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LATEST NEWS - CARDIFF TAKES A STAND ON TUITION FEES
National Demo - Sunday October 29thTeam Cardiff lead the way at the National Demo in London. We took two coaches up to take part. A sunny London afternoon played host to a 10,000-strong march through Westminster culminating in a rally in Trafalgar Square. After speeches from the likes of NUS President, Gemma Tumelty and political icon Tony Benn, the Cardiff Sabb team performed their theme, Freelove Feeway.
President Joe Al-Khayat, Vice President Ed Jones and AU President James Woodroof sang before the cheering thousands at the request of the NUS.
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Cardiff's Freelove Feeway, Trafalgar Square
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THE CAUSE
Thanks largely to the Cardiff's Duck Off Fees campaign of 2004, the Welsh Assembly Government agreed to pay £1800 for every student coming to Cardiff from England. As of next year, this subsidy will disappear, meaning that all English students will have to pay the full £3,000 top-up fee. This means a 250% rise in the cost of tuition. If the price of a pint went up by that degree and cost £4.40 this time next year, or a ticket to watch your football team went from £35 to £87.50, you wouldn't stand for it. We must tell the Assembly Government that this is unacceptable.What's more, the people who run Britain's universities are trying to persuade the government in Westminster to remove the £3,000 cap on the top-up fee, meaning that universities like Cardiff could charge £10,000+ each year just for the course. The impact this would have on levels of student debts would be enormous.
Already, average graduate debt for 2005 entrants is likely to be £20,000. Even without top-up fees being introduced, by 2023, average graduate debt is forecast to be nearly £44,000. If we lift the cap, graduate debt will surely exceed these levels and make some institutions unaffordable to all but the wealthiest.
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Cardiff's Freelove Feeway - the band
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CAMPAIGNING
Admission: Impossible seeks to highlight the effects of the new policy of top-up fees which is deterring potential students from going to university. By doing this we are preparing for our next big battle - the fight against the government and Vice Chancellors' moves to raise the cap on top-up fees. The vote in 2004 that resulted in top-up fees was won by only five votes. This means if three more MPs had voted in our favour, fees would have been banished - this was the closest the Government ever came to a defeat whilst holding its landslide majority. We can prevent the raising of the cap on tuition fees, it will be no easy task but we know we can win especially if we start now.MPs are still on our side; we just need to demonstrate that this is an important issue for students. By bombarding MPs and vice chancellors with requests for support, and by hitting the streets of London in protest against fees, we will illustrate the strength of feeling around this issue. Sidestepping the topic will be unavoidable, and fees will return to the top of the political agenda where they belong.
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National Demo, Trafalgar Square
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HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN DO
Sign up now- Write to your MP telling him or her why you're against top-up fees and asking them to support NUS' campaign
- Let the Vice Chancellor know where you stand
For more information or to get involved, contact Ed Jones, Vice President at jonese23@cardiff.ac.uk or 029 2078 1411
