Martin Rees Joins Silent Protest at Cambridge. (January 18, 2011)

About 250 protesters comprising Cambridge University academics, other members of Regent House (the official governing body of the University) and faculty from  Anglia Ruskin University, which has campuses in Cambridge and Chelmsford, yesterday gathered outside Great St Mary’s Church, opposite the university's Senate House, to hold a 3-minute silent protest against what they view as the government's "devastating" changes to higher education.

The  protest was organised by the Cambridge Academic Campaign for Higher Education (Cache), which has 300 supporters and which supported students' occupation of a room in the university's main administrative building last month as part of a campaign against the rise in tuition fees.

Dr. David Hillman of King’s College said "We are trying to put across the point that we feel the University’s response has been insufficient and too meek in relation to government’s cuts. Cambridge University should lead in the opposition of the Browne Report's attempt to turn universities into market-based institutions."

Joining the protesters was the immediate past president of the Royal Society, Master of Trinity College, Professor Martin Rees. In speaking to Varsity, the Cambridge student newspaper, Lord Rees said he was in attendance of the protest with other academics because "We are concerned about the university system in general, not just Cambridge. We think it is right that the students should pay part of the cost of university, as the benefit is to both the student and the public. However there is a concern that there is no money under the new system especially for humanities. I support the way the university has handled the situation and the Vice Chancellor’s Statement. The university is fully concerned with the students' matters."

However, Ruth Watson, a lecturer in African history, said the university's "strategy was to maintain a silence in the hope that the problem of higher education funding went away". A comment made -- as was Dr Hillman's -- in response to a statement released by Cambridge that: "The university is awaiting details of the government's proposals before we can make a detailed response."