Losing the plot
The portering crisis which is currently sweeping campus provides further evidence that the University is losing sight of both its students and its staff in pursuit of commercial gain. The closures are the result of the loss of fifteen porters, most of whom resigned following a protracted dispute with University management over what are widely seen as cost-cutting measures.
The crisis might appear at first sight like an occasion for limited hubris, as the University is forced to accept that it cannot go on bullying its staff indefinitely. However, the reality is that students’ welfare is being affected, as Ken Batten and Keith Lilley continue to fortify themselves against any kind of accountability for the ruthless closure of half the University’s porters lodges. At a time when students’ safety on campus is under close scrutiny, it seems self-evident that security needs to be vigilantly maintained, not withdrawn.
To add insult to injury, Nightline, the student-ran campus telephone counselling service, has been unable to operate since the sudden closure of Goodricke porters lodge a week ago, its volunteers having been unable to gain access to their office. This has left unknown numbers of students without the listening ear through the night that they may have come to rely on. And, to top it off, all this comes on top of proposals for sweeping budget cuts, which it is predicted will result in a further drop for York in the University league tables, many of which factor facilities spending into their ratings.
So, if the University has lost sight of its staff, its students’ welfare, and their education to boot, what has it left to live for? Commerce is the only remaining answer, which perhaps explains why a staggering thirty percent of proposed development on Heslington East is earmarked for commercial, not academic, purposes.
Correction
Nightline has not been closed during the recent problems with portering, and continues to offer valuable help to students. In addition, Nightline does not provide ‘counselling’, it is a listening and information service.
You can contact nightline both by phone and also by email at nightmail@york.ac.uk. You can also visit nightlines website at www.york.ac.uk/student/nightline.
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon
The bullying of academics (and students) follows a pattern of horrendous, Orwellian elimination rituals, often hidden from the public. Despite the anti-bullying policies (often token), bullying is rife across campuses, and the victims (targets) often pay a heavy price. “Nothing strengthens authority as much as silence.” Leonardo da Vinci - “All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men [or good women] do nothing.” Winston Churchill.