voiced criticism of the college, and even further, they made criticism of the society of which this college is part. This inevitably brings you to the attention of tutors. For tutors in this college, much like any other. create situations in which to ask questions, to be critical, is to be construed as treason. But this is only part of the complicated series of reasons that led to their suspicion. They were unlucky enough to be caught violating those sacred rules of resident life. And 1 do wish to emphasise the luck aspect. In order for us to live in those prisons, euphemistically called Halls of Residence, you have to break those rules. To always abide by them would make life intolerable. For a start they legislate against all sexual relationships. Butcher. In an interview Butcher said about discipline They were suspended by the principle Ernest that "Discipline is achieved when people are given the opportunity to misbehave and they don't." A typical utterance trom a man who nas spent len years as a Headmaster and many years behind an administrative desk. He sees education as completely bound up in schools, examinations and questions of authority and discipline. We don't need to know more, because the particular personality of a college Principal Is unimportant. We could have the most benign, the most liberal. the most tar sighted of men as a college Principal and it would make no difference in the operation of the institution. The mode of operation of the institution is directly related to its purpose. Mr. Butcher has told us of the purposes of a College of Education. Its purpose is to train teachers. And he has told us of the purpose of the teacher. The teacher is the person who equips the child so that he, or she, can play a useful role in society. We can forget all the intellectual mystifications elaborated by other more articulate college teachers to explain away Bingley College, for we have in this statement the essential truth. What is our society and what is a useful role? Our society, in a word, is a capitalist society. That is, in its most elemental form, a society in which a group necessarily larger group. owns the means of material producuon, and anotner operates the means of production. A 'useful role,' within this society is one that ensures that this state of affairs remains as it is, or one which will improve this situation. Crudely, our purpose, the primary purpose of education if you like.
this simple truth. exploitation of the labours of working men that a capitalist system remains viable, it becomes our duty in college to assist in the continued oppression of the working classes.
Bingley College in the first place; who decides the rules; who decides when they have been broken and who decides the punishment? The automatic answer to all these questions is "the college authorities." But who are the authorities? Are they not the very same people who decide what goes into the academic programme; are they not the same people who decide what makes a good teacher; are they not, in fact, our teachers? Our teachers, in the role of our liberators, The people who govern our academic institutions (Principals, Deans, etc.) and the act as our oppressors people who police them (lecturers are ideological police') are protecting the institution and its norms and traditiohal values for the minority whose interests are served by our present society (that is the ruling class, capitalists and industrialists) from those whose interest it should be changed (that is the majority ol the population, the working class).
So, these two students, or any student who shows disregard for rules and contempt for this society's institutions is challenging, even if in a quite small way, established authority. Such challenges, when they begin to crode the position of established authority must be met, and crushed. In Bogside, rebels are crushed with machine guns and C.S. gas. In Bingley, embroider them into your own particular bureaucracy. If the Principal can get a group of students to approve his actions, then obviously he doesn't have a united student body to oppose him. Mr. Butcher states that should be invited to help judge their comrades. We jump at the chance, for we see it as an opportunity to help our comrades. But at the same time, we are legitimising the actions of the authoritics. They only allow students to approve their actions, never to condemn them.
The Unions demanded that the two students should only expect to be treated like any OLne citizen. But they accepted Butchers offer participation on a Joint Committee to recommend any punishment Statistudent committe appreced of suspending the THOUSE Joint two students allowing them to take their exams and they also obtained an agreement that the punishment would not be mentioned the two students' "confidential testimonials! Butcher was not satisfied. The two students did not grovel and humiliate themselves sufficiently. He seized on two absurd pretexts: a trip to Blackpool and an accident with a box of matches, and on the 9th of June withdrew his undertaking not to mention his clash with the two students on their confidential testimonials, extended heir suspension. His new judgement read as follow 5) Finally I must say to you, and this is wit onsiderable regret, that if you disregard my decisio With contempt, then I shall find or treat inem difficult to avoid the conclusion that as persons you are unsuitable at this stage to be members of the teaching profession and I shall not hesitate to say ETTES "I am deeply sorry to feel obliged to write to you in this way but after giving the fullest consideration to this unfortunate matter and taking fully into account that you have been under some emonlonde Sires during the last three weeks, nevertheless I am forced to the conclusion that you have given me ne alternative.
Yours sincerel" in STRIKE The 'spirit of suspension' had been violated. When this letter was first read to us, we didn't know whether to laugh or cry. We learn so much from this letter about the methods used by the authorities. Again it reveais tHen wcacnery paragraph is unspeakable considering it comes fron and hypocrisy. The last people who have the gall to lecture on psychology. We also see what participation means - you participate conservatism, militant action was being planned, and that there were hundreds of us willing to actively disobey the college authorities in order to see our comrades returned to college, and the Students Union establish itself as a powerful negotiating body. The meeting was exciting, the speaking passionate. People stood up who had never spoken at a meeting before, students from other colleges gave us support, we laughed, we cheered and ... we got down to work For many of us, it was difficult. We were not jus disobeying the parochial college authorities, but were fighting to overcome years of stupefying conditioning we suffered at school.
Be worked through the night on organisatic iting, duplicating, talking and talking and talki discussions and harangues. We had endless series of We had a seemingly endless series of meetings original suggestions for activities during the strik period. but above all, that evening we felt united: v were going to fight together, for the common interest and we were going to win. The next day, 12th June, we handed the motion that we had passed at the previous evening's meeting to the Principal.
It demanded full reinstatement of the two from 12 noon the 12th June. That evening Butcher called a meeting. Mr. Butcher and Mr. Bircks sat behind the table in the main hall as about 480 students trooped in. They must have been aware from the very beginning of this meeting that they were facing a largely hostile audience, who were going to listen ver arefully to every word spoken. Mr. Birks is Head o the Science Department at the College, and is a very intelligent and articulate speaker. He opened the meeting unintelligible speech about the irrevocability giving verV and mostly and justice of the student suspensions. After about an hour of verbal juggling, Mr. Butcher was asked directly if the two students would be reinstated. Mr. Birks answered this question for him by reading out a statement which said no, they would not. As there was nothing more to say, about half the meeting, about 200 out of 480, walked out. We decided to strike. "All power to the general assembly," the familiar cry of the revolutionaries was being realised. Released from the suffocation of Bingley's academic course we began to plan and implement our own lectures and seminars. We had undergraduate stumps in the ocaraduaterians. much support These students came to speak on their own areas of a) Secret work in seminars that were given hitherto unforeseen relevance. Life at Bingley came to have some meaning. We were working, and learning together for our This was their trump card. The Board of Governors ar held to be the font from which all justice flows, rathe than a buneh of local rcacuonary politicians. should have seen that it was impossible for the Boar of Governors to condemn Mr. Butcher's action an reinstate the two students. To have done this woul have meant, in effect, asking Mr. Butcher to resig probably with some members of the Academic Board Before the strike ended though, we were to experienc another one of those incredible meetings with M Butcher and his Academic henchmen. This meetin must have united all the strikers in permaner opposition academic authority. "Th consequences," Mr. Butcher told us, "if the strike goe on are dire indeed... dire indeed... work is bein interrupted you know... the normal functioning c the college is being interrupted. and make your own judgements " He told us onc "Now be sensibl was futile and that it w impossible to reinstate the two students because ti matter was in the hands of the Board of Governor The Board of Governors. we were told, were to inqur into the procedures of the case, and the strike an Logically, of course, the Board Governors should have been investigating Mr. Butche now It arose. and the Academic Board, for it was their handling the case that was in question. Instead, the Board i Governors were just going to re-try the two student But at this afternoon's meeting, there seemed to be n end to the patronising calp-trap that we were fed. Or lecturer, obviously wanting to impress everyone wit the act mat he was nocra and • Oh joy of joys that he had actually spoken with some student capped the lot by proclaiming: "You are entitled i disagree. We are entitled to disagree, but you mu understand that we can't change our minds. couldn't change our minds even if we wanted to - ar we don't want to." The parting shot came from ti Principal, who told us that we had made our prote and that eminded all of us that he was a liberal man, and t it was now time to go back. he t it was right to protest, but it was a terribie tan that the normal working of the college had been upse we did go back. we went back for manly fedso. Some felt that the Union Executive had betrayed i well others were frightened. It was near ti others end of term, always an anxious time for students whe the prospects for a future career are summarised in tl arbitrary award of an alphabetic code. this is just o of the sanctions that educational authorities can u against us.
The PRESENT SITUATION.
The strikers suspended strike action. The studen Union is still bound to support any strike action th takes place. The two students are banned even ex-members of the college from the college campt At the same time of going to press they have not g Jobs yet, and mr. butcher has given them ve ambiguous testimonials. In the future, we must n forget the important lessons we learnt during ti strike. We must overcome the fragmenting tendency the college course, and organize our own education programme a programme that exists in criti opposition to the college course. We must ensure th the contacts we established with Margaret MeMillar and Bradford and Leeds Universities are strengthene They gave us tremendous moral and material supp during the strike period. Our problems are similar. interest the same, we share a common adversary, al we must fight together. Our mutual education important, "participation, "confidemces", and culture, freedo negotiations student anti-pathetic to any democratic organization. officials must report negotiations to general meetin! b) All consultations between students and authoriti - only mandated officials sho musE De ramonausea
SQUATTERS Monday, 22nd September.
The incidents at Piccadilly had hardened the attitude to the police; we made a few quick, hard and fast rules, the most important being that no police or press were to be allowed into the building; this was a basic lesson we had learnt. A strong barricade was erected at the front door and a few "heavies" were stationed at the door, this was now the only entrance to the school Early on in the morning the media were hamanering on the door, and generally making their unwanted presence felt. It was necessary to give out some sort of statement, and the reader of this statement was seized by the press and built into a and so totally distorting the views of the commune simply because the newspapers distorted all that was said.
Inside the building, we were preparing for a long stay. and made plans for three conferences, involving social workers, schools groups, and a week-end to the discussion of the political position of the commune. The purpose of these meetings would have been to broaden the general social and political nature of the commune.
The atmosphere was more serious than at Piccadilly, to the extent- that our "service d'ordre" was no longer composed of thugs and left-wing heavies, of actual commune members unlikely to cause trouble spectators. The press naturally reported this as had happened when we most wanted to avoid it. Not unnaturally, we resented the presence of these amused spectators, who watched events and then went home to read the papers and see what really happened. The people inside the commune were irritated by these events and this became a topic for discussion. people realise that the media were killing us, - making but, having no means of mass communication. we were in the position of watching public opposition grow against us and being unable to do anything about it. We found our internal organization seemed to be running of its own accord, consulting no-one in paracular on various points, so that the action committee had in fact become what it should have been; the spontaneous decisions were made and no-one, despite the press reports, was doing much leading.
One problem was the talks between the "Skinheads" and the commune... relying on The press about "war talks" and "summit meetings between rival gangs" (which had never occured we prepared to meet the street gangs. Fortunately they arrived, and after initial suspicion (on both sides) talking became easier. The concept of the "hippies" and "skinheads" actually getting together seemed to worry the authorities, although the alliance they had in mind would have been very much in the future, so the concern was all unnecessary. At the with General Assembly we discussed the legalities of extremists" had taken over but that at last they would have to take situation seriously.
By 2 a.m. the situation inside was now one of indecision. but resistance was not on the programme of action, to the disturbance of a few but the relief of many.
Finally. the police swooped, through the TOOT and any badly defended points they could.. - like the CRS they were dark, wearing goggles armed with sheilds, and the scene night have been Paris last year except for the performance of comrades. who might have given the whole event a more militant. nature, and redeemed themselves in the eyes of those who believed that the police should have been resisted. As it was, the police led us away, with the only punches being aimed landing ourselves rather than the other way round. Like so many tired children, we were charged, and put into cells for the night.
Thursday, 25th September.
The courts were most decided that we should be given the most incredible conditions of bail ...in effect it was impossible for people to get bail unless their parents came to court and agreed to have their children live at home with them. Two sureties of £100 each had to be found, and although 12 sureties were found on the Thursday, the police dismissed them on the fimsiest excuses, e.g. that there had been no time to check details of sureties, when in fact they had had several hours. This meant that everyone had to spend at least one night in a Remand centre or a prison. It seems ridiculous that these fantastic conditions were imposed, but it is obvious that, having decided to smash the commune, they were prepared to bend the regulations as far as possible in order to make it as difficult as possible for us to get together again.
The lesson that must be learnt from this is that we must learn to protect ourselves from the manipulation of the laws, in fact the newly formed "Action for People's -Justice attempting to do just this. We have to form some kind of umbrella group to enable us to be aware of our exact rights, how to get them, and now, in mass arrests like this, we can best protect ourselves.
Politically, we must give ourselves time to analyse the events, and in order to avoid the chaotic political justification that is so easily made soon after an incident of such a difficult social and legal nature, we prefer to wait until we can see things in their real perspective.
The address of the London Street Commune (courtesy Freedom Press) is now C/O 040 Whitechapel High Street, LONDON E.1. 24 hour phone service: 247/3614.
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'wo Bingley College students break college rules ind are punished. But who decides who shall come to
ondon street Commun