INSIDE: TRIBES/BIOSHOCK INFINITE/OBLIVION/SYRIA IN CRISIS/JUNIP/INANIMATE CARBON ROD
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The independent student newspaper of the University of Sheffield. Est. 1946.
Issue 58 Friday April 19 2013 @ForgePress /ForgePress
Screen talk:
Crowdsourcing, the new age of cinema? Fuse p.5
Lifestyle find:
Sheffield’s best graduation eats, p.20-21
Sport enjoy:
Uni’s first Varsity win in 10 years, p.30-31
Hallam delegates spend £2k on hotels, in their own city 4NUS pay out so Hallam Uni reps can stay in luxury during national conferences held in Sheffield Jonathan Robinson Delegates from Sheffield Hallam University stayed in luxury hotels during the NUS conference at a cost of approximately £2,000 over two years, despite the fact the three-day events were held at Sheffield City Hall. The Hallam team stayed in the four-star Hilton Hotel, near Victoria Quays, for two nights this year, Forge Press can reveal. The total bill was £980 and was paid for by the NUS. It included five rooms - four twin rooms and one single. As this year’s national conference was being held in Sheffield, the NUS gave both universities in the city the option of staying in hotels like other visiting delegates or staying in their own accommodation. Delegates from Hallam University chose to stay in the hotel because they thought it was “important to experience the
conference as a whole”. However, delegates from the University of Sheffield agreed to stay at home because they wanted “to save money”. Hallam Union president Helen Francis defended the decision to stay at the Hilton Hotel, where prices for a night’s stay start at £79. She said: “It was easier for me to lead our team in one place. “We wouldn’t have stayed [in the hotels] if it cost our Union.” She also said that delegates did the same at last year’s national conference in Sheffield. This means that over two years Hallam University’s decision to stay in hotels will have cost the NUS around £2,000. Student representatives from across the country travelled to Sheffield to take part in the NUS’ national conference, where delegates vote on policies and elect the leadership team. University of Sheffield
Students’ Union women’s officer Amy Masson, who was one of the delegates at the event, said: “We made a decision not to stay in hotels to save money. I can’t comment on Hallam’s decision.” An NUS spokesperson said: “All delegates to NUS national conference are offered accommodation in order that no delegate is prevented from attending by the cost of accommodation or unmet access needs. “Delegates who feel they don’t need that accommodation are given the option to decline it. It is neither practical nor appropriate for NUS to decide the access needs of those attending national conference.” Union president Abdi Suleiman said it wasn’t suggested by University of Sheffield delegates to stay in hotels. He did not wish to comment on Hallam’s decision.
Tributes made to graduate who died during marathon The Hilton Hotel
See inside p.3