Fund our Future: Stop Education Cuts
Higher Education is facing a generational threat by funding cuts. Reading University Students’ Union have been campaigning with National Union of Students (NUS) to oppose the extensive cuts that our University faces from the government. These savage cuts to Higher Education will result in the loss of hundreds of jobs and the closure of many academic courses which will have a massive impact on YOUR student experience. The Fund Our Future campaign opposed the marketisation of our universities and believes a threefold increase in tuition fees is inherently unfair.
To see how the campaign went please read the Student Officers' Campaign Update below.
Campaign Update
Important Campaign
After summer training the Executive Officers agreed the challenges that faced HE because of the funding cuts meant that the National Demo and campaigning to the University of Reading (UoR) on Reading students' behalf would be a priority for the first term.
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Signing People Up For The Demo & Promotion
During Freshers' Week we successfully used the space outside Blackwell for Demo promotion. We used the 'Wall of Change' to do some hand painting on pre-painted banners, photos with laminated signs, stickers, signed up students. We were there Wednesday and Thursday, same days as the Freshers' Fayre. We decided to take a £5.00 refundable deposit from each student who wanted to attend.
In the lead up to the National Demo, for promotion we gave receipt books to trusted JCR’s to sign their students up in Halls. If students wanted to sign up at reception they would be directed to any Student Officer or to the Representation & Democracy Manager or Campaigns Co-ordinator. VP Democracy & Campaigns, Nes Cazimoglu, went to halls and spoke to students about the demo, encouraging them to sign up. Starting from this week we used every opportunity to put up the 'big yellow banner' for instance Comedy Night, Quiz & Karaoke Night, Student Voice and Wednesday Union etc. Demo information and the opportunity to sign up were included into Lib and Rep training sessions. Each Student Officer spent much time encouraging students to sign up to the demo whenever they had contact with their particular student groups.
As a drive to get students signed up, we used the bus at the front of the union to promote the Demo. This was also used to promote Student Voice and Services & Ents. In the term's first Democracy Week we used Student Voice as a channel for getting more information out about the Demo. NUS Vice President, Ed March, chaired the meeting and spoke briefly about the Fund Our Future campaign from the national perspective and answering students' questions. RUSU President, Jess Lazarczyk and VP Democracy & Campaigns, Nes Cazimoglu, proposed the National Demo as a Student Chosen Campaign. RUSU Executive also put in a drafted policy from NUS as an Emergency Motion. Week Four, we had a banner making event in The Lounge. This was well attended. Bulmershe students asked if we could do the same thing over there, we did this on the Friday but no student attended.
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Campaigning & Debating The Issues
We were keen to take our Fund Our Future campaign beyond campus boarder. We worked extremely closely with the NUS, our local University & College Union (UCU), and the local community throughout the first term.
UCU were very active on campus. They dressed up as monkeys and bananas on Tuesday 7th December and flyered outside the Palmer building.
We showed Young Voters Question Time in Cafe Mondial on Wednesday 20th December.
On Saturday, RUSU held the Regional Reception and planning day. Officers from the region gathered to share best practice and make some banners for the National Demo. On the same day RUSU hosted a HE Funding debate; with panel speakers including the NUS President, UCU President and the national youth representative of the main political parties. The event was open to all, including the local community who it was publicised to. About 60 people attended the evening debate. Nes Cazimoglu contacted the local main political parties. She attended their meetings where she spoke about the campaign and encouraged them to support Reading students on the day of the Demo. In particular, Nes did several talks to the local trade unions and other campaigning organising fighting to oppose the cuts.
As VP for Democracy & Campaigns, Nes wrote a letter to all the parents at RUSU's Little Learners' Nursery highlighting the issue and how this would impact on their children. Throughout the Fund our Future campaign RUSU communicated the activity to the Reading community by sending press releases to the local press.
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Representation to the University
During this time we worked to represent students to the University; at Senate, committee meetings and private meetings with university senior management and used every opportunity to highlight our campaign and the concerns Reading students had about funding cuts. Whenever possible, we tried to keep students updated of the progress of any decisions the university were looking to make regarding fees and funding. For instance, Vice President for Student Activities, Eve Nicol, made a short video whilst walking back from a Senate meeting talking about HE funding.
On Wednesday 1st December, RUSU held a 'Question Time with the Vice Chancellor' event in the Palmer building. About 45 students attended and the conversations were dominated by cuts.
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Lobbying
During the campaigning week we encouraged hundreds of Reading students to sign a letters to Rob Wilson (MP). There were 371 letters signed by students over the course of the campaign to encourage Rob Wilson to vote “No”. All names from the letters were typed into a spread sheet then we searched for their emails on the MSL system (as we didn’t ask for them on the letters). We were going to post the letters but after finding out it would be £75.00 we decided going to Rob’s office with students would be more visual. Nes Cazimoglu and Eve Nicol along with 12 other students took the signed letters to Rob’s office. Rob was not around. RU:ON filmed it and some photos were taken.
Following such a successful National Demo day, RUSU has made a more focused attempt to pressure local MP Rob Wilson as well as the University. In a direct attempt to make Rob Wilson vote no to the increase of fees we sent out a press release stating that Rob was a “Sell Out”. We covered his name on the President’s Board and put 'Sell Out' next to it. There was mixed opinion from the Student Officers as to the feedback they had received from students.
In response to the controversy Nes Cazimoglu, VP Democracy & Campaigns, posted a letter to all students on the RUSU website.
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Day of the Demo
We had five Student Officers, two staff (Representation & Democracy Manager and Campaigns Co-ordinator), one Student Trustee (Chris Ducky Campbell), Natalie Tremlett, Karl Hobley (both engaged students and former NUS delegates) and James Fletcher (Bulmershe JCR President) agreed to host coaches. Each coach host was briefed by either our Campaigns Co-ordinator or VP Democracy & Campaigns, Nes Cazimoglu and giving a briefing pack. According to the £5.00 notes remaining we had 337 students board out coaches to London. The last coach left campus at 9.40am, only 10 minutes after planned. When we all arrived in London most students stayed as a group with their coaches and gathered together behind the big Reading banner or below the hand painted yellow banner with the RUSU logo on. Officers and staff steered Reading students away from any criminal activity. RUSU President, Jess Lazarczyk, and VP Democracy & Campaigns, Nes Cazimoglu, were responsible for speaking to the press and being interviewed which included both TV and radio broadcasts.
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Budget
We applied for a hardship fund from NUS and got £125.00 pounds. VP Democracy & Campaigns, Nes Cazimoglu spent some time trying to fundraise. RUSU received £50.00 from one union, £250.00 from another union, £20.00 from another, and £100.00 from UCU as well as money for one additional coach.
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We Will March AGAIN!
Information came from NUS on Friday 30th November as to what they would like to see Students' Unions doing next for the campaign. Wednesday was a Local Day of Action: this was happening nationally at many other Students Unions. RUSU made about 40 “bags of debt”. On the day we had local BBC coverage, who said our demo was the ‘best in the region'. The atmosphere was very positive. We went directly to the Town Hall and met more school children and local members of the community. Some observers also joined in, including a baby in a buggy! We had a small rally outside the Town Hall at 3.00pm. The day was successful with the little time we had to do any planning and mobilise students. We got a lot of very good press coverage.
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Thursday was the day of the vote
We arranged to meet at Reading train station at 10.00am. Nes, Jess and Luke Elliot (a student) went early to meet with Rob Wilson and Alock Sharmer two local MP’s, to express one last time reading students opposition to an increase in tuition fees. Our Representation & Democracy Manager, Campaigns Co-ordinator and VP Student Activities, Eve Nicol, met five students, a few school kids and a lot of UCU members and other trade union activists. The vote was announced at 6.30pm. Back at RUSU BBC reporters were there ready to interview and get a student reaction. Four students were interviewed and a live link was on BBC South at 6.30pm, which was then repeated at 10.00pm.
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