Petition Tag - university

[EDITED]

On Monday April 22, I was hand delivered a letter stating that the Director of the University of Waterloo Police, Daniel Anderson, is "banning me [Ethan Jackson] from all properties owned or operated by the University of Waterloo and the properties of affiliated colleges." If I am to "be found on the identified properties I will be charged under the authority of the Trespass to Property Act."

The reasoning of this letter is because, "You [Ethan Jackson] attended a presentation by Stephen Woodworth on March 13, 2013, at the University of Waterloo. Because of your actions on that evening, I am banning you from all properties [..]." This letter is vague and does not have a timeline of occurrences, whether or not this ban can ever be removed, or why I am the only attendee being targeting.

I am entering my fourth year at Wilfrid Laurier University in a Bachelor of Arts degree. I am a paying community member of WPIRG and plan on attending Fall 2013 courses within the Faculty of Arts of University of Waterloo as a Partnership between my university, Wilfrid Laurier University. This ban will not let me take courses at the University of Waterloo. I have not been given any clarification or reasoning as to why this ban is in place.

On the evening of March 13, a group of reproductive justice activists participated in a counter-rally against Stephen Woodworth's lecture on Motion 312. This Motion 312 attempts to redefine the language used for a foetus from the point of conception to the point of birth by giving the foetus full human rights. This is a fall backwards for women and transgender rights and reproductive rights. This call to ban me from the University of Waterloo is unjust, ignorant and unnecessary. They have not clarified any reason as to why I am banned and for how long this will remain in place. Without concrete evidence, I need your support to allow me back on the grounds of University of Waterloo.

READ MORE:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cQ7H1hPu3NqFNB85XP4jtkNHWZT1nBHnBIbxP-x4lqc/edit?usp=sharing

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As the national university of the Catholic Church, The Catholic University of America (CUA) has an exemplary role in upholding the moral principles of faith and reason. The policies and governances of CUA, including the various businesses that operate under her banner, witness in some way, for good or ill, to all citizens, but especially to her faculty and staff, students and alumni (hereafter “members”). In turn, CUA members have a unique obligation of living an exemplary life, modeled in part on the mission of the pontifical university. CUA acknowledges this obligation in her mission statement: “[The University’s] distinctive character ultimately depends on the intellectual and moral quality of its members.”

In view of this solemn declaration, we, the undersigned members of CUA, wish to question the prudence at work in allowing businesses to operate at our university which support causes that militate against the dignity of the human person. Starbucks Coffee is one such business.

It has been confirmed beyond a reasonable doubt that Starbucks uses revenue from its products and its platform as a nationally recognizable chain to support that which is gravely objectionable [1-3]. It is widely known, for instance, that the CEO of Starbucks advocates for both Planned Parenthood (the largest abortion provider in the United States) [1] and “gay marriage” legislation [2-3], stating, in fact, that the latter “is core to who we are and what we value as a company” [2]. Because both abortion and same-sex unions are deemed morally unacceptable by the Catholic Church (see CCC 2271 and CCC 2357-2359, respectively), permitting the sale of Starbucks products on campus is particularly unwise. It countenances the notion that CUA supports the practices of Starbucks and, what is more, it makes material cooperators of CUA members in the financing of gravely immoral acts.

A few have voiced concern that, if Starbucks were removed from the Przybyla Center, there would be no other means to purchase coffee on campus. The prospect of this difficulty could be easily remedied. There are many other coffee providers, fully competitive with Starbucks in products and services, that do not consider it necessary as a matter of corporate policy to support and advance causes inimical to Catholic moral teaching. Dunkin Donuts, whose coffee costs less and whose profit does not go to the promotion of immoral causes, is just one example. Even a student-run coffee shop has been proposed as a possible remedy. However, the discussion of the replacement for Starbucks is secondary to the purpose of this appeal. The issue before us is not a matter of convenience, but of principle. Can we continue to ignore Starbucks and its corporate positions on issues of vital moral concern? We can, but only to the detriment of those involved in or suffering the effects of abortion and same-sex activities, all those who mistakenly cooperate in the work of Starbucks, and those of us who have been privileged to know better.

It seems not only advisable, then, but imperative that The Catholic University of America takes all measures necessary to prevent the violation of her mission and faith, and, in consequence, the consciences of her members, by relinquishes her licensing agreement with Starbucks Coffee. It is not only our right, but our duty, as members of this community of Catholic scholars, to challenge any organization that exhibits its contempt for the created orders of life and marriage.

[1]: https://familycouncil.org/?p=4230
[2]: http://www.nomblog.com/20829/
[3]: http://money.cnn.com/2013/03/26/news/companies/starbucks-gay-marriage/index.html

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The University of Birmingham have announced plans to make 114 staff redundant or force them to work anti social hours contracts.

Staff directly supporting students and there wellbeing are affected.

Cuts include:
*Cut in staff looking after students in student accommodation and downgrading their skills;
*Sports Centre, Security and Cleaning.

The anti social hours contracts are forcing staff with caring responsibilities for children and parents to work evenings and weekends.

All the cuts are to frontline staff, not senior managers.

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CUHK REGISTERED STUDENTS ONLY

It's only February and the weather is already warm enough to go for a swim or take some laps in the morning. However, according to the officials of CUHK, the swimming pool won't open until the 1st of April.

We would like to ask that the swimming pool open immediately after Chinese New Year holiday.

We believe that if this petition got over a thousand signatures, officials should reconsider the opening day.

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College is more expensive now than at any point in history. Students need more information in order to make informed decisions.

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Discussion is on going regarding Starbucks taking over Zeste on Aberdeen University campus. There are a number of reasons to be against this move:

Ethical issues surrounding Starbucks - tax avoidance

What else are the University willing to privatise? Where is the line and who decides it?

There has been no consultation with students.

What about supporting independent traders and giving something back to the local community?

With regard to student experience do we really want a campus that just contains all the same stuff as every other campus, or do we want to retain our identity and uniqueness?

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Over the past few years university fees have been rising swiftly. In this year of 2012 many universitys have instituted fees up too £9,000 a year. Whereas in 2011, Universitys could only charge £3,290.

Sources:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/oct/12/tuition-fees-universities

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/mar/25/higher-education-universityfunding

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We, as academics and scientists, anxiously follow the recent cross-border incidents that have been taking place between Turkey and Syria. We may disagree about the particular dynamics of the turmoil in Syria; however, we strongly agree that any foreign intervention is not the answer.

We believe that military interference in Syria will contribute to the escalating tension between the countries in the region as well as among their international allies. Considering the disorder in Syria and the current fragile political balance in the region, we are tremendously concerned that these critical actions against Syria will lead to more casualties within the country and trigger further wars in the Middle East.

Wars kill people, destroy millions of lives and deteriorate living conditions of the poor and lower strata; but also demolish world’s cultural heritage, historical resources, and intellectual accumulation of thousands of years and leave permanent damage on public health and ecology. We witnessed, with sorrow, the most recent example of a cruel demolition of this sort during the occupation of Iraq.

Therefore, we object Turkey’s ongoing aggressive policy and any possible NATO operation in Syria. We are against any foreign operation that violates the Syrian people's right of self-determination. Herein, we call for world's attention to the wide-spread and strong anti-war sentiments of the people in Turkey, contrary to the deceitful representations of the international mainstream media.

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On Friday 21 September, a month ago, our canteen at the Utas Tasmania School of Art was closed without warning by Compass, the company that manages all commercial services for Utas.

They didn't offer any alternate sources for food and drink, relying instead on students paying for overpriced pies and seafood at fish punts for a month.

The staff at the Tasmania School of Art have made their voice heard that it's not acceptable, now it's time for students to do the same.

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The Callaghan Campus of the University of Newcastle has 24,652 students (980 of whom live on campus), 2,723 permanent staff and 2,478 part time staff. There are 8 doctors working in the University Health Service.

However, due to a peculiarity in the pharmacy approval rules it does not have a pharmacy on-campus to serve the needs of the students and staff.

In order to get a pharmacy on campus we must convince the Minister for Health that approving a pharmacy is in the public interest and that the university community is being left without reasonable access to Pharmaceutical Benefits and get her to exercise the Discretionary Power of approval.

Please sign the petition to show the minister your support!

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Parking at Curtin Uni (Bentley campus) has been an issue for some time. We propose that no student living within 5km of campus should be allowed to obtain parking (unless disability, medical, or other proven exemption reasons exist.)

Audits show:

There is ample public transport available in this 5km zone. There are many end-of-trip facilities available on campus (and these are proposed to be upgraded).
There is a free Curtin bus in surrounding suburbs (with proposed upgrades to routes.)

Restricting parking to only those students living further than 5km from campus will free up valuable parking spaces, and increase health of students by increasing physical activity.

Regardless of whether or not pay-as-you-go parking is implemented or permit parking remains, this restriction will be easy to implement as both systems require address registration before parking is granted.

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Recently, many colleges have been changing their rules to allow students to bring their pets into the dormitories, including many of our nation’s top colleges as well as many other women’s colleges.

Many studies support the idea that pets reduce stress and increase overall happiness, and different studies suggest that pets may aid students in doing better in school. With college being one of the most stressful times in our lives, we feel that the allowance of small pets in the dormitories should be established, as well as the designation of Pet Halls to allow for spayed/neutered, vaccinated cats and dogs in specific dorms.

The animals we want allowed in the dormitories are small mammals (hamsters, mice, rats, gerbils, chinchillas, ferrets, guinea pigs, etc.), certified non-venomous reptiles, and the increase of the aquarium limit to 20 gallons.

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Petition for an American Student Bill of Rights:

Students in the United States are blessed to have legal rights, freedoms and protections. These include constitutional, civil, contract, consumer rights and rights specific to higher education. They are scattered, however, through a number of legal documents and court decisions making it hard for students to find them.

Please sign this petition for the creation of a National Student Bill of Rights which clearly states what rights exist to protect students and how they are applied in institutions of higher education.

DO NOT JUST RECOMMEND THIS PETITION, SIGN IT!
It doesn't matter which country you live in or where you are from, please, show your support. Press the sign petition button at the bottom of the page. You have nothing to lose and students have everything to gain.

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Argument 1#

"Animal testing is vital to medical advancement".
This is completely untrue. Vaccinations have been produced for one of the most well-known and tragic type of illness; cancer. A vaccination against one type of cancer was tested on a small group of volunteers. As far as I am aware, none of the volunteers were harmed in testing process.

There are now so many charities that do not fund or conduct animal experiments, such as The Age-Related Diseases and Health Trust, that do not test on animals so it would be possible for the Alzheimer's Society to stop funding/conducting animal experiments. These organizations carry out their research on alternatives such as fake organs and computer models. Not only do these methods save thousands of animals, but some scientists also say that they are more reliable. If all scientists used these methods, more people would be saved.

Argument 2#

"Animal testing has saved thousands of lives, including those of diabetics".
Although animal-tested medicines have saved people before, these were mostly invented in the days when there were not as many alternatives to the use of animals. Even these could have been tested on volunteers and donated body parts.
Research into treatments for Diabetes was in fact held up by animal testing. If animal testing had of been banned 200 years ago, Diabetics would have benefited enormously. A doctor found out that Diabetes was linked to high and low amounts of sugar in peoples' diets by looking at the urine of Diabetics, not by performing animal experiments.

Argument 3#

"Lab animals are well-cared for and the scientists try to minimise their suffering".
Although there are laws to protect animals used in experiments, these laws are so poorly-enforced that they might as well not exist. Many of them exist only to protect scientists from animal cruelty charges. Scientists that work in these labs can, in most cases, legally: cut animals open, gas them, shoot them, burn them, drop chemicals into their eyes, irritate their skins, give them electric shocks, deprieve them of food, water and/or sleep, take them away from their mothers when they are too young and force-feed them chemicals. Animals may be forced to live in barren cages until they are either killed or die due to the experiments in which they are tortured.
Believe it or not, some people illegally kidnap animals to sell them for vivisection.

So if you have ever lost an animal companion, there is a risk that he or she might have been captured and sold for vivisection. Although most of the animals tortured are bred specifically for use in experiments, some of them are illegally taken from the people who love and care for them.

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The cost of textbooks required to pass tertiary courses has become increasingly unaffordable for the majority of students, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Two Thirds of students surveyed say there was an inadequate supply of textbooks available in their university library, which made it effectively compulsory for students to purchase them in order to pass their courses. -(NUS 2010 Education Quality Survey).
Providing equal opportunity to access core course materials for all students, regardless of their economic background, is essential for any university seeking to increase results and retention rates, which are goals held by La Trobe University.

The importance of access to these resources is of even more importance at universities like La Trobe, which actively target lower socio-economic areas as part of their strategy to increase enrolments.

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The condition of cycling facilities at La Trobe University has been too low for too long. Often cyclists who arrive on campus will not be able to find adequate or secure shelter for the their bikes, and are frustrated by the general lack of other facilities and support.

Only 2% of students currently cycle to university, far fewer than those who live close enough to do so. The La Trobe Student Union believes that the University must do more to improve the quality of facilities for cyclists, and attract more students to choose to ride to university.

This is also in the interests of students for whom riding is not a viable option, as increased cycling will reduce pressure on the parking and tram systems.

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This year, 2012, the La Trobe Student Union is lobbying the university to make improvements to accessibility and diversity of public transport across the board.

The LTSU believes that the provision of frequent shuttle buses to Macleod and Reservoir stations is an important and relatively low-cost measure which can be taken to improve accessibility to rail transport, and to relieve pressure upon the parking and tram systems.

Shuttle buses are already provided effectively by a number of other universities in Melbourne, and it is time that La Trobe moved decisively to improve the poor standard of public transport at the Bundoora Campus.

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The University of Birmingham are proposing to change the terms and conditions of all support staff by cutting the pay of support staff for working bank holidays, closed days and weekends and making them compulsory for many. New administrative staff have been placed on a 'any 5 day in 7' contract.

UNISON believes that these changes undermine staff's work life balance, health and well being and that these are important to both staff and the student experience

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Do you want to prevent a strike? Do you think that tutorial sizes are too large? Are more TAs needed in our labs? Do you support fair wages, working conditions, and benefits for your TA's, instructors, and invigilators?

Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 3903 -- representing teaching assistants, contract professors, graduate assistants, lab assistants, exam invigilators, and writing ...instructors -- are currently in collective bargaining with the University administration. Their demands include:

• smaller tutorial and lab sizes to improve the quality of undergraduate education
• maintaining financial support for underfunded graduate students
• job security for academic workers
• affordable education

As undergraduate students, we understand that the quality of education we receive in our classrooms depends on the working conditions of those instructing us. Our tutorials are too large, our labs are understaffed, and poverty-line wages keep our instructors from being able to fully commit to our education. We also understand that these conditions are the same ones that will be experienced by many current undergraduate students who, in the near future, will be applying to graduate school. As fellow students, we need to support members of CUPE 3903 in their efforts to make the York University a better place for all of us to study and work at.

Our TAs, instructors, lab assistants, exam invigilators, and writing instructors continue to ask for a reasonable and equitable contract. They continue to bargain in good faith, with every effort being made to prevent a strike. Unfortunately, the University administration has been unwilling to agree to a fair contract, and its disregard has led members of the union to vote 66% in favour of a strike mandate.

The employer is forcing a strike to occur by refusing to bargain with academic workers, and offer semi-decent wages and job security. This move has placed the entire University community in a precarious position.

Clearly, the University administration can no longer claim to have the best interests of students in mind.

Join this group and help towards preventing a strike by forcing the York University administration to give a fair contract for our teaching assistants, instructors, contract professors and other academic workers. The admin is forcing the current strike.

This Facebook group, built by the "Students in Support of CUPE 3903" campaign, will serve two purposes in the coming weeks:

- We will be giving immediate bargaining and strike updates on the state of negotiations. These updates will additionally serve to update members of the University community about class cancellations, about how to deal with specific issues pertaining to a potential strike (such as procedures for assignments), and about potential avenues for acquiring tuition rebates from the University in the case that a strike should occur.

- We will be organizing student support campaigns for members of CUPE 3903 who continue to strive to reach a fair deal with the York University administration, despite the latter's decision to walk away from negotiations and refuse to give workers a fair deal.

E-mail: students.solidarity.cupe3903@gmail.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/YorkUniversityStrikeInformationGroup

Support the undergraduate campaign to stop the York admin from causing another strike!

Organizations/Student Groups that have signed on:
New Democrats of York University
Fightback
Afghan-Iranian Youth Network
Health as a Bridge to Peace at YorkU
Sociology Undergraduate Students Association
York University Free Press (YUFP)
Sexuality Studies Association at YorkU

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The Baha'i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE), characterized by the New York Times as "an act of self-preservation," is a decentralized network of teachers both in and outside of Iran providing college level classes to those denied the ability to go to a university in Iran because they are members of the country's largest religious minority, The Baha'i Faith.

In May 2011, the government of Iran implemented a systematic raid on the homes of students, lecturers, and any associated with the BIHE. Many were arrested, all materials were confiscated, and their crime was educating Baha'i youth. The “Education Under Fire Campaign” seeks to empower campuses around the country to stand up for Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – the right to education, by looking at ways that they can help those youth in Iran to continue their education.

Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and President of East Timor Jose Ramos-Horta has called on the International Academic Community to review the coursework of the BIHE in order to consider acceptance of BIHE students into their university. Around the country universities are benefiting from the example of Harvard's Graduate School of Education, that school formally agreed to accept the BIHE credits. The review of possible acceptance of the BIHE credits can serve to allow those who have had the benefit of its programs can continue to higher levels of study.

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Dear Reader,

The University of Canberra has proposed to cancel the Japanese Language Program. As a current student of the program I urge everybody to help convince the preservation of such a great university course.

With many students in the middle of their degrees this cancellation would cause so much stress and many problems. Especially for the ones who decided to go to university to specifically learn the Japanese Language.

The Japanese Program has allowed many students to learn the language and culture, which is important in the current globalizing world and especially in our very multicultural Australia. It has helped create great friendships with many Japanese students on exchange at the university and also while benefiting local students, it is a very attractive course for international students.

The university has agreements with several universities in Japan and while we have students anticipating going on exchange in Japan, we also receive many Japanese students to learn English. This is a great way to represent our university and our country.

Please help us maintain this excellent, well developed language course with the best, most encouraging teachers by signing this petition.

The past students, current students and future students appreciate your help.

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If you are a student at any University, you will already know the amount of effort that your tutors put in to get you the mark you want.

What you may forget, however, is the amount of effort the University's staff put in to make sure our seminar rooms, lecture theatres and recreational spaces are clean and safe for both work and societies.

From cleaners to security guards to admin staff, the amount of leg work that goes into keeping a university functioning is colossal. With fees set to triple in the next academic year, many universities are still not paying these staff a living wage. To the point, the University of Leicester still has 595 staff who it does not pay the living wage.

The living wage is both a figure and a set of principles:

• If you work full time in our University/Student Union you ought not to be poor.

• Low paid Staff often have to work long hours or work several jobs to make ends meet. This means they have to choose between living in poverty and spending less time with their families.

• Research suggests that to provide the basics for a family of 2 children, someone working 40 hours a week would need to earn £8.30 an hour in London and £7.20 an hour elsewhere.

• To earn enough to support their family at the National Minimum Wage someone would need to work 56 hours a week in London and 48 hours a week outside of London.

• The University can pay a living wage if it chooses to. It is a question of priorities and whether it believes that paying its staff a decent wage is important. You need to consider what you would say if asked by the University “what wouldn’t you prioritise?”.

• One in five children currently grows up in poverty despite living in a family where their parent or parents work. This is nearly two million children, roughly double the number of children living in poverty in in-work families in 1979.

• Paying the Living Wage will reduce poverty, household debt, stress and illness and improve family life for university staff.

• It also means greater productivity and improved quality of service from more motivated staff. It is also more efficient for the university with staff staying in their jobs for longer, saving on the recruitment and training costs.

• Paying the Living Wage is the right thing to do. Everyone should be able to afford what it costs to live and to bring up a family

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The University Challenge Society of the University of Dublin are seeking to convince Granada Studios to allow Trinity College to compete in the television gameshow 'University Challenge'. Trinity competed relatively successfully in this competition until about 30 years ago when interest for it lapsed.

In the last couple of years, interest has emerged once again and contact was made with Granada studios about admitting Trinity. This application was rejected on the basis that we are not a UK university, even though we were founded under Royal Charter and have competed in the past.

This year we want to have another crack at gaining entry and are thus asking for support to launch our "Let Us Play" campaign.

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We have recently started a campaign to stop the closure of the Philosophy department. So far we have started Facebook, Twitter and a society.

This is still a fairly new campaign but we have shown already to have massive support.

The first two days of a written petition saw well over 1000 signatures, I am hoping to have this much success with the online petition.

http://twitter.com/#!/search/realtime/%23savephilosophy

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Όσοι και όσες υπογράφουμε αυτό το κείμενο πιστεύουμε πως το δημόσιο πανεπιστήμιο χρειάζεται υπεράσπιση και ουσιαστική μεταρρύθμιση με άξονα το δημόσιο συμφέρον και την προοπτική ανάπτυξης της χώρας.

Με το «σχέδιο νόμου» που παρουσιάστηκε πρόσφατα από το Υπουργείο Παιδείας, παρά τις επιμέρους θετικές ρυθμίσεις, η κυβέρνηση έρχεται να επιβάλει ένα ολιγαρχικό και δεσποτικό μοντέλο διοίκησης και διαχείρισης των πανεπιστημίων.

Έστω και την ύστατη ώρα, το υπουργείο οφείλει να προσέλθει στο διάλογο με σκοπό τη δημιουργία ευρύτερων συναινέσεων. Οφείλει ν’ ακούσει του πανεπιστημιακούς που επιθυμούν την ουσιαστική μεταρρύθμιση των ελληνικών ΑΕΙ. Οφείλει να ακούσει όλους όσους ανησυχούν για την επερχόμενη κατεδάφιση των ακαδημαϊκών θεσμών, που κυοφορείται από το παρόν σχέδιο νόμου.

Eνώστε τη φωνή σας με τη δική μας!

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The Gold Coast City Council needs to proactively support any proposal that would encourage growth in the local economy, particularly at this difficult time.

King International have proposed to develop a university in Southport, right on the light rail line. This is exactly the sort of stimulus the local economy needs.

The Gold Coast City Council however, have failed to support the proposal and instead have flatly refused to waive/reduce the $133k in application fees. This is a petty, short sighted decision that has resulted in King looking elsewhere and could have devastating, long lasting effects on the Gold Coast's already tarnished reputation.

I am in no way affiliate with King and only read this article in this morning's news. Enough is enough. It's time Council started being held accountable.

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Colette Webb has been managing the Transnational Resources Centre for 4 years. In the last months the board of a review of the TRC, which involved representation from the departments of French, German and Italian, have decided not to renew Colette's contract in favour of an IT technician on a lower salary, as it is felt that this will enhance the technology within the resource. Colette will be forced to leave her job at the end of this term.

This outrageously overlooks both the hard work that Colette has put into running the TRC over the last years as well as the massive popularity of the resource, as the feedback forms within the unit demonstrate. Instead the move demonstrates the distance between the staff and the reality of the resource, its use, and its users, where and for whom Colette’s amicable nature and well informed advice are entirely responsible for its success. The decision moreover symbolizes a concentration on cost over value which is typical of Warwick PLC or Warwick University Ltd., as E. P. Thompson viewed it (Penguin, 1970), not to mention the current government and its attitude towards education as business.

We, the past and present users of the Transnational Resources Centre, call for Colette’s contract to be renewed, and for the University and the departments to understand the simple facts: the TRC needs someone with the attitude and experience of Colette Webb if it wishes to remain successful and used, but it also needs to be supported, not ignored, by the three languages departments as was originally intended by the founders of the resource. Management skills are required to make sensible use of the spaces of the TRC, and linguistic to keep the DVDs and the database organized as well as communicate sufficiently with the departments. A new staff member with technological in addition to managerial and linguistic abilities, willing to work on a low pay scale, will be difficult to find.

We also ask that the departments and Faculty of Arts recognize that technological problems at the TRC are twofold: simple computer issues, which mimic a university-wide IT services incompetence, and audio-visual, which require specialist training. In light of the above, we ask that the departments and the Faculty reconsider a more valuable and all-around beneficial division of labour which will keep Colette at the TRC but also make space for audio-visual expertise, for instance on a part-time contract. Otherwise it is perhaps time for the Faculty/departments to face up to the fact that they must eventually acknowledge: technology requires money, not man power, to remain updated and functional. If the board had more fairly and comprehensively reviewed the TRC this year, they would already be aware of this.

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A coalition is when two or more parties in government work together, either because of similar ideology or to achieve an elective majority, theoretically reaching compromises on important subjects to achieve a roughly even legislative record (issue #1 goes to party A, issue #2 goes to party B in exchange. It's not ideal, but both parties get something they want).

This coalition fails in both of those regards.

The Lib-Dems do not, and should not, have even a remotely similar political ideology to the Conservative Party. Similarly, the Tories have little to nothing in common with the Lib-Dems, and compromises on major issues have been non-existent. Instead, only a series of humiliating concessions have been made, and the Prime Minister has seen fit to lend his weight to sabotaging even these, as has been made clear with the referendum.

This is not a coalition, it is a Tory government masquerading as a coalition, pinning the blame for their actions on the Liberal Democrats whilst slowly eating their electoral base.

It is a state of affairs that cannot continue, and thus the Liberal Democrats must salvage what is left of their reputation and leave this ship of government before they are nailed to the mast. They do not deserve the criticisms aimed at them, and if they are to avoid decimation at the next election they must realise their mistake early, pull out, and assume a campaign of coordinated blocking of the government's supposed-reforms until concessions are made on major points of Lib-Dem policy and tangible results are produced as a result.

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On the 22nd of March 2011 the University of Glasgow tried to evict the students occupying the Hetherington Building.

This was met with considerable resistance by those within the building and a large police presence was required to keep things under control.

After this, protesters moved to the Senate Rooms to begin a new occupation. The protesters have called police actions 'heavy handed'.

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On Thursday 10 March 2011, the Faculty Association of
Vancouver Island University (VIU) commenced a strike in
relation to their collective bargain agreement with the
university. As a result, students have been unable to
attend classes and finish their semester. The process of
mediation with the parties has not been successful to date.

The student body of constitutes over 19,000 members
with over 8000 enrolled in full-time studies. The cessation
of classes against their will affects them collaterally in
terms of damage.

The student body contribute significant funds to the
university through tuition, and are the purpose of the
institution's function. While not an immediate party
involved in the dispute, they are a party holding a primary
interest in the dispute and their position should be
considered paramount.

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