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Student Occupiers Condemn Principal’s Expenses

As the student occupation of the University of Aberdeen reaches its one week anniversary, the occupiers have hit-out against the “shocking” total of the Principal’s expenses over the last year – over £17,000, not including daily allowances of up to £55.

The revelation of the Principal’s expenses – more, annually, than many of the University’s staff are paid – comes just days after a Freedom of Information request, submitted by the occupiers, showed that the University has spent over £193,000 in bonuses for senior staff over the last year.

“This, from a man earning £700 a day, is genuinely appalling.” Said Gordon Maloney, a 21 year-old linguistics student that has slept in the occupation every night since it began. “Some of the items he is claiming expenses for paint a picture of a man profoundly detached from the reality in which he lives. For example, on the sixth of September, he claimed £1.30 on a bus ticket in Edinburgh. The idea that he kept this ticket on him until his return to Aberdeen and then filled out a form for it, is laughable. In fact, he would earn more in the first two minutes of his bus journey than he is claiming back for.

“When lecturers, staff and students are being told there’s not enough money and being asked to take the hit but to keep-up the level of commitment, it beggars belief that the Principal thinks this is appropriate. We understand that these expenses are work related, but while asking staff to accept massive cuts to their pensions, you’d think the principal could afford to buy a coffee or a bus ticket out his own pocket.”

“It’s difficult not to be reminded of the Westminster expenses’ scandal, and there seems to be the same culture of entitlement and unaccountability here in public Universities.” Said Dominic O’Hagan, a 22 year-old Politics and IR student.

The students, who have been organising regular lectures, talks and workshops in the occupied rooms, are demanding that the principal commit to speaking out against the proposed lecturers’ pension reforms and that he turn down any bonus or raise and although they have met with management on more than one occasion, they say they are unsatisfied with the concessions made to them so far and that they are willing to stay as long as it takes.

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