Press
Academy 2 (Main Debating Hall)
7th November 1990

For a brief period in 1990 the Academy was due to be renamed The Steven Shaw building in acknowledgement to the plight of a Manchester University student Steven Show who suffered months of police harassment following an incident during the final day's of the miner' strike in 1985.

Leon Brittan, the then Home Secretary was visiting the Union to address a meeting and a group of around 500 students gathered on the University steps for a loud and peaceful protest. A clash with police resulted in scores of arrests and a defence campaign was set up by Steven Shaw. Steven eventually fled the country due to claims of ongoing harassment from the police.

As we know, the name change never happened but this a fascinating read regardless.

Report credit: Paul Gardner

Taken from the Mancunion newspaper, written and edited by University of Manchester students. With thanks to James Peters at the University of Manchester Archives and Ben Ward at University of Manchester Students' Union.