[ad_1]
University of Manchester students broke down the fences that were erected around their residences as part of a larger protest attended by hundreds of students against the university’s response to the coronavirus.
Students who live on the university’s Fallowfield campus said that fences had been erected early Thursday morning without prior notice from the university, and that they were only allowed to exit through a single security-guarded exit. In addition to fencing off most of the entry points, the university disabled the magnetic cards that allow entry to buildings other than their accommodation.
The university initially said that the measures were to prevent access by non-residents, and that students could continue to enter and exit their own accommodation subject to identification checks. However, on Thursday night, the university apologized for the billboards and announced that they would be removed on Friday morning.
“I sincerely apologize for the concern and distress caused by the construction of a fence around our Fallowfield residences today,” said Professor Nancy Rothwell, Vice Chancellor. “This was not our intention, in fact, quite the contrary.”
At a protest Thursday night, hundreds of angry students gathered in what they described as “HMP Fallowfield” to protest the university’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, including support for mental health. At the end of the rally, the students broke down all the fences that had been erected in the morning.
The government has urged students across the country to stay on campus during the lockdown rather than rushing back to their family homes and for their universities to continue face-to-face teaching. The Union of Universities and Colleges and the National Union of Students warn that this represents a serious risk to the health of staff and students.
George Rogers, a freshman planning and real estate student who resides in the hallways of Oak House, said increased security measures were helping to create a stressful atmosphere on campus.
“A lot of people have gone home, you feel like the campus is getting a little more empty,” he said. “I don’t understand why they need to put up fences to keep us safe from the virus. It makes us feel like they don’t trust us, that they lock us in our rooms. “
A student on Twitter He asked how the university thought it was acceptable to put up fences without notice.
The university sent an email at 3.30 pm on November 5 stating that “security personnel will ensure that only students living in that accommodation can safely access and will help avoid mixing of households.” Students may be subject to ID checks to access their rooms, the email added.
Isabella Mearns, a first-year architecture student, said the university was restricting access to green spaces. “We just feel like prisoners right now. We recently had this guy commit suicide and this is his response, to lock us up. This is ridiculous, ”he said.
The NUS is campaigning for the government and universities to ensure that students are treated equally by coronavirus restrictions. The union’s president, Larissa Kennedy, said the students had been “watched, threatened and accused at appalling levels” during the pandemic.
The government is also urging universities to continue to provide face-to-face teaching, although some institutions, including Manchester, have already switched their courses entirely online.
Along with UCU, NUS warns that continuing face-to-face teaching puts the health of students and staff at risk.
Dozens of students left messages on the University of Lincoln Facebook page after they used the site to announce the continuation of face-to-face teaching, with many expressing concern that they would be asked to relocate to high-risk areas.
On its website, the University of Lincoln published a letter to students from the Minister of Universities, Michelle Donelan, in which she said: “By keeping universities open, we are prioritizing education so that there are no gaps in their pathways. academics and their lives “.
Pressure on universities also came when the Independent Sage, a think tank created as an independent alternative to the government’s own scientific advisory panel, criticized the government’s guidance that students on campus should stay there.
He warned that government policy would likely exacerbate the spread of Covid-19 in the community between high and low infection areas by concentrating travel in December when students return home.
A spokesman for the University of Manchester said staff and students had raised concerns about non-residents’ access to accommodation. They stated, “Therefore, we are introducing new after-hours security measures at key entry points to our campus, housing, and main pedestrian routes to help keep our students, our staff, and our community safe. Like now, residents can keep coming and going as they please.
“Unfortunately, the fence began to be installed before the students in the hallways saw the message. We apologize for any concerns this has caused and would like to reiterate that all students who live on the site can continue to come and go freely. ”
[ad_2]
