Student Council's President Address - Keeping the Peace

Peace is a pretty word which describes a comfortable situation - I’m a pacifist myself, and when I think of world peace and tranquility I picture smiling people and calm surroundings. That being said, I despise the phrase “keeping the peace.” Within those words, peace loses some of its pleasant energy and instead describes a state which doesn’t benefit those meant to keep the peace - instead, it’s an order from those in power aimed at those without power to not make a “fuss” about things. Throughout the years, students have been adamant in disturbing the peace, and by doing so, we’ve brought about change all around the world and done our part to ensure the betterment and the prevalence of justice in our society. The Student Council of the University of Iceland has a long history of rocking the boat and fighting for change, by protesting the University’s participation in dental examinations to determine the age of refugees, by fighting for student housing and by calling for an environmentally friendly university as well as everyone’s equal access to education in a broad sense. We owe a lot to those students who’ve disturbed the peace, and it is our duty to keep fighting for change.

For the last few weeks, the Student Council has brought the university’s enrollment fee into the limelight - the Council has in fact questioned its legitimacy for years. These 75.000 ISK meant to go towards costs related to students’ enrollment is used to finance the organization of teaching and examinations, as well as the university’s general maintenance - even though it’s specified in Icelandic law that enrollment fees should not be used to finance teaching and maintenance. The Student Council thus argues that the university is charging students more than it is legally allowed to. We’ve called for an honest conversation on the matter - the acknowledgement of the fact that these fees are not enrollment fees, they are in fact tuition fees charged by a public university. This is an uncomfortable discussion for an underfinanced university, but it is a necessary one and we must strive for change. The University of Iceland should not have to reach into students’ pockets on top of the government’s financing, but it is a fact that students attending public universities in Iceland play a much bigger part in financing higher education than in our neighboring Nordic countries, the countries we look up to and want to compare ourselves to. The enrollment fee at the University of Iceland is far higher than is known in other Nordic countries, where neither enrollment nor tuition fees are charged in public universities. The fee is an added weight upon the shoulders of students, most of whom already have to work alongside their studies - 72% of Icelandic students according to EUROSTUDENT VII. Additionally, 70% of Icelandic students claimed that their reason for working alongside school was that otherwise they would not be able to afford higher education.

Students should not keep the peace. Students should make themselves heard, challenge the status quo and demand changes for the better. The enrollment fee is a roadblock when it comes to higher education, and thus hinders everyone’s equal right to education. We must keep fighting, we must demand that governing bodies keep their promises regarding the betterment of education, and we must ensure that public universities are financed sufficiently.