UEA’s Student Newspaper
Issue 286 • Free • Tuesday 8 September
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Inside...
Exam Timetables win Union Priority Campaigns Poll
Concrete Meets Eddie Izzard We talk continental standup with the comedian Special Feature P. 6
You Are What You Tweet What does your social media activity say about you? Features P. 12
Interview: The 1975 Venue gets up close and personal with the band Music V. 4
Sidonie Chaffer-Melly Editor-in-Chief The movement to release exam timetables earlier has won at the Union Priority Campaigns Poll. It has beaten the other nominees – Ethical Investment, Coursework Return, a Campus Safe Room and Get the Vote Out, with Get the Vote out trailing behind the others. Academic Officer Louise Withers-Green, who ran the campaign for exam timetables, said: “It’s incredibly exciting that exam timetables have won - it’s the evidence we need to show the University that this is a really important issue for students.” The five nominations were selected from officer manifestos, student survey results and union council policy. All will be important issues dealt with during the year, but the winner will be a priority for the Student Union. Last year the winning campaign was for exam feedback, a policy that the University have implemented this year. Votes were cast by tokens at stations in
the Hive, bars, The Shop and the box office, as well as a mobile station taken around by officers. There was also the opportunity to vote on Twitter using the appropriate hashtag, to vote on the website, and to vote using the Union iPads. The Union have allowed students to get involved by introducing Union Campaign Teams. These will be made up of student activists and volunteers, and lead by elected part-time and full-time officers to plan, design and co-ordinate a Union Priority Campaign. As part of the Union Campaign Teams, members will receive a free ticket to the Union’s Annual Campaigns Forum and Campaigns Conference. Guests will include speakers from the Guardian, NUS and the New Internationalist. The Union made a concerted effort to provide more information on the campaigns this year, including a greater amount of detail on the flyers. More than 10,000 post cards were given away, each specifying the details of the campaigns and how to get involved. Despite this, the number of votes cast
has been significantly less than last year. Around 16,000 votes were cast for the 2012/13 campaigns, compared to 8,325 this year. Communications Officer Rosie Rawle said, “I expect the drop in votes this year is because we had fewer permanent voting stations. Last year, there was also one in the post office and paper shop. In addition, the self service machines in the shop meant that fewer people were being served face-to-face and so didn’t receive tokens.” “Generally, there’s been a greater level of discussion due to officers getting out and talking to people. Trips to Edith Cavel and INTO helped us reach more than just the ‘hive-goers’ as well. It’s also just the start campaign teams will be building even more momentum during the year.” Union Priority Campaigns - The Results Exam Timetables - 3,143 Coursework Return - 1,804 Ethical Investment - 1,375 Safe Room - 1,290 Get The Vote Out - 713