The Big Issue
In our last edition, The Badger published a breaking news story covering the struggles facing PhD students attempting to gain extensions on assignments due to mental health difficulties faced by the ongoing war in Israel and Palestine.
The story was written by an anonymous PGR (postgraduate researcher), who reported having a lack of response or adequate support from the University, when flagging the struggle of meeting assignment deadlines at the same time as suffering through news of ongoing war in their home country of Palestine. In response, The Badger also shared a reply from the University of Sussex, who summarised by saying “The University would never deny a formal extension request made on reasonable grounds, particularly where a student is directly impacted by such distressing global events”. We urge readers to look to our previous edition for the full statement made on behalf of the University.
However, as promised in our last article on this ongoing issue, I have sat down with the Student Union’s Education and Employability Officer, Lewis Wilson, who has offered us an exclusive account of what went on during negotiations behind the scenes.
What Has Been Done
Initially, it is important to note that the UCU (University and College Union) attempted to achieve a compassionate package for students affected by the Israel-Palestine conflict as had been done previously with world-wide events such as COVID-19. However whilst this was submitted to the University, it was stated that it was not under the UCU’s mandate to negotiate; hence the issue reached the desk of Lewis at the Student’s Union.
Lewis has shared the two page proposal document sent to the University, underlining its importance as the University had previously put in place support schemes such as the “Emergency Ukrainian Students Sussex Fund Appeal” which had raised approximately £64,000 to provide “hardship bursaries to Ukrainian students affected by the war” according to the University of Sussex communication on the matter published in February 2023.
Lewis’ Student’s Union proposal was sent forth in November 2024 outlining a five-point proposal for ways in which PGRs could be supported if impacted by the conflict in Israel-Palestine. The proposal included support such as allowing an extension for the period of research if the conflict affected the ability to complete research, a new budget to be set to cover these extensions and a model for an application format for studentship extensions rather than advocating for a blanket proposal.
This proposal was then advised to be forwarded to Jeremy Niven, Dean of Sussex Researcher school. Upon receiving no response, the Student’s Union was notified of Mr Niven’s absence and that a response should not be expected until early December 2024. Lewis seemed to comment that this felt “odd” considering the severity of the situation in the Middle East, and how this almost felt as though the issues were “not being taken [as] serious[ly]” as they deserved to be by those higher up in the University.
It took until December 10 2024 for Mr Niven to give a considered response to the proposal document in which he underlined that the University protocol for assessing extensions via a case-by-case basis would not be changing and that this had not been done previously for students affected by the war in Ukraine. Further, although the University had put in place a specific hardship fund for students affected by war in Ukraine, the response only pointed students affected by conflict in Israel-Palestine to the existing hardship funds available (that do not properly equip assessors to the new difficulties faced by this new conflict, this is not properly equipped to give hardship funds to those affected by conflict in Israel-Palestine).
Lewis commented that: “whilst we recognise that it’s good that students affected are able to access existing funds, by making students apply to the already stretched hardship fund and not giving them access to specifically reserved funds shows a possible discrepancy. Having these funds allocated means that students can more freely apply for extensions without having to worry about the financial pressures of studying, which are only amplified with the cost of living”.
The reason being for the University not seeing fit to produce a specific hardship fund for students affected by the Israel-Palestine conflict is due to lack of specific funds from the UK government augmented by alumni donors for the conflict, as there were for Ukraine. Thus, much of the University’s actions were guided by (lack of) government action.
With this response, Lewis expressed thoughts of being “ignored” by the Researcher School and that “they were not getting to the point” outlined in his proposal.
This therefore concludes the Student Union’s exclusive take on the (lack of) progress made on extensions or hardship funds given to PGRs affected by the conflict in Israel-Palestine.
Why So Little Progress
In an attempt to explain this decision making for students, Lewis emphasised that on some occasions the University “doesn’t take action and is scared to say the wrong thing, resulting in harming all parties”. Unfortunately in this instance “students and PGRs have not had access to help” that, comparatively, students asking for extensions unaffected by war would have had.
Though being reluctant to define whom the University would consider to be a ‘normal’ student, Lewis hinted that “so long as the University waits for government action, racist governments that get into power therefore produce racist actions (or inaction) that go unchecked that ultimately harm students”.
Lewis emphasised that whilst “students rely on the University to stand up for them and let them be cared for”, the University seems more preoccupied with NSS scores which “can only be improved if they take student issues seriously”.
Ultimately the failure to provide extensive student support for those affected by the Israel-Palestine conflict, in the view of Lewis, lies with how figures “higher up in the University” took little action in the matter, leaving Mr Niven to comment on a university-wide issue.
Despite the University of Sussex not placing specific support for students affected by the conflict in Israel-Palestine, research has revealed that many UK Universities do have support services specifically for students affected by the conflict, such as the University of Oxford, Exeter, UCL and more. More locally, I have been in touch with the University of Brighton, who have produced an International Student Hardship Fund for those affected by “unexpected costs associated with studies… personal circumstances… [or] reduction of income”. Further, the University of Brighton also offers a ‘Vice-Chancellor international scholarship’ worth £2,500 which is automatically granted to students from specific regions, including Israel and Palestine which are named on the specification for the grant. This begs the question: if universities such as Exeter can approve a blanket policy for extension claims affected by the war in Israel-Palestine, why does the University of Sussex have such a hard time implementing the same?
A University of Sussex Spokesperson Said:
“The University ensures that all students, including postgraduate researchers, affected by international crises can access a range of support, including financial support where needed. This includes Palestinian students, and others from regions experiencing war and conflict.
“The University offers a range of scholarships, including Sanctuary Scholarships, Saïd Foundation Scholarships for students from Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria, Higher Education Scholarship Palestine (HESPAL) scholarships, and Council for At-Risk Academics (CARA) PhD scholarships. This year, we also launched scholarships for Palestinian students, designed to provide sanctuary through the provision of a fully funded Master’s.
“We would encourage any students affected by an international crisis, or indeed any student needing support – whether financial or academic – to contact our student support services.”
If any student needs help proposing an exceptional circumstances claim, please reach out to your Student Union officers, Lewis Wilson and the rest of the Student Union team would like to personally extend their willingness to help any and every student on campus.
Another article you may enjoy: https://thebadgeronline.com/2025/05/inside-the-life-of-a-masters-student/