Student pays fees in pound coins

Owen | 30.01.2004 18:28 | Education | Oxford

After four months of with-holding tuition fees, one month of
suspension, and finally threatened with being denied a degree,
I finally decided to pay up - in pound coins.

1125 pound coins

Why I decided to with-hold fees
-------------------------------
Education, just like food, housing and healthcare, is a right, and
we shouldn't be ashamed to say so. Only the rich benefit when more
and more of the cost of this education is passed on to students.
Working class people, already hugely excluded from higher education,
will find it increasingly difficult.

Little by little, all those bursaries, and access schemes, which never
adequately addressed the problem anyway, will be eaten away and eroded.
Fees will rise, a market will develop, loans will be commercialised
and those who cannot afford to pay will be left behind. Meanwhile,
the same template is imposed on the NHS and other public services,
as part of a global drive for privatisation, spearheaded by GATS.

http://www.peopleandplanet.org/tradejustice/whatswrong.php

All this could happen, unless we act together to stop it. The students
of Germany are a fantastic example:

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/oxford/2004/01/284434.html

Unfortunately, as (I think) the only non-payer in the University,
there was no way I could defy the system indefinitely. So the 1125
pound coins I handed in to the authorities today was a last gesture
of protest, a final attempt to throw sand in the cogs, in this saga

Handing over the money
----------------------
By the time I'd had to lugged the lump of quids around town, I was
very happy to get rid of it. Although they don't take up much space,
pound coins are remarkably heavy...

When I got to the University Offices, there were extra guards outside,
and security shields were down - obviously fearing a repeat of this
week's student occupation of the Exam Schools.

Staff were friendly, but refused to comment on issues of tuition
fees or the commmercialisation of education, so while I waited for
the money to be counted, we chatted about innnocuous things like
how nice it'd be if the national currency was chocolate coins ;)

They did seem uncomfortable when I tried to talk about fees, so
perhaps I've made them think a little and reconsider their part in
all of this.

Finally, thanks to all those who came along today to support :)

Call to action
--------------
If many students with-hold fees, even for just a little while, if
lots of students start trying to find awkward ways of paying, if we
combine this with disobedience and action - if lots of student just
resist as much as we feel able to - then we could easily bring all
the Vice-Wossnames, 'Masters', Bursars and Proctors, to their knees.

And if, at the same time, we start taking control of our own education,
moving away from the idea of University as a priviledged portal to
well-paid jobs, towards the idea of an institution of learning for the
sake of learning, open to all, a place where knowledge and skills are
shared freely, then we can play a huge part in creating a freer and
more human society. We can start to make the society of our dreams
a reality.

Sous les pavés, la plage!
(Beneath the cobblestones, the beach!)

--slogan of Paris students, 1968
(

http://www.media68.com/poster/paris.htm )

Owen

Comments

Hide the following 35 comments

you obviously didn't read my article properly

30.01.2004 19:20

I think I made it clear that I *agree* that University - as a route to a well paid job screwing the rest of us over - IS BOLLOCKS. However:

1. The simplest way to make those people pay is called income tax. Tax the rich. Simple. Makes much more sense than indiscriminately making all students pay, no matter what they go on to do in life.

2. University doesn't have to be like this. It could be a place of sharing knowledge as equals, open to all. It needs to be reclaimed, just like almost everything else in our society.

Student fees are a step in the wrong direction.

Owen

I paid for your war and education with my taxes

30.01.2004 20:03

"1. The simplest way to make those people pay is called income tax. Tax the rich. Simple. Makes much more sense than indiscriminately making all students pay, no matter what they go on to do in life.

2. University doesn't have to be like this. It could be a place of sharing knowledge as equals, open to all. It needs to be reclaimed, just like almost everything else in our society"

1. tax generally hits the poorest the hardest, over the last 6 years the goverment have put a "penny on income tax" or a "penny on national insurance". This hits the poor that have not been to university. The government will not be hitting students "indiscriminantly" the government will only charge the ones that are earning above 18000. By hitting them the government is choosing not to hit the average tax payer indiscriminantly.

2.University is an expensive institution, especially compared to many places that do alot more good to society. I would argue that it is far better for society to put more money into helping those at the very worst off - like e.g. inner cities that need youth provision and pre-school care.

3.Lastly:there has been loads of articles about students and there fees on the newswire over the last 5 years and yet when i put one article about renewable energy it was taken off. A scottish company called Windsave has developed a household wind turbine that could provide up to 15% of this coutnries energy needs if it was fully implemented. It is relativly cheap (750 quid per turbine). Humanity has taken so many resources from the earth and oil production is currently at its peak (it will not get any higher), is it not time for everyone to start looking toward new developments to help save this peice of dirt? aka the UK

translator

wrong

30.01.2004 20:52

How is a university not as important as a pre-school centre? I never went to a pre-school centre but i go to uni. If you didn't have graduates that spent the extra few years learing, then we wouldn't have to country we have. I agree that universities are becoming too much like pay per use encylopedia's. Why should people have to pay in order to share skills and learn?

In the end, students who have been to university earn more money. Yes this is true, however, it can also be said that they will end up paying more income tax etc... So why should they have to pay more upfront? They pay more afterwards. People on low income's could go to university also if it was 'free'.

fredrico
mail e-mail: musteatvegan@yahoo.co.uk

original commenter

30.01.2004 20:53

Education IS a right. Under the Universal Convention of Human Rights. :) So he is actually just stating a fact, not opinion.

fredrico
mail e-mail: musteatvegan@yahoo.co.uk

translator

30.01.2004 21:06

I fail to see what your post about wind turbines has to do with this post. If you are so annoyed about it, why don't you contact indymeida and ask why it's been removed rather than ranting on about it in completely unrelated posts.

Lin

Realist and Translator we've heard your crap before

30.01.2004 21:21

We've heard what you have to say, OK you support top up fees, join New Labour, why don't you go and beat up some student scum while your at it...
This is a news wire, people post news, many people read it and are interested... even if they don't agree they tolerate differences of oppinion.
we've heard your argument its boring - its also wrong and looking at previous posts on the issue (see Oxford.indymedia.org.uk news wire for numerous arguments) you've lost it many times.
please do something for yourself instead of filling this news wire with inaccurate and inconsistant arguments, social prejudice and blatant rudeness.

get a life instead of constantly blasting everyone with your prejudice

credit to Owen

30.01.2004 21:22

Well done. Withold while you can, pay when you must and make a PR thing out of it.

You come over a lot better than many students who post here (and better than some of the NUS peeps).

I can't guarantee that you won't be doing something that's concience salving but pointless when you graduate, but there is hope and possibility.

The people you handed your money over to and who might be prompted to think about what they are part of, may also be the very non-graduates who are funding education through their taxes.

Non-payment or inconveniant payment of fees will probably never have an effect on the scale of similar protests against the Poll Tax but at the very least it's a learning experience which could be used inspire other actions.

Realist: hmm - people take GCSEs to get better jobs than people who don't have them - do you propose to charge for that as well?
And Indymedia is an anarchist website in the sense that, without hierarchy, anyone can post on it. This means that lots of saddo Daily Mail types post on here - it pisses me off but it's the price of open posting.

bobby

Why didn't you pay in pennies?

31.01.2004 00:44

That would really have annoyed them!

Jamie

person buys beer from shop with 1 pound coins

31.01.2004 11:36

As a protest against the increased taxes on beers i have decided to only pay for beer using 1 pound coins. Would indymedia accept this as an article?

The debate has been had the votes has been had and you students are too far up your own asses to know it. Why should the public subsidise inequality? Why should the dustbin man pay huge amounts to give opportunity to a son of a lawyer so that the son can follow in his fathers footsteps?
You claim i am following new labour but with your own argument of "some people earn more but it doesnt matter because they pay more in tax - therefore it is for the common good". There are far more important issues than a a few thousand pounds that you can afford to pay back anyway. Like saving the enviroment and "ring fencing" housing benefit. The attacks on travellers at the moment is also something that is never represented by the "socialy aware" students.

translator

OWEN IS A LEGEND

31.01.2004 13:27

Owen, your a star. I think your action was brilliant and that it is really sad that you were the only student to try and withdraw fees. shame you didnt get more mainstream publicity.

I am sure you will agree, that an alternative to taxing the rich, would be to spend the 1.5 billion spent on britians trident wmd each year on taking every student in the country to uni for free.

EDUCATION IS A RIGHT
LIVING IN PEACE, IN A WORLD FREE FROM NUKES IS ALSO A RIGHT.

Shame about the daily mailers posts on here, thats why schnews is so fuckin good:
www.schnews.co.uk

j
Homepage: http://www.tridentploughshares.org

response to translator

31.01.2004 13:39

I'm a student and I posted a call to action about travellers on indymedia only last week. Students in Oxford through protest have made the University use completely green energy sources and made it one of Europes largest green energy users. I could write a list of other things if you want.

James

i would like that

31.01.2004 14:41

I have to admit i may be blinkered but as far as i am concerned most of the university students (especially those active in the NUS) are self centred consumerist greedy scroungers. Lets face it, the NUS has been instiutionalised by the state and is now just a safty valve for middle class student "revolt". Why should you pay a contribution to your higher education? Because it costs the tax payer so much (16 billion). Most universities have only paid lip service to "widening access" - universities are a middle class retreat. I don't want you to be overly charged but paying a maximum of 9000 when you will on average earn over 10 000 more than the average person per year is not too much to ask. You will also only have to pay it back when you are earning 18 000 a year anyway. University is also barely a full time occupation, 16 hours lectures and 16 hours study (most people will never carry out the full 16 hours study) still means you are only occupied for 32 hours a week.
Students on indymedia are over represented and in society treated with way to much deference. I agree the government should cut trident but just because the figres coincide does not mean that they will actually do that - get realistic.
I would be happy to hear this "alternative" side to student life, because in reality i just dont experience it.

translator

response to 'translator'

01.02.2004 12:13

Neither the occupation of the exam schools nor owen's witholding of his fees were donw in the name of the NUS, if you have beef with the NUS you're on the wrong bit of the web for expressing it

'Most universities have only paid lip service to "widening access"' - this is precisely why the struggle goes on, when you and the government have it your way, universities will indeed become 'a middle class retreat'. it seems to me that your problem with the university system is that it enables people to get better jobs. i agree that in the most part (but by no means exclusively) this is the case, this is not a value judgement but rather a statement of fact. top-up fees, by threatening to exclude those from poorer backgrounds from the university system thus threaten to exclude them from the chance to get these jobs. is this what you want? the stagnation of society, and someone's chances in life determined even more so by how rich their parents are? also, perhaps you should read owen's article again. universities' only value is not the job prospects they provide their graduates with, but rather the experience of learning for its own sake, the sharing of knowledge with experts in their field and interested students. i would still have wanted to come to university for this even if there was not job at the end of it, and i would like everyone to have the chance to gain everything that i have from this, regardless of whether they can afford top-up fees or not.

one final quick point; i can assure you that if i did only 16 hours of study a week i would be in serious trouble. students dont sit on their arses all day or in the pub. this is the hardest i've ever worked, and yes, translator, i have had a 'real job'.

rach

fgs

01.02.2004 13:38

boy do i wish i could have gone to uni just for the experience. or for the future boosting. see, while you lot are trying to bullshit us that you are fighting fees for the good of us all, we have much more pressing worries. dont kid yourself that uni is available to all, uni IS a middle class retreat, you just havent noticed it. our country is not spending less on unis, but the universities themselves are still vastly underfunded. university is not free, the money has to come from somewhere, would you rather they took money from elsewhere in the education system to fund those who are already priviliged? all this shit about a 'free' education, as your mum would say, it doesnt grow on trees you know.

btw, i wish i had a grand whether it was in pound coins or not.

random

Dustbin people and lawyers

01.02.2004 14:34

"Why should the dustbin man pay huge amounts to give opportunity to a son of a lawyer so that the son can follow in his fathers footsteps? "

Hmmmm, well maybe if education was free then the dustbin person could go to uni as well as the lawyer's offspring.

Lin

btw, i wish i had a grand whether it was in pound coins or not.

01.02.2004 16:50

btw most of don't have a grand, we've borrowed it.

rach

Uni benefits us all

01.02.2004 19:20

For many, Uni may very well be a stepping stone to highly paid jobs. But what about our doctors and nurses and teachers? Where do you think their skills come from? The Government have, in the past two years, said that nobody in the health service can progress past the first couple of rungs on the NHS career ladder without a degree - so do you want a health service without surgeons?

The Government, and all those who support top-up fees, have us all over a barrel on this one - I believe that, depending on how big your student debt is, you may have to start paying it off once your yearly income reaches £12000 - around a nurse's salary. So our already under-paid, but incredibely important public sector workers will have yet another financial commitment.

Top-up fees can also be looked at as another form of tax. Graduates will have to pay off their grant or their deffered fees eventually, and if they're going to be doing better paid jobs, then why not scrap the fees and tax those who earn over £100,000 and extra 3% a year, for example.

Lastly, we are told that Universities need an extra £17 billion. Top-up fees will raise around £1.25 billion. This is simply not an effective way of raising the money. The government are also claiming that more money will be raised by bringing in overseas students, and by private finance. So soon, we will have a further and higher education system run by multinationals, and exactly those people who are in favour of top-up fees will be whinging about the lack of places in our universities because they are all being taken by 'foreigners'. Have a bit of foresight.

Josh

ahhhh

01.02.2004 23:51

rach, i wish i could borrow one then! :D
ah for a holiday, a week in the sun...

noone is disputing that uni educated people are an asset to our society (some of the time! heh)

but having all of our society educated to 18, that would be a greater asset.
having community centres that we could use all day, constantly staffed by counsellors, with decent coffee and pool tables and pin ball and newspapers and maybe a library..... contentment for us all. we could all spend our time being a real community instead of sitting at home all the time because we cant afford to go out and even if we could there is nowhere to go.

yes uni is an asset, but it is primarily an asset to the person who recieves its priviliges. is it too much to ask that they pay for this? its only the ones who eventually DO earn lots that have to pay. and nurses and teachers recieve loads of help with uni fees, so they cant be used in an excuse against fees.

random

Oh ffs

02.02.2004 00:20

Owen you're a fucking hippy. "Tax the rich" - why should the rich have to pay for your education? Why should they have to pay for students getting pissed? Do you think you shouldn't have to pay a penny for your world class education and tutorials? You are ungrateful.

scum

yea

02.02.2004 09:44

£) using a false name on Indymedia or in fact anywhere else 'politically sensitive' is not something that should be reprimended (?!!?) but encouraged. It can be done in such a way that the people who 'need' to know who you are do.

$) Not everyone at university intends to get a highly paid job. What about those who are 'politically active not seeking employment'.
Sorry, I didnt realise that being a graduate guaranteed you a good job anyway, (especially one that wasnt just keeping the wheels of capitalism well oiled.)

£) Yes it is true that the current generation of youngsters (including students) are more self-interested and money motivated than previous generations, but as we move closer to the American Dream lets face it we just might need the money for health care, pensions etc as the welfare state is gradually eroded. Its been obvious that higher education wouldntbe free for much longer for a very long time, just as it is obvious that this is one of the first steps in this direction as other provisions will also come under fire. Lets please look at the bigger picture, and start shouting about that.

oops

clearing up the shit

02.02.2004 09:46

Have you ever been into a pub or a cafe'? You have to pay and buy stuff from it or they kick you out - trust me i have tried going in there for the culture and they kicked me out.

btw:this is a fake name but because my name is so rare and so many people hate me i thought it wise to not reveal my real name for now.

translator

community

02.02.2004 12:43

Felicity, these 'community centres' sound nothing at all like pubs and cafes!

perhaps more like the students union building where you can have gigs and speakers, and notice boards etc. most actual community centres are skint and can only afford basic things, and they arent open much of the time, also i envisage a place where people of all ages can be at the same time and currently community centres arent able to provide those sort of facilities.

Librarys! ha! i wish. our central library is a very small place with not much going on. it would be great if the council stuck a load of cash into enlarging it and its collection. but they dont. i know nearby students and i know that the uni library here is bigger and better. hell yeah im jealous! doesnt seem right to me.

if each community centre could have its own small library, of the most recent and most popular books, and an area full of comfy seating, and basic drinks facilities (maybe a kettle?!), and a room filled with toys and kids stuff for the under 11s, another area with free pinball and a pool table for the teenagers.... ah i'd spend all day there!

see then there would be somewhere for kids and teenagers to go and the police wouldnt have to waste their time threatening to arrest them or fine their parents; adults, parents and non parents, could mix freely and have somewhere to meet and chat that wasnt going to cost them a fortune; parents could have the facility of a child friendy area so that they could take a break without being too far away. Provide a paid for counsellor and I bet they never get a moments peace, provide a couple of child carers/watchers and the same.

see students have these facilities. all unis have a creche, a union bar and cafe/restaurant, a decent library, pc and net access, a counsellor, an office for 'financial advice', maybe even a couple of pool tables! Your refectorys and other open spaces are what we need in our communities! Every university has numerous clubs doing all sorts of weird and wonderful things and they have the facility of the uni minibus or help with cash towards t shirts or whatever, and what about freshers week where all of this stuff gets advertised and loads of fun things are arranged, and how about the yearly balls and all that? see we dont want everything you have, but some of it sounds damn good.

I just dont think you realise hom much you have at uni. what you pay for isnt just your excellent education and future opportunities. you get all of this extra stuff, making a wonderful 3 years. if we could offer just a fraction of your added extras to our communities life would be so much better for us.

random

????

02.02.2004 21:15

is that your personal bodyguard i see behind you? blimey.

eh?

Great idea, Owen

03.02.2004 00:28

I'm going to encourage my kids to do exactly what you've done.

Thanks.

George

answer to eh?

03.02.2004 02:19

answer your own question by reading the article properly:

"When I got to the University Offices, there were extra guards outside,
and security shields were down - obviously fearing a repeat of this
week's student occupation of the Exam Schools."

Owen

Oh ffs...

03.02.2004 03:24

Owen what is the point in all of your shitty little protests? Witholding fees isn't going to make any difference whatsoever, it isn't going to make the govt change their mind. Protesting against the war isn't going to make any difference whatsoever, it isn't going to make the govt change their mind. When will you learn?

scum

"COMMUNITY"

03.02.2004 09:49

In response to this community centre line....

I feel its very important that you get down to Brighton and check out the Cowley Club easy to find at the top of the London road, or at least look at the website! www.cowleyclub.org.uk

Activists have fundraised £500,000 and bought a shop, and created exactly what you are describing, over the last couple of years. The shop was refurbished by volunteers from the community, and there is a four bed housing co-op flat above the club, paying half the mortgage.
In the day it runs a cafe open to the public with great cheap vegan food, a library and anarchist bookshop. A kids club is organised and a kids space is currently being created as an outbuliding is refurbished. They also have a number of offices for various activist groups. It also functions as a great space for political gatherings and meetings.
At night it becomes a private members club, with its relaxed licensing implications i.e over children etc. The beer is cheap and locally sourced. Theres plenty of great events. It's an amazing feeling to be somewhere that you know is yours (every member owns a £1 share) and that random straight people and obnoxious idiots arnt going to burst in on you like in any pub, and theres no landlord breathing down your neck. (Or unfriendly local 'management committee' like the east oxford community centre.)

A true autonomous zone which is in no sense temporary.

It is highly bureaucratic which the anarchists (!!!) carry off extremely well, all rules are respected to the T as it is essential to the clubs extistence.
Apart of course for the counsellor but I'd say that the enhanced community fulfills this function anyway just by its very nature. (Although there advice sessions for claimants etc.)

THERE IS NO REASON WHY SUCH A PROJECT CANNOT BE SUCCESSFULLY UNDERTAKEN IN OXFORD.

The formula is there, the funding is there. What is required is COMMITMENT from the community here, and this includes students despite the ephemeral nature of their lives in Oxford. The difference between here and Brighton is purely demographic, there it serves a larger community. So we would need to be that bit more commited to making sure our beer money went to the club (and therefore directly back into the community) rather than into corporate coffers. Ultimately we would have to be that bit more commited to our community because this would take an immense amount of EFFORT.
This is a case of, instead of whinging and relying on the state to provide appropriately for the community (and lets face it, this goes against the grain of 'self'interest and consumerism prescribed by society) we need to SELF-ORGANISE.

OXFORD COULD BE A SO MUCH BETTER PLACE

Check out

http://www.cowleyclub.org.uk

TO start some dialogue on this issue regarding direct organising please email

community@fizzmail.co.uk

well wha'da'ya'no!
mail e-mail: community@fizzmail.co.uk

cool

03.02.2004 17:34

wow! thats brilliant, i never thought id actually see something like it. im not in oxford, but we should have places like that all over the UK. im gonna check out your site, how did you raise that much cash???

random

Owen's no longer owin'

03.02.2004 20:32

The flaw in Owen's action is that he has actually paid up, and he hasn't really caused them very much inconvenience. If more people do it they will very soon have scales and a transport system and think nothing of it at all. I agree that the authorities should not try to control what people say just because they don't agree with them or like their name or background, but this is not usually a problem at the University. At least these protests are very newsworthy and should get a lot of coverage, especially if they are varied in nature, which would also upset routine plans to deal with them.

Hippo

Try this one

03.02.2004 20:45

It's true that Oxford does not have the facilities of Brighton, no pier either, but you could try the Magic Cafe in Magdalen Road with the Inner Bookshop adjacent.

Flowergirl

Don't you think I've already tried them?

03.02.2004 21:23

sorry flowergirl you seem to have missed my point. The magic cafe and inner bookshop, great as they are, are not at all what I am talking about. Oxford is in need of community space. (Which belongs to, and is run by the community, not commercial establishments.)
Yea, we dont have the facilities of Brighton, but Brighton didnt have the Cowley Club two years ago either. There are community needs here which are not met. If you don't agree, then look beyond your own situation to the position of others.
NO, youre right, Brighton having a pier (!!?!)is a fantastic argument as to why Oxford shouldn't be improved.
Two years ago Brighton had TWO piers.

petunia

Magic's not free

04.02.2004 13:26

I doubt if the Magic Café thinks of itself as a “commercial establishment”. Things do have to be paid for, but the ambiance is very much what you might desire. Spock and others would be interested to see how things are done in Aotearoa (New Zealand), where it’s all very different. Just click on Aotearoa, listed under Oceania opposite, look for something relevant to the UK, and compare. In the cold light of daylight, I rather doubt if any government is going to agree to sponsor facilities similar to university unions for young people not at university, when the private sector appears to do this so much already and the taxpayer is a bit hard-pressed.

Kiwi seller

free magic

04.02.2004 19:26

in the cold light of day i rather doubt someone so blinkered to presume that things can only be provided via government/private funding would even begin to be concious enough to understand the concept of community self-organisation. Its paid for with our beer money. For further details please look at the cowley club website and suss it out before responding.
No, the private sector does not come close. No the magic cafe does not provide the required 'ambience'.
Oh yea, and the same stylie salad costs a quid at the cowley club compared to three and a half at the magic cafe.

free magic

Paradise in Cowley club, and in the South Seas

04.02.2004 21:33

What a pity this paricular Cowley Club is in Brighton and not in Cowley as you might expect. But the joys of Aotearoa Indymedia are at everyone's fingertips. Try it and see.

Kiwi seller

owen

22.11.2005 09:22

Owen, I am part of the generation of student the top up fee effected I am 24 years old. The point you made about Education only being for the rich, after reading each post I agree with you. I believe in order to make the system Fair- loan the students the fees- then make the pay it back when they earn £20,000 or more. And to make the jobs such as nurses more appealing- the training for this should be for free. I know you might be asking where this money might come from. Well I really don't mind paying some of my taxes to train nurses- I do mind paying for solicitors- barristers and so on.

And as for supporting the under class, (I can only go on my experience) and this is- at the school I attended, in a run down estate- very few people passed there GSCE,S and the effect of this is most dropped out and didn't continue there education. So free university would not help them. Also I have to add, me and my partner did not get degrees but we get taxed enough already! I think it is 40% over £29,000, so I am afraid I would rather pay for the NHS than other people’s children’s education. Sorry

Madcat