YUSU pledged this week to put their full weight behind the NUS and UCU organised national demonstration due to take place in London on the 10th of November.
The demonstration entitled “Fund Our Future: Stop Education Cuts”, aims to prevent any rise in university fees and to stop harsh cuts in university and further education budgets.
Speaking to Vision, YUSU President Tim Ngwena said: “we’re happy to put our full backing behind this campaign it’s definitely a very important issue for students and whatever happens will have huge long term consequences for the future.”
In support of the demo, YUSU are providing free buses which will take students to London on the 10th of November. They are also planning several internal projects as well. Week Five of this term, for instance, is being branded as a “Fairer Funding Week” which aims to raise awareness about the funding issues which students may face student in the wake of the upcoming Browne Report.
There are also plans in the works to organise demonstrations both here on campus and, pending the granting of a permit, in the centre of York as well.
As for how York will be affected by the cuts, Ngwena revealed that YUSU was understandably worried: “We have tentatively asked the question of the university and the way it looks at the moment is that degrees may be priced based on a scale of how much demand there is for each course. Obviously this is totally against the whole ethos of the university; York’s strength lies in its diversity and that diversity is based on ability not exclusivity.”
Further information about the demonstration can be found on YUSU’s website and at demo2010.org.