High street student bank accounts reviewed.
Five teenage members of a west London gang were given lengthy prison sentences at the Old Bailey yesterday for the murder of a 16-year-old A-level student. Kodjo Yenga was left dying in the arms of his girlfriend after the gang ran away, laughing and exhilarated, the court heard. Judge Christopher Moss told the youths it was unclear who wielded the knife but the sentences had to be a deterrent because the violent gang culture was a serious problem. He ordered that Tirrell Davis, 17, and Brandon Richmond, 14, be imprisoned for a minimum of 15 years. Kurtis Yemoh, 17, Jamel Bridgeman, 15, and Michel Williams, 15, were given 10 years' detention for manslaughter with five years on extended licence after their release.
A student who was carrying out a project photographing where people had committed suicide was found hanging from a tree, an inquest has heard. Christian Drane's body was discovered in woods in the Polygon area of Southampton, Hampshire, on 16 March. The 21-year-old, originally from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, was studying at the city's Southampton Solent University. A verdict that Mr Drane took his own life was recorded on Friday. Pc Sam Weller told the inquest that friends had told him that they knew no reason why the student, who had a part-time job at a Walkabout bar, would take his own life.
Gum-chewing students are the latest targets of a Lancashire city's anti-litter campaign. Preston City Council is installing new gum boards where people can stick their used chewing gum, rather than throw it on the pavement. A total of 20 GumTargets are being fixed to lampposts in Friargate Brow, near the university area. A similar campaign in 2006 and 2007 helped to reduce gum litter in the city centre by 80%, the council said. The boards are fitted with tear-off sheets, which mean the gum can be removed by street cleaners when the target is full.
Drugs testing by students at the University of Bristol has suggested cocaine is used at most of its bars. Journalists for the college newspaper, Epigram, used swabs to reveal traces of the drug at six of the seven hall bars they tested. But news features editor Georgia Graham said it did not necessarily indicate widespread drug use. "It could be one person on a serious bar crawl, this is by no means everyone at university doing drugs," she said. "This could be a small amount of people deciding to do drugs in inappropriate places." Swabs were used to wipe down cisterns and other flat surfaces in toilets of all Stoke Bishop hall bars, a newspaper spokesperson said.
A FRESH appeal has been made to trace a student who disappeared on holiday in Greece. Steve Cook, 20, vanished less than 24 hours after arriving in Malia, Crete, with friends in August 2005. Despite a massive search and investigation involving Greek and British police, he has not been seen since. Parents Norman and Pat, who have four children, have flown to the island to renew the hunt for their youngest child. Steve, from Sandbach, Cheshire, who was about to start the final year of a business and marketing degree, was on a night out when he disappeared.
A flag will be lowered today at the University of East Anglia in memory of a student who died just days after her 21st birthday. Laura Pearson, a third year student at UEA, died suddenly and unexpectedly at her home in Huntingdon. It is believed the popular student, who was taking a degree in society, media and culture, died after an epileptic seizure. Professor John Street, head of the School of Political, Social and International Studies and one of her teachers, said: "Laura Pearson was a terrific student. For those who taught her, she will be remembered for the infectious enthusiasm she brought to seminars, for her thoughtful contributions and for generous response to others.
THE PRESTIGIOUS title of International Student of the Year 2008 was won by a Manchester Medical student last week. Stephenie Siew Jean Tiew, 24, was chosen out of 1,500 students from 127 different countries in the sixth annual International Student Award. Organised by the British Council, the award aims to highlight the contributions international students make to life in the UK. Among Ms Tiew's achievements are winning the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health Student Prize, taking part in the Save a Baby's Life Society and participating in a regional debating tournament, as well as holding a part-time job. "I feel truly blessed to be the recipient of this prestigious award," said Ms Tiew, who won £3,000 of prize money.
£34.88 PER HOUR is the staggering sum of money some undergraduates at this University are forking out to sit in a lecture with more than 100 other students. Politics students who are forced to pay £3,000 in tuition fees spend an average of just 86 hours per year being taught by the University. Twenty years ago, when higher education was free, Politics undergrads had an average of 200 hours in lectures and tutorials each year. Social Anthropology students have also seen contact hours tumble – they spent 220 hours per year in University twenty years ago but now have to go in for as little as 120 hours. With students forced to borrow £3,000 per year to pay for their studies, they are paying up to £35 per hour for a handful of hours spent in University classes. The revelation comes in the wake of the University being publicly lambasted for its research focus by a major public school head teacher, as reported in Student Direct last term.
Bristol uni: Eleven iMacs worth a total of £8,000 were stolen in a daytime burglary of the maths department during the Easter holidays. The burglary was described by University authorities as "well planned" due to signs that windows had been tampered with in advance from the inside. The burglary, which took place at 5.50pm on Tuesday March 25, targeted the building's undergraduate computer room. Porters were not on duty as the University was closed, although some academics were working in the building at the time. A car backed up to a window of the computer room, the window was opened, and the computers removed.
The American restaurant chain Hooters, which is famous for its provocatively-dressed waitresses, is set to come to Bristol as part of the company's expansion into the UK market. The move is set to inspire both controversy and delight among Bristol's students, who are likely to become key clientele. Hooters restaurants are widespread in the United States, where the chain operates in 39 states. So-called 'Hooters girls' provide the main gimmick for the restaurant, where they serve as waitresses dressed in tight white tops and orange shorts. Although no planning applications have yet been submitted, the chain hopes to open 36 restaurants in Britain within the next four years, with five this year in London, Manchester, Sheffield, Newcastle and Bristol.
Cherwell college(Oxford uni) :Pembroke's JCR President has accused the college of risking students’ lives by failing to maintain clean accommodation after a disease outbreak. He also alleged that the college deceived students by covering up an outbreak of the potentially fatal Legionnaire’s disease. JCR President Chris Bennetts said the JCR consistently raised concerns about the poor state of the showers and ventilation system in the Macmillan building where the outbreak occurred, but the College had taken no action. Bennetts said, “The JCR has consistently raised general concerns about the poor state of the showers and ventilation in the building; poor ventilation particularly contributes to the spread of the bacteria.” He also criticised the decision by college authorities not to inform students of the discovery of Legionnaire’s until Monday morning, despite knowing of the extent of the problem three days earlier.
Five students have been left without permanent accommodation following eviction from their house in Cowley. The students, all third years at New College, returned home last Friday to find that their door had been broken down and that their locks had been changed. A note had been left on the door telling the students to contact Allen Harris Estate Agents. Claire Chambers, one of the students, spoke of her distress at finding she could not get into her house. She said, “We came back from the library at about 11.30pm and found our door broken down: there was wood everywhere.” She described the confusion saying, “We didn’t know what was going on, we had to stay with friends for the night as there was nowhere else for us to go.” The students called the police, but as it was a civil matter there was nothing they could do. They had to wait until the morning, when they were able to contact the estate agents.
THE PRESIDENT of the Durham Union Society’s decision to stop a member of the BNP speaking in a debate has tarnished the Union’s image as an advocate of free speech and made him appear weak, according to a highly placed source within the Union. Luke Wells, of St John’s College, who is President for the forthcoming term invited Richard Barnbrook, the BNP candidate for the London Mayoral election, to speak in the term’s first debate, “This House would ban extremist political parties”, only to later withdraw the invitation. The source, who wishes to remain anonymous, told Palatinate that Mr Wells was initially “very much in favour of inviting him” and had approved the decision to extend an invitation to Mr Barnbrook.
LEAGUE TABLES “strongly influence” English Universities, despite doubts about the way they are compiled. Wes Streeting, NUS vice-president was also quick to add that the focus on an institutions, research output does not help prospective undergraduates, as they “are not going to be taking research degrees”. Five tables were analyzed for a study undertaken by the Centre for Higher Education Research and Information at the Open University and Hobsons Research in an attempt to gauge the tables importance. University leaders say there is still insufficient transparency about the way these are put together. The tables examined included the Sunday Times Good University Guide and the Guardian University Guide, as well as two publications from abroad. The report, Counting what is measured or measuring what counts?, published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England during its annual conference, argued that despite problems there was clearly the demand for their tables.
National Student Survey
The National Student Survey (NSS) is a survey targeted mainly at final year
undergraduates and an opportunity for them to feedback on their academic
experience.