Letter to the Pro Vice Chancellor

This morning Aber Students Against Cuts sent a letter to the Pro Vice Chancellor Rebecca Davies seeking clarification on issues that were raised in a meeting we had with her last Wednesday. She has confirmed receipt of our letter and we trust the reply will address those issues and this can re-establish constructive dialogue with University management.

ASAC Letter to VC- 02-03-2011

The Free University programme

Monday:

11am- Discussion Session/Work group: “The History of Fees & Cuts: Building a Timeline of HE Cuts Since the 1980s”

1pm- Lunchtime Language Session- Food & French

3pm- Dadaist Poetry: Come along and take part in a fun, creative poetry session

5pm- Discussion session: “Is There No Alternative? How to Talk to Deficit Hawks”

7:30pm- Evening Meeting

9pm- Film Night

Tuesday:

11am-“Foreign Aid and International Development”

1pm- Lunchtime Language Sessions: Beginner’s Chinese

3pm- "Overcoming recessions: cross-national perspectives on addressing the impact of the financial crisis"

5pm- Discussion Session: “What Are Our Aspirations for Education? Come and discuss the future of the free University”

7:30pm- Evening Meeting

Everything is going well at the occupation, and we're looking forward to our soiree later. Unfortunately - for reasons I refuse to speculate on - there's no internet or heating currently, and hasn't been for the past two days. Oh, well!

From Aber Students Against Cuts comes The Alternative!

Ever wondered why we were protesting? Whether the cuts matter to education in Wales? Whether the cuts are necessary? Whether there are alternatives to the austerity measures? Then you should probably read The Alternative!

In our very first edition we include a myth buster section, notes on making decisions horizontally and a guide to alternative media.

You can read it online here or email/leave a comment/pop down to the occupation, and have a hardcopy.

Diolch!

Statement from Occupied Aber

We have occupied Hugh Owen A12/A14 in opposition to the decimation of higher education in the United Kingdom. We act in solidarity with all those facing the barbaric and unnecessary cuts across society. We reject the idea that the cuts are necessary and recognise that they are motivated out of political choice rather than economic necessity. 


We recognise that the space we occupy is ours and as such we have made it a place where critical thinking and dialogue occurs, involving all in the university and the general public. As part of this we are committed not to disrupting the ongoing lectures happening. We occupy in solidarity with future generations, fellow occupiers and movements across the globe. 


We recognise a burning need for participatory democracy within the university, and many students feel marginalised by the management. We feel this occupation raises awareness of our campaign not only to students, but to senior management. We believe that in the spirit of academia the university management should engage in open and public dialogue and debate willingly. This will ensure that the students see the university management as acting in their interests and not following the government in market-driven policy.


We reject the idea that "we're all in this together" when the ideologically driven cuts will affect the poorest and the vulnerable the hardest, while large corporations and the rich avoid taxes successfully. 


We reject the idea that knowledge is a commodity, and believe these draconian austerity measures are neither progressive nor just.


Please send messages of support and solidarity to aberstudentsagainstcuts@gmail.com.

Aber is occupied again!

After a very successful rally and march at the university Aber Students Against Cuts have occupied A12 lecture theatre (Hugh Owen).

The march saw approximately seven hundred students, lecturers and people of Aberystwyth marching from campus to the Old College, where we occupied the building to make our voices heard to the senior management.

We are committed to not disturbing lectures or the open day that is happening tomorrow, and look forward to the contributions from students and lecturers to the debate on education.

We want to remind senior management of the commitment they have to education and to us.

A full statement of our demands and reasons for occupation will follow tomorrow - right now it's nearing midnight and we've had a full day. We're settling down to do some work and watch films.

Come down and visit us, even if you just fancy a cup of coffee!

Watch this (free) space!

Occupation Ends

The occupation has ended having received a response of sorts from the Vice Chancellor concerning our demands.

We are not happy with the response, that has been sent to all staff and students. A press release and our response will be published either later today or early tomorrow.

One message is clear - this is not the end and our response will not halt the fantastic momentum and support coming from all aspects of the university - the students, the lecturers, and the staff.

We receive a message of support!

Message of Support from the Department of International Politics

The undersigned staff and postgraduate researchers in the Department of International Politics at Aberystwyth fully support the students in their peaceful protests against cuts in public funding for Further and Higher Education as well as the planned rise of the cap in tuition fees to up to £9,000 per annum. This is a further erosion of the culture of higher education and the values of academia.

We call on the University Council to express opposition to the current government’s destructive agenda for higher education. We disapprove and condemn the proposals on the part of the government, which remove funding for social science, arts and humanities subjects and the removal of Educational Maintenance Awards for post-16s in England. We are deeply concerned by the increasingly market-driven rhetoric and practices that are leading to the total commodification of the higher education sector transforming students into consumers and academics into narrowly conceived service providers. Besides being in total opposition to the values of academia, they are neither economically nor politically progressive. These changes, which in effect make the university into a privately-funded institution, will make the functioning and reputation of this world-class university increasingly difficult and will in-debt students for years to come.

Several of the students in the occupation are an integral part of the research and teaching provisions of the Department, and represent the future of social science and humanities. Their passion and commitment in staging this occupation reflects the values of our academic discipline. Therefore, we call on the University Council to engage with the occupying students and their demands (demands for financial transparency and assurances that there will be no closures or mergers of departments, redundancies or reductions in staff numbers as a consequence of natural wastage, and no curtailment of the university facilities as a consequence of funding cuts) in a manner that reflects our values as an academic and educational community, values of mutual respect, debate, dialogue, and open and accessible public communication. Dealing effectively and openly with the student demands will ensure that the University is seen to be acting in the public interest and is taking responsible and just measures in dealing with student satisfaction and concerns.

We will do whatever we can to be of assistance in achieving this outcome.

Signed:

Professor Richard Jackson

Dr Simona Rentea

Dr Kamila Stullerova

Anja Gebel

Dr Simona Davidescu

Andreja Zevnik

Megan Daigle

Andrew Hom

Dr Jenny Mathers

Professor Ken Booth

Dr Marie Breen Smyth

Ross Bellaby

Katja Daniels

Gillian McFayden

Charlie Thame

Damien Van Puyvelde

Aoileann Ni Mhurchu

Dr Carl Death

Charlotte Heath-Kelly

Sonja Kittelsen

Dr Milja Kurki

Dr Andrew Priest

Dr Ayla Gol

Gwenan Creunant

Hannah Hughes

Clare Paine

Dr Thanos Zartaloudis