{"id":17446,"date":"2012-05-18T06:00:03","date_gmt":"2012-05-18T04:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/?p=17446\/"},"modified":"2017-01-21T01:41:07","modified_gmt":"2017-01-21T01:41:07","slug":"only-money-for-cheap-champagne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/only-money-for-cheap-champagne\/","title":{"rendered":"Only money for cheap champagne"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00bbNot bad. Sippin\u2019 champagne while working!\u00ab<\/p>\n

Our photographer is visibly pleased to be covering the centennial of The Students\u2019 Union at the University of Copenhagen. However, he is also slightly wrong. The sparkling wine that we are washing down canap\u00e9s, grissini sticks and cream-cheese-filled tomatoes with, is as a matter of fact not champagne. Mont Michel demi sec is a EUR 11-a-bottle cava \u2013 the French original\u2019s cheaper Spanish cousin.<\/p>\n

However the bubbles are plentiful, and the entire anniversary \u2013 tastefully set in one of the University\u2019s old halls \u2013 does not quite seem to fit the oft-painted portrait of Europe\u2019s impoverished masses of young academics on the verge of desperation. <\/p>\n

On the contrary, the well-dressed crowd seems rather happy and satisfied as they, accompanied by the pleasant background sound of a jazz duo \u2013 chit chat with mouths full of finger food. Hugs are given, shoulders are patted, smiles are smiled. And as the chairman of the University of Copenhagen Students\u2019 Union \u2013 Bjarke Lindeman Jepsen \u2013 steps on to the platform the applause is as loud as one could expect from a pleased crowd with hands full of glasses and plates. It is repeated several times \u2013 for instance when the chairman talks about the Union\u2019s latest achievement, the securing of a guaranteed minimum of 14 weekly lessons for all BA-students already from 2013. <\/p>\n

\u00bbThe Students\u2019 Union is super at speaking the students\u2019 cause,\u00ab Bjarke Lindemann Jepsen concludes.<\/p>\n

\u00bbWe want to have the best education programmes that are possible,\u00ab (yet another round of applause),\u00bband we want security. Security when it comes to finances, housing and jobs.\u00ab<\/p>\n

I find a table, empty my glass \u2013 it strikes me that I actually find Mont Michel a little too tart \u2013 open a notebook and scribble down the following question: \u00bbBut wouldn\u2019t a lot of people say, that Danish students have got all that already?\u00ab<\/p>\n

It\u2019s complicated<\/h2>\n

They sure would. But a great number would also disagree. An overview of the Danish political spectrum shows that the adjectives used to describe the Danish students go from \u2018poor\u2019 to \u2018spoilt\u2019. But which is it then? The University Post asked Bjarke Lindeman Jepsen and the vice-president of the Students\u2019 Union, Maria Toft a few days later:<\/p>\n

\u00bbFirst of all, it is important to recognize that students\u2019 life conditions are a complex phenomenon. It is correct that Danish students, among other things due to the SU (lump monthly grant, available to all Danish university students, ed.) have a relatively high income. But the Danish living expenses are at the same time very high,\u00ab Bjarke Lindeman Jepsen says.<\/p>\n

\u00bbFurthermore it is also a political question: Under what circumstances do we want our students to live? Do we want them to struggle to make ends meet? Or do we want them to have the security to focus on their studies?\u00ab<\/p>\n

But still: Danish students are among those students with the highest income in Europe. But at the same time the \u20182011 Eurostudent Survey\u2019 shows that they are not the most satisfied? How do you explain that?<\/p>\n

\u00bbAgain, it is not enough to look at the income,\u00ab Maria Toft says. \u00bbIt must be perceived in its entire context of student life conditions. And in Copenhagen a huge number of students have a hard time finding a cheap place to stay while studying.\u00ab<\/p>\n

\u00bbThe whole SU-system as a concept is great and has proven its worth during the economic crisis,\u00ab Bjarke Lindemans adds. \u00bbTogether with tuition-free university it ensures that students can complete their education without too much debt – and that is essential to get us through the crisis.\u00ab<\/p>\n

SU for security and mobility<\/h2>\n

A number of Danish economists have suggested a reform of the SU-system, so that students get support during their Bachelor\u2019s degree, but have to finance \u2013 through government loans \u2013 their Master\u2019s degree themselves. What do you think of that? \u00bbI do understand some economists try to find money somewhere. But there are a great number of \u2018ifs\u2019 and it is a dangerous path to take.\u00ab<\/p>\n

\u00bbFirst of all, as it is right now in Denmark there is no job market for graduates with only a Bachelor\u2019s degree. And furthermore, every study suggests that one of the great things about the SU system is that it secures social mobility – meaning that it encourages young people, whose parents cannot support their education, to go to university. I fear that a reform of the SU system would threaten that. Furthermore the idea of financing one\u2019s education through loans is built on the premise that the student will be easily able to pay their debt after they have graduated. But that does not match the unemployment we are experiencing right now \u2013 and have experienced for quite some time.\u00ab<\/p>\n

Maria Toft continues: \u00bbIt should also be remembered that higher education, which for instance DEA (The Danish Business Research Academy, ed.) has argued, is a good social-economic investment.\u00ab<\/p>\n

Danish students are also European<\/h2>\n

Are the Danish students not privileged when you compare them to other European students?<\/p>\n

\u00bbI do believe that a lot of Danish students are happy with the SU system,\u00ab Marie Toft counters.<\/p>\n

\u00bbBut again: We often meet people who are having difficulty making ends meet despite of their SU.\u00ab<\/p>\n

Danish students do feel the European crisis, the chairman and the vice-president both emphasize. <\/p>\n

\u00bbWe have experienced structural changes and cutbacks in many University faculties – and the students feel it,\u00ab Bjarke Lindeman Jepsen says.<\/p>\n

\u00bbAnd people tend to forget that the students actually care about these things. In the last couple of years we have had a several large demonstrations, so the whole prejudice about the spoilt and indifferent Danish students is fundamentally wrong.\u00ab<\/p>\n

\u00bbWe are facing the same problems as the rest of Europe. For instance the significant problem of unemployment among young academics,\u00ab Maria Toft says. \u00bbConsequently the Students\u2019 Union recently took part in a large transnational gathering of European student politicians where we discussed these topics because these are indeed issues which threaten all of us.\u00ab<\/p>\n

Chairman Bjarke Lindeman Jepsen agrees:<\/p>\n

\u00bbEven though our politicians in general have taken the right decisions so far, we feel the general trends that the crisis has brought to the agenda all over Europe. Suddenly it is considered OK to consider cutbacks, to question the system of free education and to consider other economic reforms. So even though the Students\u2019 Union has just turned 100, we are still facing some of the same fundamental challenges we did back in 1912. In the following years our central tasks will be to emphasize the understanding of the importance of education and continue the effort of securing the students\u2019 conditions of life.\u00ab<\/p>\n

Reception\/recession?<\/h2>\n

A few days earlier. <\/p>\n

The reception is about to end. Bjarke Lindeman Jepsen has just received a Royal Copenhagen coffee-set from University of Copenhagen Rector Ralf Hemmingsen. In his speech, Hemmingsen lingered about the fact that the Students\u2019 Union emerged the same year that the Titanic sank.<\/p>\n

\u00bbI\u2019m getting a little tipsy,\u00ab a guy confesses to another, and empties his glass for the last drops of Mont Michel. Not a really surprising statement. The trays are empty \u2013 besides a few chunks of homemade hummus \u2013 and we are down to the last bottle of bubbles. There is still draught beer, though.<\/p>\n

Read the latest comment by chairman and vice-chairman of the Student Union (Council) here.<\/a><\/p>\n

universitypost@adm.ku.dk<\/p>\n

Stay in the know about news and events happening in Copenhagen by signing up for the University Post\u2019s weekly newsletter here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is still a lot to fight for, maintain activists, as they celebrated 100 years of the students\u2019 union<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":17449,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","expression-news_article"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nOnly money for cheap champagne<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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is still a lot to fight for, maintain activists, as they celebrated 100 years of the students\u2019 union","use_post_excerpt":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"Byline","is_author":false,"contributors":[{"use_registered_user":false,"user":false,"contributor_name":"Nicklas Freisleben Lund","contributor_title":" ","contributor_image":false}]},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<p>\u00bbNot bad. Sippin\u2019 champagne while working!\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>Our photographer is visibly pleased to be covering the centennial of The Students\u2019 Union at the University of Copenhagen. However, he is also slightly wrong. The sparkling wine that we are washing down canap\u00e9s, grissini sticks and cream-cheese-filled tomatoes with, is as a matter of fact not champagne. Mont Michel demi sec is a EUR 11-a-bottle cava \u2013 the French original\u2019s cheaper Spanish cousin.<\/p>\n<p>However the bubbles are plentiful, and the entire anniversary \u2013 tastefully set in one of the University\u2019s old halls \u2013 does not quite seem to fit the oft-painted portrait of Europe\u2019s impoverished masses of young academics on the verge of desperation. <\/p>\n<p>On the contrary, the well-dressed crowd seems rather happy and satisfied as they, accompanied by the pleasant background sound of a jazz duo \u2013 chit chat with mouths full of finger food. Hugs are given, shoulders are patted, smiles are smiled. And as the chairman of the University of Copenhagen Students\u2019 Union \u2013 Bjarke Lindeman Jepsen \u2013 steps on to the platform the applause is as loud as one could expect from a pleased crowd with hands full of glasses and plates. It is repeated several times \u2013 for instance when the chairman talks about the Union\u2019s latest achievement, the securing of a guaranteed minimum of 14 weekly lessons for all BA-students already from 2013. <\/p>\n<p>\u00bbThe Students\u2019 Union is super at speaking the students\u2019 cause,\u00ab Bjarke Lindemann Jepsen concludes.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbWe want to have the best education programmes that are possible,\u00ab (yet another round of applause),\u00bband we want security. Security when it comes to finances, housing and jobs.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>I find a table, empty my glass \u2013 it strikes me that I actually find Mont Michel a little too tart \u2013 open a notebook and scribble down the following question: \u00bbBut wouldn\u2019t a lot of people say, that Danish students have got all that already?\u00ab<\/p>\n<h2>It\u2019s complicated<\/h2>\n<p>They sure would. But a great number would also disagree. An overview of the Danish political spectrum shows that the adjectives used to describe the Danish students go from \u2018poor\u2019 to \u2018spoilt\u2019. But which is it then? The University Post asked Bjarke Lindeman Jepsen and the vice-president of the Students\u2019 Union, Maria Toft a few days later:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbFirst of all, it is important to recognize that students\u2019 life conditions are a complex phenomenon. It is correct that Danish students, among other things due to the SU (lump monthly grant, available to all Danish university students, ed.) have a relatively high income. But the Danish living expenses are at the same time very high,\u00ab Bjarke Lindeman Jepsen says.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbFurthermore it is also a political question: Under what circumstances do we want our students to live? Do we want them to struggle to make ends meet? Or do we want them to have the security to focus on their studies?\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>But still: Danish students are among those students with the highest income in Europe. But at the same time the \u20182011 Eurostudent Survey\u2019 shows that they are not the most satisfied? How do you explain that?<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbAgain, it is not enough to look at the income,\u00ab Maria Toft says. \u00bbIt must be perceived in its entire context of student life conditions. And in Copenhagen a huge number of students have a hard time finding a cheap place to stay while studying.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbThe whole SU-system as a concept is great and has proven its worth during the economic crisis,\u00ab Bjarke Lindemans adds. \u00bbTogether with tuition-free university it ensures that students can complete their education without too much debt – and that is essential to get us through the crisis.\u00ab<\/p>\n<h2>SU for security and mobility<\/h2>\n<p>A number of Danish economists have suggested a reform of the SU-system, so that students get support during their Bachelor\u2019s degree, but have to finance \u2013 through government loans \u2013 their Master\u2019s degree themselves. What do you think of that? \u00bbI do understand some economists try to find money somewhere. But there are a great number of \u2018ifs\u2019 and it is a dangerous path to take.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbFirst of all, as it is right now in Denmark there is no job market for graduates with only a Bachelor\u2019s degree. And furthermore, every study suggests that one of the great things about the SU system is that it secures social mobility – meaning that it encourages young people, whose parents cannot support their education, to go to university. I fear that a reform of the SU system would threaten that. Furthermore the idea of financing one\u2019s education through loans is built on the premise that the student will be easily able to pay their debt after they have graduated. But that does not match the unemployment we are experiencing right now \u2013 and have experienced for quite some time.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>Maria Toft continues: \u00bbIt should also be remembered that higher education, which for instance DEA (The Danish Business Research Academy, ed.) has argued, is a good social-economic investment.\u00ab<\/p>\n<h2>Danish students are also European<\/h2>\n<p>Are the Danish students not privileged when you compare them to other European students?<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI do believe that a lot of Danish students are happy with the SU system,\u00ab Marie Toft counters.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbBut again: We often meet people who are having difficulty making ends meet despite of their SU.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>Danish students do feel the European crisis, the chairman and the vice-president both emphasize. <\/p>\n<p>\u00bbWe have experienced structural changes and cutbacks in many University faculties – and the students feel it,\u00ab Bjarke Lindeman Jepsen says.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbAnd people tend to forget that the students actually care about these things. In the last couple of years we have had a several large demonstrations, so the whole prejudice about the spoilt and indifferent Danish students is fundamentally wrong.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbWe are facing the same problems as the rest of Europe. For instance the significant problem of unemployment among young academics,\u00ab Maria Toft says. \u00bbConsequently the Students\u2019 Union recently took part in a large transnational gathering of European student politicians where we discussed these topics because these are indeed issues which threaten all of us.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>Chairman Bjarke Lindeman Jepsen agrees:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbEven though our politicians in general have taken the right decisions so far, we feel the general trends that the crisis has brought to the agenda all over Europe. Suddenly it is considered OK to consider cutbacks, to question the system of free education and to consider other economic reforms. So even though the Students\u2019 Union has just turned 100, we are still facing some of the same fundamental challenges we did back in 1912. In the following years our central tasks will be to emphasize the understanding of the importance of education and continue the effort of securing the students\u2019 conditions of life.\u00ab<\/p>\n<h2>Reception\/recession?<\/h2>\n<p>A few days earlier. <\/p>\n<p>The reception is about to end. Bjarke Lindeman Jepsen has just received a Royal Copenhagen coffee-set from University of Copenhagen Rector Ralf Hemmingsen. In his speech, Hemmingsen lingered about the fact that the Students\u2019 Union emerged the same year that the Titanic sank.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI\u2019m getting a little tipsy,\u00ab a guy confesses to another, and empties his glass for the last drops of Mont Michel. Not a really surprising statement. The trays are empty \u2013 besides a few chunks of homemade hummus \u2013 and we are down to the last bottle of bubbles. There is still draught beer, though.<\/p>\n<p>Read the <a href=\"node\/14692\">latest comment by chairman and vice-chairman of the Student Union (Council) here.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>universitypost@adm.ku.dk<\/p>\n<p><em>Stay in the know about news and events happening in Copenhagen by <a href=\"http:\/\/universitypost.dk\/newsletter\" target=\"_blank\">signing up for the University Post\u2019s weekly newsletter here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"ArticleEnd"},{"acf_fc_layout":"OtherStories","headline":"","hand_picked_posts":false,"references":false,"category":false,"theme":false,"number_of_posts":"4","style":"default"}]},"taxonomyData":{"category":[{"term_id":48,"name":"Politics","slug":"politics","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":48,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":1036,"filter":"raw"}],"post_tag":[],"post_format":[],"expression":[{"term_id":15,"name":"News Article","slug":"news_article","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":15,"taxonomy":"expression","description":"","parent":0,"count":11492,"filter":"raw"}],"translation_priority":[]},"featured_media_url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/7_17-1-1280x853.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17446"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17446\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35917,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17446\/revisions\/35917"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}