In 1968 student unrest began in response to underfunding, quality and qualifications of teachers, dissatisfaction with the principal, ceramicist Tom Arnold, and certification of graduate qualifications; the school offered a "Guildford Diploma", falsely believed to be a degree-level qualification. A 1969 brochure for 3D Design Dept. at Pewley described the Interior Design Dept. as offering a (WSCAD student 69-71) qualification affiliated to RIBA. Against a background of a period of student protest across Europe and America, students held a 'sit-in'. On 5 June the students occupied the refectory and spent many days writing a proposal to the principal Tom Arnold demanding changes. The proposal was backed by a majority of the staff, the students' parents and many eminent artists. Jack Straw, the newly elected President of the National Union of Students (NUS) and later Foreign Secretary visited the School and tried to persuade the students to end their protest. The support for the Guildford students by the NUS was limited but Straw would later help to raise the issue in the press.