‘Imperial for Education’ to build opposition to cuts on campus
Students grill President Alex Kendall about what they see as a lack of representation in the Union
The first signs of opposition to the governmentís higher education proposals are emerging at Imperial. ëImperial for Educationí, a group opposed to higher education cuts, held its first meeting in the SAF lobby on Thursday.
18 students attended the organizing meeting which was also attended by Union President Alex Kendall who said that ìalthough I disagree with their views, Iím glad that students are getting involved in the debate and voicing their opinions in a democratic wayî.
The students were extremely critical of the President and the Unionís stance on the higher education issue, saying that they thought the Unionís higher education policy was passed prematurely without a proper understanding of student opinion. They also questioned whether the Union was being representative on the issue of higher education with one student asking, ìWhy do we have a Union at all?î
Direct action such as an occupation was also discussed with opinion divided between those who felt that such action would alienate other students and those who believed that there was a need to ìbreak down the picture that everything is all right.î One student commented that occupations were probably more interesting to people outside of the university than those actually at Imperial.
There was a rejection of what the students saw as the privatization of universities. ìI donít agree with the choice between £3,000 or £9,000 tuition fees. Education is a public good. It should be free and funded through higher taxation on the wealthyî said one student. However, in what was an open discussion with differing opinions, another student said that the focus should be on ìpreserving the standard of education.î
Imperial for Education organizer James Goldsack said that the meeting was ìproductiveî and that it allowed ìstudents to express their views and opinions on the rise in fees and the funding cutsî. The next steps were to ìget as many students out on Thursday to protest on the day of the vote and to take a paper to Council to get the policy on higher education changed.î
