If there is one thing I am confident staff and students at the University of Edinburgh share, it is their frustration (and sometimes hatred) of Peter Mathieson and his senior management team, and the past week has been no exception to this.
Following months of ongoing disputes between the University and College Union (UCU) and the university administration, staff went on strike for a second time this semester on 17-19 November. Striking has been sparked by £140m planned financial cuts, £90m of which will be cuts to staff, resulting in the loss of up to 1800 jobs.
With voluntary redundancies an exhausted route, the threat of involuntary redundancies has become imminent, and staff and students alike are rightly furious. The striking action saw students turning up in their masses to support staff as they fought for their jobs, with Edinburgh University Justice for Palestine Society (EUJPS) “taking over” Old College, the home of Mathieson’s office, in solidarity with the UCU. But how are these seemingly unconnected protest groups so closely united?
“Nine grand a year for this!” is a complaint often heard uttered from (English) students, with international fees being hiked even higher. And here we find the overlapping grievances of students, staff, and everyone in between—questionable financial investments.
Solidarity becomes glaringly obvious when the investments of an institution are not only working against the staff and the students at its heartbeat, but against humanity altogether in supporting a genocide. It is no coincidence that the University of Edinburgh, which claims to be struggling financially, can still find over £75m to invest in companies that are complicit in the Israeli genocide, such as Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, and IBM.
Quite frankly, it is embarrassing to represent and fund an institution that is recognised by the UN as one of the most financially complicit universities in the genocide being committed by Israel. It is an institution that chooses alliances and financial investment of our money over the satisfaction, nurturing, and beliefs of its staff and students—without the great thinkers that shape it, what is a university?
Of course, money is at the forefront of these arguments, but this is not the only thing to consider. It proves ironic that an establishment built on “integrity”, “inclusiv[ity]” and a “welcoming community” is time and time again silencing its members. Whether through staff redundancies, financial investment, or welcoming an increased police presence on campus, the actions of senior management are mirroring the ongoing anti-intellectualism epidemic that is spreading throughout society. And how horrifying that it is coming from the one place that should be protecting higher education!
Ultimately, EUJPS and UCU are both fighting for the same thing—honesty, empathy and divestment. Staff and students remain strong in their solidarity, and with all eyes on Old College, surely Mathieson must come out of hiding at some point?
Photo by Daniel Ghazi for The Student
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EUJPS and the UCU Share a Common Enemy
If there is one thing I am confident staff and students at the University of Edinburgh share, it is their frustration (and sometimes hatred) of Peter Mathieson and his senior management team, and the past week has been no exception to this.
Following months of ongoing disputes between the University and College Union (UCU) and the university administration, staff went on strike for a second time this semester on 17-19 November. Striking has been sparked by £140m planned financial cuts, £90m of which will be cuts to staff, resulting in the loss of up to 1800 jobs.
With voluntary redundancies an exhausted route, the threat of involuntary redundancies has become imminent, and staff and students alike are rightly furious. The striking action saw students turning up in their masses to support staff as they fought for their jobs, with Edinburgh University Justice for Palestine Society (EUJPS) “taking over” Old College, the home of Mathieson’s office, in solidarity with the UCU. But how are these seemingly unconnected protest groups so closely united?
“Nine grand a year for this!” is a complaint often heard uttered from (English) students, with international fees being hiked even higher. And here we find the overlapping grievances of students, staff, and everyone in between—questionable financial investments.
Solidarity becomes glaringly obvious when the investments of an institution are not only working against the staff and the students at its heartbeat, but against humanity altogether in supporting a genocide. It is no coincidence that the University of Edinburgh, which claims to be struggling financially, can still find over £75m to invest in companies that are complicit in the Israeli genocide, such as Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, and IBM.
Quite frankly, it is embarrassing to represent and fund an institution that is recognised by the UN as one of the most financially complicit universities in the genocide being committed by Israel. It is an institution that chooses alliances and financial investment of our money over the satisfaction, nurturing, and beliefs of its staff and students—without the great thinkers that shape it, what is a university?
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Of course, money is at the forefront of these arguments, but this is not the only thing to consider. It proves ironic that an establishment built on “integrity”, “inclusiv[ity]” and a “welcoming community” is time and time again silencing its members. Whether through staff redundancies, financial investment, or welcoming an increased police presence on campus, the actions of senior management are mirroring the ongoing anti-intellectualism epidemic that is spreading throughout society. And how horrifying that it is coming from the one place that should be protecting higher education!
Ultimately, EUJPS and UCU are both fighting for the same thing—honesty, empathy and divestment. Staff and students remain strong in their solidarity, and with all eyes on Old College, surely Mathieson must come out of hiding at some point?
Photo by Daniel Ghazi for The Student
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