Pi Newspaper | December 2011 news@pimedia.org.uk


SOAS occupation set to continue


Nicolas Kostov and Samuel Johnson


A BUILDING belonging to the School of Oriental and African Studies is being occupied by UCL students. A group of approximately 25


young people, from a cross-section of London universities including UCL, SOAS, King’s College, Birkbeck and Goldmsith’s, entered 53 Gordon Square, a University of London building, on the morning of Nov 23 and have remained there since then, despite requests from SOAS for them to leave. The group of occupiers, calling


themselves the “Bloomsbury Social Centre”, claims that the building was “left vacantly to rot” for three years. The lease for the building was recently renewed with the University of London by SOAS. The School plans to refurbish it into a study space for research students in the 2012-13 academic year. It also intends to appoint a dean


of post-graduate students, who will have access to an apartment on the top floor of the building, an intention which irked the activist students staging the occupation. “SOAS management are perhaps


ignorant of the context in which 53 Gordon Square was left vacantly to rot,” they said via a statement on their website. “Since 2008, the recession has been steadily worsening. House prices have remained unaffordable,


living costs for ordinary people have continued to rise, and desperately needed public space has been made over to big retail at fire sale prices. “We don’t need any more luxury


apartments, any more than we need new senior managers to live in them.” Occupiers of the house say that


the first few hours following the break-in were tense. A large number of policemen were called to the building initially but there has since been no attempt by SOAS to remove the occupiers and only a solitary security guard was stationed outside the door. He has not barred anyone from entering or leaving. The general feeling at the house


was that the occupiers will be allowed to stay at least until Christmas. “The police officers I spoke to were really friendly and non-aggressive,” said Ash Sarkar, a second-year English student at UCL who is one of the students taking part in the occupation. “It is a waiting game. Once people are inside not breaking the law it becomes a civic rather than a criminal matter.” Edwin Clifford-Coupe, a third-


year UCL historian and the chair of UCLU’s education forum, said that SOAS should be pleased that the building is now being looked after. “We found boxes that haven’t been touched since the 1980s but the place is now getting cleaned up. We’re performing a public service in a way.”


The occupiers want the so-called


Social Centre to be a community resource for residents, students and workers to organise around issues which matter to them. The initial focus was to facilitate union mobilisation in preparation for the Nov 30 public sector strike but other issues will now be addressed. “Although we’re both, we


are more action than ideology,” a student identifying himself as Tim told Pi Newspaper. “Students at the moment have much to be concerned with: extortionate housing costs, or whether their future jobs will be well paid and meaningful for example.” Miss Sarkar emphasised that,


though the occupiers were all broadly left-wing, they came from different


ideological backgrounds and did not wish to alienate or exclude anyone. She said the space had already been used by workers and the homeless as well as students. “All political opinions are


welcome here,” she told Pi Newspaper. When asked whether this included someone whose opinion was that government spending cuts were necessary, Miss Sarkar said that she felt spending cuts were counter- productive. SOAS management in response


to the occupation sent an e-mail to students and staff which said that, though they would try to minimise the impact of the occupation on students and the wider School community, “it is likely to cause some disruption”.


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Six months to decide on new campus


Continued from front page


service is expected to be enhanced when the Olympic Javelin service starts up. The regional station is served


by the Central and Jubilee lines and the Docklands Light Railway and from 2018 it will also be served by Crossrail, linking it to Tottenham Court Road station, minutes away from the Bloomsbury campus. However, the appeal of UCL as


a central London university remains attractive, and it is doubtful whether many first years will wish to be separated so far from their cohorts. The cost of the proposed Newham campus is not included in the masterplan. If it goes ahead, it will be met through private investment. Prof Grant said: “All the


evidence indicates that a UCL presence at Stratford will make a major contribution to the economic and social regeneration of the area, potentially every bit as symbolic as the decision of our founders in 1826 to start a new university here [in Bloomsbury], on what was then the outskirts of London. “Ours should not be an enclave


Luke Duggan Police outside the ‘Bloomsbury Social Centre’ in Gordon Square. Fees fall at several universities James Carragher


THE Office for Fair Access (OFFA) has announced that 27 British universities will decrease their previously proposed tuition fees for next year. The average fees set by


universities following higher education cuts reached an unexpected £8,393 per year. This figure has now been lowered by several institutions following the Government’s announcement that an extra 20,000 places would be allocated to universities that charged £7,500 or less per year. The universities that have lowered their fees will be able to compete for a proportion of the extra places. Although this is arguably


positive for many prospective students of these institutions, the announcement has been criticised for


its timing. It came only nine weeks before the national application deadline of Jan 15, with 70,000 students having already completed the application process. Vice-chancellor of West London


University, Professor Peter John, said that the timing added “much uncertainty to applications in an already uncertain environment”. He also criticised the clarity of the Government’s changes, claiming they “haven’t helped in their message, they have not been clear and there is a lot of concern and anxiety – some students still believe they are going to pay fees up front.” The motives of the change in


policy have also been questioned, which is possibly a last-ditch attempt to reduce the unexpectedly large number of universities charging the maximum £9,000. Labour’s Shadow Higher


Education Minister, Shabana Mahmood, also expressed criticism, saying: “It is unbelievable that students have had to apply for courses before knowing how much they will pay in fees.” She added: “The Government’s


rushed and haphazard cuts to higher education budgets go too far, too fast, with universities unable to plan ahead and frustrated students without the full information to help them apply.” UCU general secretary, Sally


Hunt also criticized the changes, and argued: “Leaving universities and students to scramble around trying to save a few quid here and there is no way to run a world-class university sector. The Government’s decision to move the goalposts on fee levels after it got its sums wrong exposes the mess it has made of university funding.”


London universities fee rises


Birkbeck £6,000-£9,000 Goldsmiths £9,000


Imperial College London £9,000


King’s College London £9,000


Kingston £8,500-£9,000 London Met £4,500-£9,000 LSE £8,500


Queen Mary £9,000 Royal Holloway £9,000 SOAS £9,000


South Bank £5,950-£8,450 UCL £9,000


of academic privilege, but an open campus, fully engaged with the local community, and contributing to the aspiration and attainment of its young.” Sir Robin Wales, the Mayor of


Newham, said: “This is an exciting and ambitious proposition which offers great opportunities for Newham and we look forward to working with UCL. This development of world- class academic facilities in Stratford would create a wealth of benefits for the local area, the borough, and east London as a whole.” It is anticipated that the Mayor


of Newham and his cabinet will consider the proposals until mid- 2012. There is no obligation from either Newham Council or UCL to proceed with the plans after this date.


2012 will be huge for east London


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