Concrete 329

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>> UEA installs Cafe Rouge founder as new Chancellor

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>> “I can’t remember a night out at uni where I didn’t get groped.” Is there a campus rape culture? 25th October 2016 Issue 329

The official student newspaper of the University of East Anglia | concrete-online.co.uk

UEA voyeur pleads guilty Incidents took place at Mary Chapman Court and UEA library

Caitlin Doherty Deputy Editor A former UEA pharmacy student has pleaded guilty to six counts of voyeurism between 2013 and January 2016, including incidents in the UEA library and UEA accommodation. 22-year-old Luke Mallaband admitted the offences at a plea hearing in which the court heard that the filming of students on campus has been “going on for a number of years”. According to Josephine Jones, prosecuting, a woman using a library toilet on 19th January this year found a “white plastic bag on the floor which appeared to have a hole in one corner”. “Inside the box, she found an iPhone 6 which was recording.” She went to the help desk and reported the incident. Mallaband also went to the desk promising to delete the files.

Police were informed following January’s incident and Mallaband was arrested at a Norwich property. A number of personal items were seized, including a mobile phone and a laptop. A total of 38 iPhone videos were found following police

“The defendant was formerly in a relationship with one of the women found on the recordings, however, she was never aware she was being filmed.” examination. These included a video of a woman showering at a Norwich property in October 2015, as well as footage from UEA campus and Mary Chapman Court accommodation. The defendant was formerly in a relationship with one of the women found on the recordings, however, she was never aware she was being

Been “going on for a number of years”

filmed. Following the reports to the police, Mallaband, who now lives in Walsall, withdrew from his course and has since been permanently excluded from campus. A joint statement from the university and the student’s union said that “the university puts the safety of its staff, students, and visitors first and cases such as this are extremely rare. These are the criminal actions of one individual, acting alone, and are no reflection on UEA’s secure and welcoming campus environment. The university and the students’ union work in partnership to ensure a safe and respectful environment for all campus users and we condemn this behaviour in the strongest terms. We acted promptly and decisively as soon as these allegations came to light and worked very closely with the police on the investigation.” The case has been adjourned until November 24th for sentencing.

Council votes against NSS boycott Jessica Frank-Keyes Deputy Editor The Union of UEA Students has voted against a boycott of the National Student Survey (NSS). The vote on this issue took place at the first union council of 2016-2017, on October 20th and was passed by a majority of 49 percent. The boycott was proposed as an amendment to motion 1951: Market Reforms in Higher Education. This motion was brought before council by Finn Northrup, Non-Portfolio Officer, and supported by Theodore Antoniou-Phillips, Undergraduate Education Officer. The motion opposes the newly introduced Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) and states that allowing higher education institutions to increase tuition fees “creates further marketization within [the] sector.” The motion also claimed

that “multiple higher education institutions have laid out plans to begin raising fees even for current students,” and that: “tuition fees as they stand… have an adverse effect on student mental health and force working class and poor students to alter their choices at university.” The motion added that “marketisation is one of the greatest threats to our education system at all levels,” and the union have resolved “to fight against the TEF through lobbying, demos and protesting,” and “to oppose any rise in tuition fees linked to the TEF.” Council reached its guillotine time of 10.30pm and a vote on the motion had to be delayed until the following session. However, the amendment, Say No to the Boycott/Sabotage of the NSS, proved controversial, with councilors divided over the issue, and debating fiercely. The amendment was proposed by Theodore Antoniou-Phillips and

49% Votes in favour of passing the amendment

1951Number of the

motion: Market Reforms in Higher Education

20/10

The date of the first union council of the 2016-2017 year

239

The number of times the hashtag #UEAUnionCouncil was used during the meeting

supported by Amy Rust, Campaigns and Democracy Officer. The amendment states that “if we want to make meaningful change to the Government’s proposals, we should be focused on lobbying MPs and the HE Bill now, not planning a strategy that might have an impact when it’s too late.” Council heard speeches in favour of the amendment from AntoniouPhillips and Rust, and in opposition from Jo Swo, Welfare, Community and Diversity Officer, and Madeleine Colledge, Postgraduate Officer. The National Student Survey is taken annually by final year students and is intended for use by the government as a pillar of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), the body set up to measure attainment by universities. Institutions that score highly in the NSS, alongside good graduate employment rates, will be among the first permitted to increase their tuition fees beyond the current

rates. However, the union voted “to oppose any boycott or sabotage of the NSS.” Commenting on the result, Theodore Antoniou-Phillips said: “results from the NSS have repeatedly given ammunition to both SU officers and school level representatives to make things better for students- improving everything from organisation and management of courses to assessment and feedback and library resources.” He continued: “an organised boycott would have harmed the SU’s aims this year of focusing on students’ academic interests.” Commenting on the decision, Amy Rust said: “the Government has already announced that it will put up fees regardless of the NSS. The proposed boycott would have distracted us and the NUS from the important work of lobbying and campaigning against fee rises.”


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