Since then, I’ve justifiably been a vocal critic of the Tralee SU’s behaviour. Such disagreements are a normal part of the discourse in any democratic union, but instead of dealing with the problem with an adult discussion or a meeting; the union set out to censor, discredit and alienate its biggest critics. Mr. Thompson even wheeled in Gary Redmond in October to, in his own words, “deal with” me. I debated on college radio with Gary for 40 minutes. More than once during the debate he irrelevantly used the fact that I lost a class rep election to back up his ‘arguments’. He was fed this information in advance of the debate by Mike Thompson. During that same debate Redmond droned on about how “totally democratic” an organisation the USI was, but a month later the USI prevented me from travelling to the National Student protest. At the 11th hour I was denied a seat on the bus from Tralee which I had paid for ten days in advance. The discrimination and humiliation that I received from the USI didn’t end there. This was just the beginning.

Mr. Thompson claims that he held a union executive meeting on the evening of November 15th. He then informed the executive that at the USI protest in 2010 I was “involved in a breakaway protest where numerous violent incidents occurred“. On that basis he put forward a motion that I be excluded from this year’s protest, intimating that I personally posed a danger to the safety of Tralee Students. I was not asked to attend this meeting to defend myself. No minutes of the meeting have been provided and I have no idea who was present.

The truth is that I was not part of the breakaway in 2010. I wasn’t anywhere near the incidents at the department of finance. I wasn’t even involved with FEE at the time and didn’t know the group existed. There is a litany of video evidence and photographs of what occurred last year and the USI have their own unique and entirely false perspective on what happened and who was responsible. I cannot be found in any of those videos or photographs. I was not there, but Mr. Thompson states that my involvement in the break-away was the “deciding factor in the vote” by the Tralee union executive. His lies resulted in me being unfairly excluded. I can’t even begin to describe how deeply upset and offended I am for a union representative to imply that I have ever been involved in violent behaviour or that I have ever posed a danger to anyone, let alone my student colleagues. It is simply not in my nature. The problem didn’t end there however. It gets much worse.

I received very late notice of my exclusion by email at 11:05PM on November 15th; just eight hours before the buses were due to leave and I hadn’t been given any reason. The late notice was deliberate. It was to prevent me from entering the union offices to demand an explanation. I left a voicemail with the union president to inform him that I would arrive in the morning anyway. On my arrival, Mr. Thompson asked college security to call the Gardai if I attempted to get on the bus. He then stood in my way and physically blocked me as I attempted to board the bus stairwell. Such is the arrogance and the disgraceful state of USI, their sabbatical officers now believe that it is acceptable to play the role of disciplinarians and manhandle their own members.

I staged a sit-down protest in the stairwell of the bus and recorded six minutes of the incident on camera during which Mr. Thompson made libellous and false accusations against me. Twice he stated that I “caused trouble last year”. As I attempted to board the bus he also used threatening language such as “Try it” and “You’re gona get hurt”. There was no way for me to take my seat on the bus. Both Mr. Thompson and Vice President Niall Harty had formed a human blockade. I eventually left peacefully. I made a complaint to the equality officer of the USI. Gerard Gallagher replied and said that they had “held a meeting” and that Gary Redmond would contact me regarding the matter. That was two months ago. I’ve heard nothing from Gary and a follow up email I sent to the equality office did not get a response. Avoidance from the USI on this issue is absolutely unacceptable, but entirely predictable.

On the 28th of November Mr. Thompson made a formal complaint to the college. I can only describe its contents as an elaborate self serving fantasy; a pack of lies, completely bereft of any evidence to back up his ridiculous claims.

Mr. Thompson claimed I assaulted him. He stated that I “shoulder charged” him which resulted in quite serious injuries. In his complaint he explains that he visited a doctor who “strapped up his ribs” and informed him that he may have “bruised bones for the next 4-6 weeks”.

However, in a thirty minute phone conversation discussing the events of November 16th with William O’Brien, equality officer at NUIG, Mr. Thompson failed to mention the injuries which appear in the complaint a week later. One would imagine that this was important enough not to have just forgotten. He didn’t mention them because it never happened. The ‘injuries’ were merely an afterthought which came to him when writing his complaint to the Institute.

Just four hours after the alleged assault Mr. Thompson appears in the opening scene of this video energetically waving around a flag on what is at least a ten foot pole. I’m not a doctor but I think that’s an activity that would cause me some pain so soon after receiving the injuries he described.

In another video which I presented to the Institute’s disciplinary committee Mr. Thompson shows no signs of discomfort whatsoever just moments after I attempted to get on the bus, despite claiming at the disciplinary hearing to have been in pain and out of breath as a result of a “shoulder charge”.

Also, on the 29th of November, the day after making his complaint, Mike Thompson was one of the sabbatical officers that took part in a series of attempted USI occupations in Dublin City which involved physical confrontations with Gardai and being threatened with pepper spray. His ribs must have healed up much quicker than expected.

Mr. Thompson failed to provide a doctor’s report or x-rays. He never reported the incident to the Gardai. His only “evidence” was the witness testimony of his sidekick, the Vice President.

Not surprisingly the disciplinary committee dismissed his complaint of ‘physical abuse’ as there was “insufficient information” to uphold his totally bogus claims.

Clearly Mr. Thompson would have been aware that, had his complaint been upheld by the institute, I would probably have been expelled. At the very least he was attempting to prevent me from being eligible to run for a union position next semester. A precedent has now been set where any student that is critical of the union may face the similar treatment. The Union has also made a formal complaint to the institute against Gerard Collins the former mature student officer for publicly criticising the president for his behaviour.

This is not just about individuals, or personal rivalries. The actions of the Tralee Students’ Union have wider implications for the 4,000 students of the college. Their continuous refusal to uphold several items of the union constitution is a major barrier to student democracy and the right of grassroots members to have an active involvement in union affairs.

When questioned recently about the next step in the anti-fees campaign on their own facebook page, the Tralee union stated that “due to confidentiality issues we cannot disclose what the next step is. It was agreed by class reps we would not discuss the details of the campaign”. I have spoken to four class reps that say they know nothing about this agreement but even if it is true, no class rep has the right to withhold such information from their class mates, and the Union has absolutely no right to gag them. It totally contradicts our union constitution. The union must be answerable to its members; each and every one of them, regardless of individual opinion.

The Tralee union has not held a referendum on any issue in the last five semesters other than to introduce their constitution which is mostly, ignored. Referendums from students require 300 signatures. In Trinity which has over four times as many students, the number is lower (250). The union is required to hold union executive meetings every second week, but last year’s mature student officer has informed me that if any union executive meetings took place, he was deliberately excluded from them. Students don’t receive minutes from class reps council meetings and we almost never receive feedback from what goes on at USI National Council. In fact the union has at times made every effort to withhold this information. Just yesterday the Tralee sabbatical officers travelled to Dublin to vote on a USI referendum which called for an increase in pay for union representatives, longer terms of service and invested the USI president with greater powers. Tralee students had no knowledge of this referendum and our SU has no right to vote on our behalf without consulting Tralee Students first.

Our constitution also states that the Union must hold a UGM once a semester, but this semester, once again, there hasn’t been a UGM and they have only held one UGM in the last five semesters, which was very poorly attended. The quorum is too high for a small college split across two campuses, so no business was dealt with.  It’s not a case that the Union simply forgets to follow its constitution. This behaviour is very deliberate. They do not want to be interfered with and despite Mike Thompson pre-election promise to radically reform the class reps council, it is clearly not working. As with the previous year, democracy is almost non-existent in our union.

Like many Unions across the country the Tralee SU is just another entertainment office, a golden circle for right wing careerists and people that want nothing more than to add a line to their CVs. The next step for them is to prepare for rag week, a welcome distraction to help their members forget that the fight against fees and grant cuts has already been lost…. again.

Nicky O’Donnell

FEE Tralee.

The Tralee Students’ Union must explain its disgraceful behaviour towards its members. is a post from Free Education for Everyone

The referendum last week, which produced a result which mandated the DCU Student’s Union Executive to campaign for a ‘fully free education system’, was deemed “null and void” on legal advice after students had been advised to vote in a way that was contrary to the DCU SU constitution. The information campaign for the referendum which was overseen by President Ed Leamy advised students that “There are five questions on the ballot paper. You may express your vote on the ballot paper in one of two ways. The funding model with the greatest first preference wins. If you wish you can also express a second, third, fourth and fifth preference.The additional preferences will not carry, but will instead allow the Students’ Union to better measure the spectrum of opinion, strengthening our lobbying argument”.

After counting was concluded on Friday evening, funding option 5, the ‘fully free education system” option had received the most votes and should have been declared the winner. This would have mandated DCU SU to campaign for a fully free education system. However, upon hearing of the results, DCU SU President Ed Leamy called for a recount as he had realised that “a major constitutional breach had occurred. Under article 9: Elections and Referenda, 9.5.1.1 states “The counting procedures shall be in accordance with the system of proportional representation by the single transferable vote method”. Of course, this was different to how students had been advised to vote. Upon legal advice, the recount never went ahead, and the referendum was declared unconstitutional, and therefore “null and void”.

Whilst FEE DCU accepted that the constitution states that counting should be conducted by PRSTV, the fact is that this referendum was advertised as a PR referendum, with students advised by DCU SU that only 1st preference votes would count. The result of the first count conducted on Friday produced a result in accordance with how students were advised to vote, and in accordance with how they were advised their votes would be counted. Therefore, FEE DCU decided to bring a motion to Class Rep Council to have the result of Friday’s first count respected as a ‘democratic survey’, which should now mandate DCU SU to campaign for free education for everyone.

Proposing the motion at council yesterday evening, FEE DCU member Derek McKenna stated that while he recognised that the referendum had been conducted contrary to constitution election regulations, this did not stop the council from respecting the democratic will of students who had voted the way they had been told to vote. He then asked that “the result in which the fully free education system option had won the vote be respected and adopted as DCU SU policy”. Immediately, the chair of the council issued McKenna with an “official warning”, as he pointed out that “as the referendum had been declared null and void, no option had won“. The actions of the chair set the tone for the debate, and after 3 speakers on the motion, the DCU SU President Ed Leamy intervened and declared that ” as the referendum had been declared unconstitutional, the motion before the council must fall”. The actions of Leamy meant that Class Rep council was not allowed to  further discuss the motion to have the ‘fully free education system’ adopted as  union policy, and meant that the council could not even take a vote on the matter.

These events cast further doubt on DCU SU’s ability to respect the voice of their members. The facts of the case show an amazing level of arrogance from some members of the DCU Student’s Union  insofar as they feel they can disrespect the democratic choice of their students. For the facts of the case are this;

1) DCU students were  asked to vote and given 5 options for the funding of higher education

2) They were advised that “The funding model with the greatest first preference wins”  and “The additional preferences will not carry”

3) DCU students voted in accordance with these guidelines

4) That vote produced a result in which the “fully free education system” model had the most “first preference” votes.

5) That result was the democratic choice of DCU students and should be DCU SU policy.

6) The advise given to students on voting and counting was different to what the constitution stated.

7) The referendum was declared unconstitutional, and therefore null and void.

8 )There was nothing stopping DCU SU from accepting the results as a ‘democratic survey’ and thereafter as union policy.

The facts are there for all to see and  the facts are indisputable.

Democracy Suppressed in DCU is a post from Free Education for Everyone

DCU SU President Ed Leamy has just declared the result of the DCU referendum on the funding of higher education “null and void”.

The option of a “fully free education system” had won the vote.

FEE DCU will campaign for the democratic will of students to be respected and for the result to be maintained. The declaration that the result  is “null and void” shows a lack of respect for the democratic choice that students have made.

A new referendum has been called for next year. We don’t want another referendum. The students democratic choice was reflected correctly after the first count.

This is not the Lisbon Treaty. We can’t re-run the vote until the people in authority get the result they desire.

Have your voice heard. Demand that the result of the first vote is respected. Contact the DCU SU president at;

president@dcusu.ie

or

ph: 017005279

For a background to this story, see the previous post here http://free-education.info/dcu-students-vote-for-free-education-for-everyone-recount-called-by-su/

DCU SU President Ed Leamy’s speech can be viewed here http://www.dcusu.ie/news/ed-leameys-speech-on-the-results-of-the-dcusu-referendum.463.html#.TuXrq1k_gJQ.twitter

Derek McKenna (FEE DCU)

DCU Student’s Union Disrespect Democratic Result is a post from Free Education for Everyone

FEE DCU campaigned hard on campus during the week, discussing with students our vision of a fully free education system and how this could be funded through taxation. We pointed out to students that a simple 2.5% increase in corporation tax would raise €640 million per year, well over the suggested €500 million extra per year that the Hunt Report suggests that we need to fund higher education by 2020.

On Friday evening the results were announced. They were as follows;

Total poll: 1238
Spoils: 91
Total Valid Poll: 1147
#1: Full Tuition Fees – 50 votes
#2: Graduate Tax – 80 votes
#3: Student Loan – 145 votes
#4: Cap Reg Fee at €2000 – 399 votes
#5: Fully Free Education System – 472 votes

This democratic vote means that DCU SU are mandated to build a campaign to fight for a fully free education system. However no sooner was the result announced and a recount had been called by the returning officer. The reason given for this recount was given in an email to FEE DCU. It stated “ Because a violation of Article 9 of the DCUSU Constitution: ‘Elections and Referenda’ has occurred, I have called a full recount which will begin at 10am on Monday” Article 9.5.1.1 states: “The counting procedures shall be in accordance with the system of proportional representation by the single transferable vote method”.

It seems logical that if counting of the votes was conducted in an incorrect manner, then nobody could dispute a recount. However, when one realises that DCU students were informed that they would be voting in a system of proportional representation where only their first preference counted, the farcical nature of the electoral committee’s actions were exposed.

DCU’s referendum website http://dcusureferendum.ie/?page_id=44 and their referendum information campaign advised students how to vote. It stated “ There are five questions on the ballot paper. You may express your vote on the ballot paper in one of two ways. The funding model with the greatest first preference wins. If you wish you can also express a second, third, fourth and fifth preference. The additional preferences will not carry, but will instead allow the Students’ Union to better measure the spectrum of opinion, strengthening our lobbying argument.

FEE DCU spoke with both the returning officer and the DCU SU President before the campaign got under way. We were  assured that the counting method was to be PR, and not PRSTV. This is what we advised our campaign team, and it is how we advised people to vote. As we were told that 2nd, 3rd and 4th preferences would not affect the result, we never asked people for any other preference than their 1st. For the electoral committee to now call for a recount under the PRSTV system, despite the fact that students were not advised that this method would be used to count the votes is outrageous in the extreme. This type of election scamming would not be out of place in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe.

DCU Students Vote for “Free Education for Everyone”. Recount Called by SU. is a post from Free Education for Everyone

photo by Leanna Byrne from @universitytimes - https://twitter.com/#!/tough101/status/143695524967620608

December 5 2011.

Students from the Free Education for Everyone (FEE) campaign have occupied the Ranelagh offices of Eoghan Murphy, Fine Gael TD. They are protesting against any cuts to the grant and any increase of third level  fees. FEE last week occupied the office of Brian Walsh T.D in Galway, and this is the latest in a series of occupations from students in opposition to education cuts.

The students come from FEE UCD and other branches. The FEE campaign was founded in University College Dublin in 2008, but has branches throughout Irish universities and colleges, including Trinity College Dublin, the Liberties College, NUI Maynooth, NUI Galway and Queens University Belfast. It has in the past carried out a number of high profile occupations against government T.Ds and department buildings.

FEE spokesperson Lorcan Myles noted the groups support for the Maynooth Student Union occupation of Anthony Lawlor’s Naas office, and for last week’s Union of Students in Ireland attempted occupation in the city centre. “There is a need for a mass- campaign that can win, and occupying is one of the best tactics at the disposal of the student movement” he noted. The group expressed is solidarity with all protesting this budget and current austerity measures.

FEE demands:

That Deputy Eoghan Murphy vote against any rise in the student contribution or any cut to the maintenance grant, as well any proposals to bring in a graduate tax scheme or student loan system.

FEE also demands in the long-term:

An end to all University fees

A well-funded grant system that reflects the cost of living

A rejection of the Hunt Report

A legislative review of the Universities Act 1997

An end to the neo-liberal restructuring of our economy dictated by the IMF and ECB and as such the immediate removal of these institutions from our economic affairs.

See www.free-education.info for more details

For further information or clarification contact:

Joseph: 0879679278

Ben: 0876918273

Ends

For live updates, follow @FEEIreland

Occupation #4 – Students occupy Fine Gael TD’s office in opposition to education cuts is a post from Free Education for Everyone

FEE occupiers on the roof on the building

Free Education for Everyone (FEE) Galway have occupied Deputy Brian Walsh’s Constituency office in an action against the raising of student fees and in suport of the public sector strikes in Britain and the North.  Click here for the full press release.

FEE’s twitter account can be found @feeireland

LIVE UPDATES:

Final Update: All FEE members have now been released with cautions. Good work FEE Galway!

16:08:
All but one FEE members have been released with cautions. One FEE member/NUIGSU officer remains in custody, our thoughts are with him.

15:32:
Two FEE members have been released from the Garda station with cautions.

13:40:
Final arrest count is 9 FEE members, mostly charged with Criminal Trespass. Currently all being held in the local Garda station.

13:09:
8 occupiers have now been arrested, including the FEE member on the roof, under Section 11 of the Public Order Act. There are 2 Garda vans and 4 squadcars in attendance, as well as a crowd of 20 outside. The occupation has ended, and the FEE legal observers are on their way to the Garda station.

12:56:
A fire engine has arrived in order to remove a FEE member on the roof on the building, though they have not tried to do this yet. Gardaí have physically removed and arrested 6/7 FEE members, unclear at this moment if the lock-on is still in place. Details have also emerged that the FEE member arrested earlier is also a NUIG Students Union officer.

12:30:
Currently over a dozen occupiers including one person “locked on” inside the building.  Gardaí have forced their way in, one FEE member has been arrested for trespass and has been brought to a Garda station, two FEE legal observers also threatened of being arrested. 7 Gardaí present, and a crowd of onlookers and supporters is growing outside. FEE members’ personal belongings (bags etc.) have been reomoved from the building . FEE  have also gained access to the roof of the building, as have Gardaí.

11:48:
They’re in! FEE Galway have occupied Deputy Brian Walsh’s Constituency office.

FEE Galway occupy Brian Walsh TDs office. Photo by @petes-sake

Live Updates from FEE Galway Occupation is a post from Free Education for Everyone

FEE Galway occupy Brian Walsh TDs office. Photo by @petes-sake

Free Education for Everyone (FEE) Galway is currently engaged in an occupation of Deputy Brian Walsh’s Constituency Office to bring awareness to the fact that students will not accept any hike in the Registration Fee, any cut to the maintenance grant or any austerity measures aimed to make the most vulnerable in society pay for the mistakes of the bankers, developers and politicians that have sold away this country’s economic sovereignty.

We are engaging in non-violent direct action in a bid to make our voices heard. Marches are not enough, the different movements resisting austerity need to unite and engage in tactics that are not ignored. Fine Gael is the majority party in the current government, and next week they will be announcing yet more misery for 1000s of people across Ireland in their IMF-Dictated Budget. Our democratic process has failed us, our demand for change has been ignored, and the economic good continues to be prioritised over the peoples good.

FEE is a broad campaign group which believes and works towards complete free access to education on all levels for all people. We argue and campaign for the abolition of all registration fees/student contributions as well as opposing all recent cuts to the education system including special needs assistants, postgraduate grants and the destructive under-funding of the education system in general. FEE believes in funding of the education system by a central progressive taxation system, whereby a form of wealth tax is created on those earning over a certain amount so as to create an equal society. Education is a right not a privilege. Access to this right should never be limited by economic, social or cultural factors.

FEE Galway stands in solidarity with the 2 million public sector workers on strike today in the UK and in the North. We hope that such an action can be brought to our fight also; a student strike against increasing fees and the commercialisation of education will be a necessary tool in the fight for free education. We also stand in solidarity with the International Students’ Movement, the unemployed, SNAs and their students, pensioners, those suffering due to the inadequacy of our healthcare system, the Travelling Community, Asylum Seekers and Refugees, public sector employees and all those affected by the current austerity measures.

FEE demands:

That Deputy Brian Walsh vote against any rise in the student contribution or any cut to the maintenance grant, as well any proposals to bring in a graduate tax scheme or student loan system.

An end to all University fees

A well-funded grant system that reflects the cost of living

A rejection of the Hunt Report

A legislative review of the Universities Act 1997

An end to the neo-liberal restructuring of our economy dictated by the IMF and ECB and as such the immediate removal of these institutions from our economic affairs.

FEE Galway

Joseph –             087 2729021

William             086 8683390

Senan –             086 0644185

FEE GALWAY OCCUPATION is a post from Free Education for Everyone

Stand in solidarity with your lecturers by: refusing to attend scab classes and joining picket lines/marches across the North. It is not enough simply to acknowledge the strike, it is vital that students take an active role in supporting all workers in defence of our public services. Make a definitive stand against austerity and vicious attacks on public services and workers!

…………………………………………………

FEE is an all-Ireland grassroots campaign which opposes austerity and supports action which aims to actively resist ideologically imposed cuts to workers living standards north and south.

We believe that: – workers should not have to pay for a crisis they did not cause.

- That the worst effects of the crisis can be addressed by central progressive taxation on the rich and corporations.

The current assault on the public sector is a political project of the right; one which originated with the Tory led government in Britain in alliance with their financiers in the city of London, and is being perpetuated by the Stormont administration in the North. The aim of this project is to drive down wages and living conditions and open the door to a mass privatization of public services under the guise of tackling a budget deficit.

Within Queens this assault has come in the form of raised tuition fees for students outside the North of Ireland, cuts to teaching and other services, stagnating wages and now an attempt to force lecturers and ancillary staff involved with the USS pension package to work longer and contribute more while receiving less. We stand in solidarity with our lecturers as they stood with us over the issue of fees. FEE QUB will be showing solidarity by attending picket lines across Belfast tomorrow on November 30th, as well as attending the rally at Mandella Hall, QUBSU at 11am and joining the trade union feeder march from City Hospital to City Hall.

Students and workers unite.

FEE Supports the Strikes is a post from Free Education for Everyone

Furthermore, we are deeply concerned with the use of pepper spray being threatened by members of the Gardaí present against peaceful protestors. The USI officers occupying the Department of Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation, upon hearing the threat, decided to leave the premises, and relocate to the Department of Social Protection, in fear of their own safety. We also regret, but are not surprised by, the decision made by the Gardaí to batter down the door of the room that the occupiers were holding in the second building, and the arrest of the four SU officers present.  When occupying a Government building, the Gardaí will always use force to remove occupiers, regardless of whether the occupiers are peaceful are not.

Criticisms can be made of the USI’s actions today, in that it will take a lot more than a handful of union officers occupying a building to scare the government, and that a hundred-plus student-occupiers would have been much more effective. FEE believes that in order to beat fees, huge numbers of students on the grassroots level have to be actively involved in organising, protesting and engaging in direct action, in a truly participatory fashion.  Likewise, some members of FEE feel that USI is being hypocritical in its actions today, when only a year ago they condemned a large group of students and USI members for occupying the Department of Finance. In this instance, while we still feel betrayed by that response from USI last year, we show our support for USI’s actions today, and add that this is what real solidarity looks like, which we ask USI to keep in mind in the future. Overall, our criticisms should not be on the forefront of our response today, and that we welcome USI’s actions as a whole.

Signed by:
FEE UCD
FEE Galway
FEE Trinity
FEE DCU
FEE Maynooth
FEE Tralee
FEE QUB
FEE IADT

(Image credited to College Tribune)

Statement of Support with USI Occupations is a post from Free Education for Everyone

Eight activists from Free Education for Everyone in Queens University Belfast were elected to the Student Council in elections which were held yesterday.

The establishment of FEE QUB along with FEE Derry over the last year has now made the Free Education for Everyone Campaign an island wide cause, fighting austerity cuts by two different governments.

The group ran ten candidates in three faculties: Postgraduate, Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, and in Engineering and Physical Sciences. Each faculty had at least one candidate elected to each and represents approximately 8% of the student council.

Branch Secretary Tiarnán Ó Muilleoir, who was also elected under Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences said “it’s a great day for FEE in Queens” and “represents a willingness for students to engage in grassroots activism as a way to protest against savage cuts in education”.

FEE QUB is one of the newest branches of the campaign group to emerge and the success in this election “is testament to the groups hard work over the last year” says activist Tyler McNally.

The election success builds on FEEs impressive performance  in NUIG last year, where 3 members where elected to part time exec positions on NUIGSU.

The manifesto can be found below. You can find QUB on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/qub.fee

#####

The university is under attack: the ConDem and Stormont governments – in collaboration with university management – are implementing a cuts agenda which involves staff job losses, the curtailment of academic provision and student facilities, as well as potential fee rises. At Queen’s the impact of the agreed DEL Budget will result in:

Job losses of 750 (out of 3,600) across all sectors of staff;

The closure of academic departments and courses;

Reduced student/staff ratios and contact hours;

The restriction of key facilities such as the library, SU, post-grad centre, PEC, etc;

Unfair and exclusionary fees for students from overseas and the rest of the UK.

If we are to resist this ideological assault then the Students’ Union must take urgent action, to coordinate protest actions in solidarity with staff. To this end Free Education for Everyone activists are standing for election to the Student Council and we’re asking for your vote.

Who we are: FEE is a grassroots student activist group, organised across the island of Ireland. We were to the forefront of last year’s protests which heaped pressure on local politicans and resulted in the partial victory of a two year freeze on any fees rise.

What we stand for: A rejection of austerity imposed by a political class of millionaires, while the costs of corporate tax-evasion, ruinous financial gambling, and imperialist military adventures are ignored. For a free, properly-and-publically funded education system which is open to all.

FEE candidates will use their roles as councillors to transform the Student’s Union into a fighting union and to build an effective opposition to cuts within the university. FEE will also build links with school students and trade unions to fight cuts being implemented across the board.

The university is not a business!
Education is a right!
Students and workers cannot pay for the debts of the rich!
FREE EDUCATION FOR EVERYONE

FEE QUB occupation outside the vice chancellors office.

8 FEE QUB members elected to student council is a post from Free Education for Everyone