front page – Page 4 of 4

29Jul

By Michele TheilNo Comments

Opinion

Voting: Restrictions Apply

The introduction of a scheme to force all voters to show a form of ID at polling elections during the May local elections is unneccesary and exclusionary. This scheme was introduced earlier this year and is being trailled in Watford, Bromley, Gosport and Woking before planning to make the scheme country-wide. While forcing voters to have ID seems like a good idea in principle, it doesn’t work when applied to real people who will be significantly adversely affected by it. Voting ID restrictions are meant to maintain the integrity of the ballot box, as many politicians all over the world have said, and at first glance it does do exactly that. After all, who doesn’t have a form of ID? In this ever-changing modern world, it is expected that every person has a passport, a driving license or at...

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 ...

7Jul

By Samantha DavisNo Comments

Sports & Socs

Dancing To Victory

It’s hard to deny that this year has been great for sporting achievements across the Royal Holloway sport societies. Dance Society in particular have had an incredible run of competitions, achieving more wins than students can remember achieving since the society was set up. This year started off with a bang on Saturday 25 November when the Wildcard dancers won first place at Kings College London. This champion routine was expertly choreographed for this competition by Emily Coombes. The winning streak continued as Dance Society came away from their competition on December 7 with six dance numbers coming away with top three placings. The contemporary dance, ‘Death Row’, choreographed by Marie de Rooy and Ashley Parry achieved first place alongside the Tap piece, ‘Tribal Beats’, choreogra...

13Jun

By Emma HalahanNo Comments

Culture & Literature

Street Art

Getting that perfect gram isn’t easy – but a beautiful and edgy background always helps. Just a stone throw (and fourty minute train ride) from London, we walk you through the best spots to get your Insta fix. East London , without a doubt, is the home and lifeblood of traditional London street art. We recommend heading to Shoreditch to find some of the most well loved London street art. Get down to Rivington Street to even catch one of the famous Banksy’s in real life. South London has its fair share of street art with Brixton and for those more graffiti inclined the Southbank at its disposal. Brixton has a wealth of art cropping up daily but we still love the David Bowie tribute directly opposite Brixton Station. The Southbank’s skate park is a great place for the edgier of you all t...

11Jun

By Emma HalahanNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Visual Arts

Activism Gets A Makeover

Activism hasn’t always been the prettiest or the most aesthetically pleasing activity. The activist activities of marches and sit ins, often complete with their associated ‘grunge’, were not exactly the most photogenic. And whilst this old style activism is inspiring to those inclined to appreciate activists methods and beliefs – the appeal of activism can often be lost on may due to this less than sanitary image. So how do you go about cleaning up activisms image problem? Artivism is the word on every activist thinkers lips, a timely amalgamation of art and activism as though the two haven’t been deeply intertwined for decades that promises to bring us a hip, gentrified and altogether better looking kind of activism. Artivism can range from graffiti to political resistance posters and de...

8Jun

By Michele TheilNo Comments

News

Media Arts Privacy Breach for Finalists

Today (Friday June 8), the Media Arts department sent an email out to all finalists regarding their dissertation results. There was a spreadsheet attached to the email that listed every finalist’s name, student number and dissertation classification. Every finalist who received the email was thus able to see the dissertation grades of every other student in their year. Head of Department Chris Townsend subsequently sent an email to every finalist expressing his apologies for the “clerical error” that resulted in this document being sent off to everyone. Professor Townsend himself stated that this was an “unacceptable breach of privacy and data”, as it gave everyone unprecedented access to information that they wouldn't otherwise have been able to see. Townsend also said that he has “in...

2Jun

By Josip MartincicNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

There’s nothing tame about this!

Shakespeare Society’s always highly anticipated Summer Term production was a true triumph this year. The remarkable thing about this particular show is that it is entirely done by 1st years. This fact fills me with hope for the society’s future, as the already stellar work and passion by everyone in the whole cast and crew can only grow from this point onwards. The performance was held in the Boilerhouse Lecture Theatre, a vast space which is challenging to perform in due to lots of seating - which I was pleased to see very pleasantly filled. Stage manager Emma Currie set the space with a golden fringed backdrop and a small carpet of an art-deco design. The soundtrack of the roaring 20s was playing as the audience took their seats and during scene changes, which, alongside the costu...

20May

By Michele TheilNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

“A Delightful Evening of Delights”

This weekend sees Musical Theatre Society’s (MTS) final performance of this academic year, a fun show that stretches each member’s creativity and shows us the vast expanse of Musical Theatre. There are 23 numbers, of varying types, from a wide variety of musicals and it was, as Musical Director and Compere Flynn Sturgeon states, "a delightful evening of delights". The entire show was a spectacle, with loud and enthusiastic accompaniment from the band seated at the front of the SU Main Hall and bright flashing lights all around us. Act 1 begins with a rendition of Joyful Joyful from Sister Act 2, with people coming from every corner and interacting with the audience and amping them up for the rest of the show. Connor Wood and Robbie Carprari-Sharpe, both incoming committee members for MT...

Ruby Wines and Village Pizza Face Eviction

18Apr

By Michele TheilNo Comments

News

Ruby Wines and Village Pizza Face Eviction

Ruby Wines and Village Pizza are reportedly being threatened with eviction from their rented properties on Victoria Street in Englefield Green. The owners of both establishments told customers about the situation through notices posted in each storefront’s window. Each notice claimed that the landlord was threatening eviction upon the end of each proprietor’s lease in order to open up the spaces for a dental practice instead. This was confirmed by the owner of Ruby Wines, Vikas Sohal, better known as Nick, who stated that he and the owner of Village Pizza were given a written notice of this by their landlord earlier this month. A planning application for this “dental surgery” has been submitted to Runnymede Borough Council (RBC) by the landlord. The application also includes plans ...