FRIDAY 9 DECEMBER 2016
Issue 102
INSIDE THIS ISSUE... Comment The Alternative Review of the year p. 12
Features
Lifestyle
Sport
YOU are being watched
Festivities in your flat
Sports Thoughts: Sports Personality
p. 18
p. 20
p. 45
SU President slates ‘clearly inadequate’ counselling provisions Barclays banned from Sheffield Students’ Union Hope Cunningham News Editor On Thursday last week, SU Council voted to ban Barclays from the Students’ Union. The bank has been added to the list of organisations that have “no dealings” with the University of Sheffield’s Advertising and Sponsorship Policy.
The proposal, put forward by University of Sheffield Development Officer Michael Kind, received the required 100 signatures to take it to Council and passed with in excess of the 2/3 majority it needed. The boycott was part of a wave of...
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Lisa Latham Head of News Students’ Union president Dom Trendall has blasted the current provisions for counselling at the University of Sheffield. Responding to a recent The Tab report and current understaffing in the Counselling Service, Trendall said to Forge Press: “This is absolutely not good enough, current provisions are clearly inadequate and the Student’s Union considers this a matter of utmost priority.” The report followed a Freedom of Information request that found the University to be 28 out of 40 of UK universities for spending on the University Counselling Service (UCS). According to the data the University allocates an average of £17.01 per student. Oxford spends the most at nearly £50.00 per student, and UCLan the least at £4.64. The University highlighted that the list was compiled with a sole focus on spending within counselling services and excludes support staff from other internal departments, such as Disability and Dyslexia Support Services (DDSS)
or Health Centres. These alternate support systems are provided by the University and offer students various methods of reporting difficulties they may be facing. The DDSS is intended for use by students with disabilities, and the Health Centre does not offer official treatment for mental health issues beyond referral to the Counselling Service. At a time where there is an influx in students seeking help in line with a nationwide increase of mental health problems in students, some students worry that the UCS is understaffed. Reena Staves, President of the Mental Health Matters society, explains: “Our counselling service is incredibly overstretched.” In September 2016, The Guardian released figures stating that the number of university students across the UK who seek counselling has rocketed by 50 per cent in the last five years, with such problems cited as monetary stresses and pressure to achieve good grades. Staffing of the UCS is already under strain following
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