“Increasingly, people are set up to think about themselves, and so they do. [...] Those who can afford to be here are here.” — OUSA President Grant Robertson in 1993
It’s amazing how similar student protests look regardless of the location. Bearded agitators, references to Marx, ‘No ifs, no buts’ slogans, cardboard signs, hi-vis jackets. It seems that higher education is taking the brunt of neoliberal ‘reforms’ and, slowly, imploding. I went to university in the 80s - Thatcher, the miners’ strike, AIDS etc. I naively thought that “things could only get better.” Young people today have so much to be angry about it must be hard to know where to start.
Very true, Jon. Demonstrations look pretty much like they did when I attended university. The hand-made signs are always the best. Unfortunately, students have had an increasingly hard time since then. Not only have students fees and debt continued to rise, but getting a job after graduating is much more difficult now. On top of that, they have a climate crisis and biodiversity catastrophe to contend with. It's a sad legacy that our generation is leaving to the next.
Thank you for this, Mark. I feel energy around protests and have also photographed them. I feel like it can be important to both document these moments and tap into the humanity that is part of them. Nice work.
Thanks Mark. Excellent photos and an interesting commentary
Thanks, Greg. In some ways, not a lot has changed since 1993 — except student fees and student debt, both of which have continued to increase.
It’s amazing how similar student protests look regardless of the location. Bearded agitators, references to Marx, ‘No ifs, no buts’ slogans, cardboard signs, hi-vis jackets. It seems that higher education is taking the brunt of neoliberal ‘reforms’ and, slowly, imploding. I went to university in the 80s - Thatcher, the miners’ strike, AIDS etc. I naively thought that “things could only get better.” Young people today have so much to be angry about it must be hard to know where to start.
Very true, Jon. Demonstrations look pretty much like they did when I attended university. The hand-made signs are always the best. Unfortunately, students have had an increasingly hard time since then. Not only have students fees and debt continued to rise, but getting a job after graduating is much more difficult now. On top of that, they have a climate crisis and biodiversity catastrophe to contend with. It's a sad legacy that our generation is leaving to the next.
Thank you for this, Mark. I feel energy around protests and have also photographed them. I feel like it can be important to both document these moments and tap into the humanity that is part of them. Nice work.
Thank you, Tom. I could say the same about your photos of Camp Hill, Alabama, which I have just seen.
Thank you, Mark. Yes, my Camp Hill experience really moved me. Thanks for being here.