Varsity – University of Cambridge
A man has been found guilty of murdering a student outside an accommodation block last year, Varsity is reporting.
Mohammed Algasim, a Saudi Arabian student, was on a ten-week placement at an English language school in Cambridge.
On the evening of August 1, 2025, he was stabbed with a kitchen knife by construction worker Chas Corrigan.
Algasim was with friends outside student accommodation at the time and CCTV footage captured the stabbing.
Corrigan told jurors he had been drinking that night, with subsequent tests finding he had consumed not only alcohol, but also cocaine and cannabis.
Corrigan, who denies the murder, will be sentenced at a later date.
Gair Rhydd – Cardiff University
Gair Rhydd has focused recent articles on a student-wide referendum asking whether Cardiff University should remain affiliated to the National Union of Students (NUS).
The referendum, voting for which was open from March 9 to March 12, attracted wide attention, with Gair Rhydd interviewing speakers on both sides of the debate.
Deio Owen, the President of NUS Cymru, explained that the NUS ensures students are represented in policy discussions, social debate and the news.
Owen said the concerns sparking the referendum, notably the NUS’s stance on the war in Gaza, were valid, but that the union had an obligation to listen to the voices of all students on the issue.
Jordi Blake, a Politics and International Relations who campaigned to leave, said the NUS’s response to protests against the war in Gaza was the primary reason why students should vote to end affiliation. Blake also criticised the election process within the NUS, noting delegates are not elected by other students, but rather by an internal process.
The results, announced on March 13, confirmed that a majority (63%) of students had voted to remain affiliated to the NUS. 19% voted to leave, while 18% abstained.
Felix – Imperial College London
Imperial College London is considering removing wardens from halls as soon as September 2026, according to Felix.
Each hall currently has one warden, a member of staff undertaking extra unpaid work in the hall, in exchange for free on-site accommodation.
The newspaper reports that two alternative models are being considered, a ‘hybrid’ one, which would maintain three wardens across all halls of residence, and a ‘professionalised’ one, which would replace all wardens with an out-of-hours campus team.
Felix interviewed a number of student representatives about the proposed changes. One explained that students develop personal bonds with wardens and that it is important to know who will be picking up the phone should they feel vulnerable. On the other hand, some students said they had limited contact with their wardens or were largely unaware of the system.
Wardens deal with a range of issues, from noise complaints to suicide attempts. The major concern is that students with complex wellbeing needs in halls might be particularly susceptible to such a change.
Roar News – King’s College London
Roar News has published an article on the removal of the president of the King’s College London Conservative Association (KCLCA).
The former KCLCA President reportedly made a racist remark about current Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch during a Port and Policy debate in October. They are alleged to have said that she should “go back to the tribe in Africa that she came from”.
A sworn statement from a London University Conservatives member stating that they had not heard the President say such a sentence was provided when Roar contacted the former President. They declined to comment further.
The event in question took place on October 9, and was jointly hosted by UCL Conservatives, KCL Tories and City Conservatives.
UCL Conservatives issued a statement, confirming the chair of the debate had asked the former President to retract the remarks, which they did immediately.
Roar says it has previously reported on a number of controversies surrounding events linked to KCLCA, suggesting there is a “toxic culture” within the association.
The Boar – University of Warwick
An article in The Boar is reporting mixed reactions to the University of Warwick’s summer rebrand, which cost over £230,000.
A Freedom of Information request confirmed the cost of designing the University of Warwick’s new identity totalled £231,588, excluding VAT. The University of Warwick also declined to estimate how much implementation of the changes would cost.
The amount is nearly four times higher than the approximate figure of £80,000 spent on a 2015 rebrand and has received criticism from some students.
One SU sabbatical officer said the price tag for the rebrand was “ridiculous”, although also noted that it was “still less than the Vice Chancellor’s salary”.
The University of Warwick has defended the changes as a necessary step to increasing its global brand. This rebrand is part of its 60th anniversary commemorations.
