Students out of pocket and more occupations: University Round-up

EXETER: Nearly one-third of students conned by scam tickets sold on popular Facebook resell page.

An investigation by Exeter University’s Exeposé paper found that 31% of students on popular Facebook page Overheard have been scammed when attempting to buy tickets through the group.

These schemes saw high-demand tickets being marked up by as much as 900%. One account recalled that the scam artist did not live in Exeter or attend university there.

Second-hand tickets are nothing new in the student community, but cases show tickets initially costing £2.80 bumped up to nearly £25.

BIRMINGHAM: Post-grads out of pocket as university fails to pay wages for campus work

Postgraduate students who work on campus at the University of Birmingham are being paid neither on time nor, in some cases, at all.

The Redbrick paper has reported that, when one student sent a complaint for not being paid for two months of work, the University gave them a £50 Amazon voucher in lieu of payment.

A University spokesperson told the publication that “teething issues” with a new self-service finance system meant that some students were not paid on time.

SHEFFIELD: Masked student group occupies university arts building

The Sheffield Action Group has begun occupying the Arts Tower at the University of Sheffield in a move reminiscent of the John Owens and Simon occupations by rent strikers in Manchester this year.

The self-described “queer youth-led direct action collective” is protesting the University’s financial links with companies involved in the arms trade, which they describe as “imperialist.”

The demonstrators claim that the University received £71 million from BAE Systems, Boeing, and other military-industrial companies.

CAMBRIDGE: Professor reported to have plagiarised student

An associate professor at Cambridge is reported to have plagiarised at least 12 pages of his student’s essay in a journal submission he made in 2018, a claim that has been upheld by a University investigation.

Varsity newspaper reported in late September that Dr William O’Reilly, who specialises in early modern history, had a complaint against him upheld by a tribunal in 2021. Following a two-year investigation, the tribunal ruled that the offence was “the product of negligent acts but was not deliberate.”

The student who wrote the essays told Varsity that he was “incredulous” when he found out the plagiarism was deemed negligent.

Dr O’Reilly denies the accusations made against him and says he used the student’s work as an “aide-mémoire” which he intended to re-write. Dr O’Reilly will be returning to his position at the University this term.