Students at the Royal College of Art (RCA), London, have been protesting today at what they believe is a lack of infrastructure and resources being put in to this year’s degree shows.
The #silentRCA protest took place between 8.30-9.30am outside the RCA’s Jay Mews site in London whilst a Complaint Committee hearing convened inside the building to look into the closure of college workshop facilities.
Students held up placards reading ‘Budget transparency please!’, ‘Keep the show for all!’ and ‘Employ students not excuses’ as the silence was broken by a chorus of “Too much rector’s pay! Not enough RCA!”
Students cited a number of issues as the reason for the protest, including: a cut in degree show opening times by two hours per day compared with 2014; the lack of availability of AV equipment during the degree shows; outsourced staffing during degree shows – students say it would save money to offer paid work to students to invigilate the shows.
The students were also protesting about what are seen as excessive salaries paid to the college’s rector and other staff, compared to levels of expenditure on equipment such as IT and other resources. Further protests are planned.
Image and video: Alexander Christie alexanderchristie.tumblr.com
