Skip to main content

Month: March 2014

Students take to Manchester’s streets to ‘Reclaim the Night’

Written by Anna Phillips on . Posted in News.

 

Students took to the streets for the annual ‘Reclaim the Night’ march in Manchester to demonstrate against street harassment and sexual violence towards women.

A flood of women and men took to Wilmslow Road and marched from Owen’s Park, through the streets to the Students’ Union last Thursday evening. The march was led by a self-defining women’s only group, and was followed by a mixed group of demonstrators open to all genders.

Marchers carried signs which read: ‘no consent, no nothing’, and ‘whatever we wear, wherever we go, yes means yes, no means no’.

The event, organised by the University of Manchester Students’ Union is an annual march which has taken place for 17 years at many Universities around the country, in frustration at the dangers felt by women when walking alone at night and the anger towards ‘victim-blaming’ in cases of reports of sexual offences.

In a 2010 report by the National Union of Students, it was revealed that more than a third of female students felt unsafe when walking alone at night, due to fears of harassment or attack.

Hayley Dallman, a first year at University of Manchester who attended the march also admitted to sometimes feeling unsafe at night, “I feel like I never want to leave my friends alone on a night out. That’s why I think the march is such a good thing”.

Between the months of September 2013-January 2014, the amount of reported sexual offences was a total of 26. The previous year the number of reported offences amounted to 14, an 86 per cent increase.

Greater Manchester Police have also explained that in January alone there were seven reports, and five were attributable to one perpetrator who has since been arrested.

University of Manchester Students’ Union Women’s Officer Tabz O’Brien-Butcher explained the importance of the annual march, “It is empowering for people who go on the march to be around other people who think that violence against women and street harassment isn’t okay. It is empowering for people to recognise that their frustrations and anger about the injustice is normal and other people do feel that way too.”

She also said, “If tonight has made a few people think this isn’t okay, and want to stand up and say we shouldn’t be treated like this then it has all been worth it.”

Reclaim the Night’s events continued in the Students’ Union until late, with a celebration of female talents. The party saw performances from groups such as Bhangra Society and Women Matta Choir, and a DJ set from Typical Girls, as well as live comedy, arts and crafts and community stalls.

 

Exec ignore voters, nix paid Mancunion editor

Written by Michael Williams on . Posted in News.

The full-time Editor position of The Mancunion has been indefinitely postponed – despite the fact the position was passed into policy by an All-Student Vote.

Mancunion staff were not informed, even though discussions about the change were held by the Exec Team as early as November last year.

The change was also omitted from a rationale document outlining Union cuts – due to the Union’s £0.5 million budget deficit – forwarded to The Mancunion.

General Secretary Grace Skelton defended the oversight.

“As the salaried editor role does not exist, it does not constitute as a cut [sic],” she said.

Mention of the decision was also absent from all Exec Committee meeting minutes, despite the fact that The Mancunion was specifically discussed at length in a meeting on Monday 18th November regarding a separate issue.

The editor of The Mancunion was to become a full-time paid position after 68 per cent of students who voted were in favour. The motion was passed into policy on the 17th May last year, and remains policy for three years.

The editor of The Mancunion was a paid, sabbatical position – similar to the Exec Team roles – until September 2012. The current editor, as his predecessor was, is a student volunteer juggling the demands of a third year degree and editor duties.

This will now continue to next year and potentially beyond.

“We are committed to implementing the wishes of our students and with the budget changes that the Students’ Union has made, I wholeheartedly believe that next year we should be in a position to implement the policy,” said Grace.

The Students’ Union has been forced to make cuts after it was revealed they have a budget deficit of over half a million pounds.

“Due to the current financial difficulties faced by the Students’ Union, the Trustee Board, with assistance from the senior staff team, have had to make serious budget cuts,” said Grace.

“We have done this as fairly as possible and have made savings across the entire Union, including reducing departmental budgets and voluntary staff redundancies.”

Richard Crook, last year’s Mancunion editor, said that he was “not remotely surprised” at the Exec’s ruling.

“This was voted in, plain and simple,” he said.

“There’s a great irony that a group of students campaign against national cuts to reduce a deficit, and then do the exact same thing at their institution.”

Other Mancunion alumni, some of whom have gone to work at some of the world’s leading media institutions, expressed their shock at the Union’s decision.

Ian King, The Times Business & City Editor, said “It was disappointing to learn that the Students’ Union has decided against having a paid editor for The Mancunion. No other post communicates with the student body or the wider populace to the same extent. It is of immense value not just to the Union but to the University itself.”

Jennie Agg, commissioning editor at the Daily Mail and Mancunion editor 2009/10, said that the decision to take away the paid editor role “sounds like a mistake”.

“Why would anyone make the case for less student opportunity and activity? Not making it a paid position also risks excluding students who have to work part-time to fund their degree,” she said.

“A union is supposed to be about representation. You wouldn’t get rid of the general secretary or president because a permanent staff member was more efficient – the same applies for a paid student editor.”

Girish Gupta, one of Ms Agg’s News Editors in 2009/10 and now a celebrated New York Times and Reuters foreign correspondent, echoed her sentiments on the importance of the position being full-time.

“I struggle to see how the paper can continue to be both that springboard into journalism and, more importantly, a worthwhile read for students without an editor able to dedicate themselves to it full time,” he said.

Even Withington Councillor Chris Paul, who worked on the paper during his time at the University, was shocked at the Union’s decision.

“I was a member of the Mancunion collective for four years, with the team winning Guardian NUS paper of the year twice. We couldn’t have done that without a full time editor,” he said.

“In these days of huge fees and small or non existent grants it is a lot to ask anyone to sacrifice their studies and, in effect, pay to be editor.

“I know it’s tough because we’ve had to make big savings at the Town Hall. But I hope the Union will have a re-think and change that.”

The General Secretary, however, placed less importance on a full-time role.

“I am disappointed that there will not be a paid editor in role [sic] in September 2014 to maintain the high journalistic standards of The Mancunion,” she said.

“However, I am confident that the current system of voluntary editorship will ensure the quality of the publication continues.”

OFT considers detailed investigation into ‘non-competitive practices’ at universities

Written by Charlie Spargo on . Posted in News.

Following an investigation into value for money, the application process and the complaints system at universities across Britain, the Office of Fair Trading is considering launching an inspection into concerns about “non-competitive” behaviour.

A call for information from students and institutions was launched last year and the findings, along with plans on next steps, will be published in March.

Questions were asked about fees, applications, complaints and quality of education. The results of this survey will determine what action it will take next.

After the hike in tuition fees to £9,000 in 2012, the OFT may decide to investigate claims of collusion, price-fixing and poor value for money, as almost all British universities charge the maximum £9,000 or almost as much for most courses.

An investigation into these claims could lead to more regulation for universities and a wider choice of courses.

A change may also be required in the applications system which is currently limited to five institutions and stops students applying to both Oxford and Cambridge, in order to raise competitiveness.

Many have complained that the £9,000 per year they spend is going to waste. It has been reported that some degree courses offer students less than 40 minutes a week in tutorials, and there are worries about students not having enough contact with academics.

This statement comes shortly after the OFT made a statement to many universities across the UK, including Manchester, explaining that preventing students from graduating due to unpaid non-academic fines, such as library or parking, could be a breach of consumer law.

A spokesperson said that no decision has yet been made about what action will be taken.

Humanities faculty suggests drastic grading system change

Written by Charlie Spargo on . Posted in News.

The University of Manchester’s Faculty of Humanities has proposed introducing a revised marking scheme intended to be “clearer and more transparent,” turning away from the classic 100-point system.

The suggestion, still in its early stages, would see students instead being assessed by a 14-level system, with zero equalling a very low fail and 14 a very high first.

The final grades, rather than being in the long-running undergraduate class system, would be presented in a way resembling the American system, with grades awarded ranging from A+ to F.

While the Faculty is still asking for students’ opinions on the subject, there is some suggestion that it could be introduced in September 2014 to students from all years.

The idea to change the system comes after dissatisfaction from students and staff alike over the marking discrepancy between quantitatively marked exams in many modules of subjects such as economics, and qualitatively marked exams that are sat in philosophy and others.

Many find the generally accepted view that essays and written answer exams are rarely given a grade above 80 per cent unfair in comparison to the possibility of getting 100 per cent in exams such as mathematics or economics.

This can be especially noticeable for those studying for joint honours degrees, where the result for one module may be drastically higher than for others purely due to its nature of examination.

However, joint honours students may not welcome the proposed change. Many students’ subjects span faculties and having different grading systems for different subjects could complicate matters more.

Many are concerned that concentrating 100 intervals down to 14 would hinder discernibility over how students perform, and that students currently in their first and second years would graduate with a potentially confusing range of grades.

The faculty said that “nothing has yet been decided.”

180 students’ unions demand universities fix international student fees

Written by Aidan Gregory on . Posted in News.

In an open letter to Vince Cable, David Willets, and Vice-Chancellors, over 180 students’ unions across the UK have called for in-course fee hikes for international students to be abolished.

A petition has also been launched online.

Daniel Stevens, international officer of the NUS, said, “The unpredictable increase in fees is unfair and exploits this group of students. They put the academic success of many international students at risk each year.

“International students already pay astronomical fees for the privilege of studying here. They are an important part of the social, cultural and academic make-up of university life and should not be treated as cash cows.”

Over half a million international students currently study in the UK – and with over 8,000, the University of Manchester has one of the largest populations, but also, in 2005, became one of the first universities in the UK to fix fees for international students for the duration of their degrees.

The NUS has demonstrated through its own research that “each year up to 175,000 international students in our campuses find their fees increase often without notice”, and that each year over half of universities withhold details of fees to international students.

The research has also shown students are one third more likely to consider dropping out if their fees go up by more than £1000 in the duration of a three year course.

Unlike with UK and EU students, universities have no restriction on the amount of money they can charge in international student fees. Some universities always increase fees in line with inflation, but they are under no legal obligation to do so.

Sebastiaan Debrouwere, president of Kings College London Students’ Union, in the last year has led a successful fight against fee increases of 15 per cent. He has called on all universities to support the NUS campaign.

“Unpredictable fee increases are not only unfair, they may also dissuade many international students from coming to the UK, or force students to drop out,” Debrouwere said. “As an SU, we try to make sure our university is a fair and accessible institution.”

 

Cambridge dons call for more female professors

Written by Aidan Gregory on . Posted in News.

Over 50 academics from the University of Cambridge have called on the government to do more to ensure that female academics are able to rise up the promotion ladder.

The proposals will soon be published in The Times Higher Education Supplement. They claim that the selection process for higher positions in academia is unfairly biased towards men, because it relies on too narrow a set of criteria, such as research grants and publications.

They go on to argue that, “a broader, more inclusive approach to success and promotion, where other academic contributions, including teaching, administration and outreach work are valued, would make it easier for women to advance.”

Despite 45 per cent of academics being female, at the moment, just 22 per cent of professors in the UK are women. Yet more women go to university in the UK than men. In the most recent UCAS applications cycle, over 58 per cent of applicants were female.

Professor Athene Donald, a well know campaigner for gender equality at Cambridge University, said, “Women seem to value a broader spectrum of work-based competencies that do not flourish easily under the current system.

“There will always be hardcore metrics for academics, such as grants, or prizes won, and books and papers published, and they are important. But there are opportunities to reward and embed different types of success, such as teaching, outreach and departmental support.”

Pirate Party UK Leader Loz Kaye

Written by Sam Dumitriu on . Posted in Features.

Hi Loz, now it seems like the Pirate Party biggest issues would be national but you actually do a lot of local campaigning right?

I think one of the things we found as a movement that started focused on the Internet, is when you start to engage politically, there are whole ranges of things that need fixing.  We’re learning the best of the approaches from the way the Internet functions, the way ideas filter up from crowds and people rather than being imposed from the top.

What are the main reasons to be concerned about surveillance?

Let’s remember the extraordinary extents of mass surveillance that has been revealed by Edward Snowden.  He called it the largest ever non-targeted surveillance in history. It’s truly staggering.  We’ve seen into the programmes by the NSA and GCHQ who are doing blanket targeting of emails, web visit use, phone calls, photographs, and videos.

In 2012, GCHQ handled something like six-hundred million phone call events – as they call them – just through the fibre optic surveillance program.  Perhaps not many people think they’re likely to be picked up and taken off to Guantanamo Bay, but we need to remember that we were promised by this government, and specifically by Nick Clegg, that we would not be subject to blanket surveillance and the so called Snooper’s Charter. We now know that we’ve been misled.

It is important because it’s an attitude of the government and the surveillance communities towards us.  It turns us all from citizens into suspects and is all about how information gets connected up together.  We’ve already seen there are attempts to infiltrate and target people based on their beliefs.  It has a really chilling effect on the desire of people to get involved in politics, when at the same time politicians are bemoaning the lack of democratic participation.

It’s about how we can all be targeted simply because what we do sends up certain flags.

What software are we able to use to protect ourselves?

There are two things we should be doing: one, there is no excuse not to start to protect your own communications, especially if you’re interested in politics in any way. You should consider encrypting your email.  People are holding “crypto parties” now to share information about how to protect your communication.

You can also download an app called RedPhone that can protect your phone calls.

I’m not so paranoid to think that anyone is out to get me but it’s just basic common sense.

The other thing we should be doing is putting political pressure on.  Cameron has claimed that Snowden’s revelations haven’t made that much of any impact in the United Kingdom but 60,000 people have signed a Pirate Party petition for a full and proper inquiry into Prism and protection of whistle blowers.

Just because our politicians failed to hold the security services to account, doesn’t mean those of us outside of the Westminster bubble aren’t interested, but you have to let your MP know you’re concerned about these issues because one of the things they love to say is that that nobody cares and no one contacted us.

Would you say this is not considered an issue by the major parties?

It’s considered an issue in the wrong way.  Particularly for the Conservative and Labour parties who haven’t missed any opportunities to push for further blanket surveillance.

I thought it was disgraceful that in the wake of the Woolwich attack that previous home secretaries were pushing for the communications database, the snoopers charter, which was a cynical and frankly vile response to an individual tragedy.

We’re not saying there shouldn’t be intelligence gathering but it’s about being specific and targeted.

The problem has been that the Conservatives and Labour want to outdo themselves as being seen to be tough on crime and tough on terrorism without looking at what is the right thing to do.

Many of the Liberal Democrats activists care about these issues, though what we found, as with the NHS and tuition fees, is that they’re unable to act and this is another area where they have directly let us down.

Does piracy hurt musicians?

We’ve said all along that there is not a major crisis in the music and film industries.  There have been problems with the content providing industry has been way, way too slow to provide reasonable useful alternatives that really benefit artists and take advantages of the new digital sphere.

In Sweden we can see that last year music revenues have gone up and that is largely due to streaming income, even though it has been seen as the home of piracy because it’s the originator of The Pirate Bay.  Sweden has a thriving digital economy that you can contrast with the United States, where digital revenues continue to fall.

The average consumer spends £16 every 3 months on digital content.  So-called pirates spend on average £26 pounds every three months.  That’s not from the bureau of pirate statistics, that’s from OFCOM.

When you’re able to have a thriving digital economy that also allows for the sharing of products that people have done since the first wax cylinder came out then that’s what benefits artists.

As for site blocking, censorship is not an instrument of culture policy.  It never will be.

The plan for piracy was that your downloading would be sniffed on and you would be sent letters, and your household internet connection would be downgraded in a collective punishment, though no one wants to send out these letters this side of a general election.

It’s now politically poisonous to be anti-internet.

Do you think that a very small party can have a big influence?

Yes, absolutely.  It’s about being able to show that you’re serious and you have something to contribute on key issues.  It’s about what approach you take.

Why already in Manchester we’ve beat the various left wing parties is because that we’re not content to go out and demonstrate and shout a lot.  You also need to be engaged and showing positive alternatives.

We’re in a very different political situation now.  We’re no longer in a two party system, or three, or even four, it’s much more interesting and I’m glad for that.

What’s the Pirate Party’s take on Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is interesting because it has shown there is more than one way to run an economy.  Yes, it’s incredibly volatile and it’s a new territory, but it has huge potential in terms of economic growth and boosting smaller businesses.

It’s actually extraordinarily difficult to pay for things in the United Kingdom.  We’re lagging behind Scandinavia in terms of card use, we’re lagging behind African countries in terms of payments by mobile phones, so I really welcome innovation on that front.

There have been lots of scare stories about Bitcoin and what it’s been used for, that it’s not traceable, and it’s involved in paying for drugs, but you can say that about money (laughs) so that’s no different.

What’s your take on the trans-Pacific partnership?

Right now we’re seeing a slew of international treaty agreements that are once again being negotiated behind closed doors.  For all the European Unionists claiming that its involving people it essentially being agreed without our say so.

This approach has to stop.  That is one of the key things we will be pushing for, that we are planning to field candidates in the EU elections.

We need real engagement, and real inquiries.  The biggest problem is that it has the potential to undermine workers rights, protection for the environment, and data protection.  It’s really vital that we have voices in the EU parliament opposing that.

The biggest problem is that corporate entities can get to write our laws, not people and our elected representatives, and that’s something we’ll be fighting every inch of the way.

What about filters?

We said that as soon as governments and courts took powers themselves for filtering or blocking for the purposes of copyright that that would start to spread, and we’ve been proved right.

The government and the tabloid press have pressured the largest internet providers into a blanket filtering system that you need to opt out of rather than opt in.

We have warned that there is no 100% technologically perfect system that can filter out undesirable content resulting in over-blocking of things that shouldn’t be blocked and under-blocking of things that should.

We’ve seen how rape crisis centres have been blocked by these filters, how they have blocked access to LGBTQ information.

Far from protecting young people, it’s putting young people, and victims of abuse in danger, and I think this is deeply irresponsible.

There’s a lot of Internet policy but what is the Pirate Party engaged with in Manchester?

Right now, some of the biggest issues we’re looking at are about how people in Manchester get real power over the environment around them and also what the council is doing day to day.

The council continues to blatantly ignore guidelines about transparency and citizen participation, so in the planning meetings, for example, the chair is still telling people not to use their phones to video or to tweet.  This is completely against all the guidelines now.

Planning meetings aren’t the most thrilling things in the world but they are they are absolutely vital about every aspect that we see about us in this city.

We’re pushing hard about the environment in Manchester.  With the piecemeal privatisation of space, the city is being eaten by zombie carparks.  We coined that, as the city is starting to look like the set for a disaster movie.  That space that the residents want to make into green space and park space is being taken over, without planning permission, by car parking companies that bleed money out of the economy and damage the environment, and discourage positive transport like cycling and walking within Manchester.

If the Pirate Party were elected to government, what would the first Queen’s Speech be?

I would hope that any Pirate administration would be a broad coalition that would be looking at bringing a range of people with a range of views in.

We would be looking to bring in a bill of digital rights, and ending age discrimination in the benefits system and the wage system against young people.  Getting rid of tuition fees, and boosting libraries by taking experiences from hackerspaces.

Looking at alternatives to nuclear weapons, and boosting the economy by focussing on small businesses and peer to peer; that we would be protecting whistle blowers, that the attacks on civil liberties that have gone through successive governments would be ended, that we would be rolling back the worst legislation that have come from them.

Most importantly that it would be about a completely different approach to politics: that it would done with people and not to people.

Album: Real Estate – Atlas

Written by Henry Scanlan on . Posted in Music.

Released 3rd March, 2014

Domino Records

8/10

Atlas is a model of consistency from a band who have carved a creative nook and are perfectly happy to sit in it. It’s neither a leap forward nor a step backward, but then that’s one of the endearing qualities of this band: Real Estate are in no rush to get anywhere new. In an age where so much new music is crying out for your attention lest it be cast aside in the endless echelons of Spotify (or whatever the kids are using now), it’s reassuring that Real Estate are content to sit back and hone their craft. They’re unlikely to gain any new fans from this record, but their old fans will fall further in love.

The real beauty lies in how effortless the whole thing sounds, despite its intricate detail. Their blissed out, jangling guitar sound is complimented by Martin Courtney’s sighed, trouble-free vocals. It requires more patience than last album Days, where most of the songs were immediately catchy enough to be used as ‘Made In Chelsea’ background music (which they were). It may not be until the 4th or 5th listen that everything seems to clicks into place, but it’s all the more rewarding as the subtler melodies gradually unfurl with each listen. Atlas comes under the category of ‘a grower not a shower’ (in strictly musical terms).

Courtney sings of the stars at night, horizons, lost loves and sprawling landscapes. All very vague and dreamy, but it’s a wistful fantasy that you can crawl inside and cosy yourself in. Like all of their music, the album has a nostalgic tone that anyone can relate to.

Singling out songs as highlights is an unnecessary exercise given the total consistency of the songs as a full set, which is how it should be heard. There are no standout tracks, but that’s because they’re all very, very good. ‘How Might I Live’ however does stick out like a sore thumb because it’s the only song written and sung by Alex Bleeker, and plays out like a folk ditty in contrast to the guitar tapestries filling out the rest of the album.

Choruses are kept modest and tasteful, and they never raise the noise levels, so as not to wake the neighbours. Some listeners might find that it lacks a bit of bite. What I’ll say is that if you consume records the same way you consume fast food, you may want to give this one a miss. For those who enjoy intimate, considered music that’s more interested in tickling your senses than blasting your socks off, this is a rare treat.

Meh-lection frenzy sweeps Students’ Union Exec

Written by Michael Williams on . Posted in News.

Nominations for Executive team positions closed on Friday after a last-ditch effort by the Students’ Union to drum up interest.

The nomination results see two prior Exec team members, the Community Officer and Education Officer, standing for two different £16.6k positions this year.

The nomination period was marred by a lack of interest from the student populace, and two positions, General Secretary and Community Officer, were uncontested until as late as last Tuesday.

The promotional techniques used by the Union also came under fire, as staff desperately tried to encourage students to stand.

A status posted by the Manchester Students’ Union Facebook page read, “Fancy earning 16.6k next year? Or taking a paid year out of your studies? No interview and no experience needed! STAND”.

Similar messages, uploaded to the Union’s Twitter page, prompted negative replies.

“Shame this is how you’re trying to get people to run,” tweeted former University of Nottingham Exec officer Elizabeth Goddard.

“I know. Hence the retweet, made me cringe,” echoed one student on Twitter, who is also running for seven positions – every role available, except Women’s Officer.

Current Exec staff also attempted to persuade students to run.

Current Diversity Officer Omar Aljuhani posted on Facebook, “Even if you are not sure whether to run or not… just fill the form and decide later.”

The lack of female representation during nominations was of particular concern to current Women’s Officer, Tabz O’Brien-Butcher.

“There are currently no women running for the positions of Diversity, Campaigns or Activities in the Manchester SU elections,” Tabz posted on her Facebook page last Monday.

“If you know a woman who would be great in one of these roles, give her a message and let her know that you think she’d be fab!”

Eventually every position was contested, including an entry for Member of Parliament for Withington John Leech, who was “rejected from the running because he couldn’t provide proof of student status”, according to a notice posted in the Students’ Union on Friday afternoon.

Eleven students are running for General Secretary, and nine for Diversity Officer.

Community Officer and Wellbeing Officer both received seven candidates each, while the Activities & Development Officer and Campaigns & Citizenship Officer roles saw six candidates apply for each.

Finally, four students are standing to be Education Officer, and four for Women’s Officer.

Voting for the Executive positions opens on the 14th March.