An Edi student has made a map of alternative places to study during strikes

An Edinburgh uni student has made an online map of alternative study spaces in Edinburgh in order to make it easier for students to both study and support the strike.

Fourth year Ruby told The Edinburgh Tab: “I made this map because I wanted to make it easier for students to support the strike, whilst still carrying on with the studies. Being told you shouldn’t cross a picket line can be really daunting if you’ve only ever studied in the main library, so I started collecting study spaces all over the city on this map to help people find an alternative spot that doesn’t involve crossing a picket.

“The point of a strike is to disrupt things, to make sure that business doesn’t carry on as usual, and by not crossing a picket you are showing your support and increasing the impact of the strike. A picket line isn’t really just the bit by the main entrance where there are pictures in person – going in round the back, or after the picketers have gone on a strike day, has the same effect as crossing the picket.”

The study spaces listed on the map are a mixture of cafes and public libraries. It also suggests some more obscure places to study like the National Museum of Scotland that you may not have considered studying in before. The map is interactive so other student can edit it and add their own favourite spots.

Sometimes crossing a picket line can be unavoidable, particularly for students on Tier 4 visas who are under an obligation to attend a certain number of hours of teaching in order to remain on their course. However, Ruby points out that for those others who don’t have to be in uni, finding alternative places to study is a “really simple thing to do”.

You can access the map following this link. If you feel that studying in alternative study places still isn’t enough to show your support for the strikes, Ruby suggests you could “read up on on the strike demands, go along to the pickets; or channel your frustrations towards senior management.”