Can one Not everyone Bristolian drag needs snooker into the deodorant 21st century? page 5 page 35
Africa reviewed page 31 Issue 252
Issue 258
Monday 4th February 2013 www.epigram.org.uk 25 years of Epigram Bristol University’s Independent Student Newspaper
‘Come on!’ : Bristol petition calls for end to overseas student monitoring Jemma Buckley
Joseph Quinlan News Reporter
A University of Bristol student has tragically died after falling more than 300 feet whilst climbing Ben Nevis in the Scottish Highlands. An experienced climber and member of the University Officer Training Corps (UOTC), Ben St Joseph was planning to join the Royal Army Medical Corps after completing his Medical degree at Bristol. On Saturday 26th January, the 22-year-old was over half way up Tower Ridge – a popular route for climbers – when he plummeted to his death. It is believed St Joseph was climbing continued on page 3
Is this the end of the high street? page 11 Marek Allen
An open letter calling on the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Eric Thomas, to hold an open meeting about the university’s controversial monitoring of international students has attracted over 150 signatures. Since last autumn, non-EU students have been obliged to report to their department each month to show ‘engagement’ in their studies. The measure, imposed by the United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA), is a condition on the right held by universities such as Bristol to sponsor visas for international students. The tightening of regulation came after the UKBA withdrew London Metropolitan University’s right to sponsor students in August 2012. In this instance, the authorities cited a lack of monitoring, insisting that revoking the university’s licence was ‘the right course of action’. Professor Thomas wrote in The Times Higher Education supplement last autumn that ‘We need to ensure that what happened to London Met can never happen again’, criticising UKBA’s decision as sending ‘an extremely damaging message to the world’. Yet some international students feel that the university’s leadership could do more. Cerelia Athanassiou, a Postgraduate Senate Rep and the petition’s founder, told Epigram ‘I don’t buy that “there is no alternative”. The more I keep asking questions, the more I see varied practices on this policy across this university – let alone across the country – and so I would like to find a space where can discuss and compare best practice on this issue, as well as deliberate on how to formally keep challenging this destructive policy at national level.’ We are gathering signatures on this important issue as we recognise that many international students (and staff!) would feel too intimidated to take action on their own. The letter expresses unease that ‘no consultation with the students or their representatives was taken and claims that the monitoring, which is refers to as ‘intimidating, humiliating and unnecessary’, could have ‘serious implications for the university’s ability to recruit prospective international students’. For many, the measure is shrouded in ambiguity; something the sought open meeting will aim to address. For example, there
Bristol student dies in Ben Nevis tragedy
Bus fares to be reviewed
First has announced that it is to undertake a public consultation on bus fares in Bristol. At a press conference attended by Epigram, First added that the consultation will include a third party ‘to ensure that the process is comprehensive’. The decision follows a petition, started by Daniel Farr, that has attracted nearly 3000 signatures and states that ‘First fares are among the most expensive continued on page 3
Petition demands UoB to clarify their agenda remains uncertainty over how stringent the regulations set by the UKBA are and to what extent the current monitoring programme is a self-imposed measure. The university’s Director of Communications and Marketing, David Alder, has told Epigram
that Bristol does not have to pass on its monthly attendance records to the UKBA, and would only need to contact the agency if a student had missed 10 consecutive registration sessions. continued on page 3
In defence of the gap yah page 8