Students were handed out exam papers with answers attached to the back during a geology exam last month. Geology students sitting a second-year Geophysical Techniques exam were free to use the answer sheets for around half of the test before invigilators were made aware of the mistake. The exam will now be made void and senior staff members say they are looking for “a solution that is both academically robust and as fair as possible on the students.”

This week, Comment Editor Yasna Hawksley, is in conversation with Sarah (S), Emma (E), Abu (A), Greta (G), Andrew (AS), Elly (ES) and Dani (D) discussing LGBT week:

Valentine’s day is once again looming its ugly head and the pressure for every lonely-heart to find somebody to share a meal with is on.

“When I started teaching, if students got a bad essay mark they apologised to the tutor. Today, when students get bad marks there’s a chance they will come to see the tutor with their lawyer in tow”.

University of Manchester professor Hillel Steiner is a world-renowned thinker on matters of political theory.

Features Editor Nick Renaud-Komiya met up with him to chew the fat on Libertarianism, politics and the state of higher education. Here’s how they got on.

Do you have the right to the fruits of your talents? This seems like a simple question. Yet, people have gone to war over this question; those who say ‘yes’ have fought those who say ‘no’. Libertarianism? Socialism? Communism? All of these ‘-isms’ are essentially attempts to answer this question in one way or another. Are you and you alone the arbiter of your lot in life? Or do you have a duty to help others and they you?

The proud former leader of a hashish trafficking empire talks about legalising cannabis and eating dog food

Playing this sequel feels like you’ve made a decision to date the prettier sister, but over dinner realised that she is brain-numbingly stupid

All the characters, or ‘real people’ as the titles like to emphasise, have annoying sides to them.

Music Editor Eoghan Bennett chats to front man Jonathan Higgs ahead of two very special gigs. There’s a rumour that you’re back in the studio? Yea we just got a load of new equipment that we’re trying out, so there’s a few new songs we’re working on. We haven’t got to the recording stage yet, […]

In an exclusive interview, David Nutt’s colleague tells The Mancunion about being ‘told off’ for criticising government drug policy

Tom Hurndall, a Manchester Metropolitan University student, was shot and killed by an Israeli sniper in April 2003. Hurndall was a photographer, and a member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), an organisation that use non-violent protest against the Israeli military in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

A University of Manchester academic was charged with assaulting a police officer last week. The arrest was made during the third national day of action against the planned cuts to higher education and the proposed rise in tuition fees.

High-profile figures, including Noam Chomsky and Billy Bragg, have sent messages of support to the students occupying a University of Manchester building.

Up to 500 students and activists marched in Manchester against the government’s proposed rise in tuition fees last Wednesday. The march took place on the eve of the House of Commons vote, which saw an increase in fees by a majority of 21 votes.

After much agonising we now know how each Liberal Democrat MP cast their deciding vote during last Thursday’s crucial debate. As expected, every Lib Dem at the centre of government, including Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Business Secretary Vince Cable voted for the rise.

The coalition government proposed to help pay the cost of tuition fees for some of the country’s poorest students ahead of the tuition fee vote last week.

In typical Burton style, stripy socks, unnervingly twisted flash-backs, and Helena Bonham Carter are in abundance; (no one could mistake this for any other director), and Tim makes the almost unforgivable mistake of detailing the ending at the start of the film.

Michael Bay spent so long working on the optical madness that is Transformers 2 that he forgot to develop his storyline or characters. The end result is CGI on steroids and very little else. It’s always a bad sign when you feel genuinely embarrassed for the actors in the film for having their names permanently besmirched by such an atrocity. The cast and crew behind this film would probably be happy if there was a nuclear holocaust, something to wipe out civilization, as this would finally erase their shame.

Picture the scene: It’s 10.30pm on a Saturday night and I am surrounded by glitter, false eyelashes and the distinct smell of hairspray; as a marvelously glamorous sequin-clad drag queen takes to the stage, welcomed by the rejoicing roar of an eclectic crowd of bourgeoisie zombies and blood-splattered doctors. One might be excused for assuming that what I am describing is a nightmarish Halloween night on Canal Street, that, however, is not the case.

Twitter was busy this week with Manchester students moaning about the cold whilst protesting against cuts outside the Tory conference in Birmingham. Black and red posters appeared hastily pasted up in their usual fashion around the campus, “Stuff your cuts, we won’t pay!” read the slogans. But it’s not just the Commies who are upset; there is an atmosphere on campus from many students and staff that they are on a collision course with the Conservative-Liberal government.

Features Editor Nick Renaud-Komiya meets a University of Manchester student and former Royal Marine to talk prejudice, politics and parenthood.