I’m Felix Porter, a third year Sociology student. I have worked as a PAL for the last 2 years, as the part-time housing officer this year and am now running to be your educations officer. My campaigns will be around:
- More resources and more access to them
- Consultation with DSCs and Liberation officers for course adjustments
- Pay PALs a living wage
- Remove hidden course fees, add printer credits, more spaces to study
- Build the relationship between the student services and the SU
- Defend jobs, challenge the Goldsmiths pay gap and create jobs
- Continue the campaign towards free education
- Raise awareness surrounding international students’ visa issues
This year we’ve seen a massive increase in the student population without adequate infrastructural response. Our staff have a larger workload than ever and their ability to encourage a personable educational environment is under threat. For students this has meant a reduction in the resources available. I will campaign for more resources and better access to those already available.
Our staff are integral to our student experience, and in our current political and economic climate we need to be vigilant in our opposition to any reductions in staff numbers and any reductions in their working conditions or in their pay. We should also consider the financial strain put on the university by Senior Management’s wages, and how a reduction in the pay gap between the highest and lowest paid would make our university better – to create jobs and to increase funds for the SU.
I will also campaign for better representation of students in areas like course material and the structuring of the courses in terms of assessment types and deadlines etc. In order to do this I want to continue the work of the current education officer in making bi-annual forums for students to speak to DSCs, as well as consulting liberation officers – so that everyone can give feedback in a way which is more meaningful than the termly customer feedback surveys. I will also work on increasing the DSCs abilities to affect change according to the students’ concerns.
The PAL (peer assisted learning) service has the potential to be an amazing scheme for everyone involved, however it is already strained by being extra responsibility added onto people’s timetables without being adequately compensated. We need at least one more member of staff to help manage the scheme and to have the mentors pay be brought up to date and in line with Goldsmiths’ policy on paying a living wage. With the resources of our academic staff stretched, PAL is a fast way for students to feel secure in their studies from the beginning of next year, whilst larger departmental issues are resolved.
In terms of the strains placed upon students, we must take the financial aspects very seriously. We need to structurally put in place a way of revealing all hidden course fees whilst campaigning for as much as possible to be as free as possible – no student should be caught out or left behind. If reader packs aren’t going to be broadly available anymore, then I will campaign for printer credits allocated to each student’s account. Having infrared scanners in the library to show available seats does not mean that there is more studying space – we need more space to study on campus which could take the form of course related reading or common rooms. We need to ensure that lectures and seminars are not disrupted by booking or technical issues and that they take place in appropriate spaces.
I also want to build the relationship between the SU and the student services. After the restructure last summer it is important that we work together in order to pool resources and be able to offer the best possible help and advice to students.
I will use my role in the SU not just to try and improve our university but also to campaign about broader national and international issues around education. I believe education should be free for everyone, and that people should not be penalised for seeking higher education – whether that be economically, socially or politically. We need to recognise the effects of unfair visa controls among our international students and how this restricts their ability to stay in the UK after graduating. Within a year of a majority Conservative government we have already seen massive changes to the higher education system in the UK, the scrapping of grants and changes to loan repayments serve as examples of how we need to be organised in our resistance to further degradations to our university system./asset/Manifesto/490/felix-poster-blue.pdf