Friday March 18 - Thursday March 31 2011
NEWS
KU graduate gets vocal
NEWS IN BRIEF
OLIVIA HEATH K0816568
Kingston set for strip club invasion
KINGSTON could become home to a myriad of lap dancing and strip clubs according to a Kingston Councillor. Andrea Craig believes that because Kingston was delayed in adopting new licensing laws giving councils special powers to regulate sex establishments, owners of such clubs could be attracted to the area. “It’s not about the one establishment we currently have, it’s about being pro-active and making sure we do not get into a situation we don’t want,” she said.
Student’s Top Trump game A GREEN version of Top Trumps has been launched by Kingston University student, John Clarke. The sustainability-themed version of the game which was developed over six months as a teaching tool for surveying students, looks at the different qualities of construction materials such as the toxicity, durability, and ease of recycling. The PhD student, whose father is a builder, hopes the game could help make construction more ecofriendly.
KU misses no smoking day
JUST four per cent of students polled knew that it was no smoking day in a survey conducted by a Kingston University student last week. The survey, conducted on the same day that the Government announced plans to ban shops from displaying tobacco products, shows that the campaign remains little known, especially to the student community.
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Chris Demontague dubbed the modern day Sam Cooke
Music Powers
FROM singing in church, to performing in front of thousands and now penned as a modern day version of soul pioneer Sam Cooke, making the move into the music industry is one step closer for this Kingston graduate. Chris Demontague, who graduated with a degree in economics, is now preparing to make his debut album with a host of Grammy award winning producers. The 21-year-old singersongwriter said: “I hope my music will have an impact around the world. The sky is the limit.” Originally from Brixton, South West London, Chris now lives between Jamaica and the US and will release his first single ‘Missing You’ at the end of this month. “Music is my life but I’m also happy that I have a degree in economics. Kingston University was great. ” The young vocalist is currently working with J R Rotem who has worked with Rihanna and Cirocco, who has collaborated with Michael Jackson.
Soul Train, a brand that has broken many of the great African American, Motown and hip hop voices has honoured Chris as an artist of the next generation. Chris said: “I have always aspired to be a singer but it wasn’t until a year or so that others in the music industry gave me the opportunity to follow my dreams. “After a few live shows and positive reviews, people started using complimentary phrases like ‘artist to watch’ to describe my performances.” Having created a buzz from thousands of people in America at the Soul Music Summit, American Music Festival and X-Fest, Chris said: “My music basically describes me. It’s multicultural and mixed up.” Gary Bernstein, owner of Oceanic Tradewinds Music, the company that manages Chris, said: “Chris is a remarkable vocalist with substantial talent as a writer. He has all the tools to be a major force in the entertainment world.” Chris is planning a tour of the USA and UK in support of his debut single and his album is predicted for release at the end of the year.
Lecturers’ fears as pressure group demands entire staff email list ALISTAIR CHARLTON K0805903 STAFF at Kingston University have raised concerns over the release of over 6,000 email addresses, following a Freedom of Information request issued to the university. The request, made by pressure group www.academicfoi.com, was initially made back in May 2010 but was rejected by the university on the grounds that the email addresses constituted personal data, and so were exempt from being disclosed. Academic FOI appealed to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and their feedback to the university has restarted the request process.
Dr Chris Ince, head of secretariat at KU, said: “A number of staff have raised concerns about the data being released. “The university is still considering it’s response to the Information Commissioner’s Office.” The university is now proposing to release around 6,300 staff email addresses to the requestor, which will be sent in a document with no other data. Under the Freedom of Information act, the requestor is not required to state why they want the information. According to its website, AcademicFOI.com aims to “investigate UK universities and higher education institutions through the use of Freedom of Information requests”. The results of its requests are ana-
lysed and published on it’s website. A Kingston University spokesman said: “We think the same request has been sent to a wide range of universities, so Kingston isn’t being singled out.” In an email sent to all Kingston staff members, Dr Ince explained that the university may withhold addresses of individuals who have expressed fear of “potential serious harassment from estranged family members or partners”. Academic FOI, which is run by volunteers, state that they “hope that the presence of the site will encourage a few university managers to think a little more carefully before they treat their staff unfairly or spend public money in a questionable manner”. Dr Ince is looking into KU staff
complaints and the university is still considering its response to the request. In previous research the website found that no KU staff members formally asked for support due to harassment at work between 2007 and 2009, compared to 177 cases at University College and 90 at Exeter University. A freedom of information request gives anyone the right to ask any public body - such as a university for all of the information they have on any subject. Without a good reason, the information must be provided within four weeks of the request being made. Kingston University received around 90 Freedom of Information requests in 2010.