#Myartsdegree changed the course of my life. My father dying in my final year of school coupled with my dyslexia led to me failing my HSC in spectacular fashion. After working in sales and in factories I gained entry to @UNSW to study industrial relations and politics. 1/
The fee hikes are shortsighted, illogical, won’t achieve their stated purpose and are unfair for those students looking to commence their studies. But they are only the beginning. 2/
Higher education, whether it be in the arts STEM, law, business, the professions or any other area is valuable. But it’s not valued. Our sector was in a mess years before COVID hit. 3/
Many academic and professional staff forced into damaging insecure work while billions were spent on buildings, executive salaries and consultants - in part with the aim of attracting the international students that have now disappeared. 4/
Universities that offer a broad range of disciplines, all valuable, where, crucially, teaching is informed by scholarship, are not only part of the foundations of our society but are the key to a prosperous future. Yet we must now defend the very idea of a university. 5/
It can’t be left to students and staff. VCs are a powerful & important voice in national debates & the communities their universities serve. Rather than compete with each other they must focus on defending universities and fixing the sector’s core issues 6/
Rather than endless restructures and casualisation. We need to work towards rebuilding a post-pandemic higher education sector around some key values: 7/
Secure, decent jobs so people can thrive rather than be in constant anxiety, education accessible to all, a vibrant and diverse sector - all while holding to the principles that come to mind when we think about universities at their best 8/
Such as students being taught by experts in their field, groundbreaking research being produced, universities holding up a critical mirror to society, & the lives of working class kids, Indigenous students, people from rural and regional areas, being changed for the better 9/
After #Covid19AU caused a crisis in higher education like never before, it’s now clear we’ll have the biggest fight we’ve ever had for what our future sector looks like. And we need to organise to build the power we need for it. 10/
Share this petition. Ask someone to join the union. Make sure there’s a delegate in your workplace. Be part of the actions in the weeks & months ahead. megaphone.org.au/petitions/educ… 11/11
