Tuesday, June 9Royal Holloway's offical student publication, est. 1986

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“Living in Penrose Court is almost as bad as being homeless”
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“Living in Penrose Court is almost as bad as being homeless”

One student's anticipation of moving in day in September was heavily deflated when he arrived to find that he had no bathroom or kitchen facilities in his accommodation at Penrose Court, which Royal Holloway still expected him to pay rent for. The third year student, who wishes to remain anonymous, had traveled in from London by train with some bags he had prepared to unpack to begin his moving in process. After all the strenuous journey all the student wanted was a shower and to unwind and eat and sleep in his new accommodation but was disgusted to find out that his bathroom had not yet finished being renovated, meaning he not only had to access a shower by asking an adjacent block if he could use theirs, he didn't even have a toilet in close proximity. The student also had no acces...
An extra £23k Expenditure by the college for a fifth Sabbatical Officer will “Help Improve the Student Experience at Royal Holloway”
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An extra £23k Expenditure by the college for a fifth Sabbatical Officer will “Help Improve the Student Experience at Royal Holloway”

On the evening of Tuesday 13th October, the four sabbatical officers had an event called 'Sabba!' to promote their idea of adding a fifth sabbatical officer to their team in order to help split presidential duties and educational and welfare duties. This event involved an informal chat in Medicine with the team of four sabbatical officers (as well as free pizza) and the chance to vote for or against the idea of getting a fifth Sabb – followed later in the evening with a karaoke set. Currently the four sabbatical officers are Nayab Cheema (President - Education and Campaigns); Alex Reilly (Co-President Sports and Development); Brianna Middleton Macpherson (C0-President Societies and Media) and Jack Kilker (Co-President Welfare and Diversity). But the team feel that there are elements of u...
SU in Campus Shop Takeover
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SU in Campus Shop Takeover

‘The Store on Campus’ will now be under-management of The Student’s Union, with the relaunch of the new shop having taken place on 16th of September. Changing the way the shop is managed will allow the Students’ Union to present a multitude of new benefits to students, while maintaining the same level of service that has always existed. CO-President of Education and Campaigns Nayab Cheema, recently said in her official statement to the students union website www.su.rhul.ac.uk, said: “We’re really excited by this new development and what it means for our members. “Our focus is on offering students great value while putting money back in their pockets. This means we’re getting rid of card charges and minimum spends so you’re free to pay for your shopping however you want. Additionall...
The Store – Temporary rellocation
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The Store – Temporary rellocation

In the wake of the new library being built, the convenient campus store will be temporarily moving. But fear not, our favourite college pit stop is not gone forever. ‘The Store’ as the on campus shop is aptly named, will be relocated near the Hub whilst the new library is being built in the area opposite the Founders main reception. It will presumably be relocated as soon as the library has finished construction. At present Principle Paul Layzell has only confirmed that this will just be a temporary change and has not stated whether or not the store will remain in its usual place once building has finished. The contents of the temporary store will be fairly compressed in comparison with the current level of stock – meaning even less choice of highly priced, low quality quick and e...
Is the 45 Minute Rule a Help or a Hindrance?
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Is the 45 Minute Rule a Help or a Hindrance?

Students are finding the ’45 minutes’ rule in Bedford library more of a hindrance than a help. Bedford library is aware of its popularity around exam time as a place for students to revise and write up any impending deadlines. Due to this fact the library enforced the “If you leave your space for more than 45 minutes your desk will be cleared for other students’ use” rule. This seems like a fair system, it means that those who try to leave and come back hours later while other people are desperately searching for a study space cannot simply ‘reserve’ themselves a seat. It also means that others can’t simply ‘reserve’ a seat for their friends when another student may wish to study. So yes, from this point of view it is a good system but with this system come issues. A big problem is t...
Founders Building Architect’s Cottage To Be Demolished
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Founders Building Architect’s Cottage To Be Demolished

The cottage of William Crossland, architect of Royal Holloway’s iconic Founders Building, is set to be demolished in order to make room to build the new library. Opponents of the demolition say that the cottage, which currently houses the Santander branch, and is situated next to the college shop and laundry, is notionally protected by the grade I listing of Founders through ‘curtilage’ protection. Furthermore, the Victorian Society’s conservation advisor, Sarah Caradec, claims that the cottage is “an unusual survival of an architect’s home on site.” Opponents further claim that the College deliberately has left the cottage to deteriorate to justify demolition. However, both the Runnymede borough council and English Heritage agree that the structure has always been intended to be tempor...
Local MP remains as Foreign Secretary
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Local MP remains as Foreign Secretary

Following the results of the General Election which took place May the 7th, Philip Hammond remains as MP for the Runneymede & Weybridge constituency and continues as Foreign Secretary, a role he assumed in July 2014 having previously served as Defence Secretary and, prior to that, Transport Secretary. His appointment to the Foreign Office was viewed by some as a move toward the right ahead of the general election, transferring focus to the EU debate ahead of a promised In/Out referendum. On the http://www.runnymedeweybridgeconservatives.com/ website it states that Mr Hammond ‘champions local businesses, particularly through his involvement with the Runnymede and Weybridge Enterprise Forum’ that ‘He is committed to protecting local services and to speaking up on the major environm...
Alumni Win Big in Award Season
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Alumni Win Big in Award Season

Royal Holloway alumni have been sweeping up the awards during this year’s award season. Georgina Campbell was awarded a BAFTA for best actress on Sunday 10th of May for her role in BBC 3 hard Hitting Drama ‘Murdered By My Boyfriend’, a series based on a true story of domestic abuse. Georgina beat off competition from established actresses Sheridan Smith, Sarah Lancashire and Keeley Hawes who were all nominated for the Leading Actress award. Georgina developed her acting career while studying BA Film Studies at Royal Holloway from 2011-2014, since leaving she has appeared in many well-known dramas including 'Holby City', 'Casualty', 'Doctors' and the ITV drama 'The Ice Cream Girls'. Likewise in early April, Mark strong won the Olivier for the best Actor award for his role in ‘A View fro...
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Anti-Tory Article by RHUL Lecturer Causes Controversy

Rebecca Roache, lecturer in Philosophy at Royal Holloway, caused controversy the day after the General Election. In her post, “If you’re a Conservative, I’m not your friend”, on the University of Oxford’s Practical Ethics blog, she writes that she unfriended those on Facebook who had liked the pages of the Conservatives or of David Cameron.   She writes that “life is too short, I thought, to hang out with people who hold abhorrent political views, even if it’s just online” comparing Conservatives views with racism, sexism, and homophobia.   In spite of this, contextually, the General Election was an emotionally charged evening. Roache recognises this, and states that although she values political debate, at the moment she is “tired of reasoned debate about politics—at...