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No. 876 Friday 29th November 2019 varsity.co.uk
Cambridge’s Independent Student Newspaper since 1947
‘The university sector has refused to stick up for its employees’ Ellie Arden News Correspondent This week, University staff and students have gathered on picket lines around all the major lecture sites in Cambridge in support of the UCU strike, which will run until the 4th of December in 60 universities nationwide. At Sidgwick Site, picketers gathered round a brazier as woodsmoke rose high into the air of West Road. A group of students and lecturers learnt songs outside the Faculty of Music, accompanied by an outdoor discussion and reenactment of Pauline Oliveros’ ‘Sonic Meditations’. With the support of the likes of Ai WeiWei and Billy Bragg, the daily pickets and rallies have attracted much attention. Varsity approached picketers to see
how they feel about the strikes. Many of the picketers expressed their frustration at the University’s neglect of staff welfare. A University teaching officer from the Faculty of Classics said that “wages have been falling, workloads have been rising, we have a gender pay gap which is particularly meaningful it’s 19.6% when the average is 12%, which is appalling. There has been almost no action from the administration...the university sector has completely refused to stick up for its employees.” A lecturer from the History Faculty said that “to sum it up, universities across the country have not been putting money into their staff, even though they’ve been making quite a lot of money, and this is affecting the quality not only of Full story pages 2-3 ▶
▲ Students and staff have been regularly rallying in solidarity with strikers (JOE COOK)
On the doorstep Canvassing with Cambridge students Christopher Dorrell Deputy News Editor Sasi Valaiyapathi News Correspondent As December’s general election approaches, activists from different parties have been hitting the streets of Cambridge to secure and win public support for their favoured candidates.
Varsity accompanied both Labour and Liberal Democrat canvassers over the past few weeks to see what a day of door-knocking looks like. On 10 November, a dozen students were joined by three councillors, an exMP and the parliamentary candidate, Rod Cantrill, to try and convince residents of Castle ward to vote Lib Dem. In the 2018 local elections this ward was won by the Lib Dems by just 25 votes,
making it a significant target of the local party’s efforts in this election. Before setting off, Cantrill thanked canvassers for coming out to support him and spoke of the importance of canvassing to a parliamentary campaign. Some of the students present said they attended canvasses nearly every week, and remarked upon the interesting conversations they’d had on people’s doorsteps, not just in this election cycle but
also in previous ones. Students also remarked on the break that canvassing provided from work and university life. Luke Hallam, Chair of the Cambridge University Liberal Association said, “it’s always rewarding to break out of the bubble and see the real Cambridge-where people live, their communities. It gives you a new perspective on things. “You occasionally get invited in for a
cup of tea... People often like talking to young people especially, and it gives a sense that what we are fighting for actually matters, and that people are relying on the Lib Dems to fight for the environment, for Europe, for equal rights and proper funding of our services “This election feels particularly special and everything is up for grabs. News page 6 ▶
Inside ● Justin Timberlake & my finite existence Pg.12 ● A Jewish case for Labour Pg.14 ● Got hiccups? Pg.16