Hundreds of students at the University of Manchester have torn down a fence that had been erected around their halls of residence without warning.
According to students at the university, metal fences were erected by the university in the early morning of Thursday, enclosing the entire Fallowfield campus which houses seven students halls. Students were not officially informed about the fences until later in the afternoon when they discovered through an email that it was a security measure to limit the flow of students.
Messages about the fence started to spread across university WhatsApp groups, resulting in a last-minute protest organised for 8PM that night.
Over 400 students turned up to the campus to protest the erection of the fences, setting off flares and chanting “Fuck the fence.” After speeches and a minute’s silence held for a Manchester student who died by suicide earlier in October, students began to tear down the fences, which separated the halls of residence from each other and from the green space on campus.
Barnaby Fournier, a 19-year-old student who was involved in organising the protest, told VICE News: “It was an amazing atmosphere. Everyone was buzzing because everyone was really, really angry about this.”
“It was a really cathartic moment, seeing all the fences come down,” Ben McGowan, a first-year student, said. “There was a really nice sense of community and solidarity. I've been on a good number of protests but I don't think I've ever actually won something.”
Another first-year student, Ewan Murgatroyd, said it felt like the final straw for students, who are already struggling with disrupted teaching, mass COVID outbreaks and limits on their social lives. “We're standing up for why we're angry,” he said. “We've been mucked over so many times and this is the final straw for us. How would you feel if you woke up to fences around your house?”
Professor Nancy Rothwell, vice-chancellor of the university released an apology to students for the erection of the fences yesterday night. “I sincerely apologise for the concern and distress caused by the erecting of a fence around our Fallowfield halls of residence today,” she said. “This was not our intention – in fact, quite the reverse.
“The fences are being taken down from Friday morning and students are being contacted immediately,” she continued. “Alternative security measures, including additional security patrols are being put in place.”
The action comes at a time when students across the country are facing increased controls on their university experience, including a lack of social events and entirely online studies.
Students at the University of Manchester are threatening to rent strike this month, citing concerns over mental health support, limited facilities, coronavirus outbreaks, and misleading information from the university of about in-person learning.
“I think there are more protests planned in the next couple of weeks,” says McGowan. “It was really just a tipping point. We've had months and months of building tensions, and there's been organising around rent strikes and definitely, the anger that was there last night is still there this morning.”