Thursday, March 28Royal Holloway's offical student publication, est. 1986

Author: Alice Reynolds

Bears Night: £2000 Raised for Sports and Societies
Sports & Socs

Bears Night: £2000 Raised for Sports and Societies

‘Bears Night’, a fundraising night ran by the SU, was back for the second year running this October, and this time it was bigger than ever before. With 1000 of you through the door on the night, meaning over 1000 bears t-shirts sold and worn, 2016 has started off promising for clubs and societies, where over £2000 was raised through tickets sales to be directly invested back into the numerous sports and societies on campus. Vice-President Sports and Development, Steff Milne said of the event: “This is an amazing thing to have achieved and it’s all down to you guys! We smashed last year in terms of sales of tickets and the general event”. As well as being a key fundraising event, the night acted as a launch for the Royal Holloway Bears branding, which covers sports, fitness and act...
University grants scrapped.
News

University grants scrapped.

As of last Monday, students starting university courses in England will no longer be able to receive maintenance grants. The change, announced in 2015 by Chancellor George Osborne, condemns poorer students into a ‘lifetime of debt’, according to the NUS, with the move deemed as ‘disgraceful’. The vice-president of the NUS, Sorana Vieru, says that the move: “punishes poorer students simply for being poor, so they have to take a bigger loan than those students from privileged backgrounds. “It could put off students from underprivileged backgrounds from applying, who might not understand how the loan system works, or are very debt-averse. “We also know that mature students are way more debt-averse than younger students and BME students perceive student debt on a par with commercia...
SPOTLIGHT ON: THE 80s SOCIETY.
Sports & Socs

SPOTLIGHT ON: THE 80s SOCIETY.

With the 80s Society grooving into their very successful first year, nominated for ‘Best New Society’ at this year’s Societies ball, I speak to the 80s Society committee to find out more. President: Leah Hewerdine Treasurer: Max Lawson Secretary: Laura Shipp Social secretary: Kiran Hayre How has your first year been as a society? It’s been great – so much fun! We’ve been really overwhelmed with the interest in The 80s Society. So far we’ve got around 50 members, which is so much more than we expected. Getting nominated for ‘Best New Society’ at this year’s Societies Ball, as well as our Treasurer Max Lawson receiving a Crest award for his contribution to the SU, was even better! What are you most proud of? Gaining so many members in just our first year has got to be one o...
University heads’ pay hits average of £272k, whilst student fees reach record highs
News

University heads’ pay hits average of £272k, whilst student fees reach record highs

A study by the University and College Union suggested vice-chancellors at UK universities received average salary packages of £272,000 last year, up some £12,000 from 2014. Vice-chancellors' pay has come under scrutiny in recent years, with ministers in 2014 raising concerns about the “substantial upward drift” of salaries. The UCU study based on Freedom of Information requests calculated university bosses received almost seven times more than the average wages of staff, with bosses receiving “inflation-busting” rises. Royal Holloway’s principal Paul Layzell received a 3% (£8k) pay increase in 2014, bringing his total salary up to £265k, according to Royal Holloway’s financial report. The research also suggests universities spent thousands more on hotels, flights and other expe...
Publishers ‘Penguin’ ditch degree requirement for employees
News

Publishers ‘Penguin’ ditch degree requirement for employees

Global publishing group Penguin Random House has announced it no longer requires job candidates to hold a university degree. The announcement comes as an attempt to attract a more diverse range of candidates into publishing, an industry that has been previously criticised for its lack of diversity. The move follows a similar announcement made by accountancy firm Ernst & Young, one of Britain’s biggest graduate recruiters, who announced last August that it would no longer be considering degree or A-level results when assessing potential employees. It follows concerns that basing the selection process on requiring a degree and recruiting from particular universities was producing too narrow a range of staff. PricewaterhouseCoopers also announced plans to ditch A-level results...
Spotlight on: Volleyball
Sports & Socs

Spotlight on: Volleyball

After a hugely successful season last year, Volleyball has gained a growing fan base. With the women’s team continuing their unstoppable winning streak, I speak to President Ludovica De Santis and Vice President Robert Batterbury to find out more. How has your year gone so far? So far the Women’s team has won nearly all of their matches, and reached the finals of the National Indoor Students Cup, so we’ve had a very strong year! The men’s team has also fought strong, with a fresh new team ready to dominate the future. What makes Volleyball a unique sport on campus? We have a huge amount of international students playing for us, with the women’s team in fact being made up entirely of international students, so it gives everyone the opportunity to meet and team up with people from al...
Universities Face Cheating Scandal
News

Universities Face Cheating Scandal

Over 50,000 university students have been caught cheating at UK universities over the last three years, new figures suggest. Freedom of information data obtained by the Times found that international students were the highest proportion of so called ‘cheaters’, with Students from outside the EU four times more likely to cheat in exams and coursework essays. Of the 70 universities that provided data on the nationality of those students caught cheating, international students made up 35% of all cheating cases, despite making up only 12% of the student body. At Queen Mary, University of London, 75% of postgraduates found plagiarising were from abroad, a third of which were from China. However, the figures obtained from 129 UK universities revealed that only 362 students were dismissed due ...
Man questioned over Egham arson attacks
News

Man questioned over Egham arson attacks

A 20-year-old man has been questioned by police on suspicion of arson and released on bail until 12 January 2016, after charity donation bags were set alight outside of Egham’s Oxfam and Blue Cross shops. Despite thousands of pounds of damage being caused, both charity shops are now reopen to the public, with Oxfam managing to reopen on the same day the attack occurred. Investigating crime officers are currently working with fire investigators to determine the cause of the fires, but said the incidents are being treated as arson. Oxfam manager Jasmin Shelley said the public have been more than supportive, with businesses such as Enterprise Rent-A-Car offering their support. Employee Chris Beresford has offered to raise money to cover the costs of repairing the door frame and window w...
Egham set for £70m investment
News

Egham set for £70m investment

£70m is set to be invested into Egham town tentre, the leader of Runneymede Borough Council has revealed, creating a “new gateway for visitors”. The investment is set to include new homes, shops, a gym and a hotel, with the main areas of redevelopment being Station Road north and the corner of the High Street. The Egham town centre 'master-plan report' was published in November 2013, to ‘advance opportunities for the town centre’. The report states that ‘the area has significant potential for redevelopment, tackling a number of weak areas of townscape and establishing a new good quality public space’. The council would own and run the development, earning returns on the investment. Project leader Patrick Roberts says that “part of our strategy is to acquire assets to change the shape of...