Brian Roper Resigns!

Our poll indicated it, thousands of angry staff and students demanded it and now I can confirm that Brian Roper has resigned from his post as Vice Chancellor of London Metropolitan University.

Details are still unconfirmed so check back soon for more information!

www.socialistparty.org.uk

Proposal to lift cap on fees

So it seems that the powers that be have decided that as the next decade is already set to be plagued with debt for those already resident in the workplace, why not take it one step further and ruin the financial future of a generation of students.

There is currently a cap on tuition fees which means that institutions can't charge full time, native English students over £3,145 a year. However Vice Chancellors across the country have decided that they need more money to run their establishments and want to target their students to get it. Most Universities seem to be in agreement that they should be allowed to charge between £5000 and £7000 per year, however, some are leaning more towards figures up to £20,000.

Any figure in this range would undoubtedly deter a huge amount of aspiring teenagers from entering higher education, dramatically crushing the career potential of an entire generation.

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Image taken from www.dailymail.co.uk

London Met Update

The issue of London Met's funding cuts is still far from being resolved and as Roper is still refusing to accept blame or responsibilty for his 'mistakes' action will continue to be taken.

A demo will take place outside the Commercial Road building, City Campus, on Wednesday the 18th at 4PM to coincide with the emergency Board of Governers meeting which is being held. In these situations numbers matter, so spread the word and bring as many people as possible.

Also the letter writing campaign to various MP's is still ongoing, if you have not yet signed one of these letters then come to Central House on Tuesday the 24th between 1 and 2pm. The documents have already been produced, all you need to do is put your signature on them. There needs to be a massive wave of support on this front as our local MP's are responsible for raising issues in Parliament.

And finally, a mass demonstration is being organised to take place before the end of the semester. It is still uncertain if this will occur in the form of a march, a protest or an all out occupation so check back soon for more details.

www.socialistparty.org.uk

Corrective Rape for South African Lesbians.....

This obviously isn't just a Socialist issue however, as the government in South Africa are turning a blind eye to such offences perhaps it's time other countries got involved. There is a desperate need to educate and prosecute the ignorant rapists of the area, yet nobody seems to want to do it. These men (read soul-less rapists) genuinely believe that by forcing sexual intercourse on a lesbian woman they can 'cure' her of her 'disease'. An idea that is being perpetuated by an apathetic leadership and incompetant criminal justice system.

Across the Country, women have been reporting cases of homophobic induced rape alongside similar abuse and general discrimination, yet it appears nothing is beng done to prevent it or address it. The National prosecuting authority of South Africa bluntly stated recently that hate crimes of a sexual nature, although rife, are not on their list of priorities right now, even though research has shown that 86% of lesbians in the country live in fear of being raped.

Zakhe Sowello, a lesbian from Soweto, told the Telegraph, 'Every day I am told they are going to kill me, that they are going to rape me and after they rape me I'll become a girl, when you are raped you have a lot of evidence on your body but when we try and report these crimes nothing happens, and then you see the boys who raped you walking free on the street'.

It is estimated that 500,000 women are raped every year in South Africa, an estimation that could be higher due to a large amount of attacks occuring unreported. Thirty one lesbian women have also been murdered in the past decade souly because of their sexual orientation, even though South Africa became the first African Country to permit Gay Marriage in 2006.

Rape in South Africa is also occuring unnecessarily and ignorantly as many HIV infected men believe that having sex with a virgin will cure them of their disease....

It's time the World Powers provided better education and protection for these people to stop such amazingly ridiculous crimes occuring anymore.

www.socialistparty.org.uk

Meeting today! - LMU

London Met Funding Cuts.....

13:00 - Calcutta House - Room CM4-18

Be there to support your University!!

www.socialistparty.org.uk

Building Support For Socialism

This week the Socialist Party meeting will take place at the Head Quarters in Leytonstone at 19:30 on Thursday the 12th, the topic for discussion will be how to generate support and raise awareness for the cause.

With the recession continuing to hold the country in a less than favourable economic climate there is an increasing number of people shaking off their apathy and seeking an alternative to the system. Socialist solutions are undoubtedly the alternative to the Capitalist crisis.

The teachings of Karl Marx are becoming progressively more applicable to every day life and his philosophies are appearing more relevant in the minds of the masses. The discussion and debate this week will be centred around his ideas and their relevance in addition to how they can be applied to inspire a new wave of supporters.

Also, the National Congress will be taking place from Saturday the 14th to Monday the 16th of March. Delegates have already been assigned to speak on behalf of the London branches however, all are welcome to attend as visitors. More information will be available at the meeting on Thursday!

www.socialistparty.org.uk

March to End Violence Against Women!!

A group of women advoacting an end to domestic and other sorts of violence, known as 'Million Women Rise', have joined forces with other various Women's groups to organise a national demonstration against male orientated violence.

The Rally will begin at 12PM on Sunday the 8th of March at Portman Square, W1H and a march will commence through Oxford Street, Regent Street and Piccadilly, ending with a rally at Waterloo Place from 14:30-17:30.

Last years event saw 5000 people take to the streets to demonstrate comeradeship and opposition to the treatment of women, by men, worldwide. It was recorded as the largest demo of it's kind throughout history in the UK and this year is set to be just as well attended!

Come along and show your support for women everywhere!

www.socialistparty.org.uk

International Women's Day

This Saturday (the 7th of March) will mark the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day, an event orginally created to commemerate a strike by female workers in 19th Century America.


This years event will run from 12 noon until 17:00 in the Fener Brockway room at Conway Hall, Red Lion Square. Admission will be £2.00 waged and £1.00 unwaged.


Throughout history women have fought oppression to seek equal rights and greater opportunities, most notably the example of Rosa Luxemburg in the early 20th century. During the day there will be talks and discussions about her life, beliefs and politics which will be accompanied by a short film.


Discussion about the current capitilist crisis and job losses will also take place. All are welcome!

www.socialistparty.org.uk

London Met Update

Yesterday, Richard Coogan's 'prediction' (see 'Day of action at LMU' post) of the number of staff to be cut was confirmed. One in four staff are set to be dismissed from the University over a period of time which is at the moment unknown. This amounts to 550 full time staff and possibly more part time lecturers. The immediate effect that this will have on the University will be chaos.

With 25% of the work force gone, classes could become bigger, less structured, or in some cases, stopped altogether. The reputation of LMU as an institution could also come under question. I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that I would like my completed degree to mean something in the real world and not be associated with a University that was in any way not up to standards.

The students deserve better and the staff certainly don't deserve to take the fall for Brian Roper's 'mistakes'.

Check back soon for the next course of action.

www.socialistparty.org.uk

Tomorrow - 2PM

A Saudi trade Unionist and Socialist member has come under threat of deportation today as his application for asylum has been turned down. There will be a protest outside the Home Office, at 2PM tomorrow, to show support and contest this decision.

More on this story can be found by clicking here.

www.socialistparty.org.uk

Day of Action at LMU

Today students and staff joined forces to raise awareness about the proposed funding cuts at LMU. The offensive was strategically timed to coincide with the Student Activities Fair in order to generate as much interest as possible. Those active on the campaign set up stalls outside the front of each building, here they collected signatures, handed out leaflets and generally informed the masses of what is going on behind closed dooors.



Upstairs, in the Activities Fair itself, we had an information stall set up to reiterate the point of the campaign and also to promote some of our own issues i.e upcoming protests. There was a lot of support built up with several new members joining the party and many more requesting further information.

North Campus sported the biggest collection of lecturers demonstrating against the cuts, all of whom had a lot to say about the 'mishap' threatening their jobs.

Yaz Djebbour, lecturer of Quantitive Methods and Information Systems, is adamant that the job cuts will 'ruin education in North London' and that a reduction in staff 'will mean less elective classes being run, less support being offered and in some cases whole courses being eliminated'.

Retired lecturer, Richard Coogan, was happy to share his opinions and ardently commented that a Union meeting that was due to take place a few hours after the demonstration would confirm that 250 jobs are set to go by July with a further 300 following next year.

Information regarding the meeting has still not been confirmed however it is obvious to see that tensions are rising and discontent growing. It is becoming apparent that more and more people are now aware of the problem and exactly which Vice Chancellor is responsible for it.

www.socialistparty.org.uk

Campaign To Defeat Fees!

As the economic climate worsens it has become increasingly apparent that the British Banks are not the only ones affected. The crisis has proceeded to steal jobs from the masses and is now seeping into our education system.

Many students rely on part time jobs to supplement their loans whilst at University however, with an unprecedented amount of companies closing down each week these jobs are becoming ever harder to find.

The campaign to defeat fees is calling for an end to all tuition costs as well as suggesting that the government sets up a scheme to assist those who are having financial difficulties, therefore preventing the need to drop out!

Also, this year the governement have announced that they will be reviewing the limit on what Universities can charge their students, some even claiming that institutions should be allowed to charge whatever they want - even reaching into the tens of thousands. The campaign for fees will fight back against this!

Join the National Protest on 25th Febuary - SOAS, Central London at 12 Noon

Fight for your future and claim back your University!

www.socialistparty.org.uk

Funding Cuts at LMU - Day of Action!

Outside the front of every London Metropolitan University building on Wednesday the 18th of Febuary there will be a demonstration to show support against proposed funding cuts. Join in with Students and Staff from 12:00 - 14:00!

The demonstration aims to build support as the future of LMU comes under question. HEFCE (The Higher Education Funding Council) has decided to reclaim grants they have now decided LMU wasn't entitled to which spells out a huge financial crisis for everyone involved.

The error in funding, which has been ongoing since 2005, appears to be 'an honest error' from our very own Vice Chancellor.

In order to reclaim the money which was wrongly given, HEFCE has decided to firstly cut the teaching grant by a minimum of £15 million per annum, starting this year, and secondly to demand repayment of approxiamately £38 million!

The LMU Vice Chancellor, Brian Roper, has decided that to raise this money he has no choice but to make huge staff reductions, those of which are set to result in the loss of at least 330 jobs by July of this year.

Roper comments that "LMU's prime consideration is to ensure a continued ability to deliver a high quality education to all current and future students", he then goes on to say that he intends '"all current students will be able to finish their courses/studies with the University".

Whether these promises will materialise to anything is still unclear however, when taken into consideration that Roper has tripled his own salary since 2005 to a total of £300k, it seems that the students best interests aren't as close to his heart as his own income.


For related stories and other news, visit www.socialistparty.org.uk