Student President Jack Douglas presented local MSP George Adam with a photo album of over 500 students who have spoken out and posed with a sign saying "We need a summer safety net"
 
Students at the University of the West of Scotland speak out and warn politicians that many of them won't be able to achieve their degrees because of the lack of summer support. This statement comes after students delivered a Christmas present to MSP George Adam which contained a photo album with over 500 Students who have spoken out and posed with a sign saying "We need a Summer Safety Net".
Jack Douglas the President of the Student Association of the University of the West of Scotland said:
"There is a large proportion of students that get worried about the summer each year. Many of them will need to live in poverty over the summer, with the most disadvantaged students being scared that if something goes wrong they will not make it to the next academic year, due to the lack of support over the summer months. With the majority of disadvantaged students, all it takes is one problem at work and their return to University is put in jeopardy, without summer support we will lose these students forever."
"We are increasingly seeing more people dropping out of education due to an interruption in support from work, from a partner or parents. Austerity is hitting people harder each day. Just under half of our students drop out over the summer and the Government must do more. However this isn't just a problem at UWS but it's a problem across all of Scotland's institutions. Student Representatives across Scotland have all shared there horror stories some containing students who have even become homeless due to the lack of support,"
When Student President Jack Douglas met with local MSP George Adam and when he accepted his Christmas present we were happy to hear him say that more must be done and that he will make it his 'New Year Resolution' to look at how they can combat student support in the summer for institutions in Scotland. In the mean time we will continue to put pressure on politicians to make sure this issue stays high on the agenda at the Scottish Parliament and we look forward to see how this progresses in the future.