Students and staff are strongly in favour of remaining in the EU

The Vice Chancellor recently encouraged students and staff to take part in an online survey regarding their views on the upcoming EU referendum. The results show that students and staff have a strong wish to remain in the EU.

Of the 3,300 Sussex staff and students completed the short questionnaire, a staggering 82 per cent said they would prefer to remain in the EU, with only 10 per cent saying they were pro-Brexit. Those surveyed also showed a strong will to vote, with 71 per cent of staff and students stating that they would be “absolutely certain to vote” if the EU referendum were held tomorrow.

Approximately 13 per cent of students and 66 per cent of staff completed the survey.

Speaking to the university,  Vice-Chancellor Professor Michael Farthing, said: “I am delighted that so many of our students and staff chose to share their views with us, whether or not they are able to vote in the referendum on 23 June.

“As a university we will not be using these results to campaign for either leaving or remaining in the EU.

“But we wanted to ensure that a representative view of the 17,000 people in the Sussex campus community is reflected in our communications, including the many EU events and talks we are hosting in the lead-up to the referendum.”

The SU is also currently holding a referendum on the topic, asking students whether the SU should campaign to remain in the EU. The full-time elected SU officers including Bethan Hunt and Sarah Gibbons have publicly announced  that they have voted yes to the motion, with Hunt saying: “we must encourage free movement to study and learn, not only to further academic opportunities and a knowledge economy, but to encourage a generation of global citizens and foster social cohesion.”