A.C. Grayling's proposals for private college to rival Oxbridge leads to smoke bomb protest at Foyle's bookshop

Published: 09 June 2011
by RICHARD OSLEY and JOE RENNISON

STUDENT protesters who are angry at plans to set up an American-style private university aimed at being so attractive to students it could compete with Oxford and Cambridge have pledged to stalk one of its chief organisers at public events.

Professor AC Grayling, one of the academic figures behind the New College of the Humanities planned for Bloomsbury Square, was targeted by critics during an unrelated talk on arts funding at Foyle’s bookshop in Charing Cross Road on Tuesday night. He will be the first “master” of the new university and has spent the week in newspaper and television interviews defending the project.

Critics claim the proposal for an £18,000-a-year-fee faculty will divide higher education in two, with “elitist” institutions breaking off on their own and beyond the reach of the majority of A-level students. Those who enrol for its opening in October 2012 will get the chance to study subjects including law, economics and history.

Professor Grayling has been joined by a host of famous names on the proposed staff, including historian Niall Ferguson, biologist Richard Dawkins and psychologist Steven Pinker. It has been marketed as a chance for students to tap into the expertise of some of the greatest minds in academia. Professor Grayling argues the venture will protect humanities as cuts to higher education begin to hit and provide more top grade university provision beyond the walls of Oxford and Cambridge.

London Mayor Boris Johnson welcomes the idea and, speaking on Monday, said he would support the creation of more private universities in the future.

During Professor Grayling’s visit to Foyle’s, a smoke bomb was let off in protest at the idea, filling the room with a choking red mist.

Afterwards, students, who did not want to be named, said they had put the professor on a “grey list” and would greet him with demonstrations at upcoming public events.

“Wherever Grayling goes over the next few weeks, the student movement will be there,” said one protester.

Mark Bergfeld, who has been at the forefront of student protests over the past year, said: “Grayling cannot expect anything else from the student movement in this country.”

Professor Grayling  had told students that he hoped changes to higher education could be conducted, in the case of his project, “carefully, res­ponsibly and ethically”.

He said: “It’s always upsetting to be the target of attacks. I didn’t expect to change any minds. I share the belief that we should as a society invest in education at every level. We should keep up the pressure on the government to stop the cuts and reverse them. 

“At the same time, we’ve got to think of imaginative ways of doing things. What we’re trying to do is make use of an American-style model.”

But it’s not just students that the philosopher has to convince – lecturers and academic staff from across London campuses and across the country have bombarded national newspapers with protest letters. In one of the most vehement, a group of academics including Professor Catherine Hall from UCL and Professor John Hutnyk from Goldsmiths, argued the project would change the course of higher education.

“However well-intentioned may have been the motivation of the instigators of New College, this initiative is mistaken. As a private institution of higher education, its creation is a setback for the campaign against this government’s policy – a policy of commercialisation of education through fees, as a precursor to the bankrupting, and then the asset-stripping or sale of public provision,” it read.

“Privatisation of teaching and research is not the answer. It will distort course provision and the focus of investigation. It will foster an instrumental attitude to learning among students, who will increasingly measure the value of their degrees against the private returns from possible future employment that might allow them to repay their debts."

Staff at Birkbeck College, where Professor Grayling taught philosphy, have also registered their opposition.

Simon Hamilton, of Foyle’s bookshop, said: “Professor Grayling offered to answer students’ questions for 20 minutes – we regret that one individual decided to curtail this opportunity for further discussion by letting off a smoke bomb at the end. We evacuated the room swiftly and safely.”

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