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Strike report day 12 – We’re still here!

Published: 14th March, 2018

Briefly, yesterday the press informed the world that the strike action would be called off from today, but after the proposed deal was rejected, we resolved to stay out on strike. So we were pleased to wake up to a crisp and sunny spring morning, and at last it seemed that the weather was on our side. However, it was cold and we were grateful for a warm drink delivery from Chris at the Open University who arrived to provide Solidari-tea to all the picket lines. Thank you Chris!

 

Throughout this action we’ve been keen to talk to students to make sure that they have a chance to ask questions – about the strike and particularly why we rejected the proposal that UUK made, especially when some people had implied it was a done deal. Approaching a picket line to ask questions might not appeal to all students, so today we launched an ‘Ask me about the strike’ pop-up stall near the library from 9:30-12:00. We plan to do this for the remaining days of the strike and welcome students to come and chat with us.

As has become customary over the last twelve days, our day outside ended creating beautiful music outside Fielding Johnson Building, serenading the University Leadership Team with our wonderful tones. We think we’re improving!

The afternoon’s Free University of Leicester session was an open workshop on ‘the University of the Future’, facilitated by David Harvie and Keir Milburn. Starting from the premise that the present fee-and-debt regime is broken and is unlikely to endure much longer – and that VCs and other HE ‘leaders’ are totally unprepared for this – participants discussed what the post-fee university might look like, in terms of its governance, its infrastructure and its curriculum.