Students set to boycott their canteen (From The Oxford Times)
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Students set to boycott their canteen
9:30am Wednesday 31st October 2012 in News
Students at Magdalen College have boycotted their canteen after new meal charges were announced.
Currently students pay £4 per meal, but once the changes come into force they will have to pay a compulsory fee of up to £150 a year to cover kitchen costs plus another fee of up to £150 per term which can be used to purchase food.
This has lead to a boycott by the Magdalen College Junior Common Room (JCR), with claims it would hit students from poorer backgrounds.
A soup kitchen, based on voluntary donations, has been set up in students’ kitchens.
David J Townsend, president of Oxford University Students’ Union, said he was supporting the boycott.
He said: “A hall strike, coupled with dining at friends’ colleges, is a good way of showing that students have serious concerns about the financial accessibility of college life which aren’t being heeded.
“It’s particularly commendable that current students, who will not be subject to the increased charge, are taking up this issue on behalf of future students. We stand behind Magdalen JCR, and are ready to assist any other common room in similar negotiations.”
There are 360 undergraduates at Magdalen College, but it was last night unclear how many of them were taking part in the boycott.
The bursar of Magdalen College was unavailable for comment.
Comments(7)
online_reader
says...
11:54am Wed 31 Oct 12
Darkforbid
says...
2:23pm Wed 31 Oct 12
Hey why don't the student that need this use the homeless services like Stepping Stones, 75p lunch/£1.50 dinner and The Gatehouse (free) they have a open door policy and let anyone in, so it should be no problem!
Dilligaf2010
says...
2:36pm Wed 31 Oct 12
Darkforbid wrote:I think you've hit the nail on the head, they'll be boycotting the canteen and eating somewhere that charges £4.00 for a coffee, no doubt
I Think you'll find it's the one's who can afford to eat elsewhere that are complaining.
Hey why don't the student that need this use the homeless services like Stepping Stones, 75p lunch/£1.50 dinner and The Gatehouse (free) they have a open door policy and let anyone in, so it should be no problem!
Perspex-wall
says...
4:40pm Wed 31 Oct 12
Darkforbid
says...
5:40pm Wed 31 Oct 12
112 meals at £4 is £448,,, where the hell do you get £375 net loss,.. give up the maths mate not your strong point
Dilligaf2010
says...
5:56pm Wed 31 Oct 12
Perspex-wall wrote:I'll agree with Darkforbid, Maths is clearly not your strong point.
The charge is £600 per annum, for which students receive £450 of credit, which can only be spent on the £4 meals within the College, and which is nonrefundable. For those who would usually spend less on meals by cooking for themselves, they'll be spending £600 per year to get 112 meals, which would usually have cost them ~£225, a £375 net loss to those poorer students. Highly regressive - it hits the most frugal and careful students the hardest, whilst leaving the rich unaffected.
You mention that those cooking for themselves can create 112 meals for ~£225, that's about £2.01 a meal, but I'm guessing that doesn't include the cost of gas/electricity etc.
£4.00 for a prepared meal, with no worries about washing up etc., sounds like a bargain.
WitneyGreen says...
11:00am Wed 31 Oct 12
I'm not making a particular point, just curious, as meals at my college in the late 90s weren't much cheaper than the costs being quoted here.