AFTER SUSTAINED student pressure over the last eight months, the University administration has finally agreed to open up the Arthur Lewis building. Months of meetings, emails, excuses and minor concessions finally boiled over in a large-scale protest last week.
A meeting that had long been promised between the Students’ Union Executive and senior management coincidently got moved forward to 9am the day after the protest. Many large concessions were made, including allowing masters students full access to the building, ensuring computers are available for undergraduate use and refurbishing the café area.
However, most importantly undergraduates were granted much greater access to the academics that are there to teach them. New staff will be employed to ensure instant access to lecturers and teachers, deeming prior online appointments unnecessary.
This is a huge step forward. The Arthur Lewis building was not designed with the interests of undergraduates in mind, but with this change the University has overcome many of the problems that the student body had raised from day one. It’s a great shame that it took them eight months to actually listen to their students, the people who use the building on a daily basis.
This episode proves that the University is capable of listening to its students, and the quality of teaching provided will only improve as a result. However, it also shows that the University have to be made to listen, by an active, dedicated and strong willed student body.
As usual, no mention of the fact that there are PhD students working in the building who were not consulted over changes, and who will be greatly affected by these measures.