We are currently occupying the Senate Chambers at the University of Birmingham.
The Senate was, historically, the place in which the academic community came together to discuss and decide the direction of the University. Today, this has evolved into a box to be ticked, a bureaucratic procedure of approval which carries little weight, in which very little can be debated or contested, and in which the few academics and even fewer students are routinely ignored and powerless. We have chosen this site to occupy as it is symbolic of the way in which University management has steadily decreased the democratic power and representation of both students, staff and academics, and we feel this needs to change.
Defend Education believe that staff and students should have more power in every level of university decision making. Currently a small class of senior managers benefit disproportionately from the fees and work of staff and students. They have total unaccountable power to harm our interests within the university and lobby against our interests outside it.
We are fighting this campaign to try and put pressure on the university to directly accept the following demands; but also because we wish to start a debate and dialogue among students and workers at the University about the kind of institution we want it to be and how we can bring this about.
We demand:
Free and open access to the occupation by all students and non-management staff, without victimisation or punishment. Senior management staff should be excluded from entering the occupation so that it can remain a strong and safe organisational space.
That David Eastwood and the University of Birmingham should publicly take back their position that fees should be increased and that bursaries should be cut. Instead, they should lobby the government for fees to be reduced, and bursaries to be increased.
That the University of Birmingham make a public statement against the privatisation of student loans and in defence of the public university. The Vice Chancellor should sign up to the Council in Defence of British Universities or the Campaign for the Public University.
That the University’s total income per student place from halls should be frozen next year, and that the cheapest fifth of halls should have their prices decreased.
That all staff working for the University of Birmingham- including those employed in house, by external contractors, and the Guild of Students- should be paid a living wage.
That the pay ratio between the lowest paid and the highest paid staff in the university should be reduced to 10:1.
That a body should be set up made up of elected students, academic staff, and support staff. This should have ultimate oversight over the restructuring of departments, the University’s investment decisions, and its lobbying positions.
That the University produces a publicly available Ethical Investment and Procurement Policy which is reported on annually with plenty of opportunity of engagement with staff, students and other key stakeholders.
That financial statements of the University’s academic departments, and non-academic services should be published so that they can be scrutinised and the University’s decisions be properly held to account by the community.
That the Nursing course faces no loss of investment and no redundancies.
That the University should allocate none of its access income to compulsory fee waivers and instead spend it all on Bursaries, or give students the choice.
[...] Birmingham Defend Education have gone into occupation of the Senate Chamber in the university demanding more power for students in every level of university decision making. This statement was originally published on their website. [...]
[...] Statement on the Occupation of Senate Chambers [...]
[...] group demand in a statement that “David Eastwood and the University of Birmingham should publicly take back their [...]
[...] group demand in a statement that “David Eastwood and the University of Birmingham should publicly take back their [...]
[...] ← Statement on the Occupation of Senate Chambers [...]
[...] Our Demands set out a number of very moderate ways in which the management of the University of Birmingham could stop attacking the interests of staff, students, and the community. Whether it is lobbying against our interests, closing vital courses because they don’t fit the universities’ “strategic vision”, squeezing as much profit out of students as they possibly can, or a culture of secrecy and attempting to outcompete other universities; the senior management continually shows no regard for the community whose work they depend on. Education is far too important to be left to the likes of David Eastwood and David Willets. The urgent task of everyone involved education should be increasing the power of students and staff to shape the way it runs. [...]
[...] On behalf of BUCU, we would like to send our solidarity to the students taking non-violent action at the University of Birmingham. [...]
[...] is for these reasons, and many others (see demands) that we are currently in occupation. It is due to the intransigence of the University management [...]
[...] Defend Education Birmingham has been in occupation of the university’s senate chamber since wednesday evening. We have published our demands for the occupation here. [...]
[...] Birmingham, students have occupied their Senate House, the historic decision-making centre of the University, to push management to ‘make a public [...]
[...] To find out more about the occupation visit: http://www.defendeducationbrum.org/statement-on-the-occupation-of-senate-chambers/ [...]
[...] and why I believe that it is within my role to stand up for this cause. I strongly feel that the demands issued by Defend Education are reasonable and admirable, and it saddens me that they even have to [...]
[...] From inside the occupation: why I’m here and why the university is taking me to court. | Vice President Education and Access on Statement on the Occupation of Senate Chambers [...]
[...] Justifying the occupation, it says: “We are fighting this campaign to try and put pressure on the university to directly accept the demands; but also because we wish to start a debate and dialogue among students and workers at the university about the kind of institution we want it to be, and how we can bring this about.” [...]