The YUSU Sabbatical Officers, led by YUSU President Pierrick Roger and Academic Officer Deb Dey, have launched a renewed plan for action this week, after the University of York introduced new restrictions to the self-certification process last year.
Despite exploring routes of formal opposition, a lack of cooperation from the University has led the Sabbs to initiate a campus-wide campaign on Wednesday morning.
The new action aims to call out those responsible for the restrictions in an email blockade, encouraging the Standing Committee on Assessment to rethink their decisions on self-certification as well as “their entire approach to student voice and representation,” claims the petition post.
The petition, nicknamed Save Our Selfs, operates whereby for every signature received the Sabbs will send 15 emails to the Standing Committee on Assessment. YUSU President Pierrick Roger’s Instagram announcement listed a goal of sending 5000 emails, “enough to chock up the inboxes… and overwhelm those responsible for this decision.”
By Wednesday night, the campaign had hit 13,395 emails sent, with the tally reaching 15,465 by the following morning, and hitting the new 20,000 goal by Friday.
The biggest-single issue campaign in YUSU history, the University responded initially with a range of individual email replies, seemingly sent randomly to students amongst the thousands of emails.
One email response shared by Roger highlighted “I will not be able to reply to all the proforma of emails sent by other students – I have had over 300 already.”
A second round to the action was announced on Roger’s Instagram story on Friday morning, when he shared a email sent to the Standing Committee on Assessment addressing the email filters some members had been using and noting a plan to ensure each of the remaining 15, 000 emails is sent in bunches of 5000 to bypass filters.
“I am surprised many of you have chosen not to hear from the students who’s studying you have made intentionally harder,” Roger said.
“It is my intention that you recieve every letter that student have individually and carefull taken the time to address to you.”
Members of the committee are reported to have resigned, with Roger stating that any further resignations will avoid the incoming emails. Following Roger’s most recent offer, Dr Katherine Selby, director of the School of Natural Sciences, resigned from the commitee with immediate effect.
The Sabbitcal Officers describe the new restrictions to the self-certificaiton process as lessening the protections upon student wellbeing, unfairly targeting the most vulnerable students, and claim they were introduced despite formal written opposition from all five Sabbatical Officers.
“We believe that by imposing the need for evidence, the University is forcing students to choose between their well-being and their studies.”
“As a student body, we are clear: we want the University to prioritise student health and well-being and reverse restrictions on self-certification.”