Physics students protest at Reading
Boffins on the warpath
By Lucy Sherriff
Published Thursday 12th October 2006 15:41 GMT
Physics students at Reading University have come out in protest
against their department's impending closure.
The students took their protest, and their banners, to a meeting of
the University senate yesterday. They wore masks depicting
vice-chancellor Professor Gordon Marshall, who announced the
decision to close the department in three years time.
Simon Stacey, president of the university's physics society said:
"No one has given us any reasons as to why the department is
closing. We're here today to ask for an explanation of their
decision and to try and get the vice-chancellor to change his mind
about the closure."
The problem lies in the way funding is allocated to universities.
Although the number of physics students has remained relatively
stable, according to the Institute of Physics (IoP), the huge
increases in the number of students in other subjects can make it
look as though it is shrinking.
Physics is also an expensive subject to teach, as are all
laboratory-based subjects. IoP assistant director of education and
science Philip Diamond said the funding allocated to teaching
physics probably doesn't reflect the costs.
"What happens is that big departments get bigger and the small
departments get smaller. At some point they drop below the level of
viability."
He added that other subjects are also at risk, including chemistry
(another expensive lab-based subject) but also modern languages,
particularly Chinese or Arabic.
Reading University's department is unlikely to be the only one in
the UK that has "dropped below the level of viability". The trouble
is, departments can't advertise their vulnerability for fear of
losing talented research staff and scaring off prospective
students.
"This is why we don't hear about it until it is too late," says
Diamond.
Similarly, it is probably already to late for Reading. Even if the
department is given a reprieve, it would be an unusual student who
would apply to a department he or she knew to be hanging by a
thread.
As Simon Stacey said: "I was hoping to go on to do a PhD at Reading
after I graduate this year. Now I'm not sure if I will be able to
do that."
SAVE PHYSICS!! 
