The May 2024 Oxford students sit-in at Wellington Square

Oxford University has officially dropped disciplinary proceedings against the thirteen students involved in the May 2024 sit-in at Wellington Square, following widespread criticism. The University's decision, announced on June 12, followed over a year of pressure from students, staff, alumni, and political figures, effectively ending all disciplinary action related to the protest.

The events began in May last year, when seventeen student activists affiliated with Oxford Action for Palestine (OA4P) occupied the University Offices at Wellington Square. Police were called to the scene and arrested most of the students involved on suspicion of aggravated trespass, affray, and common assault. While Thames Valley Police later chose not to pursue criminal charges in August 2024, the University nevertheless moved forward with internal disciplinary measures through the Proctors' Office. These measures threatened significant penalties, including indefinite suspension, formal warnings, and financial fines. The protestors were summoned to a Student Disciplinary Panel to decide whether to uphold the Proctors' recommendations for disciplinary measures.

The Wellington Square occupation was itself part of months of sustained protest activity at Oxford. Between May and July 2024, OA4P had staged an encampment at the Museum of Natural History and Radcliffe Camera, attracting attention from students, staff, and national media. The May sit-in coincided with end-of-year exams, some of which were cancelled due to disruption at the Exam Schools. Further occupations have been held this year [1].

The University initially justified its actions by citing alleged "violent action" during the Wellington occupation, suggesting the protest involved forced entry, harassment, and potential safety risks. However, protestors consistently rejected these accusations, and no evidence emerged to corroborate the claims. CCTV footage did not confirm any force used on staff. Meanwhile, OA4P and supporting witnesses maintained that the protest was peaceful and non-violent.

The sit-in became a flashpoint for wider debates around campus protest, disciplinary transparency, and institutional accountability. It also prompted condemnation from public figures such as Diane Abbott MP, who on June 3 called the University's actions "neither fair nor reasonable" [2].

Over a thousand students, staff, alumni and local concerned people signed an open letter delivered to the University on June 10, demanding it drop disciplinary proceedings against the 13 students arrested during the sit-in. The letter, also signed by 41 anti-war, environmental, and Palestine solidarity groups, branded the disciplinary process "opaque" and pointed the use of "racist language", citing an employee linking the keffiyeh, a Palestinian clothing item, to terrorism.

As well as demanding "that the University drop the proceedings of its unjust imitation court," the open letter also called on the University to "commit to fulfilling OA4P's urgent demands for disclosure, divestment, and reinvestment. In making these demands, we stand unequivocally for the right to protest, freedom of conscience, and above all-for a free Palestine." [3]

Another letter, signed by 11 concerned Jewish faculty members, demolished the oft-repeated charge of "antisemitism". The University's allegation "that the Oxford Action for Palestine (OA4P) encampment had created a 'deeply intimidating environment' for 'our Jewish students and staff' continues to surface".

"...there is no credible evidence that the encampment, in which Jewish students were also actively involved, led to a rise in antisemitism or that it was experienced in a uniform way by Oxford's highly diverse Jewish community," said the Jewish faculty. "We therefore call on the University to put the record straight, lest supposed threats to Jewish safety be used, as they have been elsewhere, to demonize the movement for Palestinian rights and to criminalize lawful protest and expression."

The letter instead countered that "the University seems to have pre-judged the case and adopted a needlessly hostile, punitive, and adversarial stance toward its own students."

The concerned faculty members instead supported the call "to sever the University's financial and institutional entanglements with Israel". [4]

The decision to end proceedings marked a rare reversal in response to well-mobilised opposition. In response, in October 2024, the University revised its protest rules by introducing a new Code of Practice, which OA4P claimed was designed to suppress activism under the guise of regulation. The policy reaffirmed that while legal protest is permitted, occupations and failure to comply with Proctors are prohibited.

Elsewhere in 2024, courts in Nottingham and Birmingham issued injunctions allowing universities to evict Gaza solidarity encampments, ruling that such protests were not protected under free speech law. Across Britain, over forty institutions reportedly coordinated with police or private security, and 28 universities launched disciplinary actions against students.

In a social media post, OA4P said: "The University dropped its disciplinary case against 13 students - not out of goodwill, but because it broke its own rules. After over a year of repression, false accusations, and blatant anti-Palestinian racism, the hearing collapsed in two days. While this marks a win, it exposes the University's bad faith and incompetence. We are proud of the students who endured this process, and our coalition which continues to demand an end to Oxford's complicity in genocide. The fight doesn't end here. We demand full disclosure, divestment, and reinvestment. We demand justice. We demand a free Palestine." [5]

The context is for political renewal against the police powers of the state and its institutions and for modern democratic arrangements that empower the people, including the youth and students who, as the future of society, are in the forefront of demanding an anti-war government. The Westminster cartel parties should take note. Workers' Weekly congratulates the Oxford students on their success.

(Sources: OA4P, student press, news agencies)

Notes
1. "Oxford University Authorities Agree to Meet Encampment Students", Workers' Weekly, June 8, 2024
https://www.rcpbml.org.uk/wwie-24/ww24-13/ww24-13-04.htm
“Oxford University Students Occupy Radcliffe Camera”, Workers’ Weekly, February 1, 2025
https://www.rcpbml.org.uk/wwie-25/ww25-02/ww25-02-02.htm
2. Ethan Gudge, "Abbott voices support for student Gaza protestors", BBC News, June 4, 2025
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7065pl18r5o
3. Archie Johnston, "Over 1,000 sign open letter calling for University to drop disciplinary proceedings against student protestors", Cherwell, June 11, 2025
https://cherwell.org/2025/06/11/oxford-open-letter-student-protestors
4. Galya Dimitrova "Jewish staff oppose University of Oxford Gaza protest proceedings", BBC News, June 10, 2025
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly3jld7gnyo
5. Oxford Action for Palestine (@oxact4pal) Instagram post, June 13, 2025

Link to Full Issue of Workers' Weekly

RCPB(ML) Home Page

Workers' Weekly Online Archive