We, students from Queen Mary, University of London, demand that the Principal and the Senior Executive Team negotiate with the union in good faith and with haste. We believe that it is management’s responsibility to ensure that we graduate or progress in our studies in time without compromising the value of our degrees and the quality of our education, and that this cannot be achieved without productive dialogue with staff.
The university’s brutal tactics to counter and deflect staff’s legitimate concerns over their working conditions have done nothing but actively undermine QMUL students’ education and the value of our degree. When staff at QMUL went on strike to demand better working conditions in UK universities (1) (conditions that directly affect our learning as student-staff ratio has swung out of control; overload of marking means less attention to our scripts; and overwork means less contact time), management at QMUL responded by announcing that striking staff who would not reschedule teaching would have 100% of their pay withheld indefinitely. This draconian and potentially unlawful (2) response was met with local strike action that only affected QMUL students. On top of that, External Examiners resigned in large numbers (3), removing the crucial quality control that guarantees QMUL degrees. Now, QMUL is only one of few institutions facing a marking boycott. At other institutions, the marking boycott has been avoided because their management negotiated and came to a joint agreement with their union branch (4). Instead of this conciliatory approach, QMUL management has considered hiring an Australian consultancy firm to mark students’ assignments (5), to the detriment of our feedback and marks. All this puts in jeopardy our marks and our degrees, and unless it gets solved immediately we will have to appeal our marks (6).
This aggressive approach to leadership has turned QMUL into the pariah of UK Higher Education. Management's escalation has seriously damaged the institution’s reputation (7), prompting alumni (including novelist Sarah Waters (8) MP Apsana Begum (9)) and staff at other universities (10) to issue calls to reason to QMUL’s leadership. The Senior Executive Team has refused to listen to any of them. The situation is now so dire in Mile End that, in response to students’ complaints (11), the Office for Students, the independent regulator of higher education in England, has launched a formal enquiry into QMUL’s Senior Executive Team’s policies and their impact on our education and degrees (12).
Our best interests are not served by this Principal and Senior Executive Team. We signed up for and paid our tuition fees towards an education at a research-led Russell Group university which now is actively devaluing its degrees and disconnecting our grades from the teaching we received. Our efforts to make the Principal listen to our concerns and complaints have fallen on deaf ears (13). The numerous emails we have sent, appealing to both Council and the Senior Executive Team, have received no response, let alone resulted in effective action; when students protested the Senior Executive Team’s actions and went to speak to Council members directly, the university called the Metropolitan Police on them and did nothing to change their punitive policies (14). Thus far, the leadership of QMUL has shown a complete lack of responsiveness to and respect for students’ concerns.
We hold it to be the management’s responsibility to end the marking boycott by engaging in meaningful negotiations with the union. We absolutely oppose the Principal and Senior Executive Team’s treatment of the staff, and understand that the current predicament in which both we, the students, and the staff find ourselves has been created by the university’s management team and that it can be solved by them. The fact that the Senior Executive Team continues to willfully jeopardise the quality of our learning and the value of our degrees is thoroughly unacceptable; that these severe effects can be solved with a simple choice to take up the offer to negotiate, and that that choice still hasn’t been made, is beyond disbelief.
We, the undersigned, demand that the Principal and Senior Executive Team immediately engage in productive, good-faith negotiations with the union in order to ensure timely graduation/progression and to protect our education:
1. Sebastian Antti Juhana Mylly, Film Studies & Drama, Year 3
3. Setareh Dashte Bozorgy, Politics & International Relations, Year 2
4. Tia Debenham, History, Year 2
5. Sam Matthew O’Sullivan, English & Drama, Year 2
6. Maria Shirstova, English & Drama, Year 3
7. Anca-Teodora Stoian, English & Drama, Year 3
8. Pianka Parna, Drama, Year 3
9. Aimee Southwell, History, Year 2
10. Che Stone-Edwards, Film Studies & Drama, Year 3
11. George Edward Boulton, Russian and Drama, Year 4
12. Symran Saggar, History and Politics, Year 2
13. Alexandra Craveiro, Drama, Year 3
14. Cassia Dexter, English with Creative Writing, Year 2
15. Anita Doda, History, Year 2
16. Jaudaan Zafar, Accounting and Management , Year 3
17. Sofia Renzi, English & Drama, Year 3
18. Sophie Abdelrazek, History and Politics, Year 2
19. Eli Jeannin, History, Year 2
20. Salmaan Saalim, History & Politics, Year 2
21. Lily Hopkins, History, Year 2
22. Catriona Hüseyin, History, Year 2
23. Nithilan Kanagaratnam, History, Year 1
24. Alistair Lesley Golothan Kingston Fraser, History, Year 1
25. Sonika Birdi, World History, Year 3
26. Carter MacCalman, History, Year 1
27. Jayden Horrell, History, Year 3
28. Krutika Sharma, History, Year 3
29. Sara Borasio, Law Senior Status, Year 2
30. Emily Clements, History, Year 3
31. Amber Macleod, History, Year 3
32. Badiya Borghol, Business and Management, Year 3
33. Amine Hamdi Cherif, Business Management, Year 3
34. Juri Lika, Business management, Year 3
35. Mark Potter, History, Year 3
36. Anastasiia Nemyrovska, Business Management,
Year 3
37. Aqsa Rafiq, World History, Year 3
38. Mohammed Nahin Bin Ahad, Business management, Year 3
39. Samman Naeem, Accounting and Management, Year 3
40. Izabela Shortaj, Accounting and Management, Year 3
41. Abdul Salim, Accounting and management, Year 3
42. Habib, Accounting and management, Year 3
43. Ndagi Sheshi, Business and management, Year 3
44. Bushra Rahman, Accounting and Management, Year 3
45. Simone Ferretti, Business Management, Year 3
46. Nadeen Mustafa, Accounting and management, Year 3
47. zujie wang, accounting and management, Year 3
48. Duc Anh Ta, Accounting & Management, Year 3
49. Mahir Sadad, BSc Accounting and Management, Year 3
50. Rawsan Al-saraf, Accounting and management, Year 3
51. Abu Bakkar Siddique, History, Year 1
52. Muhammad Waris, BSc Business Management, Year 3
53. Tope Meshe, Accounting and management, Year 3
54. Fahad Ahmed, Accounting and management, Year 3
55. Angelika Ghazaryan, Business management, Year 3
56. Di Huang, BSc Hons Business Management, Year 3
57. Ellie Buontempo, History, Year 3
58. Younès Rabii, Doctoral Center for Intelligence in Games and Games Intelligence, Postgraduate (research)
59. Daisy Sore, Politics, Year 2
60. Kartik Sawhney, History and Politics, Year 2
61. A Tshisekedi, Hispanic Studies and politics, Year 2
62. Felix Hernandez Fernandez, Political Science, Postgraduate (research)
63. Lydia Southwood, Politics and IR, Year 3
64. Alexandra Isarii, History, Year 3
65. Jack Alexander, History, Year 3
66. Kira Mihaly, History, Year 2
67. Mariam Asad, BSc Accounting and Management, Year 3
68. Breda Corish, History, Year 2
69. Kazi mahe, Accounting and management, Year 3
70. Denislavcho Amanepovervah, Business Management BSc, Year 3
71. Joshua Lowes, MSC Creative Arts and Mental Health, Postgraduate (taught)
72. Rowan Murphy, Politics, Year 2
73. Roxana Lazar, History, Year 2
74. Alex Rhys Wakefield, MA English Literature, Postgraduate (taught)
75. Sarah Hannah Tibi, History, Year 3
76. Mnogo Mie Lud Bate, Business Management, Year 3
77. Ariana Zemaryalai, French and Politics, Year 4
78. Louisa Hamereras, History, Year 1
79. Lauren Webber, Business with Law, Year 3
80. Lily Tribe, History, Year 3
81. Dogancan Aydemir, Accounting and management, Year 3
82. Rainie Tamakloe, Bsc Computer Science, Year 2
83. Gemma, Law, Year 2
84. Joseph Houlden, Human Geography, Year 1
85. Aqsa Ali, Politics, Year 2
86. Victoria Sanne, Business Management, Year 2
87. Tara Basra, History, Year 1
88. Fatima Zegallai, Politics and International Relations, Year 2
89. Mihaela-Andreea Stanescu, English and Creative Writing, Year 3
90. Fiza Hussain, English, Year 3
91. Nayema Hussain, English Literature, Year 3
92. Kasandra Mavrigiannaki,
English, Year 3
93. Ayjan Jorayeva, English, Year 1
94. Syeda Rahmah Samiha Ahmed, English, Year 1
95. Sam Reynolds, MA English, Postgraduate (taught)
96. Laura Benfield, English Literature, Postgraduate (taught)
97. Chrishantha Desilva, English, Year 1
98. Charlène Stieger, English and History, Year 2
99. Fawjya Anisa, English lit, Year 1
100. Fatema Hakim, English, Year 3
101. Ella May Marley, English Literature, Year 3
102. Neha Solanki, MA- English Literature, Postgraduate (research)
103. Augusto Cascales de OIiveira, MA Live Art, Postgraduate (taught)
104. Maureen Ndahiro, English, Year 3
105. Austin Steele, History, Year 3
106. Louise Cameron MacAninch, History, Year 2
107. Omar Emamer, History, Year 2
108. Kate Davis, French, Year 3
109. Sarah Brooking, English, Year 3
110. Sophie Stanley, English Literature and Linguistics, Year 2
111. Helene JOUBERT, Comparative literature, Year 3
112. Madeleine Ironside, English with a Year Abroad, Year 2
113. Hye Lim Cho, English, Year 3
114. Eleanor Cox, English Literature, Year 2
115. Camille Roy, English, Year 3
116. Prerna Bhagat, English, Year 2
117. Zara chaudhry , MSC International Human Resources management, Postgraduate (taught)
118. Georgia Follington, History & Politics, Year 3
119. Andrea Paragas, Accounting and Management, Year 3
120. Sharoniya Krishnasamy, MSc Global Public Health and Policy, Postgraduate (taught)
121. Queenie Sit, LLM Laws, Postgraduate (taught)
122. Poppy Haddigan, English Literature, Year 3
123. Alisha Isherwood, English, Year 3
124. James Midlane, History, Year 3
125. Tabita Mihaela Streinu, LLB English and European Law, Year 4
126. Sofia Vagnone, Law, Year 3
127. Binta Yade, Law and Politics, Year 3
128. Thomas Henderson Leech, Law, Year 3
129. Ann Cordery, Film studies, Year 2
130. Niampreet Nehal, Global, Law LLB, Year 4
131. Kieran Reidy, Law, Year 3
132. Matilda McDermott-Krasker, Law LLB, Year 3
133. Laura Stock, Film Studies, Year 2
134. Yash Shah, French and Linguistics, Year 3
135. Asiya Elosta, Comparative Literature, Year 3
136. Lauren Walmsley, BA Modern Languages (French), Year 2
137. Jessica Kirkby, Law, Year 3
138. Balsharon Kaur Atwal, Accounting and Management, Year 3
139. Meraal Saleem, International Relations, Year 3
140. Samar khemkhoum, BA history, Year 1
141. Chay connolly, History, Year 1
142. Anna Gygax, French, Year 4
143. Ioan-Andrei Serdenciuc, LLB Global Law, Year 2
144. Bryony Gibbs, Politics and IR, Year 3
145. Paige Tennant, Biology Bsc, Year 3
146. Talitha Stowell, International Relations Ba, Year 3
147. Josue Sanjines, History, Year 3
148. Hammad Saleem, Accounting and Management, Year 2
149. Ikraan mohamed, Politics and IR, Year 3
150. Marie Gouvernet, English language, Year 3
151. Hasan Mohamed, Accounting and Management, Year 2
152. Melissa Lo, History, Year 2
153. Philippa Morley, History, Year 2
154. Latifa Tohow, Year 3
155. Becky Crump, History, Year 2
156. Evgeny Korostelev, Accounting & Management, Year 2
157. Yasmin Lynch, History, Year 2
158. Amaan Amode, History, Year 2
159. Imaan Asim, Modern Languages, Year 1
160. Nimmi Islam, Accounting and Management, Year 3
161. Samiyah Talukdar, International Relations, Year 3
162. Eidi Hibro, Accounting and Management, Year 2
163. Ruby Dimelow-Steel, International Relations, Year 3
164. Emma Soncini, Film Studies, Year 2
165. Mohammed Raheem Uddin, Business and Management, Year 2
166. Raheem Uddin, Business and Management, Year 2
167. Alexandra Kosta-Foti, History, Year 2
168. Farihah Tasmia, Accounting and Finance, Year 2
169. Thomas Messner, Film Studies, Year 2
170. Llauré Braun, International Relations, Year 3
171. Xeynab Mouti, Associate Student, Year 3
172. Benjamin Tonks, Drama, Year 3
173. Abdikhaliq Ahmed, Politics and International Relations, Year 3
174. Thomas Day, History, Year 2
175. Abir Salha, BA Film studies, Year 3
176. Billy Jones, History, Year 2
177. Nasra Mohamed, History and Politics, Year 3
178. Yllka Humollk, Politics and International Relations, Year 3
179. Maisha Hasmot, History, Year 2
180. Yi Kong Willum Nielsen, Biomedical Sciences, Year 1
181. Evangelia Chrysogonou, Politics and International Relations, Year 2
182. Isobel Hall, Politics, Year 3
183. Naomi Marshall, History, Year 1
184. Danielle Ran, English with Creative Writing, Year 1
185. Viktor Balko, Accounting & Management, Year 3
186. Anna Stephen’s, Law, Year 3
187. Kacper Wiktor Jarosz, French and Hispanic Studies, Year 4
188. Marian-Sorinel Barbu, Accounting and Management, Year 3
189. Oliver Philip Richard Bowen, English, Year 1
190. Rosie Legg, English & Drama, Year 3
191. Amena Begum Samba, English with Creative writing, Year 1
192. Nayonica Ghosh, Linguistics and Hispanic Studies, Year 4
193. Tia Joanne King, History, Year 1
194. Angelika Norin, History, Year 2
195. Zarin Tasnim Hussain, Business management, Year 2
196. Natalia Stewart, Film Studies, Year 3
197. Suzan Al Sharif, Film Studies, Year 3
198. Ronan McGovern, Film Studies, Postgraduate (taught)
199. Zargul Zia, BA English Language and Linguistics, Year 3
200. Ryan Spitty, Film Studies, Year 3
201. Billie Axtell, Politics and International Relations, Year 3
202. Jesenia Khan, History, Year 1
203. Tristan Renville, Film Studies, Year 3
204. Sophie Chan, Economics and Politics, Year 2
205. Kayleigh Kee, Film Studies, Year 3
206. Pranshu Goyal, Bsc. Business with Law, Year 2
207. Muhammad Salmaan Saalim, History and Politics, Year 3
208. Festina Nushi, Business Management, Year 2
209. Christophe Mordant, Film Studies, Year 3
210. Ruby Fairless, Film Studies, Year 3
211. Grace Oram, Modern and Contemporary History, Year 3
212. Samuel Bailey, History, Year 3
213.
Shradha Garg, Law, Year 2
214. Mariya Hoque, LLM Human Rights, Postgraduate (taught)
215. Amelia Brennan, BA History, Year 1
216. Sarah Eraneva-Dibb History, Year 1
217. Rosie Railton, History, Year 1
218. Biah Hussain, history, Year 1219. Francesca Bennett, History, Year 1
220.
lt17202@qmul.ac.uk, Global Law, Year 4221. Saif Syed, History, Year 1
222. Sabah Ali, History, Year 1
223. Pranshu Goyal, Bsc business with law, Year 2
224. Louis Szemalikowski, History with a year abroad, Year 1
225. Rumbidzai McCabe, MSc Management of Intellectual Property, Postgraduate (taught)
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Signatories from previous draft of the open letter (duplicates excluded):
1. Medhini Pathirana, Politics and International Relations, Year 2
2. Julia Sophia Sollors, Politics with business management, Year 2
3. Claudia Babat, Politics and Sociology, Year 2
4. Schezin Azmina Masud, Politics and ir, Year 2
5. Alfie Waters, Politics, Year 2
6. Monsur Rahman, Politics, Year 2
7. Maisha Azad, International Relations, Year 2
8. Danyal Noor Ahmed, Economics and Politics, Year 2
9. Imran Hussain, Politics and International Relations, Year 2
10. Katarzyna Kaja Makowska, Politics and International Relations, Year 2
11. Sara Vieira Omar, Politics and international relations, Year 2
12. Nicola Pyne, Politics and international relations, Year 2
13. Emily Read, Politics and international relations, Year 2
14. James Alexander Richard Tabor, Politics and International Relations, Year 2
15. Amalie Juul jakobsen, International relations, Year 2
16. Lillie Mai Killington, Politics and International Relations, Year 2
17. Katie mavrides, Politics and sociology, Year 1
18. Laure Hallwood Thompson, International relations, Year 1
19. Muhammed Amir Hamzah, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Year 2
20. Hibaaq Musse, Politics and International Relations, Year 1
21. Wilma Esposito, French and Politics, Year 2
22. Anisa Alimi Politics Year 2
23. Sonya Hofer Economics and Politics Year 2
24. Maddie Webster Politics and sociology Year 2
25. Maleehah Akram Politics with international relations Year 2
26. Naim Rahman Politics and International Relations Year 2
27. Elise Clark Politics Year 2
28. Beibarys Seisembayev Politics Year 2
29. Caitlin Ellis Politics Year 2
30. Ibrahim Deen International relations Year 1
31. Nicolaos Katsavras Politics and International Relations Year 2
32. Kasey Yard Politics Year 3
33. Areeba Farooqui International Relations Year 2
34. Becky Ross History Year 3
35. Eleftheria Lydia Kouta Law Year 2
36. Evlampia Matthaiou English Literature & Linguistics Year 1
37. Eloise Harris Politics and International Relations with a Year Abroad Year 4
38. Vilte Uptaite Politics and International Relations Year 2
39. Afsana Choudhury Politics and International Relations Year 1
40. Nicola Smith International Relations Year 2
41. Cem Çıkla Politics and International Relations Year 2
42. Sara Allkja BA German and Politics Year 2
43. Boaz Hussein History and Politics Year 1
44. Giovanna Travassos Dantas Pontes International Relations Year 2
45. Marjanul Islam Politics and International Relations Year 2
46. Harriet Spoor Politics Year 1
47. Uma Pugh International Relations Year 2
48. Joeille Alfhaily Politics and International Relations Year 2
49. Aryamehr Fattahi Politics and International Relations Year 2
50. Mashiyath Qurashy Politics and International Relations Year 3
51. Aiswarya Shibu Kumar Reshmi Physics Year 2
52. Cheyenne Herminio International Relations with year abroad Year 2
53. Al-Habib Mraish Theoretical Physics Year 1
54. Luke Dod Politics Year 1
55. Olivia Matthias History and Politics Year 2
56. Hanaa Osman Economics, Statistics and Mathematics Year 2
57. Liam Dietz Politics and International Relations Year 1
58. Yaw osei bonsu Politics and international relations Year 1
59. Catarina Abadesso Politics and International Relations Year 2
60. Luke Carter Hispanic Studies and Politics Year 2
61. Tishani De Silva Politics and International Relations Year 2
62. Imogen Peckham Comparative Literature and Film Studirs Year 2
63. Emma Westcott Marketing Year 3
64. Deanna Harrison Politics Year 2
65. D’rel Gayle Modern History Year 2
66. Elodie Harvey History Year 2
67. Syed Zamin Ali Shah History and Politics Year 1
68. Benjamin Schonken Film Studies Year 2
69. Jessica Magnus History Year 2
70. Leah Farish Politics Year 2
71. Salina Sunuwar Politics and International Relations Year 1
72. Henry Weekes Politics with Business Management Year 2
73. Jack Butterworth History Year 3
74. Taslima Farzana International Relations Year 2
75. Gracie Gentzler English Literature Year 1
76. Adelina karanxha Politics with business management Year 2
77. Jay Williams Cultural History Year 2
78. Ellie HW Politics and International Relations Year 2
79. Adam Rook Politics Year 3
80. Fatima Dhaim Politics and International Relations Year 3
81. Nour Kennou Politics and International Relations Year 3
82. Rahmah Hussain International Relations Year 3
83. Rahat Syeda Politics with Business Management Year 3
84. Priscilla Tomaz Politics and International Relations Year 2
85. Ali Aryan Mechanical Engineering Year 1
86. Danny Waghorn History and Politics Year 3
87. Ronald Mess Accounting and management Year 3
88. Tara Branly Nassour Accounting and managent Year 3
89. Karim Motawe Accounting and Management Year 3
90. Nora El Fatmi Business Management Year 3
91. Altin Selmani Accounting and Management Year 3
92. Bilal Mehmood Accounting and Management Year 3
93. Kevin Kumar Lofur Accounting and Management Year 3
94. Lorraina Gabriel-Abraham International Relations Year 3
95. Greta Seiliute Business and Management Year 3
96. Gytis Babicevas Politics and International Relations Year 1
97. Jack Cottle Politics and International Relations Year 2
98. Habibah Choudhrey Computer Science with IE Year 4
99. Poppy Simmons History Year 3
100. Mariem Naguib Law Year 2
101. Rachael Clovis Law LLB Year 2
102. Eman Zeeshan Law (LLB) Year 2
103. Ibtissam Mrabet Law with Business Year 2
104. Nazia Hassan Rahman Law Year 2
105. Effie Rawlings Law Year 2
106. Ejomafuvwe Pela Law Year 2
107. Ludovica Ticali Law LLB Year 2
108. Georgia Hawthorne Law Year 2
109. Reema Alnafisi Law Year 2
110. Shlomo Schischa Law Year 2
111. Alina Liebholz Global Law Year 2
112. Noah Catharina de Mooij Global Law Year 2
113. Frazer Johnston Cousins Business & Managemebt Year 3
114. Syahin Ahmad Law Year 2
115. Nayeemah Hussain LLB Law Year 2
116. Alara Pasinli Law Year 2
117. Sarah Babiker Medical Genetics Year 1
118. Oscar Martinez Martin International Relations with a Year Abroad Year 2
119. Satyabhama Das LLB Law Year 2
120. Aleksandra Urbanska English and European Law Year 2
121. Yakoub hassan Business with Law Year 2
122. Elsa Hallaci Accounting and Management Year 2
123. Akifa Chowdhury Accounting and Management Year 2
124. Muhammad Salmaan Saalim History and Politics Year 3
125. Elizabeth Akinyemi Film Studies BA Year 3
