Today, at 1:30pm, a group of students occupied the University of Bristol Senate House to protest the government-proposed education cuts and changes to the University fee structure.
University of Bristol Occupation PRESS RELEASE 06/12/10

Today, at 1:30pm, a group of students occupied the University of Bristol Senate House to protest the government-proposed education cuts and changes to the University fee structure. The students are acting in solidarity with student occupations across the country, including at the University of the West of England, and other forms of protest against policies which aim to cut public spending on education and research.

Bristol against Education Cuts writes Today, at 1:30pm, a group of students occupied the University of Bristol Senate House to protest the government-proposed education cuts and changes to the University fee structure. The students are acting in solidarity with student occupations across the country, including at the University of the West of England, and other forms of protest against policies which aim to cut public spending on education and research.

Bristol University students have been increasingly active in resisting the coalition government’s proposals for a complete transformation of Higher Education, and today’s occupation follows a month of protests, teach-ins and other actions. There is a strong student opposition to the proposed plans, which include cutting the national teaching budget for higher education by 40%, and 100% cuts to the teaching of the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. Similarly, students are strongly opposed to the scrapping of the Educational Maintenance Allowance for secondary school students, who might otherwise struggle to support themselves through sixth form, and hold that a near-tripling of university tuition fees will stand to discourage many from higher education, regardless of the Browne Review’s proposals for maintaining equal access.

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The following demands have been made by the occupiers:

We demand:

- An emergency general meeting of the Senate open to all staff and students, such that we, as those who are deeply concerned about the prospects of education for future generations, may:
1. Understand the University’s existing financial situation.
2. Hear in full the proposals for cuts and changes to the University’s structure, budget and services.
3. Hear what other options have been considered before such decisions have been made.
4. Learn how the University intends to support widening participation, particularly for those courses where fees are expected to rise.
5. Discuss and debate further how this will affect the form and content of higher education at Bristol.
6. Discuss and debate further how governmental changes may be resisted or otherwise negotiated.

- That Senate and Council meetings, in addition to any meetings in which decisions for any financial cuts or redundancies are to be considered, be advertised and opened to the wider student body and staff.

- That the University implement a complete ‘open books’ policy to allow full transparency with regards to existing budget constraints and future cuts.

- That the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Eric Thomas, as President-elect of Universities UK and as Vice-Chancellor of one of the leading universities of the Russell Group, call for a full public inquiry into the funding cuts to higher education.

- That the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Eric Thomas, as President-elect of Universities UK and as Vice-Chancellor of one of the leading universities of the Russell Group, publicly put pressure on Universities UK and the Russell Group to resist the proposed increase in fees.

- That the Vice-Chancellor, Eric Thomas, write and send an open letter to the Government condemning cuts in the education budget and appealing to them not to implement these policies, and to publicly call for Vice-Chancellors across the country to unite against these cuts, any rise in tuition fees and the removal of Educational Maintenance Allowance and Aimhigher.

- Free access for all staff and students to the occupation, with no recriminations for any students, staff or members of the public involved in the occupation.

- Greater student representation in Senate meetings. That the President of the Students’ Union is the only person the V-C will talk to is not enough. Thus we demand greater transparency in how student representatives are selected for Senate membership and the right to instant recall (through an EGM of the University of Bristol Union) of student representatives seen as not fulfilling their mandate. In addition, we demand that students are included in the Vice-Chancellor’s meetings with academics concerning fees and cuts, due to take place in the coming weeks.

- That Bristol University administration and management formally, and in opposition to the Browne Review’s proposal to subject Higher Education to market forces, recognise that our University is not a corporation driven by business principles alone but an institution of higher education which promotes and is guided by a combination of economic, cultural and social concerns.

- That University administration and management recognise University teaching staff’s obligation to devote some teaching time over the next two weeks to discuss the impact of these education cuts on students, staff and society.

We will end this occupation when we feel that these demands have been sufficiently met.

The occupiers have stated that they will end the occupation when they feel their demands have been sufficiently met.

Students have been left out of the process of consultation on the proposed policies and are now seeking to make their voices heard. They feel that there has been little resistance to Government’s proposals and want to reassure the Vice-Chancellor, Eric Thomas, that he has their full support if he were to voice his opposition to the above policies and call for a public inquiry into funding cuts to Higher Education.

The University of Bristol Students’ Union (UBU) has declared its support of all forms of student activism against all education cuts and any increases in tuition fees, stating that these policies represent further shifts toward the commodification of education and stand to significantly harm access to Higher Education for students from poorer backgrounds. The National Union of Students (NUS) has also voiced its full support of all student protests on the matter in its calls for ‘a fresh wave of student action’. Similarly, The University and College Union (UCU) Special Higher Education Sector Conference on 25th November celebrated all student protests that had taken part until then, and called for UCU support of further student action on the matter.

Follow the occupation:
Blog: bristoluniresistance.org.uk,
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#!/pages/Bristol-against-education-cuts/166916926663073
Email: aec.bris@gmail.com
Or come and visit: University of Bristol Senate House, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TH

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