News – Page 33 of 37

60% of University Students Use Porn To Improve Sex Knowledge

26Feb

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60% of University Students Use Porn To Improve Sex Knowledge

A recent survey of more than 2500 students found that more than 60% of university students have used porn to attempt to fill in the gaps in their knowledge about sex and two thirds of students reported that they received no information about consent in their sex and relationship (SRE) lessons at school. The National Union of Students is calling for adequate SRE lessons to be a legal requirement, suggesting that the current provision is 'failing millions'. The survey, conducted by the NUS, also revealed that current sex education in school almost completely ignores LGBT relationships in its curriculum. Of the 60% of the students who attempted to improve their knowledge of sex through porn, 75% admitted it gave them unrealistic expectations. Damian, a first year psychology student at R...

College Puts Profit Before Students Safety?

26Feb

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College Puts Profit Before Students Safety?

It may not have come with a grand declaration of public announcement, but it certainly hasn't gone unnoticed; the SSHH bus service has been reduced to running on function nights. After a review of the Student Union services over the last academic year, funding for the SSHH bus has been severely reduced, affecting the amount of times the bus can run a week and its availability therein. As a cost-cutting measure, the SSHH bus service, which was often the only means for some students to get home safely, will now only run on function nights from the SU (and on occasion Medicine). What's more, the service will no longer run from Egham train station, meaning many students will have to resort to travelling to campus via Egham hill with the ‘back gate’ closing long before the final trains in to...

Rail Fare Increase to Hit Royal Holloway Commuters

28Jan

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Rail Fare Increase to Hit Royal Holloway Commuters

A rise in train fare prices in England and Wales came into affect on the 2nd January 2015. Regulated fares, including season tickets, increased by on average 2.2%, although some rose by 2.5%. Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin has tried to justify the increase by citing the need for the vital maintenance and improvement of the country’s rail infrastructure. This major investment in the train industry aims to continue the modernisation to stations, as is happening currently at London Bridge, and to the railways themselves. Although, as the government was quick to point out, the increase is the lowest annual rise in five years, it is higher than the current level of inflation and more than the current increase in annual wages. Britons now pay some of the highest train fares in Europe. ...

28Jan

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King’s College Rebrand Causes Controversy

Last month it was announced that a fellow college of the University of London, King's, would begin a £300,000 re-branding campaign, which will see the institution change its name from King's College, London to simply King's London. The change is due to come into force in February of this year, when the university will officially change its name, though still keeping the title of King’s College, London for legal documents, academic citations and the awarding of degrees. The proposed change has resulted in widespread controversy with students at the University insisting that the re-brand is “ridiculous” when speaking to The Times Higher Education supplement. Some argued that the re-brand itself, puts an “end to years of tradition” that the College has gained due to its name, undermining t...

28Jan

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Magna Carta Centre to Open at Royal Holloway

2015 marks the 800th anniversary of a monumental document in British history, the Magna Carta (1215). To mark this anniversary, Royal Holloway, will be launching ‘The Magna Carta Centre for Individual Freedom’. This will include a Doctoral Scholarship Grant, offered by the Leverhulme Trust, worth £1 million. It will enable 15 post-graduate students to be funded, with the university offering a further 5 students the chance to pursue the course. The charter issued by King John of England in the Runnymede Borough, is a symbolic cornerstone of the British constitution, it introduced for the first time the idea that everyone, including the King, was subject to the law. Students of the course will be given the chance to research the relevance of this document in contemporary politics with the...

28Jan

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The UK higher education system’s best kept secret: How are our tuition fees spent?

According to the influential think tank, Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI), the majority of the UK’s leading universities are refusing to publish a breakdown of how each student’s £9,000 per year tuition fees are spent. HEPI contacted a range of institutions in order to uncover where students’ money goes, however according to director Nick Hillman, only ten universities responded to their inquiries. Leicester University, one of few to reply, indicates how it divvies up some of its £274 million annual budget, spending £168 million on academic colleges compared to just £16 million on libraries and computers. However, they failed to itemise how an individual student’s tuition fees are used. Hillman argues that if universities refuse to itemize how earnings are allocated, they ...

28Jan

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Anti-Student Vandalism Increases in Englefield Green

The recent weeks have seen what can only be described as a sharp and worrying climb in anti-student related acts. Vandalism, verbal and physical abuse have become rife in parts of Egham and Englefield Green in the run up to Christmas – but will this trend continue? A number of students when asked about any anti-student attitudes they had experienced in the local area reported to having been verbally abused by members of the public on transport and in the general local area. Instances of anti-student vandalism have also appeared around Englefield Green. 'Students f*** off' and other such phrases have cropped up in a number of locations around the area, and while some have been removed, they do still appear. The Holly Tree pub in Englefield Green remains strictly out-of-bounds to all studen...

28Jan

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Backlash Against May’s Plans to Send Home Foreign Graduates

The Home Secretary, Theresa May, recently revealed government plans to send international students home after graduation, in order to control the immigration flow. However, there has been large-scale opposition and condemnation of her student exit plan, with many saying the target should be illegal immigrants not overseas students. It is likely that non-EU students arriving in the UK to study next year will face being expelled as soon as they finish their studies; Ms. May justified the move by saying that the UK needs tougher controls, arguing that over a quarter of immigration was through the student visa system. The policy will reduce the duration of Tier 4 student visas from sixteen months to just twelve months, after twelve months students who want to either seek employment or travel ...

28Jan

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Women More Likely to Enter University Than Men

The number of UK university entrants passed 500,000 for the first time in 2014, according to UCAS admissions service figures. While the gap between entry rates for rich and poor students has narrowed, the gender gap between women and men is the widest ever, with women a third more likely to enter higher education than men. The admissions figures show a rising trend of increased applications, with 512,400 applicants securing places in UK universities through UCAS in 2014, up nearly 17000. Universities Minister Greg Clark, speaking to BBC, said:"Higher education is a transformational experience and that is why we are the first government to remove the limit on student numbers, lifting the cap on aspiration." But within the overall rising numbers, the gap between male and female entrant...

28Jan

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Young Voters the Key to Downing Street

In the 2015 UK general election, young people engagement and participation could make a striking difference on electoral turnout. More precisely, as research by Britain’s cross-party think tank Demos shows, “Up to three million young voters are up for grabs in the next elections. The political party that can tap into this pool may just win the keys to Downing Street.” In fact, even though young people are commonly believed to be disinterested, indifferent and apathetic towards politics, the survey shows that a significant majority (77%) of them intend to vote on 7 May 2015. However, according to the research, about 44% of 18 to 25 year-olds are still unsure about which party to vote for. It is therefore political parties’ responsibility and aim to gain young voters’ attention through ongo...