Last updated: 13/05/08
Lower rents now

Students from the University of St Andrews have protested the closure of one of the university’s budget halls of residence.

On May 2 around 150 students joined the demonstration against the closure and demolition of Fife Park.

Despite a replacement hall being planned, protesters from the Lower Rents NOW! campaign are unhappy with the announcement that rents in the new block will be double that of Fife Park rising from £52 to between £110 and £130 per week. Campaigners claim this will dramatically increase the price of private accommodation and have a negative effect on social diversity at St Andrews which already has a reputation for exclusivity and elitism.

The protest was sparked when a petition on the closure signed by 1,000 students was presented to the university by the students’ association and rejected.
This action appeared to get the attention of the university administration. In addressing the assembled students University Rector, Sir Simon Pepper OBE, said “Your views are being heard.”

The Lower Rents NOW! campaign has received overwhelming support from the students’ association. Former SRC Representative for University Accommodation James Pollard, who recently resigned said, “I think this movement has shown its strength by being able to mobilise students in St Andrews without the vast institutional resources or funding that we might have hoped for”.

Terry Fulton, Representative for Postgraduate Accommodation, “The university’s decision to demolish Fife Park will undoubtedly increase the cost of private accommodation in a town that already has the third-highest cost of living for students in the UK. This will decrease social diversity and make it even harder for students to study than it already is.”

Campaigners claim that the University of St. Andrews administration has become increasingly hostile to both its lecturers and its students in recent years. They cite a comment from Deputy Principal Keith Brown at an SRC meeting on March 25, in response to how he intended to increase student involvement in university decisions, where he said, “The university is not accountable to its students - and nor should it be”.

The group are now calling for further action to put pressure on the university over the closure.

by Mary Stott