current life at Sussex

Life at Sussex has been chaotic for all students for most of the current term. As the term is coming to an end next week, the chaos has only escalated. The English government and the country in general is going through a recession much like that of most countries. Unlike the states, most universities here are public (possibly all, I'm not really sure) so the funding comes from the government. As a result of the economic situation, they have cut a portion of the funding towards higher education. This is all understandable and universities are each dealing with the situation individually. At most universities the necessary cuts are being handled fairly but here at Sussex the management has decided to make a big mess. The are cutting somewhere around 150 professors but only from specific departments such as history and languages and putting more money into the departments that make money for the university like business and psychology. While they are making all of these cuts, they are building new buildings and residence halls which to many students and faculty seems a bit odd.

Needless to say, students and faculty are pissed. The frustration and anger has been escalating since I arrived two months ago but in the past two weeks things have gone through the roof. There are students protesting almost every week and they are currently in the middle of an occupation of one of the lecture halls that will end essentially when they get kicked out. Last week students occupied Sussex house, the administration on campus. This was a planned protest and students went in to Sussex house, told faculty what was happening and most of them evacuated the building. Since it was known that the protest would happen, the police were at the ready, complete with batons, dogs, pepper spray and the funny hats they wear here. Here are some clips of the actions the police decided to take.




After one protest last week six students were picked out of photographs and chosen by the university to be the alleged ringleaders. They were suspended indefinitely literally for no reason. Apparently the uni can suspend people "for no reason". This week most of the protests have been to reinstate those students. Students have been passing out stickers that say "Support the Sussex Six", a similar campaign to that of the Little Rock 9 during the civil rights movement. Students have also been taking pictures of themselves, friends, pets and stuffed animals holding signs saying "I occupied Sussex House", essentially showing the management that it's unfair to only suspend six students when there were tons of others there too.

Just the other day the professors voted and decided to go on strike starting next Thursday, the day before everyone goes home for spring break. They are planning on having picket lines and all that jazz that comes with a real strike. No one is sure how long the strike will last or what will happen so I could potentially come back from break and not have professors to teach my lectures.

I'm in this state of confusion with the whole situation. I think if I were a real student here I would get a bit involved with what's going on because issues like this are important to me. But since none of what happens here really affects me and I face deportation if I get arrested, I'm choosing not to participate on a large scale. I've signed a few petitions and such but besides that I'm going to lay low.

It does however, make me feel better about the whole uni culture here in England to see students standing up for their education and their professors. University is only three years here and the first year marks don't even count. As long as you pass, you can move on to second year. As a result, no one does anything during their first year. They don't go to lectures, they don't participate in seminars, and don't put their full effort into any work they do. Recently the government also announced that they have set a goal of having 50% of the population go to uni. I was talking with a few English people and they were upset that the government would want that. They were saying that going to uni is a privilege and that not everyone should get to go, only the smart ones. This made no sense to me. From what I've seen, the people at uni don't even put the effort in to their "privilege" and I would think that if they have been so graciously given the opportunity to be here then they would show their appreciation by going to class and doing the teeny tiny amount of work required to get a good mark. Now that I've seen people standing up for their education however, my opinion has changed. Granted, most people still don't do anything, but there are a lot who have really been standing up for their right to a quality education.

That is my rant for the day, enjoy!