Tag: student movement

A Dangerous Threat to Our Autonomy to Organise As Students
University of Arts London students' union officer Sahaya James is facing dismissal from her role as campaigns officer, after leading a student campaign against the university's participation in gentrification. If James is sacked, it will set a dangerous precedent for the political autonomy of the student movement.
Interview With Matt Myers

Matt Myers is a doctoral student at the University of Oxford. He was a participant in the 2010 student movement and is the author of Student Revolt (Pluto, 2017).
5 Times Student Movements Kicked Ass in the Streets
Students have precipitated some of history's most dramatic confrontations with the state and capital. Here are five of the most militant mass actions waged by student movements across the world in the 20th century.
No to Gentrification, Yes to Rent Strikes: An Interview With Toronto’s Parkdale Organize
Working class renters in Toronto have been on strike since May. Here's all you need to know about their ongoing fight.
Reducing ‘Drop-Out’ Rates for Black Students Means Institutional Transformation, Not Individual Support
Black students are 50% more likely to drop out of university than their peers, but as long as solutions are geared towards individual ‘support’, the government’s commitment to racial equality remains superficial.
UCL Rent Strike: Over £1m Withheld, Victory Underway
20% of UCL renters are currently on strike, withholding over £1m in the process and showing that mass planned noncompliance is the hammer-blow exploitative landlords need.
2 Steps Towards the Socialisation of the UCU Strike
Yesterday members of the University and College Union finished a 48 hour strike. Officially the dispute is over pay, but if staff and students want to take on the central issue - the marketisation of the sector - it will require some innovation.
3 Threats from the HE White Paper and 1 Way to Block the Government’s Plans
The new higher education white paper seeks to fundamentally overhaul the sector as we know it. But the plans depend on metrics extracted from student feedback, presenting students with a unique opportunity to sabotage the government's vision.
What Is a Union For?
Sunday Long Read: Just part of the fallout of the recent NUS conference has been a conservative-led wave of calls for SUs to disaffiliate. At its root is a battle over the very purpose of a union.
Cut the Rent: Striking Students on the Front Lines of the Housing Crisis
Sunday Long Read: Rent-striking students at UCL show no signs of capitulating, and could even escalate their action before the academic year is up. Could the rent strike be the survival tactic needed to tackle the UK's housing crisis?
7 Reflections on the Battle of Parliament Square and the 2010 Student Movement
It's five years since the ‘Battle of Parliament Square’, when students marched on parliament to oppose the tripling of tuition fees. Many left bloodied, others radicalised and many more exhausted. Here are some thoughts on what we can learn.
Walkout, strike…then strike again? Next steps for the UK student movement
Medical doctors are being squeezed and the recent HE Green Paper signals tuition fees could rise again before long. The UK student movement intends to escalate its tactics: can it succeed where the 2010 student movement failed?
What is #ShutdownSOAS?
Yesterday a SOAS trade unionist was suspended for "gross misconduct", having expressed solidarity with an ongoing student occupation. Today students and staff managed to close the university down in retaliation.
Free Education, the Middle Classes and Radical Education Policy: a 5-Point Analysis
Nearly half of the UK's young people are going to university, so where does the institutional privilege lie and what can we say about social mobility? If the demand for free education is to be successful, we need a class analysis of HE.
A Few Reasons Why Changes to Student Loan Repayments Could Decimate Your Income
With the post-2012 fee regime now costing as much as the old one, student loan repayments are changing. Here's why the most boringly packaged part of the budget is likely to make graduates poorer.
4 Reasons the UCL Rent Strike Victory is Important for All Students
The UCL rent strike has emerged victorious, with the university forced to cough up £100k for the "unacceptable living conditions" of its student halls. With a national free education demo coming up, the win comes at an excellent time for students.
5 Student Strikes That Show How Students Can Win
Who cares if students don't go to class? With the idea of a student strike being pushed onto the UK student movement agenda, it's a good time to look at some examples from around the world.
6 Things Warwick University’s New Temp Agency Tells Us About Academic Precarity
Warwick University has announced plans to employ all casual staff through an internal temp agency. Anti-casualisation campaigners have targeted the move as an insidious form of outsourcing which threatens the whole sector.