C.1uardian Student Ne,vspaper of the Year EEDS TUDENT w:ww. eedsstuderat.or;g ; __ , · ,·_J;ridii 29th Ja_nuary 201 o Somehow, Leeds L 111, 1.:rs1t\ has National condemnation becomL the n,ttiunal epi -cnt.rc of the cr1s1s tn I lighcr Education funding. Something must be <lonl". Th.it a 111a1cir academic\ union should c,·cn Ix considering a st Like 1s ' for anti-strike stance Jndicativc <>f how 1-,'T:l\'C I he situation has hcc(lme. In rhc face nr LS News Team the biggest threat ro Higher J ·,ducation in recent years, en·r,·ont' at Leeds - man;igemu1t, lecturers, unir,ns, stud ·nr uninm and students Anti-cuts campaigner have hit thL"mselvc, - all seem to ht pulling out at a Leeds University Union in cliffercn1 <lircction,. (LUU) campaign that aims to per­ \\'h.lt needs tu h.tppcn nuw ts suade lecturers not to strike over for all the diffrrent _1..,11·nup, ,rnd possible job rcdundancie , claim­ agendas lo put then heads together, ing that it does not represent the and recogrnsc that ,,·c neec.l to Ix· on views of the majority of mdents. thL ·:um, sidl" in thb matter. The 'Fducauon First' campatgn, \'C 1th I he incrcnsingly mess) sci up eai:lic.:r th.ts mo11tl1, urgt:d Leeds disputes between staff and students end an automau:d email co management, hemc<.'n sruLknts and to their deparnm:nml in a hid staff ro their L nmn, it Ls easil} forgotten an·tt :1 possible campus-wide suike by how we gflt here m the first place. members o( th<.: L'ni,·ersitv and Col- Two ye::irs ago a generation uf lege L1nion (UC · excess pro\cd tnst1pporr:1hl1.: and ·n1e results of a LCU ballot to its came cr:1shing down. Tod.1y the members on:r mdustrial action are fall-out from th.it linancial ccJlbpsc due to he rcle:tsed toda\. is bitting home hc:re at L eds 'J11e Ll' LTcampaigii \\'ebs1te slates LTnivcrsitY. that stdke action could mean "gi~tdua­ Perhaps l rtiYers1ty managcme111 tions for final ) car swdents being "·as, m tlK lmum 1:ra, guilty ot the threatened." I lowe,Tr, UCll mem­ ,tme econom1c tendencies that, at :1 bers ha,·e Jerned that tl11s could hap­ national len·l, bmughr ::ibou1 the pen, poinnng out that no srudents did credit crunch; imprudt·nt spemling not .~raduatc as a result of mdustrial and invcstmt:nt, tying up funds in acrion in 200(>. long- term prnjccts ,uc-h as build.mg \ statement on the UCU website and dl'\ clnpmc:nt the said: "\'Cc decide democratically what on as umptions that the good tunes we do, ru1d wed<> not interfere i~ what AGAINST CUTS: Students campaign against possible s taff redundancies would continue· to roll. lo,,'e\"er othcr unions do. I lowc,·er, I, have J one complaining as tbe acrcd in contempt of this code of However, mcmbe~ of Universic, \111dentalsc> understands tl1at tJ,e email I !annah G rccnslade, LUll um­ nt>· was L'niversity steadiJ)' climbed th..: respect with their blanket e-mail cam­ staff have condemned the emails sent was onlv available in awomatcd fotm m1.1 nit y Officer, commented: "My paign. \'('e disagree with what the, to them, saying d1at it is the quality of as part of the University's I.T. rq.,'Ula­ take is that we need to be consulung as le~"l.1c table~. But now the bonm that Gordon have clone, but now we mu. t seize on students' educallon tJ1at is their con­ oons, preventing irrelevant or abusive ~-icl<:ly as pnssible with student~ about Brown assured us ,,,ould never turn ir as an opportunity to talk c.lirecdy to cern. mass emails being sent to staff. what UlC\' make of the cut~ and what students. \X'e houlc.l be encoura1,rcd DrJu.lia Read, a lecrurer in Victori­ TI1e Education First campaign has they expect us to be doing. to bu t has, by the laws of capitalist ..:ennomics, inevitabh done so. To by me LJOO students signing up to a an Literature, said: "On the question also been condemned by former LUU "It's crucial that as tl1e exec we pass saYe the econnm1c si•stcm as we Pacebook sire LO upport u, in the of the automated email, I was . truck D.ccutives and student union officials on all information mat we have to sru­ fight to defend education at Leed .." by the very i.ndiYiclualistic tone of the from across the countr1. A national dents in nrde1- for them co make up know it, our government wa 111c LU executive has defended ~equest that we m·oic.l triking: it was petition against the Leeds campaign their own minds. l\h view is that forced tn dig \'Cf)' deep inm I he public purse. \X11ether or not it \, .is their campaign. Jak Codd, LUU Com­ 1n order to safeguard 'my education'. has already been signed by ~ Iind Has­ whatever the outcome of strike acti n, mumcations and Internal Affairs Offi­ 0[ course damaging individual Stu­ san, fonner L Equality & Diversi­ it's LUU's role to be challenging the an economic system worth S:tV1t1g cer, aid: "The Education First cam­ dent ' education is the last d1mg the ty Officer and LI ational Execu­ um,·cr icy throughout tl1is process to was never gi\·cn enough dc:batc ac paign was set up to defend the inter­ UCU want to do, but the whole point tive, Chris Marks, ] lull niversicy ensure that the value education at the time. ests of students throughout the Uni­ is that s~iking 1-r:ay be the only way of nion Education Vice-President and Leeds is preserved and docs not suc­ I .ike ir m nrn, it's now academic. verSJt:y's economies exercise. protecnng the iututc education of a Assed Baig, President of tafforcl. hire cumb to a market-ba~ed modd tlmt is Tht: b:mkt:rs arc back 111 business, :ind tl1e bole in public G.n:U1ce is 'The [campai~] enc~>mpasses a generation of srudcnts. The aumrnat­ University Students' Union. being pushed onto tl1 e HE system by whole host ot things - trom repre­ ed email seemed not to realize that LL remains plit over tJ1e stance cenrral government. It is student. that being slowly refilled by s:ivtngs senting student concerns ro the ni­ concern for current anc.l future ru­ ir should rake over possible strike am be the most powerful ,·oice within nude throughout the public sector. versit:y, to opposing strike action thar c.lents' quality of ed_ucation wa at the action from staff, with some student this cleban:." Thar's where the University negatively impacts upon tuc.lents. heart of any putenoal st:nke action." executives arguing that action would A Leeds University spokesperson comes in. J..:2.5 hill1on; that's the Education First is all about students, Codd denied that the automated have a det:riment.al effect on students' figure guotcd by our Vice­ a.nd making sure that our Yoicc is email fom1 was taken clown from the education. I lowevcr, orhers argue that Continued on page 4 > Chancellor that the gowmmcnt 1s hearc.l loud and clear on campus." ite chi week because of pressure accepting potential job losses will looking to save over the next three from anti-cuts campaign groups. Leeds cause harm. · years - one third of the amount the govt:rnmenr currendy spends annual!)' on Higher Ec.lucation. Continued on page 2 > 02 Friday, J anuary 29, 2 009 I www.leedsstudent.01 g I Leeds Student Curio uslv, chis diatribe was aimed of meir stance. bacb~mrds. i\s for the love!)' gra s at Leeds students, the verr people Sketch think the Exec are area aero s from the nion building who pay mese folks' wages ::ind, by definitely working for their own that has now been turned into a proxy one ma) argue, do indeed hold careerist interests once more, and is tarmacked car park, worry not: the right to voice their opinions on beginning co wonder if anyone will rumour is d1ey've dug it up to plant how the Exec is run. ever run the Union that isn t entirely more grass. The Exec's rampantly successful self-absorbed. ketch thinks not. \'qith such tumulr at tbe Union, and eminently wcll- rccc1vcd ln other news, Sketch was not ketch decreed that a drink was in "Education rirst" campaign has gone entire!) surprised co learn that the order. I laving salivated profusely at down a storm, both localh and in Univer ity, in a cw Labour-style me siglit of E entials' arsenal of fine students unions 11 cross the C<>unu,. effort to increase the beaur1 of the ales, ketch w11s ala rmed that Leeds Student is the ln a letter entitled "LUU are11, has cut clown the trees· outside 1dcntificat1on was required to Condemnation Pctiuon", former the nion ... m order to plant more purchase mcsc ambrosial brews. voice of the students fa1uality & Diversity Officer J find trees. 1 eeciles ro sav, ketch carries no "You can't cell us what to do!" I Iassan alongside nine other union The money for this rampant such documents. , ketch, in a haze of of the University of Sketch was rad1er taken aback lO hear officers from fi"e union (and four construction comes from a pot that, flattCC)' imd mild mitation, proceeded Leeds. But we always mese words roared from the foaming from the atiunal Union of 1f rou don't use it, is taken away, to The O ld Bar, where a crisp pint of mouths of furious T.