The protest organised for the 18th of January against the proposed cuts has been accused by a slim number of people of being an attack on our University – we would like to take the opportunity to refute this.
As organisers of this event, we first created the protest in response to the sheer number of people who felt the same as we did; that these cuts would worsen the University that we hold so dear.
“I moved to Bangor two and a half years ago to start studying at this institution, and it is because of this University I have moved my entire life here. I work in this city, live 12 months of the year here and plan to study my masters here. I love this University and the protest is down to that love. I, and I’m sure many attending the protest, are committed to this action because we feel the proposed cuts will damage the quality of education and experience that we get as students. We want to save the Uni from making a decision that will harm itself.” – Owen
“As an international student, studying at Bangor University has given me the opportunity to experience and grow a love for the culture that this country has to offer. I have been welcomed with open arms, and am beyond grateful to the staff and fellow students who have made my experience here at Bangor so unique to my growth. It is this love for my university that has prompted me to run this campaign above all else. My lecturers are a core part of what puts the student experience here above other universities; it would be a shame to see the university disregard that fact, and I will do what I can to ensure they, and the student experience, are protected.” – Kayleigh
This course of action is a fantastic demonstration of how much the student body cares about our University. If we didn’t, then why would we bother rallying to save our staff and our courses?
We write this because we don’t want the university to feel under attack by its student body – far from it. The student body is speaking because we love this university. Hopefully with a large turnout on the 18th we can ensure the university listens to us and our calls for the current planned cuts to be scrapped so we can all continue to enjoy our experience at this fantastic institution.
Moving forward, we are here to ensure that the university will be more transparent with their decision-making processes and consult students on what they want to see from the university.
Many would agree that protecting staff is their first priority. Having valuable academic staff is the core selling point for any prospective student – and the response from current students to our protest shows that the staff employed here are valued by many.
This is what this protest means. We hope to see you all there showing the staff and courses your support. And if anyone reading this did feel it was an attack on the Uni, hopefully you can now see that it is not.
Article by Owen J Hurcum & Kayleigh Lavornia – Organisers of the Student Protest.
Protest event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/201950287413173/
