‘Where’s Our Space?’

How PhD Researchers Organized to Protect Their Community Space

An Interview with: Cat Wayland, Larissa Nenning, Max Rozenburgh

By Adam Farquhar, UCUE Anti-cas Officer

In late 2019, PhD researchers at the University of Edinburgh's School of Social and Political Science received an unexpected email: their shared office and social space in the Crystal Macmillan Building's West Wing was to be converted into staff offices. Rather than accept this decision, a group of them organized a campaign to protect this vital community hub. I recently sat down with three of the campaign organizers - Larissa, Max, and Cat - to discuss how they built and sustained their movement.

What made the West Wing space so important to PhD researchers?

The West Wing wasn't just office space - it was the heart of the PhD community. Located on the 5th floor of the Crystal Macmillan Building, it provided both hot-desking facilities and a common room where PGRs could socialize and support each other. "It had been like a real social hub for about 5 years," Cat explained. "It's somewhere that people go to socialize, hold social mixers... it's a really important community space and an important way of PhD students feeling like they are part of the school."

How did the campaign begin?

The catalyst was a simple email from School management announcing the space would be converted to staff offices. "There was an attempt to just kind of bury this in an email and just share this as a fact with us," Larissa recalled. "Some of us noticed that and we had some initial conversations to say this is completely unacceptable."

A core group of five PGRs came together to organize resistance. Their first step was calling a community assembly in the West Wing itself - a meeting that drew around 40 PGRs. As Max noted, "Five angry PhDs is not enough to launch a campaign on." The well-attended assembly helped formulate shared demands and provided democratic backing for action.

What tactics did the campaign use?

The organizers employed creative direct action to make their case visible. In one memorable protest, they set up "pop-up offices" throughout the Crystal Macmillan Building - working in front of the doors of senior managers’ offices, in the elevator, in the lobby café, and even under the reception desk - to demonstrate what it would look like when PGRs had no space to do their own work or meet their students.

They also disrupted official channels. When management scheduled what Larissa called a "very tokenistic meeting" to explain the benefits of the move, campaign members coordinated to pack the room while Cat stood up to read out their demands. "Linda McKay [then Head of School] looked like she was laying an egg," Cat remembered. "I've never seen someone look so uncomfortable."

How did you maintain momentum?

The campaign succeeded by combining political organizing with community building. They created a WhatsApp group for PhD researchers that still exists five years later as a key communication channel. Regular social events helped sustain energy and build relationships. As Max explained, "The goal was also when we organized something like a meeting that people would come not just for the meeting, but also because it was just fun to be there and have a drink... it was angry and political, but it was also joyful."

What was the outcome?

The campaign achieved its immediate aim - the West Wing remained PGR space. But COVID-19 arrived just months later, dispersing the community and dampening momentum for broader democratic reforms. Still, the campaign left lasting impacts. The WhatsApp group remains active, social events continue monthly, and the practice of calling community assemblies to address shared concerns has become part of the organizing culture of PGRs .

What lessons would you share with others organizing today?

The organizers emphasized the importance of having a core coordinating group willing to do the day-to-day work while building broader participation. They also noted how the campaign's local, tangible focus helped maintain engagement. As Cat reflected, "It was very specific and it was very local... there was something that could very obviously be won."

While hybrid work has made organizing more challenging, the campaign offers valuable lessons about combining social connection with political action. As Larissa noted, their success came from "linking the community to the work, to the Union." By grounding their organizing in existing social bonds and shared space, they built power to win concrete improvements in their conditions as precarious workers in the University.

The experience also highlighted the vital importance of physical space for building community and collective power. As Max observed, "If you have a social space and the community that can emerge from having shared spaces - that's also the same community that gets activated in a campaign like this." In an era of increasing isolation and dispersed work, the campaign stands as a reminder that defending our common spaces means defending our capacity to organize together.