STUDENT ACTIVISM LIVES ON. A group of Palestine supporters holds a protest every Monday at the Library Square of the University of Sussex.
Since its establishment, the university has been no stranger to radical action and activism. Every part of the campus bore witness to various student protests, dissents, and demonstrations against inequalities. The spirit of activism lives on in the collective hearts and minds of every Sussex student as they stand their ground and voice their opinions in hopes of social change.
Social scientist Brian Martin wrote in the Encyclopedia of Activism and Social Justice that activism is neither good nor bad. It is dependent on the goals being achieved and the act that is taking place to achieve that goal. In a local context, how vibrant is Sussex student activism in influencing the university?
One prominent example would be the resignation of philosophy lecturer Dr. Kathleen Stock back in October 2021 after the protests made by a group of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) students. The call for her termination was due to her trans-exclusionary views and position as a trustee of the anti-trans lobbying group LGB Alliance. Dubbed “Stock Out”, the student campaign started with the anonymous posting of materials calling for her resignation. The active investigation of the campaign and immediate statement of then-vice chancellor Adam Tickell in support of Stock led to peaceful protests where students hid their faces to protect their identities as well as a trending hashtag #ShameonSussexUni. Two weeks after the start of the campaign, Tickell announced Stock’s resignation to the university staff and students.
In September 2020, students organised to form the Sussex Renters’ Union as a protest against the unreasonable rent prices and poor housing quality of on-campus accommodation during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Despite promising a normal student life, students living on-campus complained of the lack of support from the university administration, from the malfunctioning heaters during winter to sewage flooding in bathrooms. Within three months, they led the biggest rent strike in the university with more than 700 students withholding the payment of their rent to the university. This protest resulted in a five-month-long series of negotiations between the senior management of the university and the Sussex Renters’ Union facilitated by the Students’ Union officers. By the second week of May, the university partially conceded to the demands of the renters such as a 10% rent rebate and penalty-free tenancy contract termination.
One of the most iconic protests would be the establishment of the fake religious group by a group of postgraduate students in May 2017 worshipping the closed circuit television (CCTV) camera in Library Square. Named “The Sussex Eye”, the protesters argued that the camera is part of the increasing surveillance to identify and control student dissent. The group aimed to raise awareness of the existence of security cameras and push for better university policies to prevent sexual assault on campus.
What makes activism alive in Sussex is not the results it achieved, but the cause that binds each student into pursuing one collective effort to make social change. The interconnectedness of the issues they raise rings true to the point of protest action for the liberation of everyone. In a university that prides itself on being number one in development studies, continuing activism is a sign that its students critically examine their academic environment and call out any injustices or inequality. The above examples of student activism in Sussex reflect the need for collective action to dismantle the inequalities within the institution because it is not enough to know that something is wrong. If we do not act, who? If not now, when?
While not all causes of student activism see through the achievement of its goal, its continuation provides hope for the future. To quote a line from Cloud Atlas, “Our lives are not our own. We are bound to others, past and present, and by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.”
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