RHSU – The Orbital

RHSU Releases Statement Announcing ‘No Platform’ Referendum In Light Of Katie Hopkins Debacle

11Oct

By Alex JonesNo Comments

Opinion

RHSU Releases Statement Announcing ‘No Platform’ Referendum In Light Of Katie Hopkins Debacle

Since the leaked announcement and subsequent event cancellation there has been significant debate on campus and on the Facebook page Overheard at Royal Holloway University. The debate has often been pointed and lively with students from both sides of the argument, proponents of ‘No Platform’ and those of unadulterated ‘Free Speech’ weighing in. The main thread of the debate is this; does allowing Ms. Hopkins onto campus encourage healthy debate or does it create an unsafe and intimidating environment for the student body which is open and diverse? Both sides have been argued passionately, which, at face value, is good as it has taken a controversy of this magnitude to pull Royal Holloway out of the political apathy that the student body was previously languishing in. However...

6Mar

By Madeline BreedNo Comments

Elections

SU President

In a joint venture with Insanity Radio, we have interviewed Presidential candidate Jack O'Neill – presidential candidate Rubuiya Y. Zannat declined to be interviewed – and created a podcast with questions that delve deeper into their individual manifesto points. Our ongoing Sabbatical Officer coverage and involvement with the elections has been exceptional this year, with the media outlets chairing Candidate Question Time, and we will continue with this by interviewing all winning candidates on elections night so keep an eye out for our coverage. Here are our brief summaries of each candidate and their manifestos: Jack O'Neill Jack O'Neill has been VP Education this year and is aiming to follow in predecessor Clem Jones' footsteps by running for the role of President this year. He ha...

4Mar

By Madeline BreedNo Comments

Elections

VP Education

In a joint venture with Insanity Radio, we have interviewed all the candidates for VP Education and created a podcast with questions that delve deeper into their individual manifesto points. Our ongoing Sabbatical Officer coverage and involvement with the elections has been exceptional this year, with the media outlets chairing Candidate Question Time, and we will continue with this by interviewing all winning candidates on elections night so keep an eye out for our coverage. Here are our brief summaries of each candidate and their manifestos: George White - 0:00.30-0:10.30 George White is aiming to increase study spaces across campus, oversee a smooth transition when it comes to the academic restructure on campus, eliminate paper hand-ins and provide further engagement with academic...

4Mar

By Madeline BreedNo Comments

Elections

VP Welfare & Diversity

In a joint venture with Insanity Radio, we have interviewed all the candidates for VP Welfare & Diversity and created a podcast with questions that delve deeper into their individual manifesto points. Our ongoing Sabbatical Officer coverage and involvement with the elections has been exceptional this year, with the media outlets chairing Candidate Question Time, and we will continue with this by interviewing all winning candidates on elections night so keep an eye out for our coverage. Here are our brief summaries of each candidate and their manifestos: Sophie Bury - 0:00.30-0:12.30 Sophie Bury is standing on a platform of ensuring that lecture capture is instituted across departments, a review of the sexual health care provided to students (or lack thereof), prioritising student...

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...

8Dec

By Michele TheilNo Comments

News

Referendum on NSS Boycott Announced

Royal Holloway’s Student’s Union has called for a referendum to vote on whether or not the RHSU should continue to boycott the National Student Survey (NSS). The boycott was passed in a referendum in March of this year, with 282 votes. The original boycott was called for, in conjunction with the National Union of Students (NUS), in response to the NSS being used with the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) to possibly allow universities to charge higher tuition fees. The NSS measures student satisfaction while the TEF measures quality of teaching and results of study. Universities can score Gold or Silver and be placed on the higher end of the spectrum or they could be scored with a Bronze, which is a lower rating. Thus, those that achieved Gold or Silver, under the Government’s initiat...