UL Plebiscite on Fees
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Thursday March 26, 2009 11:09
by UL F.E.E. Campaign - Free Education for Everyone
ulfightfees at gmail dot com
http://www.ulsu.ie/forum/index.php?topic=2296.0
Today (Thursday) there is a vote of students in UL on fees. It arose from a proposal by the chairperson of UL Fianna Fail to make students vote on what kind of fees we want – which would have assisted the Student's Union to 'lobby' for that specific type of fees, instead of fighting to defeat all forms of fees. Student opposition, including from the UL branch of F.E.E. succeeded in getting a ‘no fees’ option 4 included, which reads: “I am opposed to alternatives to exchequer-funded third level tuition fees”,
UL F.E.E. have been the only ones campaigning on the vote, with everyone else focused on the SU officers elections. F.E.E. has been calling for a clear, "No to fees" vote - putting No Fees as your 'number 1' vote and not giving any vote, even a second preference, to the other pro-fees options.
Related Links:
Support the International Global Week of Action Against Fees
Recent Indymedia.ie feature Schools Out! Stop the Commercialisation of Education by Mark Conroy
Conor Murphy of SEED on why Third level fees should be re-introduced
FEE's Website - Free-Education.info
Don't Just Sit There
Contact EVERY TD, Senator, and MEP about this - Contact.ie
F.E.E. argue that the other options (option 1 is a loan system & option 2 a graduate tax) deserve NO support from students, and should be completely rejected. Fees in any form will deny many access to education. They have also opposed option 3 (a levy on all workers) saying it is "is a regressive tax", and arguing that "supporting it wouldn’t appease this pro-fees government but would divide students from anti-fees staff and workers".
F.E.E. has also argued that, far from now winding down our campaign against fees, we need to be stepping it up to defeat the government's fees plans, and fight for free education funded through a progressive central taxation system.
For more go to the thread on the UL-SU forum: http://www.ulsu.ie/forum/index.php?topic=2296.0
The latest leaflet and poster used in the campaign by F.E.E. are attached.
PDF of F.E.E. Leaflet
0.06 Mb