Official Goldsmiths student newspaper
@leopardnews
www.theleopard.co.uk
Issue 16 October 2013 Free
warden interview
alternative guide
new: classified
Pat Loughrey gives his perspective on Goldsmiths life p11
The best kept secrets of New Cross p8
Free drink at no 178 cafe, New Cross p12
freshers’ accommodation scramble By Ella Jessel News Editor
F
reshers’ felt “betrayed” by Goldsmiths this summer after not being able to secure a place in halls of residence, as it emerged that the university has lost Ewen Henderson halls. The offered replacements are deemed too expensive for students’ standard of living. Not Enough Room in Halls Many students were not allocated places in halls this summer after Goldsmiths’s contract with Unite for Ewen Henderson Court wasn’t renewed. The halls, situated on Goodwood Road, previously housed up to 260 Goldsmiths students. King’s College have now taken over the halls, with a guaranteed five year contract. A spokesperson for Goldsmiths Univeristy told the Leopard: “This residence was rented to us
via an external provider. When the contract came to an end, the provider chose to let out the halls to another university.” A spokesperson from Unite said: “there is a standard nomination procedure with our University partners. Goldsmiths’s 12-month contract ran out so the contract was awarded to Kings, one of our other University partners for the next five years.”
To address the shortfall in rooms, Goldsmiths has blockrented rooms in two private halls, Mansion Wharf in Canada Water and Student Castle in Aldgate. Both are more expensive than Goldsmiths halls, with the latter costing almost £70 more per week. Freshers’ Furious Students who felt they should
NIGHTMARE ON MALET ST
‘‘
We don’t want to end up with 140,000 students and no union.
By Ella Jessel News Editor The death knell for ULU, UoL’s “uber-brand” union, was sounded
have been a priority—such as those living far from London who applied early for housing and made Goldsmiths their ‘firm’ choice—were angry at being rejected for student housing and took to social networking sites to vent their frustration. The Leopard spoke to 18-year old Yasmin Hajji, who will be studying Media and Sociology at Goldsmiths this September. unceremoniously in May by a panel of vice-chancellors from each college, with a pan-London union already gearing up to replace it. Though the review board had consulted unions and students, the lack of a student representative on the panel lead ULU president Michael Chessum to claim he would fight the “totally illegitimate” ruling.
“I applied on the day the applications opened, very early,” Hajji said. “I was told on results day that I had no place in halls. I live in Oxford, which is around 2 hours away by coach but many others live in Wales or abroad, and they were not allocated a place in halls.” continued on page 3
Pat Loughrey, Goldsmiths warden and member of ULU senate, said in a recent interview with the Leopard that he had voted for the closure of ULU. It was felt the money that we offered from Goldsmiths could be continued on page 2