CUSU used the opportunity provided by this morning’s installation of Lord Sainsbury as Chancellor of Cambridge University to stage a silent protest in front of Great St Mary’s Church.

With signs reading ‘RIP Peaceful Protest 2012’, ‘University of Repression’ and ‘Reinstate Owen Holland, no gag on protest’, the peaceful demonstration comes in response to the sentence passed last Wednesday, 14th March against Owen Holland for his role in the Willetts protest in November 2011.

This protest follows the march around Cambridge last Friday in support of Holland, where people showed their outrage against the 7-term ban against the PhD student, who will not be allowed to return to the University until Michaelmas 2014.

Today, the participants’ message was clear. Creating a powerful visual, students and academics alike stood strong in a group wearing their gowns and with duct tape across their mouths.

As protesters assembled at 10am, Varsity spoke to Sara Stillwell about the huge momentum behind group’s intentions to keep pressure on the University to reverse Holland's sentence and have him reinstated.  

She drew attention to the powerful visual statement they were creating, with the gowns standing for the University and the taped mouths for its silencing of individuals. She said: ‘We’re trying to make a point to Lord Sainsbury. We’re saying ‘this is what’s going in the university you’re becoming a part of, what are you going to do about it?’ ‘

By 10:15, the University members’ demonstration of support was well underway. As the bells of Great St Mary’s rang out to mark the imminent ceremony in Senate House, the group stood united and silent.

On trying to get a comment from one participant during the protest, she pointed to her tape and rightly observed: ‘The picture speaks for itself’.

At 10:30, certain members of the crowd then took out their invitations and entered through the gate into Senate House. These included academics and CUSU President, Gerard Tully.

It became clear that despite the powerful proclamation the group was making, it was being executed in the most disciplined manner possible and such peaceful conduct served to emphasise their point.

As one University official walked down King’s Parade to enter Senate House, he could be overheard muttering to his colleague: ‘…to sentence him for over 2 years, absolutely ludicrous, you know…’

After almost an hour, the silence continued and observers began to question how long the group would stay.

Participant Michael Reardon, speaking to Varsity about the large turn-out, commented that even if those assembled today didn’t support the original action against Willetts, today they were acting against the court of discipline to have the sentence overturned.

At 10:50, the group, in perfect yet silent synchronization, shifted from standing in front of the gate into Senate House, where University officials had been entering, to standing parallel to Senate House itself.

Then five minutes later, a group holding a poster reading the poem (as pictured above) broke free of the block to climb up on the railings surrounding Senate House to drape their sign over the fence, which they were pressed up against.

Others progressively ran forward to do the same, manoeuvring themselves around the tourists present to watch the pre-ceremony processions.

Then as the last procession entered Senate House, the entire crowd ran forward, to re-establish themselves directly in front of the railings.

Almost two hours after the protest had begun, the doors to Senate House were closed. A member of the group ripped off her duct tape to declare the event ‘really successful’.

Despite the police presence, the event passed without incident and by 11:10, the group had peacefully dissipated.

Circulating throughout the protest was a petition for an emergency CUSU meeting to discuss the sentence and it’s impeding of an individual’s freedom of speech.

At present, the CUSU petition ‘This is Not Justice: Stop the Sentence’ has over 2,800 signatures, including University students and staff. It calls for the suspended student to be reinstated and reads: ‘Given that 60 other members of the University publicly stated that they were also involved in the protest for which the student has been punished, we are deeply concerned that the University has singled out one individual.’

This petition forms part of the Defend the Right to Protest campaign, which has been intensely reinvigorated not only within Cambridge but nationally.

The public petition, external to the University, has over 5,000 signatures, with comments describing the rustication as a ‘disgrace’ and ‘outrageous’.

The silent protest is the second rally in under a week against the sentence and undoubtedly, the pressure will continue on the University to overhaul the sentence deemed ‘absurdly disproportionate’ by today’s event organisers.