Friday, March 29Royal Holloway's offical student publication, est. 1986

Tag: student

UNIcoin Unveiled
Sports & Socs

UNIcoin Unveiled

“Don’t you have those moments where you are just so lazy, and think, if only someone could deliver me a nice cup of coffee plus dinner to my dorm room?” –Lavena, Co-founder of UNIcoin. If so then these Royal Holloway students may have saved your life. UNIcoin is an original app which is currently being created by Royal Holloway’s app society. The app will allow you to advertise or obtain a service in exchange for money. Whether you want to offer a tutoring service, dance lessons, sell your old text books or simply hire someone to deliver a coffee to your room- this app can help you do it all. The idea was first born two years ago by Lavena Xu, a 3rd year Management student and James Johnson, a 3rd year Computer Science student. Lavena told me it started with one simple phone call to Ja...
The Value of Internships
Opinion

The Value of Internships

Internships are a great way for university students to gain practical experience and skills to prepare them for graduation, and are key to building a network of contacts and industry knowledge in a field that perhaps their degree doesn’t offer them. That being said, are all these internships worth their salt? We’ve all seen the internship and graduate job descriptions brandished under the alluring title ‘opportunity’ that incorporate the key phrases “entry level”, “must have X number of years experience” and “unpaid”. It would seem the reward is heavily disproportionate to the skills the intern would be providing the company. It’s a Catch 22 scenario — you’re applying for something to give you the experience, but are being denied the opportunity because of your lack of experience. No...
Naps: The Natural Pick-Me-Up
Lifestyle

Naps: The Natural Pick-Me-Up

I am a huge advocate for naps. Usually, you can find me waking up from my early evening nap and preparing for a night out, or less favourably and more commonly, settling in to grind down on a night full of homework. Lately, I’ve been wondering - are these naps helping me or just helping me procrastinate? Unsurprisingly, napping has a number of benefits including reducing fatigue, increasing alertness, and improving mood. In addition, as bad sleep can increase the amount of stress hormones and negatively affect the immune system, a quick nap can reverse the hormonal impact that comes with a night of bad sleep. Although, napping only benefits you if used properly (think great power, great responsibility). Lucky for you, I’m here to give you a brief guide to how to most effectively nap. ...
Essay Published By Royal Holloway Student
News

Essay Published By Royal Holloway Student

A Royal Holloway student has had his final-year essay published in an esteemed theatre journal. Kai Green graduated from the 2015 Drama and Philosophy program with a First Class Honours degree. His final-year essay, part of his seminar on Contemporary British Theatre, was considered to demonstrate extraordinary originality and insight, and so passed the strict criteria of the peer-reviewed journal, 'Performance Philosophy'. Kai sent in the essay some months after he graduated, and it was published in January of this year. As part of a nexus between drama and philosophy, his article examined the possibility of male-authored feminist dramaturgy (the theory and practice of dramatic composition) using the ideas of Emmanuel Levinas as a theoretical framework. Emmanuel Levinas was a French...
The 2016 Student Media Summit
Features

The 2016 Student Media Summit

This week saw the ninth annual Student Media Summit return to London. Hosted by the NUS and Amnesty International UK, the two-day Summit aims to educate and develop the skills of students involved in media and those wanting to pursue it in the future. Features editor, Yasmeen Frasso, talks about her experience. Walking down New Inn Yard on the morning of Thursday 18th August was a strange experience; the morning travels were filled with the excitement of actually being able to go to a place that, for the day, was not only a central hub for activism, but journalism as well. Two areas which journalist and keynote speaker, Laurie Penny, later explained to us are often largely intertwined. But, of course, anxiety also latched onto me. “Was I wearing the right clothes?” “Was I prepa...
Backpacking for less
Features

Backpacking for less

It’s that time of year again – the depressing March weather has got us all dreaming about our summer holidays, and prowling the low cost sites for a cheap deal. You might be looking into backpacking, that stalwart of student travel since time immemorial. People frequently backpack for months at a time, and whilst you may be thinking “that sounds much more expensive than an all-inclusive week in Kavos”, you’ll be surprised how much money it’s possible to save. Firstly, it depends on the area you want to explore. If you want to backpack around the US or in Scandinavia, your leftover student loan definitely won’t cover it. But if you’re a little imaginative, you can find much better value elsewhere. Think about exploring Eastern Europe, the Balkans, or even South East Asia – you’ll be surp...
Royal Holloway in top 9 British universities to produce the most CEO’s
News

Royal Holloway in top 9 British universities to produce the most CEO’s

There is a common assumption that it is only the oldest and most prestigious universities that produce the most CEO’s. However a recent article from The Independent, presenting results from a recent survey conducted by ‘Emolument.com’, defies the preconceptions that tend to be held when it comes to graduate employment prospects. Data from over 26,000 former students was analysed to determine which universities produced the highest ratio of graduates who have gone on to become chief executives, chief technology officers, or partners. Despite the expected appearance of some of the more prestigious institutions – for example Cambridge ranked second with 3.9% of their alumni holding top positions in the business sector - the biggest and oldest UK universities don't produce as many business l...
A Home From Home
Features

A Home From Home

Choosing a house to live in is a daunting task, especially after the comfortable safety of university halls, where the worst that can happen is someone stealing your milk. The first thing you have to know is that estate agents will try and pressure you to put money down. They’re a business and you’re a customer, just make sure you’re clued up and savvy about it! There are a lot of estate agents and private landlords in Egham and Englefield Green, ask around for people’s experience of them before you commit and make sure you feel comfortable with who’s managing your property, otherwise, a year can feel like a long time. The second, and possibly most important thing, about second or third year housing is your housemates. How would you actually feel about living half a centimetre fro...
The weekend to-do list
Features

The weekend to-do list

Whether it’s an activity that gets your adrenaline pumping or a relaxing walk through a park, everyone should spend some time away on the weekend. Don’t get me wrong, there are loads of things to do on campus that should definitely be checked out, but after a while you will probably be wanting something new and different – so listen up! RELAX: For those of you wanting a chill day (or romantic night!) of strolling through a beautiful area, it is definitely necessary to visit Windsor.   With a change at Staines, it is a fast, easy and cheap train ride to Eton Riverside station. There are plenty of places along the river that are perfect for a picnic and there is also a huge beautiful park by the central station as well that is really peaceful to walk through! Feed the swan...
What’s this about a “No to EU” society?
Opinion

What’s this about a “No to EU” society?

Recently, on the university notice board I came upon a request asking for a society to be created in regards to Britain’s status in the EU. However the preferred title of the society was “Better off out”, indicating the society would lean mostly towards Britain leaving the EU. This initially upset me as it was very one-sided; mentioning those who are undecided are still welcome. But what if you’re Pro-EU? But besides that, isn’t a society meant to unite you in a new or known topic of interest? This topic can, to some, be a huge subject of interest, but creating it for one side didn’t seem fair. However this feeling soon drifted as one point this post managed to succeed in, is the question of promoting a debate. A debate to occur within the university among both British students and inte...