Tuesday, April 16Royal Holloway's offical student publication, est. 1986

Author: Michele Theil

Principal Layzell Concedes to #RHOccupy’s Demands
20Mar By Michele TheilNo Comments
News

Principal Layzell Concedes to #RHOccupy’s Demands

Students known as #RHOccupy have now vacated the Principal’s Corridor after 5 days in position there. They made the decision to leave at 12pm today, March 20, after Chief Operating Officer (COO) David Ashton approached them with a copy of Principal Paul Layzell’s staff newsletter as well his official letter to to Alastair Jarvis, Chief Executive of Universities UK (UUK), and Sally Hunt, chair of the University and College Union. The letter to UUK and UCU called for a return to a Defined Benefit Scheme as well as supporting an indepedent evaluation of the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS). These were two of #RHOccupy’s demands, along with an apology for the way staff were treated in regards to strikes and, in particular, pay deductions with action short of a strike (ASOS). All thr...
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Students Occupy Principal’s Corridor
19Mar By Michele TheilNo Comments
News

Students Occupy Principal’s Corridor

Students occupied the Principal’s Corridor, a section of Founder’s Building, on Friday March 16 just after 12pm. They have taken up position in the corridor, just outside Principal Paul Layzell’s office and are planning to occupy until their demands are met. Their demands include: A full statement to be delivered by Paul Layzell in support of the UCU strike aims which include a defined benefit scheme and an indepedent evaluation of the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS). Paul Layzell to come out and support members of staff and students and apologise for the hard-line approach taken so far. Paul Layzell to publically back any future developments that may arise in relation to preserving the current scheme. Paul Layzell to read and take into account the letter written ...
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Bare: A Glowing Review
14Mar By Michele TheilNo Comments
Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Bare: A Glowing Review

Musical Theatre Society’s (MTS) exceptional performers and crew members were laid bare last night in the explosive Bare: A Pop Opera. This largely niche musical by Jon Hartmere and Damon Intrabartolo has been brought to our attention due to Director Anthony Underwood's brave decision to stage it - a decision that paid off immensely. George Lambourne and Daniel Edwards were amazing in their roles as Peter Simmonds and Jason McConnell, the couple that this entire show was centred on. They were extremely convincing and effective in portraying the emotion required of the show - which is a testament to their skills as actors. The chemistry between Lambourne and Edwards was really great, as was the chemistry between Edwards and Molly Cheesley, who plays his sister Nadia. Their brother-sister ...
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Over 400 Alumni Sign Open Letter to Paul Layzell
12Mar By Michele TheilNo Comments
News

Over 400 Alumni Sign Open Letter to Paul Layzell

Over 400 alumni of Royal Holloway have signed an open letter to Principal Layzell addressing the college’s response to UCU strikes as well as Layzell’s previous comments concerning the gender pay gap, which Orbital reported in January. This comes directly after Layzell’s response, both towards staff and students, in the face of strikes has come under fire. The letter was written by alumni Joe Rayment, Jamie Green and Jen Mills. It has since been signed by over 400 graduates, including four former members of the university’s Governing Council. Rayment, a current Labour councillor in Bath, said that he was “extremely disturbed by what has happened here in recent months” and he hopes “that our voices are heard and that Professor Layzell will respond to us and explain exactly how he w...
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Surface Level Suffragettes?
7Mar By Michele TheilNo Comments
Opinion

Surface Level Suffragettes?

The history of the suffrage movement is obviously very important here at Royal Holloway. So, itt makes sense for the college to find ways of celebrating this history during the centenary anniversary of Women’s Suffrage, right? Wrong. With so many lingering issues surrounding women on this campus, I'm not sure Royal Holloway should be capitalising on the suffrage movement without addressing these important issues. Since the recent unveiling of the Davison Building, named after suffragette Emily Wilding Davison as she is an alumna of this ‘feminist institution’, Royal Holloway has also placed a open exhibition with archived memorabilia in the Davison exhibition space as well as enlisting students to dress in Suffragette outfits and walk around campus on February 6, which was the day that ...
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An evening with the King himself
5Mar By Michele TheilNo Comments
Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

An evening with the King himself

Having never seen a Shakespeare Society production before, I was unsure of what to expect of Director Bethany Wilkinson’s adaptation of the infamous tragedy, King Lear. King Lear is one of my favourite plays in the world and, being quite a traditionalist with regards to Shakespeare plays, I hoped that the play would do it justice. In some ways, it definitely did. In others, it did not. Before the play officially starts, as audience members file in, the play has clearly already started, introducing us to Lear from the beginning. Jack Davies as King Lear, epitomises the idea of a ‘mad King’ by trailing around the hall, mumbling nonsense and cackling maniacally. He moves into audience members’ personal space, balling up paper and throwing it at key targets - me included. He is mad, obvious...
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Late Night Laughs
2Mar By Michele TheilNo Comments
Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Late Night Laughs

"Welcome to Late Nights in Egham!”, is the tagline accompanying Philipp Carl Kostelecky’s new project, a late-night talk show set in “our wonderful town of Egham”. Kostelecky’s pet project came to life after more than a year of discussions, writing and set up, with him dressed in a snazzy suit and ready to be the charming late night talk show host we have come to expect. His biggest inspirations come from Conan and Eric Andre, both of which he has drawn from to influence his own talk show idea. The idea was conceived on a long plane ride last summer and Kostelecky and the rest of the production team are extremely excited to see it “finally come into fruition”. Kostelecky says that he “thought the idea of a late night talk show in Egham would be fun”. The show concept was originally quit...
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Strike Action: Week One
23Feb By Michele TheilNo Comments
News

Strike Action: Week One

Strikes over the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) occurred yesterday (Thursday February 22) and today (Friday February 23) at universities all over the country. These two days of strike action ended the first week of a planned four weeks of strike action, called for by the Universities and College Union (UCU) as a result of lecturers and academics losing their defined contribution scheme to their pensions. Thursday’s strike saw a large turnout of lecturers from several departments that contributed to the atmosphere of the entire event. The strike leader, a designated representative of the UCU donning a high-visibility jacket and coordinating the picket line, was quick to discuss the picketing situation with security guards from RHUL. The security guards cited an official law tha...
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UCU Warns of an Extension of Strike Action
22Feb By Michele TheilNo Comments
News

UCU Warns of an Extension of Strike Action

There are plans in motion to escalate the strikes into university exam season in April, May and June. As of February 21, there has been no resolution to the dispute between universities and the University and College Union (UCU) over the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) that would leave lecturers losing an estimated £10,000 to their pension. The General Secretary of the UCU, Sally Hunt, has warned that there is a possibility of strike action being extended if negotiations are not successful in seeking a resolution to the pension dispute. The extension of strike action would lead into exam season, with the potential to disrupt exams for all students, but with a particularly strong impact on final year students. She said that she wouldn’t “rule that off the table at this point ...
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