Message of support from the Dept of Philosophy, Logic, and Scientific Method

Message of support from the Dept. of Philosophy

Here is a message of support from the Department of Philosophy, Logic, and Scientific Method. A big "Thank You" to all who signed it! It goes:

We in the Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method would like to express our support for the LSE student occupation, which opposes the proposed package of radical reforms to further and higher education. These reforms will see the tripling of tuition fees for students in England, extreme cuts to undergraduate teaching budgets nationwide – including a total withdrawal of LSE’s block teaching grant – and the complete removal of the Education Maintenance Allowance.

Our solidarity with the occupation is two-fold. First of all, there is the issue of how universities are to be funded. The proposed substitution of the block teaching grant with revenue from undergraduate tuition fees is tantamount to subjecting higher education to market forces, which will allow the government to look the other way while arts and humanities courses are forced to close due to lack of funding. The proposals for special state protection of STEM subjects reveals bias in the coalition government’s academic priorities, and belies their alleged confidence in the market to keep arts and humanities departments afloat.

Secondly, there is the issue of student access. Under the proposals in the Browne report, graduates of three-year courses will leave university with debts approaching £40,000. (The poorest 18,000 students, who under the current proposals are set to receive unsatisfactory state bursaries, will still leave with debts of over £30,000.) We expect that, in the face of such financial disincentives, students from low-income backgrounds will be disproportionately discouraged from attending university. Self-deselection in undergraduate applications on these grounds will lead to an unacceptable distortion of the socio-economic makeup of the student body. The removal of the Education Maintenance Allowance will make this situation significantly worse: it will prevent the poorest able school-leavers from continuing on to A-level courses, and obtaining the necessary qualifications for a university place.

We credit the students of the occupation for their proactive organizing and continued dedication to forestalling the proposed changes, and wish them all the best for Thursday’s protest and beyond.

Signed:

Pablo García Arabéhéty
Professor Luc Bovens
Professor Nancy Cartwright
Adam Caulton
Dr Franz Dietrich
Dr Karin Edvardsson-Björnberg
Johannes Himmelreich
Jeroen Jonker
Professor Christian List
Becky Matthams
Maria Paz Mendez Hodes
Dr Kristina Musholt
Claire O'Donnell
Dr Armin Schulz
M D Sheren
Andrew Simon
Dr Katie Steele
Natalia Villalpando-Paez
Dr Charlotte Werndl
Prof John Worrall