Monday September 19th 2011
Issue 39
Find CUB Magazine inside this issue
TO FEE OR NOT TO FEE? Comment, p. 7.
KATY B CUDDLES CUB CUB, p. 9.
The Newspaper of Queen Mary Students’ Union
The Rundown A new era for QMSU?
The Sabbatical team propose changes that would see an overhaul in how the Union is governed. p. 3
QM Halls: Rent goes up but services get better
QM Graduate named raising star
Tom Chigbo honoured in latest list. p.3
Library could see big changes
Consultations are currently being carried out over proposals that would see longer opening hours but less staff. p. 4
Stratford City’s opening
Translates into job opportunities for locals and students. p.4
Meet Your Sabbs
The first interview of the year with your Students’ Union Sabbatical team. p. 5
TEDx East London Local event imagines a world beyond borders. p. 6
The cancer of authority
Robert Hainult looks at the dangers of big government p. 9
A brand new Satire section! p. 12 Games page
Back bigger and better. p.13
Queen Mary Theatre Company They came, they saw, the conquered in Edinburugh. p.14
The student village, housing over 2,000 Queen Mary students on the Mile End campus, is undergoing an upgrade of its wi-fi network for a cost of £800,000. Image by Ben Richardson.
Rosie Reynolds Halls of residence rent prices for incoming students have risen by 11 per cent since last September in order to fall into line with other London colleges. Anna Lautenschlager, Deputy Director of Commercial Services for Student and Campus Services, explained that whilst the rent rise might seem dramatic, it will only bring QM into the “lower middle” range of London halls prices. Before the hike QM halls were 18 per cent below the average for London, and even now they remain 8 per cent below the central London average and 3-4 per cent below the average for London overall. “Students who come to live on campus expect more,” Lautenshlager explained, “and certain groups have very high expectations. We want to be able to of-
fer students what they want.” While there had been controversy over the perception that commercial rent prices for halls were not rising even though students prices were, Lautenshlager explained that this was because prices were agreed for the 2012 Olympics years ago. The university had to agree to provide affordable accommodation at the time of the London 2012 Olympics bid in 2005, but the rising cost of living in London has meant that the college will only just break even on the cost of housing the athletes, judges and athletes’ families next summer. Twelve thousand halls rooms will be occupied during the Olympics, at a lower price than QM usually charge. “It also means that we won’t be able to accommodate our regular clients - they will go to
our competitors next summer, and we may lose them forever if they receive better service elsewhere,” said Lautenshlager. “Commercial rates for clients not involved in the Olympics are still going up by about 15 per cent. We have tried to raise as much commercial revenue as we can over the past year, to avoid a massive hike for students.” The main change within the halls of residence on the Mile End campus will be the use of wi-fi rather than wired Internet connection. Connection will be available through 529 access points, situated all over campus. In previous years Internet services in QM’s halls have consistently been flagged as a problem by student satisfaction surveys, with the unreliability continued on page 2...
Get Active on the go It’s an exciting time for sport at Queen Mary Students’ Union with the Get Active scheme about to launch. With 40 sessions a week, many of which are either free or charge a one-off payment of £1.50, there’s no excuse not to get involved in sport during your time at university. All sports will take place on or around campus and a full list of the activities offered can be found at www. qmsu.org/getactive. Dominic Bell, QMSU Vice-President Student Activities, says there’s a need for “a scheme that delivers a wider sense of fun, including a wider variety of students unable or unwilling to commit to one sports club”. The shake up to the QMSU sports system could be a radical concept that finds a middle ground between the gym facilities offered at QMotion and the many sports clubs already on hand. With three years of funding available for ‘Get Active’, it is imperative for students to utilise the opportunity for free sports. Dom Bell stressed he would be “fighting all the way” in the foreseeable future for more funding, from governing bodies such as Sport England and UK Sport.