Students occupy King’s Great Hall foyer in protest supporting free education

Roar News / Johnny Tam

PROTESTING students occupied the Great Hall foyer in a sit-in protest today as part of the Free Education campaign.

Speeches from students, KCLSU officers and a representative from the National Student Assembly addressed concerns about the cost of education at the College, including living costs such as accommodation as well as tuition fees.

The sit-in at King’s was part of a nationwide call for campus occupation from the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts.

NCAFC are the organisation behind the students protests on 19th December, which saw thousands of students take to the streets of London to call for free education.

Roar News / Johnny Tam

Cat Denby, a King’s student who helped organise the demonstration said: “momentum seems to have carried on not just from those who are politically active at KCL, but also those who want change within our university system”.

“The movement doesn’t just benefit us, it would would also benefit people high up in the university with pride in what they do.

“University shouldn’t be about money, it should be about passion for knowledge and education”.

Students were willing to open dialogue with senior college staff, Denby told us: “I’d love to see university staff supporting the campaign”. The student community has seen increased discussion about the cost of education at King’s since last month’s demo.

Roar News / Johnny Tam

Ben Wood, Chair of the Labour Society commented on increased dialogue within the student body: “There’s more conversation, people saying why they believe in [the campaign]”.

Conversation was deemed a little too loud for College Dean the Rev. Richard Burridge, who came downstairs and asked that applause be kept down.

Today’s demo angled its message toward issues within the College’s control that relate to education costs, as well as calling for government action.

Roar News / Johnny Tam

As the sit-in came to a close, the group moved to lecture halls to spread the message.

Coinciding with a College open day, KCLSU’s vice principal for welfare Jamie Sweeney addressed prospective students in open day talks, highlighting the prohibitive cost of College accommodation.

Students attending the sit-in talked about future meetings to continue the campaign within the College.

A number of student-led campaigns are stepping up their calls for senior College staff to hear the concerns of students with regard to the cost of education at King’s.