gair CARDIFF’S STUDENT WEEKLY
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ISSUE 776. November 22 2004
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WWW.CARDIFFSTUDENTS.COM
CUTTING EDGE FREE INSIDE: OF CANCER DEMO POSTER UCWM Prof. Tim Muaghan elected chair of National Cancer Research Network
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THIEVES TARGET HALLS By Matt Wilkin and Will Talmage THIEVES STRUCK at a University hall of residence last week stealing hundreds of pounds worth of goods, raising more questions about campus security. First year student Becky Crean returned to Cartwright Court on Saturday 6 November after an evening out with friends in Cardiff city centre, to discover that her bedroom window had been forced open by thieves. Her room had been ransacked and a number of electrical goods had been taken. "When I entered my room, it was a complete tip" said Becky. "The window had been shattered, my laptop and DVD player were missing, and my printer had been smashed. "They [the intruders] had obviously attempted to take my CD player too, as it had been pulled away from the wall." She immediately reported the break-in to onsite security staff, who called in the police. Becky had to spend the night out of her room until members of Cardiff CID checked it for fingerprints and footprints the following morning. "My flatmates and I were shocked that the intruders could break in and
get away with so many possessions without being seen or heard. I feel that security ought to be improved drastically," she said. But uni officials have insisted that any lapses are quickly being fixed. Security Services Manager Tony Lewis said: "We are working closely with Residences, and patrols of the site have been increased by re-deploying staff from elsewhere. “If any student has any particular concern in relation to their security they are welcome to contact me, either directly or via the Residences Management." Mr Lewis also urged students to ensure all their doors and windows were locked before they left their rooms. Students’ personal property is insured under the University halls insurance policy, and Becky has been issued with a crime reference number as the police continue to investigate the incident. This latest break-in comes only a matter of weeks after gair rhydd exposed security flaws at another student residence, and increases pressure on the Residences and Catering Division to make improvements to security across Universityowned property. CARTWRIGHT COURT: The scene of the break-in (above) INSET: Becky Crean
gair rhydd scoops best paper award By Bec Storey Media Editor GAIR RHYDD was celebrating this week after winning Best Student Paper of the year at the NUS/Daily Mirror National Student Journalists awards last week. Last year’s editor Tristan Thomas was clearly estastic after receiving the award.
He said: "This makes the hard work and the sleepless nights worth it. I don’t believe that people realise how much of your student life is given over to gair rhydd." The paper beat off competition from Leeds Student, York Vision, Crywolf and The London Student to scoop the award The prize comes just after Quench Magazine being named runner-up in the Guardian Student Media Awards
after only one year of publication. The awards were held at the East Winter Gardens at Canary Wharf, London last Saturday following a day of workshops and debates organised by Daily Mirror for the nominees. These awards are the oldest and most prestigious of the student media awards and are valued by those in the industry. The Best Paper award was judged by the Mirror Group’s Political
Editor, David Seymour who praised the high standard of entries this year. He said: "student newspapers are the breeding ground for the next generation of national newspapers." Current editor Gary Andrews said: “This is really a testament to all the hard work last year’s team put in. “Of course this now puts the paper under more pressure to repeat the success but I’m confident we can retain the award next year.”