Issue 45
Monday October 31st 2011
Find CUB Magazine inside this issue
QMUL in high demand Undergraduate applications rise by 3.7% Page 3
Surprising Police Stats Statistics suggest the riots never happened Page 4
CUB meets Russell Howard The comedian talks about his projects, students and economics. CUB pages 4 and 5
The Newspaper of Queen Mary Students’ Union
Exiled Ribal al-Assad speaks at Queen Mary Kaamil Ahmed Tom Stevenson A future Syria will need all of the different elements of its society to be included in the running of the country, according to the exiled cousin of the Syrian President. Ribal al-Assad spoke at an event run by the New Turn Society in Queen Mary last week about the situation in his country of birth. Assad said: “Syria needs a new democratic constitution which allows a multi-party system, guarantees the separation of powers, the independence of the judiciary, and protects the rights of individuals, groups and minorities.” “It must immediately abolish article 8 of the Syrian constitution, which enshrines the Ba’ath party at the centre of National life.” “It is fundamental that all voices of opposition must be
heard ... true freedom and democracy can only be delivered by secular liberalism.” “The chances of sectarian war in Syria leading to wider regional war are high,” said Assad, the director of the Organisation for Democracy and Freedom in Syria. He insisted that it is important to consider the importance of not alienating any of the competing forces in Syria. Assad also warned against what he claimed were interfering outside forces, mentioning Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran. “The incitements against Syrian religious minorities, promulgated by extremist TV stations in Saudi and Egypt, coupled with equally damaging behaviour by Iran, if left unchecked could result in a bloodbath. It would be wrong to deny these risks.” “The Iranian regime, lead of so called resistance, uses proxy groups to have greater influence and control in the Middle East
and ferment trouble in the region,” said Assad. “Iran’s aim is also to create instability in the region, by fueling conflict in Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, and Afghanistan.” He also tried to distance himself from the current regime in Syria, despite the family links. “Yes my name is Assad, but I am not part of the regime; I have never been part of the regime.” Ribal al-Assad left Syria with his father after tensions in the ruling Ba’ath party began to escalate. His father, Rifaat alAssad, is accused of being responsible for the Hama massacre in 1982 which saw thousands killed in a crackdown on a campaign by the Muslim Brotherhood. Ribal al-Assad denied these claims. Babatunde Williams, Chairman of New Turn - the society which organised the event - received death threats from people protesting against the invitation to Ribal al-Assad.
Image by Matthew TK Taylor
Principal addresses students at open meeting Alex Badrick Last week on the Mile End campus Professor Simon Gaskell hosted this semester’s Principal Open Meetings, with an emphasis on tuition fees and questions ranging from Library and IT problems, to the proposed restructing in SBCS and personal academic grievances.
Gaskell opened Monday’s Mile End Meeting with some general comments about the university’s current position. The meeting was attended by 27 students. “This is an interesting time for higher education in the UK, and in England in particular, we have significant funding cuts this year, we have the prospect of a new fees regime starting next September. I
won’t be discussing the rights and wrongs of that new fees regime but what I will focus on is how we’re coping with that new regime at Queen Mary and how we are trying to see some good in it despite the fact that it is problematic.” He described the coming year as “challenging”, but added “if there is a silver lining on the cloud of the news fees regime” it would be that
“students are increasingly looking at the quality of the student experience, the quality of teaching and everything that is provided by this university.” “This irony,” he continues, “is that for most universities there will be no change, and for many universities a decline in income, just at a time when students feel they are paying more ... and indeed
they are after graduation.” Students were asked to submit questions in advance; some asked how Queen Mary had calculated its new fees at £9,000/year – the new maximum from September 2012. “We decided that rather than, if you like, following a market driven approach, we’d start initially with costing”.
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