Around a dozen University of Manchester students occupied a university building in Fallowfield as part of ongoing rent strike protests yesterday.
Students representing UoM Rent Strike, Students Before Profit and 9K4WHAT have taken up residence in the currently empty Owens Tower on Wilmslow Road, in a stand against university management.
Yesterday evening, the students occupying the tower had their WIFI cut off by the university and were temporarily deprived of receiving food and other essential items.
However, after involvement from local MP Afzal Khan, the internet was restored in the early hours of the morning.
I have been informed that the WiFi is back on in Owens Park Tower.
He said: “The welfare of students should be everyone’s number one priority.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I hope @OfficialUoM will reach out to students and de-escalate tensions.”
Protestors have said that they feel like they have been neglected by the University, and are demanding a 40 per cent reduction in rent for the remainder of the 2020/21 academic year.
ADVERTISEMENT
UoM Rent Strike
One of the occupiers, Ben McGowan, 18, is a first-year politics student at the University of Manchester.
Speaking to The Manc, he said: “The way the university has treated students is deplorable.
“Firstly, they told us we would receive face to face teaching and then backtracked on that within a week of us moving in. Then hundreds of us had to isolate with little support.
ADVERTISEMENT
“The state of the accommodation is awful too. There’s been rat infestations as well as leaks and floods in some of the halls on campus.
“We will not leave until (Vice Chancellor) Nancy Rothwell meets with us and agrees to our aims. The least that university management could do is agree to meet us and hear what we have to say.”
OCCUPATION ALERT:
At 10am this morning a group of students from students before profit and rent strike UoM went into occupation of the Tower in Owens Park. These are our demands, support our occupation! @UM_UCU@ucu_solidaritypic.twitter.com/4nGGPCoxLF
UoM Rent Strike’s original demands, announced on October 5, are as follows:
A rent reduction of at least 40 per cent, for the remainder of the academic year 2020-21.
To offer all students no-penalty early release clause from their tenancy contracts, for both this and the next academic year.
Increase the standard of support for students in halls of residence, this includes food, laundry and post for isolating flats; better security and faster responses to complaints about standards of living e.g. broken fridges.
Mr McGowan, who lives in Fallowfield’s Oak House accommodation, also said he wanted a refund on rent paid for December as new Government guidelines meant he had to leave the accommodation, but the university had “refused to engage.”
In an open letter addressed to Nancy Rothwell, the occupiers said: “Even amidst the calls for transparency between the governing body and the students, you have still failed to provide us with a meeting to merely discuss these demands, much less to implement them.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Mr McGowan added: “University management have a duty of care over their students.”
“If they are not willing to meet with us to discuss their concerns then they are failing in their role.”
A University of Manchester spokesperson said: “We are aware of the protest by a handful of students in an empty residential building.
“We have made it clear to them that they shouldn’t be there and that they may also be in contravention of current national Health Protection Regulations.
“We are already engaging with elected Students’ Union representatives about many of the issues being highlighted by the protestors.
ADVERTISEMENT
“The University is fully committed to freedom of expression.”
Mr McGowan said that they have enough food to last them a while, and they will continue to occupy the tower block until their “basic demands” are met.
In an updated statement, a University of Manchester spokesman said that the Vice Chancellor has agreed to meet students over the weekend to discuss their concerns.
News
What people are wearing at Parklife 2026 – ruffles, cowboy boots, football shirts and bandanas
Clementine Hall
Parklife weekend is here, which means festival fashion is back, and Manchester has absolutely delivered on its outfit trends once again.
Every year in the fields of Heaton Park, thousands of ravers flock to Parklife festival for the biggest party of the year.
And of course, you can’t attend a festival without wearing a fire fit and boy oh boy have we seen some.
Gone are the days when you’d throw on a t shirt and jeans to a festival, and although you may see a few tracksuits and flimsy rain ponchos (we are in Manchester after all), the people of Parklife are dressing to impress this year.
Images: The Manc Group
The main theme of the weekend is…ruffles.
We’re talking ruffled shorts, ruffled boots, ruffled skirts – if you can ruffle it, the Parklife people are buying it. We’d say the vast majority of girls are wearing ruffled hot pants, and we are absolutely here for it.
Another trend is not practical in the slightest but of course looks absolutely fab, and that is cowboy boots.
Images: The Manc Group
We dread to think of the blisters that are going to crop up after the weekend, but as the old saying goes…beauty is well and truly pain.
You may mistake yourself for being at Coachella due to the amount of girls absolutely rocking a bandana this year, a trend which is both stylish and practical with the sun blaring down on Heaton Park this weekend.
And last but not least, maybe it’s the World Cup fever but we’ve spotted both boys and girls sporting football shirts and looking class whilst doing so.
Images: The Manc Group
All in all, Parklife weekend is flooded with fashionistas this year but are we surprised when Manchester is a hive for the coolest cats in the game? We think not.
There’s also a couple of pop-ups onsite this year for if you’re looking to level up your fit, including Suzy Loves Milo selling vintage garms and The Mothership providing all the perfect accessories.
Take That at the Etihad Stadium – the Manchester boys are ‘back for good’ | Review
Clementine Hall
We’re not saying this was the ‘Greatest Day’ of our lives…but it was certainly up there.
Take That have been taking us all on a trip down memory lane over the past few weeks, bringing The Circus Live back to stadiums across the UK and recreating their record-breaking 2009 tour.
Last night they kicked off their four night run at the Etihad Stadium, and it’s safe to say the much-loved pop trio have absolutely still got it.
In fact, I’d go as far to say that this is the best Gary, Mark and Howard have ever looked, sang, and above all else, danced.
Maybe it’s because this is their first hometown gig in two years, or maybe it’s because I’m extremely biased having grown up listening to Take That in my mum’s car on the way to school.
Either way, I said what I said.
Now as the name suggests, The Circus Live isn’t your average show. There’s a gigantic hot air balloon, a huge mechanical elephant, clown face paint, acrobats, unicycles, fireworks, sparkly costumes, you name it – they’ve got it.
It’s an aggressive assault to the senses, a fantastic fever dream, overstimulation of the highest degree, and I lapped up every single moment.
It’s what I imagine taking a tab of acid feels like before a gig, and if that’s the case then I would recommend doing so.
Of course the boys open the show with ‘Greatest Day’, and from the get go Gary Barlow’s vocals are just as smooth as ever.
After a brief Barry Manilow cover they then showcase their exceptional synchronised choreography during the dance break of ‘Pray’, to which I could almost hear the audible gasps from hundreds of mums in the audience.
All of which, I assume, were transported in that moment back to 1993 when Take That debuted the moves on Top of the Pops.
After a brief pause, Mark Owen leads the lads in ‘Shine’ as they make their way to the second stage in the centre of the stadium. Top hat in hand, Gary on the keys, Howard there purely for vibes – it’s no wonder Morrison’s chose this banger for their advert.
From then on it is simply banger after banger, and it’s clear that they feel very grateful to still be filling out stadiums as Howard particularly gets teary eyed after ‘Never Forget’ is met with roars of applause.
Take That have three more shows left at the Etihad Stadium, and you can still grab some last minute tickets here.
However, if you fancy not moving from your sofa but still want to be a part of the fun – Saturday’s show will be livestreamed across the globe via Amazon Music, so no matter where you are in the world, you can still visit The Circus. Find out more here.
Sam Ormiston -
13th November 2020 
