of two meeting points) and marching to Tollcross.
1.30pm All other students from across the city (Napier, ECA, Heriot Watt, high schools, Telford and Stevenson Colleges etc), meeting in front of the Bank of Scotland, Tollcross (second meeting point).  March to Lib Dem HQ, Haymarket.
2pm onwards, March arrives at Lib Dem HQ.
Brighton
2pm  University, school and college students from across Brighton assemble on Dyke Road Park, just up the road from BHASVIC, march to Churchill Square and end up in Victoria Gardens.
Oxford
1pm Students from across the city gather at Carfax, Cornmarket
Bournemouth
10.45am BU students meet outside the Atrium and march to join AUCB protesters at 11.00.
11:00am – Students and teachers from both uni’s will congregate outside AUCB canteen.
11:30am – Leave the campus and march on the Town Hall, via Meyrick Park where we will combine with hundreds of teachers students, from local schools and sixth-form colleges.
12noon – March from park to Bournemouth Town Hall!
Other:
BROCKENHURST COLLEGE (HAMPSHIRE):  http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=162283583810492
NEW CROSS, HABERDASHER’s ASKE’s HATCHAM COLLEGE:  http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=177738032241069
Teachins and events between now and the 24th:
CAMBRIDGE “FREE UNIVERSITY”:  http://www.coalitionofresistance.org.uk/?p=3847

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