{"id":219,"date":"2017-11-23T14:48:49","date_gmt":"2017-11-23T14:48:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/?p=219"},"modified":"2017-11-23T14:48:49","modified_gmt":"2017-11-23T14:48:49","slug":"the-rent-is-too-damn-high","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2017\/11\/23\/the-rent-is-too-damn-high\/","title":{"rendered":"THE RENT IS TOO DAMN HIGH"},"content":{"rendered":"

Visitors to campus in recent days may have been rather baffled by the amount of pasta being handed out to passers-by. Those in the know, however, may well have been pleased to see some protest activity from the Students\u2019 Union around an issue that clearly matters to students. The issue in question? On campus rents are set to increase by 4% – up to \u00a3249 per year – and LUSU officers highlighted the real terms of cost of this by setting up a stall with \u00a3249 worth of pasta (although we do wonder if \u00a3249 worth of beer might have been more relatable). <\/span><\/p>\n

In response to the uproar, the University released a very brief statement, citing the usual \u2018increasing costs\u2019 and the fact that we consistently are voted \u2018Best University Halls\u2019 in the National Student Housing Awards. And, incomparable though we are, the usual opportunity to point out that we are better than our comparator institutions (which are, of course, chosen by us and are subject to change). Oddly, the statement does not offer the usual defence that comes up, which is that our agreement with UPP requires us to increase our rents above the rate of inflation year on year.<\/span><\/p>\n

The institutional memory at any university is short, and by now the vast majority of students who were around in the 14\/15 academic year will have gone in an almost complete change of blood. That\u2019s a great shame, because it means that few are aware of the almighty year long war that raged between the SU and the University over a 2% rent increase – a series of protests that culminated in the first occupation of University House in over 2 decades, and forced the University\u2019s hand in getting back around the table with the SU to agree on how to approach rent increases in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was \u2018agreed\u2019 during these negotiations that there would be greater student representation on any bodies that discuss and implement rent increases, as well as greater consultation. That the SU has responded so viscerally to the rent increase suggests either that they weren\u2019t consulted, or that they weren\u2019t listened to. Indeed, the response from the SU should be commended, given that such information has historically been imparted to SU officers on a \u2018commercial in confidence\u2019 basis. LUSU\u2019s \u2018Pay More, Get Less\u2019 campaign highlights an increase in the cost of living, as well as a decrease in the block grant that they receive from the University to provide services to students. Couple this with the 2% cuts that all non-academic departments have had to make, as well as the multi-million pound risk that Lancaster is taking by involving itself in the ridiculous Gary Neville University and the costs of the campus redevelopment, and the message is clear – the University\u2019s wild spending on vanity projects and commercial adventures is being placed on the shoulders of students. The students are Lancaster\u2019s biggest single source of income, with around 47% of income coming from tuition fees in the last year for which records are available (15\/16). This percentage has steadily increased over the past years, but perhaps the continued expenditure on projects that seem to do little to improve things for students shows that top table is rather unashamedly ignoring this.<\/span><\/p>\n

The subtext collective wishes the SU well in its campaign, and we encourage our readers to involve themselves in it:\u00a0https:\/\/tinyurl.com\/y7umspov<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Visitors to campus in recent days may have been rather baffled by the amount of pasta being handed out to passers-by. Those in the know, however, may well have been pleased to see some protest activity from the Students\u2019 Union … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":568,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[141,123,20,139,131,140],"class_list":["post-219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-cost-of-living","tag-issue-169","tag-lusu","tag-pasta","tag-rent","tag-upp"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p99sHo-3x","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":709,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/09\/13\/the-students-union\/","url_meta":{"origin":219,"position":0},"title":"THE STUDENTS’ UNION","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"September 13 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"It all started so well for the Students' Union. In subtext 169 we reported on their campaign against an unnecessary rent increase of up to \u00a3249. To make their displeasure known, LUSU set up a stall and put \u00a3249 worth of pasta on display. A little gimmicky, we thought, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "history"","block_context":{"text":"history","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/history\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":207,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2017\/11\/23\/shart-attack-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":219,"position":1},"title":"SHART ATTACK","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"November 23 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"FROM: Mike M. Shart, VC, Lune Valley Enterprise University (LuVE-U). TO: Jacob Woolly, President, LuVE-U Student Experience Coordination Unit. CC: Hewlett Venkklinne, Lead Negotiator: External Cognizance. SUBJECT: Rent increases. Dear Jacob, Please see attached the official university response to the rent complaints. ** LuVE-U has some of the best student\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "shart attack"","block_context":{"text":"shart attack","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/shart-attack\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":726,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/09\/13\/fascism-on-campus\/","url_meta":{"origin":219,"position":2},"title":"FASCISM ON CAMPUS","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"September 13 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Centralisation and the erosion of accountability somewhat paled into insignificance when we learned that a small but vocal group of students were attempting to set up a society for fascists. *Ahem*, sorry - 'traditionalists.' Their Facebook page is full of the usual witless moaning about 'social justice warriors', complaints about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "history"","block_context":{"text":"history","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/history\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":842,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/11\/23\/snow-joke\/","url_meta":{"origin":219,"position":3},"title":"SNOW JOKE","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"November 23 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Contributed by Ronnie Rowlands. Readers of subtext will have been pleased to learn that Lancaster University is currently enjoying a flurry of coverage in the national press. Has Cary Cooper received another knighthood? Did someone devise a formula for the perfect twerk? 'Students face probe over t-shirts daubed with swastikas.'\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "contributed article"","block_context":{"text":"contributed article","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/contributed-article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":593,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/05\/24\/sheer-brass-balls\/","url_meta":{"origin":219,"position":4},"title":"BALLS UPDATE","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"May 24 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"A WHOLE NEW BALL GAME In subtext 176, we reported that the Students\u2019 Union had come under fire from students for what was perceived as a lacklustre Graduation Ball lineup and venue. With the event looking increasingly like a loss-making exercise, LUSU has now cancelled the event. This is unprecedented.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "news"","block_context":{"text":"news","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":397,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/03\/01\/special-report-scrutiny-mutiny\/","url_meta":{"origin":219,"position":5},"title":"SPECIAL REPORT: SCRUTINY MUTINY","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"March 1 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"subtext spent a large amount of the 15\/16 academic year remonstrating with the Students' Union and advising it not to implement its 'democratic review', an initiative which involved LUSU reviewing democracy and deciding it wasn't very good. LUSU subsequently abolished its council, and handed all of its power to two\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "news"","block_context":{"text":"news","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/568"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":220,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219\/revisions\/220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}