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Day: 16 August 2017

“It’s not over yet” — Manchester’s absence from NSS rankings marks huge success for boycott campaign

A week ago today, the hotly anticipated National Student Survey (NSS)results were published, but the University of Manchester (UoM) was missing from its rankings.

Other Russell Group universities were also left out of the rankings, including Bristol, Oxford and Cambridge.

The Univeristy of Manchester’s absence has been attributed to the #Dontfillitin campaign fronted by Emma Atkins, the Education Officer for UoM’s Students’ Union.

Following this campaign, less than 50% of students filled in the survey, which led to its reopening in May. This, in turn, led to many students retracting their results, and the overall lack of engagement with it rendered the results unusable.

Emma told The Mancunion that she was “really proud of our students”, as these results showed her that they care more about future students than winning an arbitrary award.

When asked what she attributed the success of the campaign to, she said that it was by “making the campaign fun” through video and linking it with other events such as pancake day.

There were many complaints at the time that Ipsos Mori (the company commissioned to conduct the survey) were using aggressive and deceitful tactics to get people to fill the NSS in. These included asking vague questions about how satisfied they were with their course without stating what the answers would be used for, and calling at unsociable hours of the day.

Emma said of this that people “resent being bothered” in such manners, especially “when studying”, as the NSS was being conducted over the summer exam period.

When asked what the future of the #Dontfillitin campaign was, Emma said “it’s not over yet!”

The NSS is used within the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), within which universities can raise their fees if they score well. This link is something that Emma wants to break, and she plans to lobby the university to disassociate with the TEF before 2020 (the next time the rankings are published).

This link between the NSS score and tuition fees is something that youth leadership charity RECLAIM thinks spurred momentum for nationwide boycotts. They believe that universities have been “failing working class students” and that the failure of the NSS shows “it is becoming impossible for universities to ignore students’ concerns” about their financs.

Educating All, a project founded by RECLAIM, produced a study in February  that found “over 70% of students who identify as working class cited their class as a barrier when integrating at university.” As well as this, “the survey also showed that 86.7% of state school educated students worried about finance whilst at university.”

These palpable barriers are something that RECLAIM think universities up and down the country now need to address.

The University of Manchester has so far not responded to The Mancunion’s request for comment.

Top 5: US TV Dramas

5.         The Walking Dead (2010 – )

One of the longest running dramas still in production, The Walking Dead was the first show to properly introduce the undead to the small screen.  Premiering on Halloween, 2010, the series was initially met with apprehension.

With Andrew Lincoln – a British actor best known for roles in small UK shows This Life and Teachers – playing the lead character, AMC’s zombie-horror had to rely on its originality and the loyalty of fans of the comic books to kick start the series.

Despite lulls in Season 4 (enough with the farming already) and in Season 5 (less with the domestic drama and more with the flesh-eating beasties please), the show has retained a colossal fan base, and has spawned a spin off show in Fear the Walking Dead, and various theme park attractions.

The show excellently intertwines horror with drama, and it is scary how quickly mankind overtakes the undead as the major threat to the protagonists, in the form of David Morrissey’s sociopathic ‘Governor’ and Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s pantomime-villain-esque Negan.  Season 8 airs in October.

Available on:  Amazon Prime; NOW TV

4.         Westworld (2016 – )

Fresh out of its first season in autumn 2016, Westworld was last year’s surprise hit.  A TV adaptation of a relatively unknown 1973 sci-fi film, set in the Wild West – a genre which has somewhat died in the last decade – did not appear to have success written all over it.

However, with a cast which included Sir Anthony Hopkins, Line of Duty’s Thandie Newton and X-Men star James Marsden, Westworld blew audiences away with its mystery, shocking twists, and incredible originality.  Its commercial and critical success led to an immediate renewal by HBO.

The show is set in a futuristic theme park where guests can live in an artificial Wild West named ‘Westworld’, which is populated by unnervingly lifelike androids.  Visitors can choose to hunt outlaws, spend their days drinking in the saloon, or face off in showdowns.

But as the season progresses, problems creep into the establishment.  Is there a darker, ulterior motive behind the park?  Can the androids be trusted? And can the guests and staff be sure that they themselves are not machines engineered by Westworld’s creators…?

Available on:  Sky; Amazon Prime

3.         Game of Thrones (2011 – )

Game of Thrones is without a doubt the biggest show in the world at the moment.  Everyone is talking about it, and social media is drowning in memes, analyses and spoilers about the latest episodes.  And understandably so.

Based on George RR Martin’s novel A Song of Ice and Fire, it is often described as ‘Lord of the Rings but with sex’.  Whilst accurate to an extent, this is a criminal understatement.  Renowned for killing off main characters and fan favourites, ‘GoT’ is peak cinematic TV.  It is currently in its seventh season, and the quality and excitement has yet to wane.

The show had to employ Sean Bean in its first season to gather the masses – akin to Hopkins’ involvement in Westworld – yet it is its home-grown stars in Kit Harrington, Emilia Clarke and Sophie Turner who firmly hold the limelight now.

Available on:  Sky; Amazon Prime; NOW TV

2.         Breaking Bad (2008 – 2013)

The makers and cast of Breaking Bad never anticipated how massive their show would be.  Lead star Bryan Cranston has even said he didn’t think it would survive its first season.

Prior to filming its debut series, Cranston was best known for the pathetic but loveable character of Hal in Fox’s Malcom in the Middle.  But the immense success of Breaking Bad has seen him launched to Hollywood stardom and his portrayal of ‘Heisenberg’ becoming iconic.

The series follows a passive, unassertive high school chemistry teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston) who, following the news he has lung cancer, decides to start cooking high quality crystal meth in order to provide for his family financially after his death.

Despite an abundance of excellent characters – Aaron Paul’s tragic Jesse Pinkman and Giancarlo Esposito’s sinister Gustavo Fring but two – it is the transformation of Cranston’s White, from timid professor to sociopathic megalomaniac, that made the show the steamrolling success it was.

Available on:  Netflix; Amazon Prime

1.         The Sopranos (1999 – 2007)

HBO’s ground-breaking drama about the New Jersey mafia marked the arrival of the ‘New Golden Age of Television’.  Across six seasons, it follows the late James Gandolfini’s mob-boss Tony Soprano, who, amidst problems from both his literal and figurative family, regularly sees a therapist.

At first glance, the show could be perceived as a television adaptation of Analyze This, which starred Robert De Niro as a disgruntled Mafioso who seeks help from Billy Crystal’s psychiatrist.  However, the show shakes off any similarities with Harold Ramis’ comedy, and remains one of the most highly regarded TV series to this day.

For those who have watched Scorsese’s Goodfellas or De Niro’s A Bronx Tale, there will be an array of familiar Italian-American faces in The Sopranos, as well as cameos from Iron Man and Jungle Book director Jon Favreau and Hollywood veteran Sir Ben Kingsley.

The only show in this list to have concluded (Breaking Bad lives on in Netflix spinoff Better Call Saul), The Sopranos claims top spot due to its fantastic characters, rollercoaster plots, and its harrowing yet intriguing vision of the world of organised crime.

Available on:  Sky; Amazon Prime

Review: Game of Thrones — Eastwatch

This was a difficult one. For an episode so packed with juicy scenes, it’s odd it left me afterwards feeling a bit robbed.

As the end of the saga hurtles ever closer, the show runners are starting to pressure the plot onwards at a breakneck pace. And that’s both a blessing and a curse.

Let’s start with the good, and there’s a lot of that to get through. I never, ever expected this much, Gendry. Gendry, back with all his obstinance and a brand new war hammer his father would’ve been proud of. We got to see him swing it at some gold cloaks… then row back to Dragonstone, befriend Jon, and venture all the way to Eastwatch and beyond the Wall to take on the army of the dead — all within one hour.

And every minute of it was stellar. Jorah’s return to Daenerys and Tyrion’s reconnection with Jaime compete for second best major character reunion. Peter Dinklage might have stolen the whole show with Tyrion’s heartfelt defence to his brother, for the murder of his father.

We didn’t have time to appreciate it, though, before we were swept to the citadel and got a game-changing confirmation from Gilly that Jon is a legitimate son of Rhaegar Targaryen, and therefore has a greater claim to the throne than Daenerys.

This was a very loaded episode. Significant plot developments were explored in every part of Westeros, from Littlefinger’s old tricks in Winterfell to Cersei’s new pregnancy lie (remember the 3 children prophecy?) to keep Jaime loyal. It deserved a longer runtime, because many of these great moments had more steam in them. Instead, they were jammed together and felt rushed.

Another consequence of the time constraint is that there is no time left for obstacles for main characters. A lot of the political intrigue and sense of drama has dissipated from Game of Thrones, and our characters are starting to feel too safe. It seems that characters ‘can’t’ die now because their plot arcs ‘need’ to be completed poetically.

Their plans are lazy when they once were cunning, as if they are aware of the impenetrable plot armour that surrounds them. The idea of capturing a wight for Cersei is a ludicrous plan. They plan to travel all the way from Dragonstone to out beyond the Wall, fight the White Walkers, survive to take back a hostage, and ride all the way to King’s Landing again. Then, after lots of negotiation, they plan to ride with an army all the way back up to the Wall again.

That involves crossing a continent three times, once with a massive army on foot. In that amount of time, the White Walkers would have plenty of time to decimate the North several times over.

Of course, however, characters can travel fast whenever it’s convenient for the plot, and characters can travel slowly whenever it’s convenient for the plot. The White Walkers have taken two seasons to get halfway from Hardhome to Eastwatch, whilst Jon takes one scene to traverse the entire continent.

It was also incomprehensibly convenient for Bronn to have saved Jaime from drowning with apparent ease in the first two seconds of the episode, to find the battlefield suddenly completely deserted and safe. Later, Tyrion assumes with certainty that Jaime is alive and at King’s Landing, despite not witnessing his rescue.

It wasn’t a bad episode. Far from it. The show runners have just lost the integrity that they used to hold over other TV shows and movies.

Now, it doesn’t feel too different to a Marvel superhero production, with its invulnerable heroes, supernatural transport methods, and caricature villains. And that isn’t sitting right with me.

I expect the show runners to turn the tables on us soon enough, though. I hope they do.

Top universities discriminate against A-Level subjects typically chosen by poorer students

Career-specific A-Level subjects, favoured by lower-income students, are discriminated against by admissions to leading universities in the UK.

New research, conducted by the Institute for Education at University College London, finds that elite degree courses at Russell Group universities prefer applicants with A-Levels in traditional subjects rather than degree subjects.

This preference disproportionally benefits private school applicants. The author of the study, Catherine Dilnot, formed a taxonomy of all 96 subjects available at A-Level. Traditional subjects were found to be more commonly chosen at private schools.

Vocational A-Levels such as in business, accounting, and law are more prevalent in maintained schools.

Dilnot surveyed data on 475,000 English students entering UK universities between 2010-12. Top universities prioritised entry to students taking certain subjects at A-Level. These were mostly traditional “facilitating subjects”.

In 2011, the Russell Group published a list of traditional subjects they regard as “facilitating” to university applications — maths, sciences, modern languages, history, geography, and English literature.

Some non-traditional subjects, which are more popular at private schools than maintained schools, were also prioritised — for example, economics, government and politics. Students with at least an A in these subjects were more likely to end up at high-ranking universities.

Students with at least an A in vocational subjects were more likely to end up at low-ranking universities.

Dilnot said in a written statement: “A student who aspires to a career in a professional services firm might easily think taking an A-level in law, accounting or business would be helpful in achieving that goal.”

“But it may be that choosing these subjects is actually unhelpful in high-status university admissions. So an apparently sensible subject choice for students wishing to prepare for a professional career may, in fact, put them at a disadvantage.”

Geography and English literature, despite being “facilitating subjects”, were not found to be preferred by top universities. Therefore, subject preference by the universities appears less driven by whether the subjects are facilitating than by their prevalence in private schools.

The Russell Group maintains that it has always been advantageous to study facilitating subjects, and that it is of “vital importance” that all students are given correct advice when choosing their A-Levels.

Jessica Cole, head of policy at the Russell Group, responded in a written statement to Dilnot’s study by repeating almost verbatim the Russell Group’s 2011 statement on facilitating subjects.

“Choosing facilitating subjects allows students to keep their options open, meaning they have a wider choice of degree courses.

“Our advice is that if students don’t know what they want to study at university then it’s a really good rule of thumb that taking two facilitating subjects will keep a wide range of degree courses open.”

The reason students from lower-income households choose vocational A-Levels tailored for direct employment is clear — rising tuition fees are discouraging students from reliance on higher education.

A new survey by the Sutton Trust was released just days apart from Dilnot’s study. It reveals that the proportion of pupils from ‘low affluence’ households who are worried about the cost of higher education is at its highest recorded level. The proportion who say they are likely to go into higher education is at its lowest recorded level.

In 2017, UCAS reported a 5% drop in total applicants from the previous year.

Cole stated on behalf of the Russell Group that “Russell Group universities will spend more than £250m this year on activities designed to encourage successful applications from students from disadvantaged and under-represented backgrounds.”

Neil Cobb, Undergraduate Admissions Tutor for the University of Manchester School of Law, denied discrimination against vocational A-Levels to the Mancunion.

“The Law School has no preference for ‘traditional’ over ‘vocational’ A-Levels, and sees all A-Level subjects as suitable preparation for law and criminology degrees,” Cobb stated. “We take our widening participation (WP) responsibilities very seriously, and recognise the negative impact a preferential approach to A-Levels can have on access to higher education.

“Over recent years in the Law School, around one third of all offers to home students have been made to those with WP backgrounds.”