Students are being physically dragged out of university... how did it come to this?

On Wednesday, University of Manchester students were lifted out of University of Manchester buildings by bailiffs employed by the University of Manchester.

In what has been a tumultuous dispute between the uni and activists, the institution secured a possession order of the south campus on Oxford Road on March 17. Then, a few days later, protesters were forcibly removed.

It marked the end of a weeks-long occupation of various buildings by the UoM Rent Strike group. However, it does not look like the end of the action from the collective.

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What began as a withholding of rent has spiralled into a major, on-going row over the cost of living at the university, and one which does not have an end in sight, with a fresh round of rent strikes promised for April 20, when UoM is set to collect halls’ rent.

With such drastic action taken already, and more claims from UoM Rent Strike they have other options at their disposal, the M.E.N took a look at how the situation came to a head.

The occupation of several university buildings began on February 8, with UoM Rent Strikers taking over sections of the Engineering Building and Samuel Alexander humanities centre. They also secured the entirety of the John Owens Building, which is where senior leadership work.

“I first got involved in the rent strike because I was struggling financially as a result of the cost-of-living crisis and the uni profiteering from rent,” one student told the MEN two-and-a-half days into the action.

“I knew the maintenance loan was going down, and I’m already on an increased loan because of my parents’ income. Around December the uni published its finances and it said