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| Virgin voters: why we'll fight for a fairer education system | Virgin voters: why we'll fight for a fairer education system |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| In our “Virgin voters” series, we listen to what young people and first-time voters have to say about the election issues that matter most to them. This week students have been protesting to demand a fairer higher education system. We joined them to find out what they want from their universities. | In our “Virgin voters” series, we listen to what young people and first-time voters have to say about the election issues that matter most to them. This week students have been protesting to demand a fairer higher education system. We joined them to find out what they want from their universities. |
| Education is becoming more of a privilege and less of a right. | Education is becoming more of a privilege and less of a right. |
| Higher education protests: what’s going on? | Higher education protests: what’s going on? |
| We spoke to students inside the occupations to find out more. | We spoke to students inside the occupations to find out more. |
| ‘There’s been a lot of solidarity between universities’ | ‘There’s been a lot of solidarity between universities’ |
| Lucy Howell, 18, a first year studying live events and television at UAL, says: | Lucy Howell, 18, a first year studying live events and television at UAL, says: |
| There’s been a lot of solidarity between universities. Everyone seems really supportive of what we’re doing, including staff. The atmosphere’s been lovely, there’s been such a community feel. We’ve had people who’ve flown in from Amsterdam especially for the occupation at UAL and that is fantastic and shows how powerful our university is. | There’s been a lot of solidarity between universities. Everyone seems really supportive of what we’re doing, including staff. The atmosphere’s been lovely, there’s been such a community feel. We’ve had people who’ve flown in from Amsterdam especially for the occupation at UAL and that is fantastic and shows how powerful our university is. |
| ‘Occupations allow us to support the next generation of students’ | ‘Occupations allow us to support the next generation of students’ |
| Margherita Asti, 21, a foundation student at London College of Communication, UAL, says: | Margherita Asti, 21, a foundation student at London College of Communication, UAL, says: |
| Occupations allow us to voice our opinions and support the next generation of students. Cuts will probably still happen, but students should make their voices heard and it’s useful for staff to know how we feel. | Occupations allow us to voice our opinions and support the next generation of students. Cuts will probably still happen, but students should make their voices heard and it’s useful for staff to know how we feel. |
| The foundation course has been really helpful for me. I’m from Italy and I’d never done anything like it before – we have freedom to experiment with artistic methods. I decided to do it because I didn’t know what I wanted to do afterwards, and I probably wouldn’t have worked this out without the foundation course. | The foundation course has been really helpful for me. I’m from Italy and I’d never done anything like it before – we have freedom to experiment with artistic methods. I decided to do it because I didn’t know what I wanted to do afterwards, and I probably wouldn’t have worked this out without the foundation course. |
| ‘I’ve been inspired by other occupations around London’ | ‘I’ve been inspired by other occupations around London’ |
| Ben Wilson, a third year studying English literature and language at KCL, says: | Ben Wilson, a third year studying English literature and language at KCL, says: |
| I’d been thinking about how unethical our university is for a long time, but there hasn’t been much activism going on among students here. We’ve been inspired by the other occupations that have sprung up around London over the last week. The things King’s invests in are unethical, the pay of managers isn’t transparent and there’s a bad ratio between the highest and lowest paid workers. Tuition fees are decided by the government rather than King’s, so we want to focus our occupation on things our university can do to improve the lives of students, academics and other workers. | I’d been thinking about how unethical our university is for a long time, but there hasn’t been much activism going on among students here. We’ve been inspired by the other occupations that have sprung up around London over the last week. The things King’s invests in are unethical, the pay of managers isn’t transparent and there’s a bad ratio between the highest and lowest paid workers. Tuition fees are decided by the government rather than King’s, so we want to focus our occupation on things our university can do to improve the lives of students, academics and other workers. |
| ‘Our government is devaluing education’ | ‘Our government is devaluing education’ |
| Rebecca Livesey-Wright, 22, a third year studying criticism, communication and curation at Central Saint Martins, UAL, says: | Rebecca Livesey-Wright, 22, a third year studying criticism, communication and curation at Central Saint Martins, UAL, says: |
| Taking part in the occupation at UAL has been difficult but really fun. I’ve been very stressed but I’m been having a good time. I’ve learned a lot about occupying, about negotiating and about politics, and also about management, as no one’s talked to us about our demands. | Taking part in the occupation at UAL has been difficult but really fun. I’ve been very stressed but I’m been having a good time. I’ve learned a lot about occupying, about negotiating and about politics, and also about management, as no one’s talked to us about our demands. |
| Ultimately it’s about how the cuts are part of the wider issues around education and politics in this country at the moment. I think it says a lot about the way that our government and our university devalue education. | Ultimately it’s about how the cuts are part of the wider issues around education and politics in this country at the moment. I think it says a lot about the way that our government and our university devalue education. |
| ‘Education is becoming more of a privilege and less of a right’ | ‘Education is becoming more of a privilege and less of a right’ |
| Harry Blain, a conflict studies master’s student at LSE, says: | Harry Blain, a conflict studies master’s student at LSE, says: |
| Education is becoming more of a privilege and less of a right. Occupations can fizzle out – there are moments when students wonder what they’re achieving. We want others to start asking questions, because most aren’t politically active. Occupations can make students feel guilty for spending time away from their studies, but this is part of the problem. We’re so stuck in structures of learning that we don’t have much time to think for ourselves, so being in that room and talking freely to each other is probably one of the best things about it. | Education is becoming more of a privilege and less of a right. Occupations can fizzle out – there are moments when students wonder what they’re achieving. We want others to start asking questions, because most aren’t politically active. Occupations can make students feel guilty for spending time away from their studies, but this is part of the problem. We’re so stuck in structures of learning that we don’t have much time to think for ourselves, so being in that room and talking freely to each other is probably one of the best things about it. |
| ‘The higher education curriculum is failing black students’ | ‘The higher education curriculum is failing black students’ |
| Shelly Asquith, president of UAL student union and former Central Saint Martins student, says: | Shelly Asquith, president of UAL student union and former Central Saint Martins student, says: |
| It’s really important that students and staff are making a stand against cuts to foundation courses. Foundation courses have a wide demographic – there’s a huge number of black and working class students on them. The foundation course is free if you’re under 19 and not an international student – so it’s one of the last bastions of education for education’s sake. We’ve got people here supporting us from LSE, Sheffield, Goldsmiths and UCL because these cuts are a symbol of what’s going on across education. | It’s really important that students and staff are making a stand against cuts to foundation courses. Foundation courses have a wide demographic – there’s a huge number of black and working class students on them. The foundation course is free if you’re under 19 and not an international student – so it’s one of the last bastions of education for education’s sake. We’ve got people here supporting us from LSE, Sheffield, Goldsmiths and UCL because these cuts are a symbol of what’s going on across education. |
| ‘Occupations can be very effective’ | ‘Occupations can be very effective’ |
| Rose Parker, third year painting student at Wimbledon College of Art, UAL, says: | Rose Parker, third year painting student at Wimbledon College of Art, UAL, says: |
| We blame the government for raising tuition fees and forcing universities into situations they wouldn’t necessarily want to be in. But we also blame the management style of the universities, who could be handling this a lot better. | We blame the government for raising tuition fees and forcing universities into situations they wouldn’t necessarily want to be in. But we also blame the management style of the universities, who could be handling this a lot better. |
| Occupations can be very effective – especially because of the prominent location of the one at UAL. It publicises the cause and lets university management know very quickly that something’s going on. | |
| Keep up with the latest on Guardian Students: follow us on Twitter at @GdnStudents – and become a member to receive exclusive benefits and our weekly newsletter. | Keep up with the latest on Guardian Students: follow us on Twitter at @GdnStudents – and become a member to receive exclusive benefits and our weekly newsletter. |