News – Page 17 of 37

“Suspicious package” reported at George Eliot Mailroom

13Mar

By Becca BashfordNo Comments

News

“Suspicious package” reported at George Eliot Mailroom

At 1.05pm today, students at Royal Holloway were evacuated from various buildings across campus. Students were told to evacuate and move towards the other end of campus and to congregate at The Hub. Shortly after, security were given the all clear and students were allowed to return. The Orbital spoke to Surrey Police officers that were present during the incident, and they confirmed that a suspicious package was reported in the George Elliot mailroom, and hence George Elliot, Windsor Building, Emily Wilding Davison library and Founders were all evacuated. The officers noted that the students were difficult to move, and that some remained on campus and officers had to knock on doors and make them move. They ask that students comply and remain vigilant during incidents such as these...

22Feb

By Caroline HusbyNo Comments

News

Essay Mills

Every student at Royal Holloway knows the feeling of stressing over deadlines, essays, and assignments. From midterm to the end of the term, the level of stress reaches an all-time-high. Some students decide to take the weight off their shoulders by contacting ‘essay mills’ or by using fellow students to write their essays. An essay mill is a company that provides provides academic essays in exchange for money, tailored to any course, module, or specific essay question. These companies have professional business models; they are very easy to find and contact. I decided to get in touch with an essay mill to see just how easy it was to commission a piece. Within five minutes, I received an offer of a 3000-word essay for a price of £150. The person in the chat-room was extremely pushy and wa...

SU Support for ‘Ask for Angela’ campaign

19Feb

By Becca BashfordNo Comments

News

SU Support for ‘Ask for Angela’ campaign

The ‘Ask for Angela’ campaign - first launched by Lincolnshire County Council and now officially supported by the Metropolitan Police - has been rolled out in the Student Union. The main goal of ‘Ask for Angela’, according to the Sexual Violence & Abuse Strategy Coordinator for Lincolnshire County Council, is to “promote a culture change in relation to sexual violence and abuse … and to empower victims to make a decision on whether to report incidents. Sexual abuse and violence is a national issue and all councils have a responsibility to tackle abuse.” The campaign offers discreet help to anyone who is made to feel uncomfortable or unsafe, whether that be by a stranger, a tinder date, or anything in between. Venues which support the campaign provide posters which are displayed in to...

13Dec

By Becca BashfordNo Comments

News

Stabbing Reported Outside SU Shop

Surrey Police cordoned off the Student Union shop and the surrounding area in the early hours of this morning between 2.30am and 4:30am. A spokesman for South East Coast Ambulance Service confirmed that they responded to reports of an assault. Surrey Police have confirmed that the man was not a student at Royal Holloway. They believe he knew his attackers, but it is unclear why he was on the university campus. There is speculation that the stabbing occurred on campus but this has not yet been confirmed. The SU shop is now open as normal. Surrey Police have released the following statement: “In the early hours of this morning (13 December) Surrey police were called to disorder at Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham. We responded quickly and, working in partnership with the univ...

NUS cuts threaten liberation and democracy campaigns

19Nov

By Becca BashfordNo Comments

News

NUS cuts threaten liberation and democracy campaigns

A source at NUS (National Union of Students) has revealed that due to a crippling £3million debt, cuts may be made to vital liberation and democracy campaign budgets. The National Union of Students is a ‘voluntary membership organisation of 600 students' unions, amounting to more than 95 per cent of all higher and further education unions in the UK’. Their aim is to support and defend students rights through a unified and collective voice which seeks to promote equality, democracy and fair opportunities to students across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. NUS Liberation campaigns ‘support and fights for the rights of POC, Disabled, LGBT+, Trans and Women students’. The campaigns range from ‘Stop and Scrap Universal Credit’, responding to the Gender Recognition Act, and cal...

Transphobic Literature Distributed Across Campus

14Oct

By Becca BashfordNo Comments

News

Transphobic Literature Distributed Across Campus

Content warning: Transphobia, Transphobic Language Transphobic literature has been discovered in various places across the Royal Holloway campus, including the women’s bathrooms in the Wolfson, Windsor, and Boilerhouse buildings. The leaflets and stickers were created by a prominent transphobic group ‘Fair Play For Women’, who have started a widespread campaign against the Gender Recognition Act (GRA), claiming that reforming the GRA to be trans (including non-binary and inter-sex) inclusive is ‘the worst assault on women’s rights in over a century’. Their campaign includes a full-page ad in the Metro newspaper, which was met with public outrage last week. The government is currently in the process of reforming the Gender Recognition Act, and have released consultation forms to be...

Fire Broke Out During Student’s Union Club Night

27Sep

By Michele TheilNo Comments

News

Fire Broke Out During Student’s Union Club Night

A fire broke out in the Student’s Union (SU) on Wednesday 26 September during the popular club night, Flawless. The fire started in Tommy’s Kitchen, where a speaker caught fire. There is not yet a known cause to the fire but an anonymous source within the SU staff speculated that it was from spilled drinks. Reports suggest that the fire started just before midnight, with staff responding quickly to the incident and evacuating the students. When a fire alarm goes off in the SU, students are to be taken outside and gather in the courtyard until they can safely leave. The fire brigade was called and arrived in order to help union staff contain the fire and manage the students. At 1AM, the fire brigade gave the SU permission to allow people back into the venue as the fire had been dealt wi...

Continued Suspension of Royal Holloway UCU Equality Officer, Jeff Franks

18Sep

By Natasha LamNo Comments

News

Continued Suspension of Royal Holloway UCU Equality Officer, Jeff Franks

Jeff Franks, a Professor in the Economics Department here at RHUL, has been suspended since April 11 2018 and continues to be restricted from contacting students or coming onto campus. He has been suspended on the grounds of leaking confidential and sensitive information, violating the recently implemented GDPR and privacy practices, as well as violating the College Grievance Policy. According to a document Orbital Magazine has access to, the college’s suspension of Franks “is deemed appropriate because… continued presence at work may inhibit the investigation in connection with the allegations” against him. Franks is the Equality Officer for the Royal Holloway branch of the Universities and Colleges Union (UCU) and was supportive of the pensions strikes that occurred earlier this year....

28Jul

By Samantha DavisNo Comments

News

Dogs at Risk in Surrey

Locals to the Englefield Green area have been warned to be extra vigilant of their dogs after several cases of potential dognapping have been reported. Cases started being compiled mid-April when an increasing amount of reports were taken from local residents saying strangers had been paying particular attention to their pets or had been caught attempting to lure them away from their owners. Runnymede Beat (Surrey Police) took to Facebook on Friday 13 to warn followers that at around 20.45 that evening a resident had witnessed a man on her driveway showing a great interest in her Jack Russell which had got out into the front garden. The owner described the man to be Chinese or mixed raced and in his mid-40s. He spoke with a ‘local accent’ and was wearing jeans with a dark grey t-shirt ...

11Jun

By Michele TheilNo Comments

News, Opinion

Out Of Service

Egham High Street’s electric rising bollars have not worked for several weeks now. The bollards were installed in March 2017 by Surrey County Council (SCC) in order to prevent drivers from entering the street between Monday to Saturday from 11am to 4pm. The High Street is therefore a pedestrianised zone during these times. In recent weeks, the bollards have not been working and many cars have been driving and parking on the street during the day. While there are signs at the entrance to the High Street stating that it is a pedestrian-only area, many drivers are ignoring this and driving up and down the street anyway. According to Get Surrey, Egham resident Anthony Houlden has “reported this porblem numerous times to Runnymede Borough Council (RBC) and SCC” but the issue has persisted. H...