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STUDENT EXPERIENCE THREAD
I started a google form this Tuesday after the government’s lockdown announcement when there was neither mention of support nor instruction for university students. I have had over 300 responses and the picture is bleak.
I started a google form this Tuesday after the government’s lockdown announcement when there was neither mention of support nor instruction for university students. I have had over 300 responses and the picture is bleak.
Being a student in the pandemic has been described as “cripplingly lonely”. Another said they “weren’t sure they wanted to make it to 2021” citing academic pressures, racist hate crime, and a lack of extra support from the uni.
Personally I feel ignored and disrespected; the general response to any student complaint being along the lines of “tough shit” - not good enough. Economic impacts have also been huge. WE have to pay rent for accommodation we are not legally allowed to be in,
and are STILL expected to be paying full fees. “Since the coronavirus my whole family has lost their jobs… the fact I have to go “online” for my lectures and seminars which cost me £9k+ is hurtful and demoralising”, was the testament of one student.
Academically, we are overworked and undereducated. Many haven’t had in-person teaching for almost a year. Contact hours have been quartered, content “cut by half”. Students are, consequently, suffering from a mental health epidemic.
Mentions of suicide, depression and anxiety are amongst these responses. One compared being a student to being “a number. I feel closer to a battery chicken than a person”. Yet, we are still being abandoned by the government.
What are we supposed to do? “WE are only noticed as a factor in this pandemic when we are being blamed” - the expert response of one student. To sum it all up: hear us. #forgottenstudents
@GavinWilliamson @cathynewman @krishgm @maitlis @lewis_goodall @eleanor_busby @seanjcoughlan @jessbrammar thread: forgotten students. please read and share! we really need change at the moment.
