Edinburgh’s Appleton Tower is being occupied by students in solidarity with lecture strikes

Appleton Tower has been occupied by students “standing in solidarity with striking lecturers.”

The building was taken over by members of the Edinburgh Staff-Student Solidarity Network, also referred to as ‘OccupiED’, in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

It is the second time this academic year that a university tower has been occupied, with DHT being the first in semester one.

Currently it is unclear what the occupiers demands are in relation to their takeover of Appleton, however the Edinburgh Staff-Student Solidarity Network has posted on Facebook that is has “three core demands for migrants’ rights on campus”.

The first is to “end the hostile environment”, while the second is to “support education, not surveillance.” They are yet to release their third demand.

Occupiers have put a call out on Twitter for members of Edinburgh University to “stop by and bring us some food”. They have clarified that “we’re not picky but we don’t have a microwave… yet.”

Reactions to the occupation online have been mixed.

One user tweeted: “KEEP IT UP FAM”.

Another has posted: “I support the strike and appreciate that university staff is doing this for the future of education. But guys, Appleton Tower is mostly a workspace for students. Some of us work there 7 days a week, 8h a day. It feels more like home than our own flat…”

The takeover of Appleton Tower will most significantly affect informatics students, who rely on specialised computers in the building to complete certain course work.

One Twitter user commented: “I entirely support the strikes. But occupying Appleton Tower almost only hurts the students who come here every day to study.

“Informatics students rely on the computers in there. Not having access ONLY hurts the students, not the university.”

OccupiED, EUSA and the University of Edinburgh have been approached for comment.