Context: The Esurchian State and Occupation
Between 21-24 September 1360, the Esurchian forces, now significantly stronger than two years previously, toppled the Councils of Kilma and Onitalep and gained military dominance over the entire Havenlands Region. On 02 October of that year came the proclamation of the Esurchian State, ruled anonymously by a three-member military junta.
On 06 October 1360, Retunian protestors blocked Esurchian functions recently established in the suburb of North Caylor, Ereautea. The Esurchian Scouts responded to this by shooting into the crowd, killing thirty-six civilians and injuring hundreds more. News of this spread but the Esurchians leveraged established media sources to lace such news with false propaganda designed to sow division.
Privatization of James Randall House
Beredon Cooper was considered by many at Cabotton University to be a loyal employee, having worked as a clerk for the University Administration, under multiple Cabotton University Headmasters, since the year 1342. However, when Jon Den began discussing a plan to convert the Five Houses (Fleming, Randall, Adams, Norris, and Deering) into for-profit hotels for the middle managers associated with the on-campus businesses, Cooper voiced opposition. In response, on 15 September 1360, the Jon Den Administration dispatched two Esurchian Scout agents to detain Cooper; however, Cooper, in confronting them, killed both of them and fled the Canticulan nation of Furthing. Three days later, safely in Furthing, Cooper exposed the Esurchian plan on numerous OCEA platforms.
On 10 October 1360, the Cabotton student body responded to Cooper's revelations with "Not a Hotel" protests in their respective Houses. On 15 October, the Esurchian Scouts and Campus Watch cleared Randall House, its students evicted. Three days later, the Cabotton Scholar Foundation initiated a program to provide viable housing options to the displaced students in order to help them continue their education at the University. On 02 November, the Jon Den Administration announced a plan to allow Randall House students to move back into their original rooms beginning in January, but that they would be subject to an "affordable" monthly rent. Meanwhile, between October and December 1360, the vacated rooms and floors of Randall House were renovated.
However, on 11 December, a spy network dispatched by Cabotton student Heather Walker revealed that the Esurchians were prioritizing to lease the renovated rooms to the middle managers associated by the on-campus businesses, as part of the original plan, and give a limited number of students the remaining vacancies. Furthermore, it was also exposed that the Esurchians planned to charge 100.00 credits per night for every student having moved back in. The following day, Jon Den released an open letter explaining that the decisions on Randall House were "due to the mounting strain on funding Esurchian defenses," and that the rooms were offered to the students at such exorbitant prices "after exhausting all other viable business options." The Cabotton Scholar Foundation, fearing consequences from the Esurchian Scouts, urged students, once again, to not openly protest, assuring that there were other more effective strategies in place to fight back. On 19 December, the Foundation expanded its housing placement initiative to those residents of the other four Houses for safe measure.
Jon Den Administration: Further Actions
On 02 January 1361, the Jon Den Administration announced a per semester tuition increase to 25'391.73, to take effect in June. They justified that this was in order to take care of the mounting University debt as well as the Esurchian "defense machine." Heather Walker's spy network revealed that the Esurchians were, in fact, planning to funnel this additional revenue toward personal retirement plans.
Again, the Cabotton Scholar Foundation urged students to not protest openly and, instead, on 13 January, initiated a student placement program for students wishing to leave the University and continue their education elsewhere.
Meanwhile, on 15 January, the Jon Den Administration announced an expansion of its program to recruit Cabotton students into the Esurchian forces functioning in the Havenlands. This expansion would ultimately increase the mandatory recruitment of current students tenfold as well as initiate a mandatory recruitment outreach to former students.
Cabotton Scholar Foundation: Growth and Reform
On 19 January 1361, the Cabotton Scholar Foundation signed a contract with the government of the Municipality of Yelcreb, in the Kingdom of the Great North, for the region to accept those students transferring away from Cabotton University. Furthermore, the Municipality of Yelcreb provided a venue for the Foundation to establish an additional Chapter while arranging for the former students to be placed in the Linbraean Royal College system.
Until January 1361, the Cabotton Scholar Foundation largely took the approach of protecting Cabotton students while avoiding as much conflict as possible with the Esurchian Regime, occasionally to the frustration of some members especially when it came to negotiation efforts. However, matters would change when, on 21 January 1361, Heather Walker was voted President of the Foundation. Under her leadership, the Foundation, the next day, received intelligence confirming the intent of the Esurchians to actively undermine the Foundation through dangerous and manipulative methods.
Thus, on 23 January, the Foundation voted to cease all negotiation efforts with the Esurchians.