Letter: Students need to be away from home

From Mr Tony Lofthouse

Sir: Professor Peter Watson's insensitive attitude to the financial situation of students is quite remarkable. Students deserve the right to attend the university they choose on the basis of their qualifications; finance should not determine which university they attend, just as it should not determine whether they should or should not go to university.

Students are being exploited, and the Government and universities are letting landlords get away with it. In the Southampton area, the rent for a typical three-bedroom house will be around £500 per month; however, if you turn the house into a "student house" (i.e. turn living room and dining room into bedrooms) you can now charge £845 (where each of the five students pays the rent council maximum of £39 per week). "Demand" and "market forces" cannot justify this difference; greed justifies it.

Yours faithfully,

TONY LOFTHOUSE

Computer Science Student

University of Southampton

Southampton

6 April