Issue 42
Monday October 10th 2011
In Black and White
Children At War
Is racism still a problem in British society? Page 7
New Turn debate the use of child soldiers in African warfare. Page 14
Barts Restructuring As the medical school looks to save £3 million, it predicts 42 staff will lose their jobs. Page 3
The Newspaper of Queen Mary Students’ Union
The Rundown Remembering Cable Street Hundreds of activists marched through Tower Hamlets to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street. p. 2
Barts may lose 42 staff A consultation, commissioned after the HEFCE cuts, recommends that Barts loses 42 staff members. p. 3
Olympic fever sees rents soar Landlords looking to make money from Olympic tourists are raising rents and shortening leases at the expense of local students. p. 3
QMSU accused of bribery QMSU uses the promise of cash prizes to attract more students to its General Meeting. However, some students are not impressed. p. 3
New fee regime could exclude Muslims Increased debt and high interest rates could see Muslim students having to choose between education and religion. p. 6
Students protest at Tory conference QM students travelled to Manchester to join with thousands protesting against Government cuts. p. 6
I
t’s 7.45 am. The sun casts a shimmer of light over the colonnades of the Queens’ Building and lingering shadows stretch from its columns, creeping like grasping fingers towards the early morning traffic. Professor Simon Gaskell, Principal of Queen Mary (QM), walks, unnoticed, up the driveway of the institution, quietly surveying his kingdom. Described by some staff as the “everyman monarch”, Professor Gaskell is a man who “hates committees” and “the term ‘management’”. He commands definite respect, but in a subtle, almost self-effacing way. He is not what you think of as a university Principal and it’s believable that he doesn’t see himself that way either: “I’ve never planned further ahead than just the job above me,” he says, “there’s no right or wrong way of getting to this job, it’s just the way it happens.” The day starts with emails, Professor Gaskell has two accounts, his public address: principal@ qmul.ac.uk, managed by his personal assistant, and a private account which receives around 30 emails a day. His assistant filters the emails in the Continued on page 4...