US Republican presidential candidate Jimmy McMillan has expressed a willingness to be involved with OUSU’s “Rent Is Too Damn High” campaign.
OUSU told Cherwell that the politician, who came to prominence through his own “Rent Is Too Damn High” campaign in New York, has voiced an interest in supporting them.
McMillan has unsuccessfully run several times for Governor and Mayor of New York .
OUSU’s campaign aims to build a consensus that studying at Oxford must be affordable, that colleges are not businesses, and that students are not an income stream.
This follows a vote taken at last week’s OUSU council meeting, which called for all colleges to maintain current rent levels for the coming academic year.
OUSU is also seeking to raise awareness that many colleges “plough through huge rent hikes with virtually no consultation”.
As part of the new campaign, OUSU is looking for examples of both the best and worst value college rooms.
OUSU President David Barclay has therefore urged students to get in contact with a photo and explanation of their situation.
A recent email stated, “If you’re paying peanuts for a massive pad, or paying through the nose for a box, we want to hear from you!”
Having won the support of McMillan, OUSU are currently trying to contact Ed Miliband, who was previously OUSU Rent and Accommodation Officer, and supported the Corpus Christi rent campaign last year, where a 15% rise in rent has occurred over the last three years.
