Jess Hindley

The reality of the radical university

There is an idea shared by many people that universities are naturally radical spaces. As a politically active person, I was excited to come to university, get involved with radical student politics and make a difference. Soon after I arrived at my old university, I was disappointed. The Student’s Union seemed to represent the views of management instead of the views of students. I was sick of hearing things like “that’s just the way things are” and “there’s no money for that”. After six months at university, I had given up on the idea of the radical student movement that I had been promised.

Then in 2020, COVID hit. Legally we had to leave our accomodation halfway through the second term and we weren’t allowed back for third term. Management still wanted us to pay rent for rooms that we couldn’t use. A group of students came together with the renters’ union ACORN to lead a rent strike and demand that students not have to pay for their third term rent. I took part but honestly didn’t expect it to work because I had no faith in the effectiveness of student politics. I was wrong. The rent strike resulted in a 100% rent cut for those who had fully moved out and an 80% cut for those who had moved out but still had belongings in their flat. That rent strike saved me thousands of pounds and restored my faith in student politics. This was the moment I realised that if I wanted real change, it wasn’t going to happen through the official channels, it was going to happen through grassroots activism.

*My picket line speech on the struggles of student renters*

The next academic year, university management enticed students back to their accomodation with the promise of in-person teaching but they failed to deliver it. Many students understandably stayed at home, but they still had to pay rent for accomodation which they weren’t using. It was time for another rent strike and this time I was part of the organising team. This rent strike was massively successful, having over 1300 participants at its peak. Over time, we managed to force university management to reduce the rent. First, we got concessions of £400, then £800, and then eventually £1200 for those students living away from campus. This rent strike was my first involvement with direct action, and I’ve never looked back.

When I came to Queen’s I immediately noticed the same problems here. University management voted over the winter break to increase accomodation fees and postgraduate tuition fees. As a postgraduate student living in Queen’s accomodation I know how disgusting this is. Taking my tuition and rent away from my student loan leaves me with -£2000. It is unjustifiable to take even more money away from students, especially in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis.

*Student demonstration against the accommodation fee increase*

University management are exploiting students and the SU has completely failed to fight back against that exploitation. When there is something as important to students as stopping or reversing an increase in accommodation fees during a cost-of-living crisis, you have to find a way to make it happen. If official channels fail, as they often do, you do not just give up, you find a way to succeed outside of those channels. As the Rent Strike Co-Ordinator of the Solidarity Action Network, I can say that if management do not their reverse their decision to increase accommodation fees, we will be leading a rent strike until they are forced to reverse it.

I recognise that the Covid rent strike wave skipped Queen’s but I can tell you from experience that rent strikes really work and management are terrified of them. If you have lost your faith in the effectiveness of student politics, I hope that the rent strike restores it – just like it did for me three years ago. It is important to remember that universities are not naturally radical spaces – we have to make them radical.

To see all the candidates running, visit the Queen’s SU website

SU23 - Jess Hindley for Welfare officer