A Message from the Chair

Mat Coakley Cambridge students do not deserve special treatment on rents. However, the enormous privileges the University enjoys, including substantial extra money from the tax-payer, can only be justified if they benefit the most able people from right across the country - those from all backgrounds and all types of school.

Raising the cost of studying at Cambridge to upper-London levels will inevitably deter applicants from low and middle income backgrounds. If this rent hike had happened six years ago then I, and many, many others, would not be here. No-one from a state school wants to apply to somewhere that appears geared to the wealthy and super-affluent.

If you have not yet joined the rent strike I urge you to do so. Many people are worried about the risks, and scared of what College might do to them. This is understandable. But if we stand together then we can win. We are the lucky ones, despite Cambridge's elitist image we still applied and got in. We owe the next generation to make sure that everyone has that chance.

Throughout its history Cambridge has been synonymous with privilege and social exclusivity. It is up to us to ensure its future is different.

Please join the Alliance.

Best wishes,

Mat Coakley