The Sabbatical Officers posted a statement on the Newcastle University Students’ Union (NUSU) website last week detailing the three strands of their campaign: the work the union is doing internally, the work the union hopes to do with the university and their backing of the NUS (National Union of Students) Cost of Living Campaign.
Within the Students’ Union, in the next couple of weeks this year’s Sabbatical Officers aim to set up a pantry free to all Newcastle University students. Comprised of donations of food, clothing and hygiene products from the Co-op, the pantry will be located on the ground floor of the SU, and open to anyone to ‘take what they need’.
They will also continue to provide participation bursaries, offer free memberships to certain societies for the first six weeks of the academic year and give out free sexual health and hygiene products, including period products, condoms and STI test kits.
The President and Education Officer also aim to lobby the university for wider eligibility criteria for hardship funding, thus increasing the number of students able to receive financial support. They hope to introduce PECs for the crisis, as well as extra support for those who have paid jobs whilst studying, meaning students will be able to apply for extensions on deadlines if they’ve had to work part time to cover the cost of bills and food.
As well as this, they want the university to deliver cheaper food to those on campus, a discount on transport for those who travel to get to university and more opportunities for work on campus, all of which will reduce the financial strain on students.
In addition to working with the students' union and university, Baugh and Marshall have also signed a national open letter to the government written by NUS. The letter is calling for an increase in funding to support those in higher education, a higher maintenance loan and a cap on student rent.
Talking to The Courier, the two Sabbatical Officers explained the gravity of the crisis: “students are being faced with decisions about ‘heating or eating’, how many shifts they can take at work, and how to maintain a social life in a time of financial crisis”.
Furthering their statement and campaign, they expressed their desire to hear from university students: “your student voice is at the heart of what we do so please share your thoughts and ideas about how your Students’ Union can best support you”.
Fellow Sabbatical Officer Hannah Danks, who works as Athletic Union Officer within NUSU, said she’s pleased that “sport and activity continues to thrive this year” and that if students would like financial support regarding clubs and societies, there are “multiple pots of funding and bursary opportunities” available to them.
NUSU is not the only organisation in Newcastle striving to increase support for its most vulnerable members; foodbanks across the city are facing a dramatic surge in demand.
Newcastle West End Foodbank, which provides free food at six locations across the city, told The Courier that this September they issued 2019 food parcels to those in need, the highest number on record. This is up from 1375 parcels in September of last year. Whilst demand for food has increased, donations have decreased by half, making the situation even more severe.
A representative from the foodbank suspects the situation is only going to get worse. Speaking to The Courier, they said, “We anticipate a rise in the number of people needing our services in the coming months”, and that work needs to be done to address the “structural changes needed to create a future where people no longer need to use foodbanks”.
Talking to Chi Onwurah, MP for Newcastle upon Tyne Central, it’s clear she thinks more needs to be done to aid students during the crisis. She described students as being “at the brunt of the government’s bad decisions”, referring in part to Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget released on 23 September, a pre-cursor to his wider plan to be set out on 31 October.
The mini-budget, or “kamikaze budget”, as described by Onwurah, includes plans to cut income tax and benefits, which will widen the gap between those at either end of the economic spectrum.
“All Britain has to show for the last 12 years of Tory government is low wages, high prices and a Tory cost of living crisis. Students are at the brunt of the government’s bad decisions”, said Onwurah. “As well as energy bills going up at the start of October, people are facing higher interest rates and mortgages”.
The MP told The Courier she is doing all she can to prevent the Conservative government from implementing measures “that would see money taken away from the people of Newcastle”. She continued, “I voted to retain the £20 Universal Credit uplift, against a rise in national insurance, and I voted in favour of north sea oil and gas companies footing energy bills rather than working people”.
So how is the crisis really affecting students?
One Newcastle University student described having to focus more of their time on finding ways to reduce spending. “I’m having to think a lot more carefully about what I’m buying [and] put off putting the heating on for as long as possible”.
Another mentioned the mental toll it’s taking: “I’m finding this year a lot more stressful having to worry about if I can afford heating”. They also echoed the same tactics to preserve money, “We’re still putting on more layers and blankets in our house to avoid using heating”.