Today at 9am, a group of students began occupying the Main Building on the City Center campus in protest of the government’s budget cuts and the erosion of support for students. There are also actions taking place on the Hervanta campus and at TAMK. Students have asked that university staff and university management join them in sending a clear and public message opposing the cuts.
Tatte joins in solidarity with the students’ demands, and we encourage our members to make their voices heard in support. Our mission of defending the conditions of academic work is inseparable from upholding the conditions for students to study. Students’ livelihoods must be secured so that they can fully participate in the university community and so that they can actually focus on their studies. Tuition fees for anyone can never be the answer, and the government’s racist immigration policies threaten to make life harder for international students and researchers and undermine the conditions of studying and working for everyone.
We call on our fellow staff associations, our colleagues, and university management, to join us in standing with students and demanding a different kind of future for the university. Together, we are stronger.