Tomorrow, a further national day of action is planned, and a similar number of protestors are expected to demonstrate in Bristol. As part of the protest, students are being asked to gather on College Green outside the Council House from 11am onwards.
While it is unclear whether or not students will also march as part of the demonstration, or whether or not University buildings will be affected, the University is working closely with the police to ensure that the protest is peaceful and the amount of disruption to us and our neighbours is limited as far as possible.
As in the previous message regarding last week's protest, the following notes set out basic guidance for all staff:
It is essential that staff carry with them their University identity card at all times as we may need to put in place additional security measures including access to buildings at certain times during the day. It may also be necessary to close certain entrances/exits to buildings at very short notice. Should this occur, security staff and porters will assist you in finding an alternative entry or exit. We of course hope to keep any such closure to a minimum.
Again, it is possible that building occupations may occur. Should this happen in your building, then you should inform Security Services (internal tel: 11-22-33; external tel: 0117 331 1223). As before, we would like to emphasise that in the vast majority of cases, occupations, if they occur, are peaceful and cause minimal disruption. Should an occupation occur then please do your best to work around the situation, while, of course, avoiding any potential conflict. Security Services, in liaison with senior management, will seek to deal with any instances of occupation in the most appropriate way.
Please note that we recognise an individual's right to protest and therefore any gathering outside of buildings which does not block entry points and is not deemed a risk, intimidatory or disruptive, should be allowed to continue. Again, please do call Security should you have any concerns on the day.
The national day of protest may attract media attention; so, as is normal practice, if you are approached by a journalist and you are not sure about what to say or feel uncomfortable in any way, please do put the journalist in contact with the University's Press Office (tel: 0117 928 8895) who will then help the journalist with their enquiry.
Should we need to update staff, we will do so via email and via the web.
Derek Pretty, University Registrar