幸好沒獨立：“留蘇格蘭”學生不用賣腎了

Sound the bagpipes, raise a wee dram of whisky, or perform any other cliché you can think of: Scotland has finally said “NO” to independence. All those months of campaigning, days’ worth of televised debate, and thousands of newspaper articles boiled down to just a few hours of voting on Thursday. Of the 4.3million Scots registered to vote, 84% turned out to decide whether Scotland should become independent from the UK. Such a high turnout was no surprise given how incredibly close the fight for independence became. The day before polling stations opened, surveys put the lead for the NO campaign (with the slogan “Better Together”) at just 2 percentage points, with 51% supporting a united Scotland versus 49% demanding independence.
吹響風笛，高舉威士忌，或者用其他你能想到的陳腔濫調來慶祝吧：蘇格蘭公投否決獨立！數月來各種運動遊行，一天到晚的電視辯論，還有成千上百的新聞社論，最終都凝聚爲週四那短短几小時的投票。四百三十萬蘇格蘭選民中，84%都投下了神聖的一票。鑑於此前獨統兩派纏鬥日益激化，如此之高的投票率也並不令人吃驚。投票站開啓的前一天，有調查顯示，反對和支持獨立的民衆比例分別是51%和49%，反對獨立的陣營（他們的口號是“在一起更好（Better Together）”）僅以2%的優勢領先。

Thankfully for the “Better Together” campaigners - who range from Prime Minister David Cameron to Harry Potter author JK Rowling - their lead not only held, but also gained pace. Perhaps a few YES voters got cold feet at the last minute; the NO campaign claimed to have more factual evidence behind it, and accused YES leaders of relying on rhetoric and emotion. With all votes cast and counted by 6.08am on Friday 19th September, it was officially announced that 55% of Scots had voted to remain in the UK.
多虧了“在一起更好”的參與者們——其中有不少名人，包括英國首相大衛·卡梅隆和《哈利波特》作者JK羅琳——他們不僅堅持同獨派對峙，還拉到了更多選票：一些原本支持獨立的人可能最後臨時改變了主意。統派稱他們有更多事實依據來反對獨立，並指責獨派領袖只知道煽情和堆文砌字。9月19日週五早上6點08分，所有的投票都統計完畢後，官方最終正式宣佈：55%的蘇格蘭人投票支持蘇格蘭留在英國。

GUARANTEED RESEARCH GRANTS
研究經費有保障

So what does this mean for students? Well, it is great news for those doing research doctorates. In the run up to the referendum, Scotland’s top university professors had split into two groups: the pro-independence “Academics for Yes” versus the anti-independence “Academics Together”. While the former argued that an autonomous Scotland would be able to better address Scottish academic interests, the latter voiced fears about cuts to funding: Scottish universities currently receive 12% of the UK’s annual £2billion research grants. The decision to stay united means these grants should remain secure.
那麼這對學生來說意味着什麼呢？對於忙着研究的博士們來說，這可是個好消息。在獨立公投的過程中，蘇格蘭頂尖大學的教授們分爲了兩個陣營：支持獨立的“獨派學者（Academics for Yes）”和反對獨立的“統派學者（Academics Together）”。前者宣稱，成爲自治國家更有利於蘇格蘭的學術研究發展。而後者則擔心獨立會導致研究資金短缺：現階段，英國政府每年20億英鎊的研究經費中，12%都撥給了蘇格蘭大學，決定保持統一也就意味着這些研究經費得到了保障。

FREE EDUCATION FOR SCOTS, AND NO PRICE HIKE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
蘇格蘭人享免費教育，國際學生學費不漲價

Meanwhile, Scottish students do not have to worry about having tuition fees introduced. Scottish universities are currently free to both native and EU students, while students from the rest of the UK must pay up to £9,000. An independent Scotland would have been forced to take UK students free of charge on grounds of non-discrimination. This would have led to a huge increase in English, Welsh and Northern Irish students flocking to Scottish universities; why pay to go to Durham when a few miles further north you can attend Edinburgh for free? The subsequent massive reduction in income for the universities would have been disastrous - and may have forced them to dramatically increase fees for non-EU international students.
同時，蘇格蘭學生也不必擔心自己得交學費了。目前蘇格蘭大學對本地和歐盟學生都是免費的，而來自英國其他地區的學生就必須交納高達9000英鎊的學費。一旦蘇格蘭獨立，基於非歧視原則，蘇格蘭的大學就必須對英國學生免費。這會導致英格蘭、威爾士和北愛爾蘭的學生們蜂擁而至：如果往北幾英里就能免費讀愛丁堡大學，幹嘛還交錢上杜倫大學？隨之而來的後果是災難性的：蘇格蘭大學的收入急劇減少，很可能被迫大幅提高非歐盟國際學生的學費。（真是那樣的話，只好去賣腎了有沒有。）

PRESERVING INTERNATIONAL REPUTATIONS
保持蘇格蘭大學的國際名譽

Staying united has also safeguarded the international reputation of Scottish universities. A survey published in the Guardian earlier this year suggested that Chinese students feared a degree from an independent Scotland would be regarded as inferior, possibly impacting the number choosing to study there. United with the rest of the UK, it seems likely that the number of international students in Scotland will continue to rise - with China leading the way. Well over 6000 Chinese students now study at Scottish universities, with over 1500 at Glasgow University alone. It’s a cultural fusion which has been a big factor in Glasgow’s ever-improving world ranking.
保持統一也保證了蘇格蘭大學在國際上的名聲。今年早些時候衛報的一項調查顯示，中國留學生擔心獨立後蘇格蘭大學學位的含金量會下降（“留學英國”必須比“留學蘇格蘭”聽起來更高大上。。。），這很可能會影響選擇去蘇格蘭留學的中國學生數量。而保持統一似乎能讓蘇格蘭的國際學生的數量持續增長——以中國留學生爲首。現在在蘇格蘭各個大學留學的中國學生超過6000人，僅格拉斯哥大學就有1500人。這種文化融合是推動格拉斯哥大學世界排名不斷前進的一個重要因素。

... AND OTHER BENEFITS
其他“好處”……

However, all of these benefits pale in comparison to the most important outcome of Scotland’s rejection of independence. As a United Kingdom, we English can continue to refer to that most horribly wonderful of delicacies as a “national dish”: the deep-fried Mars Bar. Let’s face it – battered chocolate was what the “Better Together” campaigners were really worried about losing.
然而，蘇格蘭拒絕獨立還會帶來一個至關重要的後果，讓上述所有好處都黯然失色。作爲一個統一的大英帝國，我們英格蘭人可以繼續“自豪地”把一道“美味至極”的菜餚稱作“國菜”，那就是——油炸巧克力！面對現實吧，那坨黑乎乎的糊狀巧克力纔是“在一起更好”參與者們真正擔心失去的東西！（油炸巧克力（the deep-fried Mars Bar）是蘇格蘭的著名黑暗料理，經常被英格蘭人黑你懂的。）