The vote today will decide the fate of Humanities at Queen’s

Here on the Tab we’ve covered the ongoing fight against the size and shape review a number of times. From protests to a petition amassing nearly 3,000 signatures. Today, after a brief but ubiquitous campaign the ultimate decision comes down to a student referendum on the Queen’s Online service.

The position states: “Queen’s University Belfast should reverse course closures, cuts to student places and the arbitrary increase of A-level entry tariffs, as outlined in the Size and Shape Review” and gives student the option to “agree”, “disagree” or state a position of “neither”.

The vote will be most vital in deciding the fate of the Anthropology course at Queen’s, whose single honours degree will be shelved at the end of this three year cycle if the Size and Shape review goes through. However many argue that this is more important in showing the future of humanities at Queens as while Anthropology is being divested, STEM subjects are being expanded. Many see this as a trend that could continues into other degrees in the arts and humanities.

Anthropology third-year, Charlotte Troy, said: “Whilst I find the senate at this university deplorable I’m proud to attend this university with people who care about the direction it’s taking. I’m looking forward to seeing the outcome of the referendum and I would like to thank all of those who took the time to lend their voices to the cause.”

If you are a Queen’s Student that would like to take part in the vote you can find it on QOL in the bottom left hand corner under the heading “Services”. From there hit the drop down menu “Other” and click on the link “Online Voting”.

Voting closes at 8pm this evening, Thursday 12th May.