London university tells student she cannot breastfeed on campus

theguardian.com:

A woman has been told she cannot breastfeed her baby on campus at one of the world’s most prestigious arts schools.

Jasmijn Toffano, a student at Central Saint Martins, was initially led to believe there would be no problem bringing her newborn daughter to classes, but said the college reversed that days before she was due to start her course, leaving her struggling to find childcare and to fulfil her course obligations.

Now she is campaigning to convince every university in the UK to provide spaces where parents can care for their children on or near campus.

“What I would like to see in the future is that students who have children do not have to drop out of university because of the lack of support … I believe we can make a change, and it’s not impossible,” she said.

Toffano, 29, and her husband, Riccardo Mangiapelo, are in discussions with the college, whose alumni include Stella McCartney, Louise Wilson, John Galliano and Alexander McQueen and which is part of University of the Arts London (UAL). All parties have indicated a willingness to work together to find a reasonable solution.

The couple have suggested that, over the longer term, higher educational institutions are supported to either provide on-campus nursery space or work with established local nurseries to provide affordable childcare for students and staff: “This should be a standard for all universities and should be supported by the government to help universities and students and staff cover the costs.”

The problem arose shortly before Toffano was due to return to her graphic communication design classes this academic year. According to the Times, she told staff in January that she was pregnant, revisited the matter with them in the summer and was under the