Dear All
Here is a laugh, SNP MSP and Deputy First Minister has publicly said,he is ensuring students can go home for Christmas as an 'absolute priority. This was after his boss, Nicola Sturgeon had them all locked up in student accommodation. Students have come to the inescapable conclusion that imprisonment and threats against them of expulsion are ‘a bridge too far' and decided they couldn't trust the SNP leaders with their lives.
What is going on here is akin to the 'Scottish Care Home' Scandal which saw the SNP tell hospitals to dump infected elderly people in care homes, to free up beds.
Glasgow University less than tempting offer of a 4 week rent rebate maybe seen by them as decent gesture but others don't, and the fact that they started up testing quickly is firefighting a bad situation which they never planned for due to their incompetence. Where their game plan fell down was how, when and to what degree the new restrictions and penalties were ‘marketed’.
In the aftermath of lockdown in student halls, there is now a 'mass exodus' of students from locked down university accommodation. Not only as the Glasgow University botched the PR campaign, so have Nicola Sturgeon and the National clinical director Jason Leitch. Leitch is showing an amazing lack of awareness, when he just up and announced students should not return to their family home as they now belonged to new households. I think; his definition of ‘household’ may to some seem a little vague. Student accommodation is no more a household than a prison or hotel is. Yes, there are shared kitchens, shared communal facilities but in using them it still doesn't rank as a home, people would have to wear a mask, something that doesn’t happen in normal households. In looking at covid, you have to take two things into account, one, hands touching surfaces, and secondly breathing, and how far the exhalation air travels and remains in the air.
On Friday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon created undue panic when said she presumably off the cuff said that she would support universities expelling students “as a last resort” if they “flagrantly” breach rules. One thing will happen to everyone is that they will breach the rules, either by accident or deliberate, however the sanction regime to effectively destroy someone’s career and thereby their life chances is a step too far. Already the back peddling has begun led by Universities Scotland, who bizarrely said the threat of a ban was a threat of a ban, aye right.
What should have happened was a plan to take the students with them!
1/ Temp lockdown to stop the spread.
2/ Test everyone at the halls including staff asap.
3/ Ban all outside visitors.
4/ Require everyone to wear a mask outside their rooms.
5/ Remove anyone infected to other temp accommodation, (Louisa Jordan).
6/ Deep clean the facilities.
7/ Lift the lockdown.
8/ After a couple of weeks, retest everyone.
9/ If all clear; then allow students to have their normal life back.
10/ Have an ongoing discussion regarding safety advice starting now.
Using threats hasn’t worked well,in fact it has been a disaster, second-year MA History student James Yucel, 19, returned home to England on Friday.
He said:
“On Thursday night there was just widespread panic as students learned of the new restrictions. It was utter chaos with students booking flights, trains and getting packed up. It’s been so poorly handled. My flatmate is an international student from the Cayman Isles in the Caribbean who flew into Glasgow and the next day learned all his lectures this year will be held online. He wouldn’t have come if he knew. Like a lot of my friends, I’ve gone home. Out of 50 students I am friendly with in Glasgow, 40 of them have ditched Glasgow and headed home. There was a mad rush to the train stations and airports on Friday. The rules are so restrictive, why would anyone want to stay? We got an email from the university saying there is a yellow and red card system that basically means if you get caught twice going to the pub you will be expelled. Personally, it’s maybe not a good idea for me to speak out about it but I think it’s a scandal. There are a lot of students like me but who are hesitant about speaking out in fear of what the universities might do.”
In the 20 years I spent at Glasgow University, I have to say the way the University of Glasgow acts never impressed me, my illusions were shattered rather early. The idea that the University of Glasgow is full of kindly old professors and that they are here to help you is a myth. I don’t want to get into my past experiences of maltreatment, but really things haven’t changed.
As James Yucel said;
“There are a lot of students like me but who are hesitant about speaking out in fear of what the universities might do.”
A female student said of the current situation:
“It feels a bit like a prison. Our kitchen is quite small and I’m sharing with 12 people. I think it’s a crazy expectation to ask us not to go outside and get fresh air. We’ve also seen the police circulating outside a few times because they want to make sure we don’t break any rules. I probably would have gone home if it wasn’t for us being ordered to stay by the uni. It definitely isn’t the student experience I’d have hoped for. It’s been pretty rough.”
Another engineering student, 18, from Wales, said:
“We’re not allowed to return home. We’ve been threatened with getting kicked out for going home or leaving the halls. We’re allowed to go for a smoke but that’s it.”
In the wake of the outbreak, and this heavy handed approach, Glasgow University announced a series of measures in the hope to help the students during the difficult time. You also might be tempted to think that the measures are more about managing the bad PR that they have already created. So, what is their offer, oh before I forget, if covid is still around next year, it could effectively kill off university accommodation in favour of students going for rented flats. The university ‘offer’ is a four-week rent-rebate for all students in their halls; students will receive £50 for food and supplies. What we know about the £50 offer for food is it is a one off payment. Locked up for God how many weeks and compensated with a pittance. I worked out from a website that the ‘offer’ varies depending on where you are staying, £560, if you are up at Murano Street Village to about £450 if you are down at Cairncross Student halls, which when you look at it in the cold light of day is risible.
What hasn’t been removed is the threat of disciplinary action, which should never have been mooted in the first place.
A University of Glasgow spokesman said:
“We would urge our students to abide by the government rules and remain in their residences.”
It seems the lack of additional response is very interesting because of what wasn’t said regarding punishment and expulsion, short statements are usually a sign of people or an organisation fucking up, and knowing they have fucked up!
A spokesman for the Scottish Government said:
“We appreciate this is a particularly difficult time for students but the quicker we get Covid back under control, the sooner they will be able to enjoy a more normal student life. The Scottish Government will very shortly produce clear guidance on the circumstances under which students can return home while restrictions remain in place.”
Well, they better produce that booklet fast or there will be no one to read it in the halls of residence. In the chaos of this disaster, Scotland's Education Secretary and Deputy First Minister said the Scottish Government is working to ensure students are safe and well supported. Is a £50 one off payment for being locked up really what John Swinney calls ‘well supported’? Already it seems hundreds of students agree with me it isn’t and they have fled the campuses to make the trek back home. One thing is certain; there has been a material change in their contract with them and the university regarding accommodation.
How are you doing to do that John given that covid has returned with gusto, and now Glasgow has the highest Covid rate in UK? Something else which will in future be played down is the SNP Government considering further financial support for universities to help them give refunds to students. He also said ministers have already provided additional funding to universities to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. Clearly from what Glasgow University is offering, someone hasn’t put their hands deep enough into their tax payer filled pockets.
Finally, has SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon just killed off the entire student accommodation sector in Scotland? I wonder how many students currently at Glasgow will either flee now, move immediately after restrictions are lifted, or potential students will simply avoid giving the university additional ways and means to control them via a threat process. Living under threat is not pleasant, and I would suspect the ‘mass exodus’ hasn’t seen the end yet.
Yours sincerely
George Laird The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
1 comment:
Excellent article, George. Here's a couple of facts:
Aberdeen University is threatening students who breach COVID restrictions with a £250 fine, and possibly suspension or expulsion.
A lot of students are now deferring their studies for a year due to COVID.
What should be done, by all devolved administrations and Westminster, is to allow students the right to defer without penalty. All students have a "free" extra year for study, something that has been around for decades.
Sturgeon was looking a touch rattled today, possibly because she has just lost her "youth" vote. The exams fiasco was bad enough, but this has really hit home. She can't blame the Tories or Westminster for this one.
Even suggesting that students could be locked up over Xmas was a PR disaster. She may well pay the price for that next May.
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