Caroline Proctor
caggles.bsky.social
Caroline Proctor
@caggles.bsky.social
UCU NEC member (Midlands), UCU Commons member, interested in higher education, food, LARP, meteorology, Sea Cadets and naval history. Occasional Arma3 content because we all need a hobby.
There's something hugely satisfying when you're developing a new system and you've spent weeks doing architecture and writing helper functions and securing data, and then it all comes together into something you can SHOW people in a few days.
July 30, 2025 at 11:47 AM
I am not built for heat. There is an entire swampy ecosystem building up under my boobs and I don't think I'm ready for that kind of responsibility.
July 1, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Reposted by Caroline Proctor
I’m watching parliament’s women and equalities committee grill Baroness Falkner and the EHRC so you don’t have to, follow along with this thread for a summary of what’s said
June 11, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Reposted by Caroline Proctor
** Latest ** This is the latest video from the Trans Exile Network, it is a very short speech (7 mins) which I made to the national GMB Union Annual Congress on 9th June 2025, yesterday as I post this.
youtu.be/6LCWFzf4vRs
GMB 2025 Speech
YouTube video by Trans Exile Network
youtu.be
June 10, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Reposted by Caroline Proctor
#NoSleepForICE #ICEOutOfLA - Hilton Garden Inn in #Arcadia
June 11, 2025 at 3:09 AM
Reposted by Caroline Proctor
by framing peaceful protests as only those protests that do not destroy or damage property the state/media/ideological apparatus(es) designate property as that which must be protected and citizens as those who can be subjected to violence *in order to protect property*
June 10, 2025 at 8:18 AM
Reposted by Caroline Proctor
We've written a blog post full of steps everyone can take, right now, to support trans people following the Supreme Court ruling and the EHRC interim guidance. Thanks especially to @hagenilda.bsky.social for all her work on it! 🏳️‍⚧️

open.substack.com/pub/ucucommo...
Take action now for trans rights.
Some practical ways you can show your support for trans people in the wake of the 16th April Supreme Court ruling.
open.substack.com
April 29, 2025 at 1:46 PM
In solidarity with the principles of trade unions, I will not be crossing a picket line this Friday, and I will therefore not be attending NEC as representative for the Midlands.

I urge UCU to work with Unite UCU to establish positive actions for resolution of this dispute.
April 29, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Reposted by Caroline Proctor
Auditors have raised serious concerns about Coventry University's financial future, putting hundreds of jobs at risk. UCU is calling for urgent transparency. Staff and students deserve clarity now. bit.ly/44m741F
Coventry University staff seek urgent answers following auditors' warning on institution's future
University and College Union (UCU) has called for immediate transparency from Coventry University after its recently published Annual Report and Financial Statements revealed a concerning warning from...
bit.ly
April 14, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Reposted by Caroline Proctor
Hey, did you know there's an alternative to ChatGPT that makes sense economically and doesn't destroy the environment?
It's called English majors and they will happily fix all of your documents for the low price of health insurance and a living wage.
April 14, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Reposted by Caroline Proctor
Solidarity with Nottingham University UCU as job cuts are announced.

They must be really missing their brilliant Agnes Flues too, more than usual.
And there it is. A shocking, appalling, and deeply disappointing announcement of an entirely unnecessary move from the university.

But this is exactly why we have already started organising .
University of Nottingham plans to cut more than 250 jobs
Announcing the consultation, the university said it was a "critical moment for universities across the UK".
www.bbc.co.uk
April 9, 2025 at 8:50 AM
Reposted by Caroline Proctor
Me again on another dimension of the UK universities crisis. This time I'm thinking about the huge risks to national security and government ability that it represents, and not in the ways you might think either.
Why Isn’t the UK University Crisis a National Security Emergency?
It really should be.
hitchcockian.medium.com
April 4, 2025 at 11:22 AM
Seriously sprained my elbow a couple of weeks back, and it's still recovering. Going to the Skunk Anansie gig last night at Rock City didn't help, but I didn't care because it was absolutely epic and painkillers are wonderful things!

Today, though? Today I have painful regrets in my right arm.
April 4, 2025 at 12:38 PM
On today, trans day of visibility, as on every other day I stand and shout that trans rights are human rights.

Solidarity, love and support for all trans colleagues and friends who face utter bullshit every day for just existing.
March 31, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Reposted by Caroline Proctor
For #UCU migrant members:

UCU Migrant Members' Standing Committee is running a vital survey to gather member experiences of institutional support for visa-related expenses.

The survey link is here: yoursay.ucu.org.uk/s3/Migrant-s...

Deadline for responses is Friday 11th April.
Migrant survey 2025
yoursay.ucu.org.uk
March 26, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Reposted by Caroline Proctor
My thruppence on the current crisis across the UK university sector: THREE cheap easy wins that the government could implement to solve the short term issue, thereby helping us discuss the long term ones.

tacity.co.uk/2025/03/26/t...
Three Immediate, Cost-Free Interventions to Avert Collapse in UK Higher Education
UK higher education (HE) is undergoing a profound and deeply unsettling crisis. Universities across the country including Newcastle, Cardiff, UEA, Dundee and many others (seemingly by the day) are …
tacity.co.uk
March 26, 2025 at 8:15 AM
Reposted by Caroline Proctor
Shout out to our UCU colleagues across the Midlands + the UK, esp Coventry University UCU for their Alternative Open Day this Sat (15/3/25). Coventry is just one of many UKHE institutions whose VC is pushing redundancies + reductions of terms and conditions for staff.
March 13, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Reposted by Caroline Proctor
Sounds worrying - despite the presence of copious water, as the old COSHH sheets call it, fire on ships (especially ships carrying very flammable stuff) is a very dim prospect indeed.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cg...
Oil tanker and cargo vessel collide in North Sea
Lifeboats and firefighting teams are on the scene, after two ships collide off the coast of East Yorkshire.
www.bbc.co.uk
March 10, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Reposted by Caroline Proctor
Stunning new visualization of global temperatures since 1940, from @hausfath.bsky.social

www.theclimatebrink.com/p/visualizin...
March 5, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Reposted by Caroline Proctor
NEW: The Trump admin has informed NOAA that two buildings that are critical for weather forecasting will have their leases canceled. If this comes to pass, it's a really big deal. Includes weather fcst nerve center in College Park, Md.: www.axios.com/2025/03/03/d...
DOGE moves to cancel NOAA leases at critical forecasting centers
NOAA's nerve center of national weather forecasting is on a lease cancellation list.
www.axios.com
March 3, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Reposted by Caroline Proctor
The sad thing is that email and admin have taken over academic life so much that many of us have to squeeze in the poisoning of minds on evenings and weekends.
Kemi Badenoch this morning: "A country cannot be successful if its people and intellectual elite don’t believe in it. This means dealing with the poisoning of minds through higher education."
February 17, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Reposted by Caroline Proctor
Quite an exchange here between Judge Reyes and DOJ attorney on how "pronoun usage" affects military readiness.
February 18, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Reposted by Caroline Proctor
“Many say that while they still love their work — and particularly working with students — they don’t know how long they can maintain their current pace. ‘Most of us are working seven days a week just to keep up… That’s not sustainable at all.’”
Higher Education Is Exhausted
Some don’t see a future in a sector battling for its very existence.
www.chronicle.com
February 18, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Reposted by Caroline Proctor
Vitally important that people vote in the UCU elections - to reclaim our union and for a union that is member-led and seeks to listen to - and not educate - its members. #UCUelections #CampusTradeUnions www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/stri...
Striking over pay amid the UK’s financial crisis is misguided at best
The work of lobbying policymakers to make HE a higher priority is undermined by the endless pantomime of UCU’s internal politics, says Dyfrig Jones
www.timeshighereducation.com
February 7, 2025 at 10:42 AM
Reposted by Caroline Proctor
This is huge. My petition got approved. It challenges the UK government to the lift the Puberty Blocker ban on the grounds that it contradicts article 8 of The United Nations Convention On The Rights Of The Child.

Please sign and Repost ✊️🏳️‍⚧️

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/70...
Petition: Lift restrictions on prescribing puberty blockers to trans children.
We want the Government to reverse the restrictions it has introduced relating to the prescription of puberty blockers to children. The Government introduced legislation banning them from being prescri...
petition.parliament.uk
February 5, 2025 at 3:46 PM