Apparently the students were pretty pissed off about the recent tuition hike which now states that an increase in annual university tuition fees will hit a maximum of 9,000 pounds – about $14,000 USD – yearly, though the fees are covered by government student loans and only have to be paid back once students are earning at least $33,100.
They were so angry that they broke a window on the vehicle, doused the car with white paint, and screamed a chant of, ‘Off with their heads!’ … Thanks for the dramatics, for real.
I guess my question is – what the hell are these kids bellyaching about? You want to go to college and you can’t scrape by on grants and scholarships, what do you expect is going to happen? Dun-dun-dun … student loans. Yeah, university costs are sometimes ridiculous, but it’s kind of a supply-and-demand kind of thing. If cost is going to be a problem for you down the road, here’s my suggestion – DON’T FUCKING GO. Most people I know (uh, myself included) have to pay student loans monthly (let’s try four hundred a month, for starters) and don’t make dick their first year out of college. Or their second. Or sometimes even their third or fourth. And you know what? That’s life, baby.
I guess these kids didn’t get the memo that Britain is supposed to be the ‘Land of Good Manners.’
you can’t just dismiss things by saying “that’s life”.
i live in sweden and here there is no such thing as tuition, so no, it’s not just life.
education is a good place for governments to invest in, and raising tuitions only serves to broaden social gaps in a society.
I agree. Just because fees are extortionate in America doesn’t mean that the same principle should apply in the UK. Education will become elitist and that’s not right.
I’m at university in the UK and now have to decide if I can afford to do a postgraduate degree which I always believed I would be able to do.
So get lost for saying that people have nothing to complain about.
Exactly Dalia – I live in Denmark and we have free
education as well. I study at the University og Copenhagen and the Danish government even supports students by paying us a fixed amout monthly reffered to as SU (which translates to “the States student support”). We pay higher taxes which allows everyone – inspite of their socioeconomic bagground – to get a
further education, to get free medical care and so forth. Basically the Scandinavian welfare model is designes to make sure everybody has equal opportunities, whether coming from rich or poor families. Whether you go to Uni doesn’t depen on the amount of money in your bank account or whether you’re willing to loan massive amounts of money – it depends on your grades. Everybody stands an equal chance to make something of themselves. Of course one should always protest in a decent and non-violent matter, but I can easily understad why the students in England would be upset and why they would want to fight for another system. If a certain group within society feels mistreated of course their reaction shouldn’t be “that’s life” – one must stand up for one’s rights. I believe they pay about 33 % in taxes in the UK, whereas in Denmark we pay about 60 % (the higher salary the more you pay in taxes). Naturally, when you pay more in taxes you expect a higher amount of service from the state, free Education, free medical help and so forth.
It’s actually a huge deal, I went to university in 97 I was there for 4 years, I did not have to pay for the course and got about £1000 a year grant for living costs which was topped up by a student loan. The year that started after me had to pay £1000 towards their course but no grant but a bigger loan.
So now they have to pay up to £9000 for the course plus living costs which means that they will finish their degree with over £36,000 worth of dept and they haven’t got a job yet! That’s a huge burden to someone who may have only ever been up to £200 in dept before and has to save to buy any thing. Some people are not used to having to deal with that amount of money.
England is built on the premise that Education is a right not a privilege, so the fact that money (to us the unmentionable subject) gets in way we find offensive. We were one of the first countries in the world with a welfare state, we have our problems like any country but this is something that has been going rotten over the last 20 years.
To put it in context if you went to university in 92 you didn’t pay for your course and the government gave you about £3000 a year to live on so you didn’t have to work to survive and could concentrate on your studies.
I think it’s a poor state of affairs, but as always violence is not the answer. It’s fair to say that the current government will not get re-elected.
The current government WILL get re-elected, because the notion that the government OWES you something must come to an end. The spending has gotten to ridiculous levels and people need to realize the piper has to be paid.
well no offense evil beet writer, but I live in britain and the if the money does actually go up that much then I wont be able to go to university because I won’t be able to afford it.I don’t just want to do something else- for many young people going to university is a reachable dream.If this happens,It wont be.
Fuck you Sarah, why should university only be attended by the rich? Your American view of the British education system is incredibly elitist.
No, FUCK YOU Anonny. Maybe you need to study economics and learn the concept of THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A FREE LUNCH.
it’s not free, everyone pays higher taxes and then there’s lunch for everyone.
Chuck seeing as most UK students are already putting themselves into debt with student loans that take them years to pay off after they finish their schooling, I have a hard time seeing how the lunch was ever free in the first place.
Now wait a minute! Don’t say American view. I’m an American and I do not hold that jackasses view. There are lots of Americans who do not like the way our education and health systems work at all. Those students should be protesting! Hell, students should be protesting here too!
ALSO the reason that there are protests is because the Liberal Democrat party, who promised to vote against the fee change before they came into power, have voted for the change now they are in some sort of power. They are a disgusting, power hungry group of people.
Unfortunately (and in no way am I condoning this rise of tuition) that is the sad sad truth once the government party is elected.
Can’t tell you how many times Canada has suffered because of Liberals/Conservatives and their so-called “promises”.
I attend university in Canada. Yes there are scholarships to receive but at the end of the day I am still paying an excess of 20 000 dollars a year for undergrad (living costs included) and more if i consider post graduate education. While I understand that it is terrible to see tuition go up by any amount, British students should still be thankful that they are still paying less than those in Canada and the United States. I also understands Sarah’s anger, student loans are no joke, and they are often the start of some pretty hefty debt accumulation.
that’s a really silly thing to say, sorry. but, the notion that people should be more accepting to their fate just because someone else has a worse deal? that doesn’t make any sense.
in sweden women earn 80% of the mens wage, but in the middle east only 50%. so, should we be thankful for our 80% or should we be outraged that it’s not 100% equal?
Sarah’s article stated that YEARLY tuition fees in the UK will go up to around $14,000.00 USD. If you’re only $20,000 in debt with a four year degree from a Canadian university, tuition and living costs included, you’re paying less than a quarter of the proposed increases for British students.
Lastly, I’m also from Canada and know many students finishing with far more debt from a four year bachelor degree than $20,000- good for you for managing to keep it so low.
she said 20K a year.
You know there is this idea out there that education actually is something that should be open to everybody who is willing and able to learn. With unaffordable tuition fees you keep the university level education only open to the ones born into rich(er) families. Why should the family you come from determine your (academic) future?
Yes, universities cost a huge ammount of money and somebody has to pay. I strongly believe that mass-education helps societies. Well-educated people are hugely important for a strong economy. In my opinion most of the students will pay their debt from society back by working later and doing their share. Most will make more money thanks to their education and pay more taxes.
I agree with Katherine – I’m going to struggle to get a decent education in a year and a half unless something serious is done about these tuition fees. It’s easy for someone who lives in a different country, who probably already has a college education to look at us and just shrug it off as ‘That’s life.’ Without university, we are pretty much doomed to second-rate jobs. It’s our future, which believe it or not, is a pretty big deal to us. We have a right to be upset that the government is taking our right to an education so that they can inadvertently pay off their own expenses.
I am going to one of the first year of students affected by the raises in tutition fees in Britain and i think it’s rather narrowminded to just dismiss the tripling of university fees as ‘that’s life’. The liberal democrats were publicly very much against tuition fees and students feel betrayed that now they are in power they have completely dismissed the their previous position . In England education is supposed to be a right and the system should not discriminate against those who may not be wealthy enough to afford the top universities.
Agreed, well said :)
Sarah, I gotta say… I completely disagree with you lol
Being a uni student myself right now, I am plummeting myself into debt every second. I try and get as many grants as I can, but it’s fucking expensive either way.
And you know what else? Since I will hopefully graduate in English and want to become a teacher, THAT itself is a problem because there are no jobs for me here.
I dont believe in saying “DONT FUCKING GO” because Education is a right and a necessity for an individual. I believe in the process of post-secondary education, but the fees are getting ridiculous. It’s a corrupt business.
What’s going on in England with student fees at the moment is appalling, it is life yes but that doesn’t make it fair or right. It is also protesting against the cut of EMA, an allowance which gives sixth form students from less well off backgrounds to actually afford going to college.
This and the fact that this is going to affect women far more than it will affect men in terms of how long it takes to pay off the debt. Not to mention the fact that the fees are set to rise more for social sciences and arts more than they are for courses such as economics and maths means that again women will be the ones suffering the most. Speaking as a feminist here, that is NOT good.
Coupled with the fact that students (myself included) are and will continue to have to pay an increasing unfair amount to rectify the mistakes of another generation’s greedy, pathetic monetary mistakes. But I suppose that is all just ‘life’ and that we as a society should just roll over and accept what awful decisions the coalition makes?
Rant over. Oh and fuck you Sarah, we have every right to be angry.
Life is whatever society makes of it- and citizens are an important part of society, not just their elected officials. The tuition hikes are astronomic and will only serve to further polarize distribution of wealth and education in society. Anyone who thinks otherwise probably hasn’t examined privilege before.
I can see both sides of the argument. In response to some of the comments, while I admire the Swedish model and the awesome social benefits they enjoy, their country is also immensely different from ours. Our country has a much more diverse population of ethnicities, and racial conflict and historical racism play an enormous role in perpetuating the inequities that make our own welfare model somewhat ineffective. The American dream is readily attainable…..if you’re not from a low income community and minority background. Then things become significantly more complicated, and accessible, EQUITABLE education is the key. The UK students make a very good point about accessibility but hey – I go to UCLA and I come from a lower class family and I’m going to be paying loans out of my ass someday (aka 7 months from now). It sucks, but my education has still been attainable.
Actually i was there and you don’t know what your talking about, so be a dear and stfu. Student fees are a massive deal as they will detrimentally affect so many peoples lives and ultimately it will probably result in (poor) kids, like me, not going to uni and create further separations in the class system. Its not just about the fees, its about a coalition government (which could be argued doesn’t have a proper mandate) imposing ridiculous cuts on the most defenceless sects of society whilst the uber rich evade taxes. Also the deputy PM is a lib dem, who PROMISED throughout the election that he will get rid of fees altogether.
Also there were thousands of people at the protest being PEACEFUL and a very small minority being violent and we all felt a bit of police brutality. We were kettled for hours, police pushed and hit innocent people for no reason-obv they have to do their job but they went above and beyond that. So really its stupid that you are focusing on some stupid prince whose car got ruined when i know under 18s who got hit by the police for standing in the wrong place.
Just because your country lies down and accepts shit from the government doesn’t mean we will.
I think it was sweet of you to try and deal with global politics, but stick to calling people fat or skinny next time eh pumpkin?
Please do not attempt to write ‘witty’ pieces on issues that you clearly know nothing about. It is not only offensive to the people you are writing about (and no I do not mean the royal family) but also displays your complete and utter ignorance about anything outside of the celebrity sphere.
this is what happens when celebrity gossip writers attempt to write about things they have absolutely no clue about.
Clearly you haven’t a clue as to what’s going on, and quite frankly it’s incredible how you could even think that any of what you’ve written isn’t appalling. We have absolutely every right to be angry, and if you don’t know what’s going on, shut it.
While this article was a total turd, the behavior of these “students” is appalling. Trashing buildings and smashing stuff up screams immaturity. Why do you deserve an education if you behave like animals? (That’s not a blanket statement. I know the few make the whole look bad.)
On the other hand, having been educated in both the US (undergrad) and the UK (postgrad), I can definitely see the benefits of a free education, and I can definitely understand the anger towards a government that betrayed its promise to keep a higher education attainable to even the poorest of the poor.
As an American, I knew I was going to have to pay my own way, which I did (and 7 years later still am). I’m extra proud of my education because I paid for it myself (and still am!). Perhaps that’s just an American mind-set. I don’t know a single person who didn’t have to take out loans (except for the super smart who got full rides). However, if someone promised to fund my education and then decided that instead he was going to charge me more, I’d be pretty pissed, too.
Sarah, you’ve just confirmed what I thought — you’re a prick. Read everyone’s comments and shut up about stuff you don’t even know about. Massive prick.