On the afternoon of 9 March 1970, c.300 students occupied the Senate House, and announced that they intended to ’prevent the functioning of the university administration’ until such time as the University authorities showed ’a genuine willingness’ to accede to their demands. The occupation resulted in the expulsion of one student and the suspension of 8 more.

A newsheet of September 1970 said that:

Recently many people have come to feel that there is a prevailing uncertainty as to the nature of a university and its function in society, and that this uncertainty may have been a contributory factor in the troubles last year. It seemed worthwhile, therefore, to attempt some definition of the university and its role and in doing so to reassert certain values which of late appeared to be threatened.

The main aim of the Association was to address itself to the problems and issues which confronted the university during the next few years.