Star date: 22nd September 2015

MMU ACTION `SMACKS OF SOCIAL CLEANSING' STATE STAFF

Over sixty senior lecturers and members of staff from Manchester Metropolitan University have signed an open letter to Vice Chancellor, Professor Press, condemning the University's role in evicting homeless people from The Ark on Oxford Road.

MMU is urged to "consider the damage that may be done to the University by any attitude or action which smacks of `social cleansing'".

Full details here...

As students report back to Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) for the new academic year, an open war is apparently breaking out between its bosses and lecturers, staff and students regarding the forced eviction last Friday of homeless people from The Ark shelter, underneath the Mancunian Way on Oxford Road (for background see previous Salford Star article – click here).

Over sixty members have staff have written an open letter to MMU's Vice Chancellor, Professor Press, condemning the eviction and urging the University to adopt a more humanitarian approach... "we believe the University should be extending a hand of support, not taking legal action to have them evicted by force" it states "A much better role for the University would be to demonstrate its commitment to social justice by putting our learning and research to good use in the demand for proper housing and services for this vulnerable group of people..."

The letter ends... "We urge you to drop the lawsuit against these victims of cutbacks in welfare and services, and consider the damage that may be done to the University by any attitude or action which smacks of `social cleansing'."

Since the eviction, the homeless camp has taken up residence across the road but faces more legal moves for eviction.

The full letter reads...

18th September 2015: Open letter to the Vice Chancellor...

"We are writing to you to urge you to reconsider MMU's response to the homeless camp on Oxford Road under the Mancunian Way. We have visited the people there and have found them highly motivated to resolve their situation. The shelter they have built is a result of the chronic shortage of services for homeless people in Manchester, and we believe the University should be extending a hand of support, not taking legal action to have them evicted by force.

We are especially concerned at the message this sends to our current students and the wider community. A much better role for the University would be to demonstrate its commitment to social justice by putting our learning and research to good use in the demand for proper housing and services for this vulnerable group of people. In some universities they are offering bursaries for refugee students. This is the lead we should be following.

UCU has been active and vociferous in its condemnation of cuts to education, especially in FE, highlighting how this removes a vital lifeline of hope for many. The University should be seeking educational futures for these people, not condemning them. It is especially shocking to see this response from MMU, a university which supported the Homeless Film Festival in 2014, which has encouraged its students to support sports projects for homeless people and which purports to have strong commitment to community support.

We believe MMU has an important role to play in supporting these homeless people, getting them off the streets and making plans for their future. The stigma of being homeless is hard to bear, and research shows that mental illness is one of the worst dangers of homelessness. We would rather see MMU offering access to counselling services than pursuing a damaging and exhausting legal battle. We note that MMU students themselves have been overwhelmingly helpful to the camp, bringing food parcels and other goods. There are many practical ways in which staff could also help, for example enabling a system of food and drink donations at our food outlets through `suspended purchase'.

This is a key moment for MMU – an opportunity to join the wave of humanitarian support we have witnessed for homeless refugees, and extend a hand of friendship to these homeless people on our doorsteps. As academics, staff and students we have a wealth of expertise and resources. It is time to put these to good use in combating homelessness and its effects. We urge you to drop the lawsuit against these victims of cutbacks in welfare and services, and consider the damage that may be done to the University by any attitude or action which smacks of `social cleansing'.

We are very shocked to hear that the homeless are now being evicted by force from the camp and urge you to distance the University from this action..."

Photo by Steven Speed