rhifyn 1132 issue 1132
gair rhydd
25 chwefror 2019 25 february 2019
Check out Gair Rhydd online
Cardiff University’s student paper | Established 1972
Transforming Cardiff: Cuts to fix £21m deficit T
Election Week: Candidate Question time by Sam Tilley
his week is ‘Election Week’ in the Students’ Union, with Candidate Question Time being held as two separate events last week. We have caught you up on the topics making their way into the realm 4 of student politics.
Formula 1 Season Preview by Sam Saunders
A
head of the season opener in Melbourne on March 17, resident Advice Columnist turns his hand to preview the upcoming Formula 1 season. With a break down of the teams, turn to page 28 to read up on their expected performance. 28
Are a third of Britons really Islamophobic? by Yasmin Begum
A
recent report from ‘Hope Not Hate’ has found that a third of Britons believe Islam threatens the British way of life. Our Comment section debate the validity of this report, and the implications it has for the 14 UK.
Changing Cardiff Uni: The Vice Chancellor of Cardiff University put forward plans to cut jobs and merge schools in the Transforming Cardiff consultation event. Photo Credit from Left to Bottom Right: Colin Smith via Geograph, Kevin Schneider via Pixabay, Tomos Evans. by Hallum Cowell
T
he governing Council of the University has tasked people like Professor Colin Riordan, Vice Chancellor, to make Cardiff University a “financially stable organisation”. Transforming Cardiff is, as Professor Riordan said, “a direction of travel” and “not a fully formed plan”. Professor Riordan also called the current situation around universities a “high risk environment,” referring to Brexit, last year’s industrial action over pensions, among other factors. The Vice Chancellor also said that the new direction was “not about cutting” but “about reducing the rate of [cost] increase”. Transforming Cardiff is based upon five “pillars”; organisational change, transforming services, education, research and estate. The two main ways the University plans on reducing these costs is to have a “gradual reduction in staffing levels
over five years” and by increasing income from research by 25%. Including this current academic year, Cardiff University has been running a deficit for three years. This has been the result of higher than expected cost increases and lower than expected income increases. For example; in 2017/18 costs increased by 5.2% but income only increased by 2.5%. The Transforming Cardiff “Direction of travel” has been planned out for two years and has only now been voted upon by the council and released. President of the Students’ Union Fadhila Al Dhahouri said that she voted against this proposal. She said: “the main focus is to ensure a high quality of student experience and satisfaction; these ideals should be at the heart of any plan”. She then added “financial gain should not be placed before it”. One of the more contentious ideas
in the document, which might affect students most, is to combine schools. The English school is planned to be merged with those of modern foreign languages and Welsh. These schools would combine to create the School of ‘Literature, Languages and Creative Practices’. In addition, a “reconfiguration” of the School of Healthcare Sciences is being argued by the University to be “part of a natural process”. Discussing the changes, a Cardiff University spokesperson said “Our intention, should this idea progress, is to preserve the distinct identity of the School of Welsh while allowing it to benefit from being part of a larger grouping of disciplines with which it shares significant interests. We hope to enhance research and teaching through more opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration.” Furthermore, a spokesperson mentioned that another idea being
considered is “a shared Geography undergraduate programme between the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences and the School of Geography and Planning, covering both human and physical geography. This is an idea that we will consult carefully on with both staff and students as we progress. We will maintain the student experience of current students as we develop new ideas for the future.” At the talk, the Vice Chancellor also expressed that there were also “options for reducing the Optometry footprint on Maindy Road allowing the better sharing of resources” which could result in the part of full “co-location” of the schools of Optometry and vision sciences and the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Continues on Page 3.
3
Post University Relationships by Katie Lewis
W
ith graduation nearing the horizon for many students in their final year, no doubt the question spiralling in the minds of students in relationships is what happens next? Our Advice desk unpick some of the potential scenarios 22 this week.