KCL occupation

Unfortunately, due to being snow bound I haven’t been able to visit the student occupations in London. I emailed KCL (King’s College London) occupation some questions about the student occupation which will also be in next issue of Labour Briefing. Many thanks to the student supplying the answers to these questions. Solidarity!

Why are you in occupation?

I am in occupation to put pressure on my university to in turn put pressure on the government to reject the proposed rise in student fees and the cuts to education. I believe that education is a right and not a privilege, and the rise in fees would make it much harder for students who aren’t from wealthy backgrounds to go to university and pay off the massive debt they will start their adult lives with. For me, the value of a university education is not a monetary one – it should be paid for in time and effort and earned through hard work and a desire to learn.

What are your demands?

We are demanding that there is: no rise in tuition fees, no  abolishment of EMA and no cuts in the teaching budget. On a local level, we are calling for King’s to defend publicly funded education and condemn the coalition government’s attacks to education in a public statement. We want our management to practically facilitate our campaign to defend education, and provide us with a genuine consultation process which involves staff and students in all major financial decisions to effect our university. Finally, we demand that no student or staff member involved in this legitimate and peaceful protest will face reprisals or victimisation.

What solidarity and links have you been making?

We have been building links with members of the local community who are facing the same struggle, for example: PCS, UCU, UNISON, Members of UNITE the union, other occupations such as UCL, LSE, Manchester, SOAS, Students for Justice etc.

Have the attacks by the ConDems on education politically galvanised students in KCL to take action?

A lot of students feel let down by the false promises made by the Lib Dems with regards to education. Many students voted for the Lib Dems based on these promises, often casting their very first vote in a general election. For these students, their first experience of political participation has been one of betrayal, and the natural response to this is anger.

What are your thoughts on the student protests generally?

I believe that protest is an important part of any democratic society, and that students should take advantage of the unique time in their lives in which they have access to so many resources and various ways of learning about their society and ways in which they are empowered to actively improve it. I think that if the political establishment genuinely had the best interests of the younger generations at heart, they would be delighted to see so many young people sacrificing their time and comfort for a cause about which they care deeply.

What has been, if any, your relationship with the Labour movement such as the trade union movement and the Labour Party?

Some members of the occupation are Labour members. However we need more support from KCL Labour society as well as the Labour party.

Tuition fees will be debated in Parliament on the 9th December, what do you hope will be the outcome?

I hope that members of parliament, specifically the Lib Dems, will stand up for a fairer education system, even against the Conservative members of the coalition. I would hope that the Lib Dems retain their credibility as a party and any hope they have of being re-elected by this younger generation by standing by the promises they made, and this doesn’t include shying away from and abstaining from the vote.

Has this been a political learning process for you all?

For many students who had never voted before, I believe this has been a huge learning process with regards to the government and how little say the majority of the population actually has in how it is run. It has however, also made more students aware of their power within this society to affect change, through various methods of protest.

Will any of you ever vote Lib-Dem again?

I did not vote Lib-Dem, and therefore cannot speak for anyone who did, but I understand that there is a general feeling of regret and disillusionment for those of my friends that did vote that way.

 

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KCL occupation on Twitter

LSE occupation

SOAS occupation

UCL occupation

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