St. Andrews in Tent City Occupation
Occupiers | 11.10.2011 06:04 | Occupy Everywhere | Education | Free Spaces | Repression
St. Andrews students are in occupation against the recent fee increase for Rest Of UK students. The cost of a degree at St. Andrews now stands at £36,000 which makes our University the most exspensive in the UK. Anti cuts activists and autonomous supporters have started a tent-city occupation to demonstrate against this University's policy.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
A group of around 20 students from the University of St Andrews occupied the gardens outside the Principal’s residence at 6am on Tuesday in protest to the introduction of £9,000 a year rest of UK (RUK) fees. The occupation will last for 36 hours, to symbolise the £36,000 debt the university has asked its RUK students to graduate with. Students are demanding an immediate withdrawal of the proposed fees as well as greater transparency and democracy in university decision making. The decision to charge RUK students £36,000, when added to the largest living costs in Scotland, now makes St Andrews the most expensive university to achieve an undergraduate degree in Europe.
One student reflected the wide anger at the decision, saying “It’s a gross hypocrisy that people who benefitted from a free education themselves are increasing fees for other students by 500%. The governments at Westminster and Holyrood should take their share of the blame but the university’s argument that this is financially necessary is dishonest. The cut per RUK student is only £3,323 so raising fees by over £7,000 doesn’t make sense.”
Another student, a second year English student, said “Since the decision to raise tuition fees was made out of term time while students were away, it is of vital importance to let those in charge of the University of St Andrews know that there is a large student opposition to these unnecessary measures. It is also very important to show other students who may feel strongly against these new fees that vocal protest and occupation is a perfectly valid and effective way of making this disagreement felt.”
A fourth year International Relations student told people “I believe that this increase in fees across Scotland is detrimental to higher education. I'm protesting today on University property to promote this view and to promote a future of freely available education for whoever wants it.”
A third year geography student revealed “We want to show the university that just because they have already made the decision to charge £36,000 for a degree it doesn’t mean that the students accept it. Being the most expensive university in Europe is not the legacy we want our university to carry.”
The decision to raise RUK fees at St Andrews followed Edinburgh University also setting its fees at the maximum threshold. A group of around 100 students from across Scotland recently occupied Edinburgh University in protest of this decision.
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/36-Hours-Against-36-Thousand/.
Twitter: @standrewsoccupy
Website: http://standrewsoccupied.wordpress.com/
Email:
standrewsoccupy@gmail.com
A group of around 20 students from the University of St Andrews occupied the gardens outside the Principal’s residence at 6am on Tuesday in protest to the introduction of £9,000 a year rest of UK (RUK) fees. The occupation will last for 36 hours, to symbolise the £36,000 debt the university has asked its RUK students to graduate with. Students are demanding an immediate withdrawal of the proposed fees as well as greater transparency and democracy in university decision making. The decision to charge RUK students £36,000, when added to the largest living costs in Scotland, now makes St Andrews the most expensive university to achieve an undergraduate degree in Europe.
One student reflected the wide anger at the decision, saying “It’s a gross hypocrisy that people who benefitted from a free education themselves are increasing fees for other students by 500%. The governments at Westminster and Holyrood should take their share of the blame but the university’s argument that this is financially necessary is dishonest. The cut per RUK student is only £3,323 so raising fees by over £7,000 doesn’t make sense.”
Another student, a second year English student, said “Since the decision to raise tuition fees was made out of term time while students were away, it is of vital importance to let those in charge of the University of St Andrews know that there is a large student opposition to these unnecessary measures. It is also very important to show other students who may feel strongly against these new fees that vocal protest and occupation is a perfectly valid and effective way of making this disagreement felt.”
A fourth year International Relations student told people “I believe that this increase in fees across Scotland is detrimental to higher education. I'm protesting today on University property to promote this view and to promote a future of freely available education for whoever wants it.”
A third year geography student revealed “We want to show the university that just because they have already made the decision to charge £36,000 for a degree it doesn’t mean that the students accept it. Being the most expensive university in Europe is not the legacy we want our university to carry.”
The decision to raise RUK fees at St Andrews followed Edinburgh University also setting its fees at the maximum threshold. A group of around 100 students from across Scotland recently occupied Edinburgh University in protest of this decision.
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/36-Hours-Against-36-Thousand/. Twitter: @standrewsoccupy
Website:
http://standrewsoccupied.wordpress.com/ Email:
standrewsoccupy@gmail.com
Occupiers
Comments
Hide the following 3 comments
go st. andrews!
11.10.2011 06:25
anon
At discretion of loans company ?
11.10.2011 07:39
*Deferment of repayments was entirely at the discretion of the Student Loans Company , regardless
of how much the loan holder was earning. This was explicit.
*The Student Loans Company also reserved the right to vary terms and conditions at any time.
I believe they were also in a position to sell on the loans to another company.
I'm not sure what the situation is now.
As it happens I was once challenged to prove that I was not earning more than £1500 per year [my
average income for some years]. They threatened to send an investigator, and bill me for it of course.
Occupy the libraries, teach each other.
Proffessor Yaffle
We will fix it, we will mend it...
11.10.2011 09:46
Whether or not these devices have been included in the "new" student loans contracts, the following contract excerpts remain relevant to those whom signed the older contracts. At least robot bailffs would consider them relevant:
6. Transfer of Rights and Duties
6.1 We shall have the right to assign or transfer all or any of our rights and duties under this Agreement to any person without your consent.
6.2 You shall have no right to assign or transfer any of your rights or duties under this Agreement.
...
9. Repayment not Made
If you fail to make any repayment provided for under this Agreement, (and not withstanding that we may have notified you of entitlement to defer making repayment in respect of any other repayment in the manner described overleaf) we shall be entitled (subject to service of any notice necessary in accordance with law) to require you to
make immediate repayment of the Loan. Interest will continue to accrue and be added to the Loan under paragraph 3 above until the loan is fully repaid.
Just in case you weren't already screwed tightly to your workstation, number 11 provides for an electric fence:
11. Variation
In addition to our right to vary the rate of interest as described overleaf, we shall be entitled to vary this Agreement in any respect which we may deem necessary because of the provisions of applicable regulations. If we vary this Agreement we will give any notice of that variation which is required by law.
###
NOTICE OF VARIATION OF LOAN AGREEMENT [September 1997]
The terms and conditions set out on the reverse side of the Loan Agreement shall cease to apply and the terms and conditions set out overleaf shall apply instead:
... (b) to paragraph 9 which confirms that entitlement to deferment ceases where full repayment of the Loan has been required in the circumstances described therein;
...
Professor Yaffle was a bit of a book end to sign that agreement, but pleads that he was into the second year of his degree when [reduced] grants were ceased.
Organ mice.