Re: [kent-grads] Medieval centre under threat

[Brian Meadows <brian@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Mon, 29 Sep 2003 11:43:10 +0100 (BST), Tim wrote:

>  Hi everyone,
>             A big story in the education press at the moment:
>
>http://education.guardian.co.uk/administration/story/0,9860,1050157,00.html?87%3A+Education+news
>
>You may find potential solace in another story covering Durham...
>
>http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/artsandhumanities/story/0,12241,1050420,00.html?87%3A+Education+news
>

Well, having read the articles to which Tim provided links, it's
sad to hear of any department under threat - although holding two
"extinct" degrees in the sciences (B.Sc. in Chemistry from
Lancaster, M.Sc. in Solid State Chemistry from UCW Aberystwyth,
both departments were subsequently closed) I have to say that the
process is neither new nor is it targeting the arts subjects. 

Nothing Charles Clarke gets up to would surprise me in any event.
He was the president of the NUS during the rent strikes of 1975,
when I was at Lancaster. Lancaster had the strongest strike in
the country, with over 800 participating, about a third of the
total student population and more than twice as many as any other
University. (The amount of the rent rise, due to the university's
policy of loan-financing new buildings, may have had a lot to do
with it). AFAIR, the rents nearly doubled for the following term.

Anyway, Charles Clarke *finally* dragged himself up to Lancaster,
gave a speech which basically offered no support or encouragement
whatsoever, and left to one of the most hostile responses I've
ever heard. Small wonder that the V-C decided to sit it out after
news got to him, and took all the strikers to court rather than
negotiate, although the popular view was that the V-C had been
given his instructions from above and it wasn't really his
decision. 

Brian. 

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