THE REMOVAL of protesting students from a University of Glasgow building has been called “disproportionate and heavy handed” by the university’s Student Representative Council.

The protest, which disputed the University’s plans to convert the Hetherington Research club into offices, saw a group of around 15 students occupy the building for seven weeks, until police forces removed them from the premises. Following nearly two months of occupation, the protests on March 22 resulted in over 150 students gathering outside the building, at which point Strathclyde Police increased their presence to include over 80 officers, 18 vehicles and a helicopter.

Tommy Gore, president of Glasgow’s Student Representative Council (SRC), insisted that the protest should have been “an internal University matter” and should not have required a police presence on University property.

A spokesperson for the University of Glasgow told the BBC that the continuing student presence in the building was “putting at risk plans the university has to refurbish the accommodation and develop it for academic use.”

The protest, which targeted benefit cuts in Scotland resulting from spending reductions implemented by the UK government, also aimed to “liberate” the unused Hetherington Building, which was previously a club favoured by postgraduate students.

Protestors group The Glasgow Anarchists said that the building was donated to the students of Glasgow in 1956 and that the University closed the club last year without due process. During the seven-week occupation the group scheduled “a plethora of events” including guest speakers, weekly film screenings and lectures in the renamed “Free Hetherington”.

The SRC has said it does not share the views of the Anarchist group, and claims instead to support the University’s development of the building.

Gore said that the police presence on campus was unnecessary and was responsible for the escalation of the protest. He added that students need political parties to “promise a fair and publicly funded solution to the £300 million funding gap that Scottish Universities currently face. We’re sure students would much rather spend their time being educated than having to protest at the problems that the currently underfunded system has created.”

When asked to leave by Strathclyde Police officers the protesters did so peacefully, although one female student was arrested for obstructing inquiries.