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ANY OTHER BUSINESSWant to develop your skills as a campaigner?
Now is your chance. On Monday December 13th NUS will be running
Activist Development Days in two locations across the UK aimed at
students. These events will provide a wide range of skills that any
budding campaigner should be looking to develop.
Where and When is the training?Monday 13th December London
School of Economics
How Much will it cost?The events are just 5 and registration is
simple though before you register you should check with your
students union whether they are sending people as if more than 10
activists from your students union turn up we will let you all have
your places for free.
Im IN How do I get on the course?To register please download
this form and send the forms to:[email protected]
What can I expect?These days are aimed at student activists and
we will be passing on information, advice, training and support
around Building, Running and Winning campaigns on campus. There
will be a wide range of sessions focused on: Building a Campaign
Army, Choosing Campaigning Issues, Identifying Targets and Allies,
The Campaign Life Cycle, Campaigning Online, Campus Stunts and
Actions, Using Campus and Local Media, Educating Students on
Issues. The day will also provide campaign teams a chance to work
together to consider how they can run campaigns locally with input
and advice from expert campaigners.
NUS NewsA round up from the national voice for students.
NUS responds to Nick Cleggs astonishing letter on tuition fees
and education cutsAaron Porter, NUS President, today responded to
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Cleggs letter which sought to mollify
recent student protests by claiming that protesters did not
understand the proposals.
The response comes on a third day of national action against the
proposed changes which will include a rally at Trafalgar Square.In
his detailed and lengthy response Mr Porter calls attention to the
many ways in which these proposals are problematic, misleading or
damaging and presents counter-arguments, including:
- The coalition have not properly considered a graduate tax and
have dismissed the idea based on a pure graduate tax system that
has not been proposed- They recommend a foolish and extremely risky
approach to funding the higher education sector, with a rapid move
to an unconstrained market in which students meet almost the whole
cost of teaching- They accept at face value the lazy myth that
competition on price between universities leads to higher quality,
and accepts the falsehood that fair access can be achieved through
so-called needs blind admissions and a trade in bursaries or
scholarships, whilst dismantling the education maintenance
allowance (EMA) and AimHigher schemes- They ignore the probability
that with much higher fee levels, prospective students - especially
those from disadvantaged backgrounds - will change their behaviour
and make judgements primarily on prices, costs and debt
In the letter to the Deputy Prime Minister, Aaron Porter
writes:All of your partys MPs signed personal pledges to vote
against higher fees. Those pledges did not offer voters making
decisions on the basis of those signatures the additional
information that you would seek to abolish fees if you won, but
agree to triple them if in coalition. The anger felt at this
betrayal is real, justified, and desperately disappointing to those
who placed in you their hope for a different politics.
The Government is, in effect, proposing a vote to triple fees
before Christmas; a vote to make them progressive after Christmas;
and a vote on legislation to deliver value for money for those fees
much further down the line. This process is nothing short of a
democratic disgrace and should be resisted by MPs and Lords of all
parties and especially by you. For these reasons, I would urge you
to reconsider the process that you are looking to undertake with
regards to changes to the system.
Government tells students to aim lower as minister axes
university access schemeNUS today condemned an announcement by
Universities Minister David Willetts that the Aimhigher university
access scheme would be abolished.
The Minister announced the decision at a Universities UK (UUK)
funding conference in London as MPs prepare to vote on proposals to
treble tuition fees to 9,000 and the Government seeks to abolish
the education maintenance allowance (EMA) for the poorest college
and sixth form students.
NUS said the already announced 150 million for university
scholarships would be outweighed by cuts of 450 million to the EMA
budget which it is paid to poorer college and sixth form students
aged 16-19 in order to access education.
Students will take no lectures from Nick Clegg, says
NUSResponding to Nick Cleggs Hugo Young lecture the National Union
of Students said students were tired of his dishonesty and said
that he risked destroying voters faith in politicians.
Aaron Porter, NUS President, said:Students will take no lectures
from Nick Clegg. It does absolutely nothing for public trust in
politics to have politicians breaking cast-iron promises they have
made to voters. We listened carefully to him before the election
when he said that he would resist, vote against, campaign against
any increase in fees. He even said he wanted to join forces with us
and to top it all signed our pledge in front of students. He should
go back and examine both that document and his conscience before he
asks students to believe anything he says.
Nick Cleggs claims that the Governments proposals are close to
the graduate tax advocated by NUS are distorted nonsense. He is
proposing the removal 80 per cent of teaching funding for
universities and asking the next generation to shoulder the bill
through a tripling of fees and now has the gall to argue that is
fair. Students, families and the public at large are overwhelmingly
inclined not to believe him. As he correctly notes, however, it
remains Liberal Democrat policy to abolish tuition fees.
NUS launches Right To Recall campaign to oust leading Lib
DemsThe National Union of Students will launch a decapitation
strategy aimed at ousting Nick Clegg and other top Liberal
Democrats from parliament in protest at the partys U-turn on
student fees.
What is Right To Recall?Its actually one of the political reform
measures that the Lib Dems called for at the general elections and
one of the terms to be discussed in the Coalition Agreement, and is
now quite interesting because of the amount of broken promises that
have arisen from the Lib Dem camp, especially surrounding student
matters.
If passed it means that if 10% of constituents complain about
their MP, then that MP will immediately face a by-election. The NUS
have recently launched the campaign, which aims to help keep MPs to
account over broken promises - such as the promises made about
tuition fees and EMA grants for college students.
More info is available at:
http://www.nus.org.uk/en/News/News/NUS-launches-Right-to-Recall-campaign/
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the only government-recognised centre of excellence in teaching
and learning in the field of human rights in the country, for which
Roehampton was awarded 4.5 million www.roehampton.ac.uk
We refuse to sit by while our universities are transformed from
centers of social, academic and personal development into mines for
the human mental resource. We do not see students, teachers and
courses as a raw mineral ore to be extracted and profited from.
R.O.A.R. (Radical Organised Alumni of Roehampton)
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Fresh Newspaper
Page 26
Well its the last Fresh before Christmas, deadlines are here,
the loans have run out but that doesnt mean there isnt time for one
last party! I hope everyone has had as great a term as I have; all
you freshers have settled in, second years youre realising your
degree actually counts now, and third years we are fast approaching
our last few months at Roehampton!
Id just like to say that over the past month societies have
really shown their mettle and worth, and I couldnt be prouder to be
part of it all. Lets build on this work, and make next year the
biggest and best yet!
Weve had some great socials over the past month, with both the
Roehampton players and the third row dance society hosting nights
at the bar. The Roehampton Player this is England 86 theme went
down well, with our very own Anant Naik on the DJ decks and plenty
of braces around. If you didnt get a chance to play pass the pint,
Im sure there will be another coming up soon. The cocktail night
third row ran was a great success, felt a little strange drinking
sex on the beach at the union but it was definitely something I
could get used to! They were both a great success and I cant wait
for the next society to put something on! Here at the RSU weve made
some changes and putting a night on at the bar has never been
easier, just email myself or Natasha Blake for all the details!
Remember Monday nights are society night at the bar, but that
shouldnt stop you from doing something at the weekend!
Come next term the RSU will be running re-freshers week. Its a
great time to join up to a new society (itll be pretty well
established by now) and youll know if you can handle any extra
commitments. During re-freshers we at the RSU will be looking for
feedback on a new idea, the idea of Departmental societies. So each
new department has a student run society that directly relates to
their subject, hopefully with academic support from the department
itself. If youve got any ideas on this dont be afraid to email me
at ([email protected]) this idea has never been done at
Roehampton before so we can build it from the ground up!
Id like to say a great big thank you to all the societies who
came to the national Demo on November 10th. We had a brilliant turn
out from Roehampton, and societies made up a big chunk of that, it
was a great day, even if a little marred by violence. However the
fight isnt over, with subjects now facing the axe at Roehampton its
time for societies to rally round each other and support each other
as much as we possibly can. So if youve got some free time,
head-over to the human rights society, all there contact details
are on the RSU website, get involved!
I know it seems early, but dont forget that Societies
achievement ceremony isnt coming up, so if you think your society
puts on an event, of any kind remember it! You can nominate anyone
next term!
I hope everyone has a great Christmas break, finish all your
work early (dont leave it to the last minute!) and come back and
enjoy Re-Freshers week!
Merry Christmas
Luke Springett
Societies President
ACS King and Queens HeatsThere were at least 40 people in the
venue, It started late but that didnt stop it from entertaining
early on with flashing lights, animated presenters and wonderful
talent on show. Wrist bands were handed out and security was tight,
and there was no rough behaviour or misconduct, but highly charged
with excitement over the acts preparing to perform. As the room
swelled with excited spectators, one could catch the glimpse of the
potential queens practising their walk in the corridors, memorising
lines, picking and all manner of things before the show
commenced.
The project manager of the ACS introduced the afro Caribbean
society as a charitable event that encourages positive views about
black culture. This was a beauty pageant to bring people together
and telling by the numbers, the event was doing what it said on the
tin.
Each contestant had to catwalk, pose and walk back, typical of a
fashion shoot. After this there was a talent run, giving the
prospective queens the chance to show their talent whatever it was
and whoever was favoured got through. The least two were eliminated
from the race. The judges score would be tallied up and revealed
after which there were joyous cheers and a hunger for more.
The first contestant performed a poem discussing the connotation
of the colour black and to add to it, sung during the poem earning
herself plaudits. The second contestant performed a poem discussing
God and protection. Like the contestant before her, she had no
script but what added to her eloquence was not her spoken word but
her expression of movement, rendering her more confident than the
latter. The third contestant swept the crowd away with a song about
the love she receives from her father. The fourth performance was a
dance and it did not disappoint, there was shaking galore and the
crowds fixity was firmly pressed upon her, not wavering for a
moment. Finally, the fifth contestant performed a song.
After this, judges were scribbling away and moments later, the
scores were again added and moments later the next two to leave the
competition were announced after much deliberation from the judges.
X factor eat your heart out.
The third, second and first place are announced and the winner
is a flood of emotions and rightly so, it was a fierce competition.
However, in what some may call a rather tragic twist of fate, a
wild card is brought out. All contestants are brought back and
presented before the audience, for them (the audience) to decide
who should get given another dance. Ultimately, the audience
decided who got the most support by clapping. The audience made
noise for their winner and the poor girl who thought she had won
was trumped. From experience we all know that sometimes the people
we thought would get through dontjust watch the X-factor! This was
a night about beauty and not so much in the carnal sense of the
word but what being young, black and multi-talented is and why we
should use our gifts to make each other rich. And on that note, it
was a very prosperous night.
Courtesy of www.theroehamptonlanejournal.wordpress.com
SOCIETIES
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The dream duo are promising something special at White Hart
Lane
Its fair to say I was more than surprised when Id seen that
Tottenham fans had booed their players off the field after a 1-1
draw with Sunderland. Im not a fan of booing your own players, but
this just seemed crazy. Spurs have done fairly well so far this
season, and Steve Bruces side are no pushovers (they went on to
beat Chelsea 3-0 the following weekend). However, the fans were
dissatisfied enough to elicit such a seemingly unnecessary
reaction. Even on internet messageboards, some drama queens were
talking about how this season was turning into a disaster.
League performances have been a bit inconsistent for Tottenham,
but this was always going to be the side-effect of a Champions
League campaign for a side and a manager who have little experience
in such an area. Spurs are currently sitting in seventh, only three
points adrift of fourth place, and with such a long way to go
before the seasons climax thats certainly not a bad place to sit.
Im fairly sure league titles have been won from such positions at
this stage.
Aside from that, there have been two massive positives for
Tottenham this season. The aforementioned Champions League campaign
has been a real success so far. Just making the group stages was a
big achievement for Tottenham, but beating the reigning champions
is the sort of lunacy Spurs fans could only have dreamed of at the
start of the season. Its nice to see someone different from the
usual four competing, but its even better if theyre playing well
and giving themselves a shot at making the latter rounds.
The other big positive is the birth of two new stars at White
Hart Lane. Theres been so much talk about Gareth Bale that its
almost not worth discussing him again, yet people are still divided
on whether his recent run of form is his coming-of-age or simply a
flash in the pan. I am absolutely certain its the former, because
Bale has threatened to turn into a quality player for a long time
now. Hes finally turned that potential he always had into
substance, with goals and assists stacking up more and more every
game. Stats can lie, but watching Bale is all the indication you
need to realise that he possesses the natural instincts of a
winger.
Its remarkable that at age 21, Bale is playing the starring role
in a Tottenham side with bundles of midfield talent. This doesnt
happen to someone who is simply having a good patch of form, and
neither does scoring a hat-trick against Inter Milan. Is he world
class? Definitely not. But he can, and probably will be.
The other star is of course, Rafael van der Vaart. Its perhaps
no surprise that hes been so good for Tottenham, but that will not
take away from the enjoyment fans get from watching him. The former
Real Madrid man has brought a much-desired attacking quality to the
centre of the Spurs midfield, and his contributions have been in
about as much abundance as Gareth Bales. After his first game, I
was already impressed by him. He was constantly finding the space
between midfield and defence, and always had room for the ball to
be played into him as well as the ability to use it. His
positioning is second to none, and his technique when he has the
ball is sublime.
Its that extra bit of quality that Tottenham needed, and it
represents another shrewd bit of business by Harry Redknapp. 8m
seems a lot, but when you consider that Alex Ferguson paid the same
price to bring Bebe to Manchester United, it suddenly becomes a
bargain. Id imagine that Champions League football was a big factor
in van der Vaarts decision to join Tottenham, but its still an
unlikely and
fantastic signing that Redknapp has pulled off.These two players
are only part of a Tottenham side that, when you consider the
faltering of the top clubs this season, could achieve some great
things. There was never any doubt that Spurs would be contenders
for a top four spot again this year, but with the rise of these two
great footballers, I think Tottenham can go beyond that and maybe
finish in the top two or three, perhaps even winning the FA Cup
along the way. In either case, Spurs fans should give their side a
bit of time, and enjoy what should be a very special season for
them.
Jake Fleming
Roehampton Rowing Club has a lot to look forward to within the
next few years. British Rowing has funded the university with money
to improve the quality of the club and the team is now even being
trained by British rowing trainer Laura Fisher.
Roehampton has such a prime location for a rowing team with the
Thames being so close and we have many great opportunities with one
student that has been selected for the GB Rowing team and two more
- Sam Sears & Ryan Ames training in order to trial for it
sometime next year.
The club has seen an influx of interest this year and are hoping
that it will get even more from students and sponsors alike. There
are plans to make the university an acknowledged rowing team with
the help of British rowing and constant fundraising.
And a massive well done to Ryan Ames who competed in the
Scullers Head singles race for the first time on Saturday 27th
November. The race started in Chiswick and finished at Putney
Bridge. Ryan completed the race in 26:03 minutes which is a
fantastic time for his first attempt and finished 353rd out of
501.
A quick word from the captains;
SPORT ROEHAMPTON
Hello and I wish you a warm welcome on this wintery afternoon.
This is the
first of
many bi-weekly news letters regarding rowing at Roehampton, the
rowin
g team at
the University is undertaking a progressive change planned for
over the n
ext few years
which has seen the introduction of funding from British Rowing,
includin
g a brand new
coach so a big high five to Laura Fisher.
Already this year weve seen an increase in participation at RURC
with th
e
development of 6 crews. YES SIX, which is a fantastic
achievement and on
e which we
hope will go on to great success. Keep up the good work
guys!
Sam SearsClubhouse Captain
Hello, As the womens captain Im really pleased to see so many
women join the team
this year! Im really looking forward to watching us all progress
both technically and
fitness wise. Lets keep up the commitment that some people are
already showing in
order to get those others, who may be shy or unsure, more
involved and love being
part of the team. With racing season just around the corner we
all want to be the most
prepared that we can :) Keep up the good work.Ellie Biggs,Womens
Captain
Spurs fans should Bale-ieve in their Rafa good team
Row-Hampton
Hello, My name is Ryan Ames, and a
s mens rowing captain of the Roeham
pton
team I would just like to say welcome
and thank you to all the new lads tha
t
turned up this year. We have had a g
reat turn out and it looks like we are
going
to have some wicked crews this seaso
n to comptete with. However, there is
still plenty more room for more lads s
o id youre reading this and want to g
et
involved dont be shy and get in conta
ct.
Cheers,
Ryan
