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EDINBURGH'S UNIVERSITY NEWSPAPER
ISSUE XXXVII
WEDNESDAY 29 SEPTEMBER 2010
New leader, New Labour? » 11 As he takes the reins following a close-run election, can Ed Miliband live up to his ambitious promises of a new era of progressive politics?
» ONLINE
University fining own departments for unofficial room use
IN NEWS >> 5
Edinburgh unearthed Murder mystery at the University of Edinburgh as archaeologists investigate a medieval crime scene beneath Old College
IN NEWS >> 11
Saltire squabbling Row erupts over whether a Saltire or Union Jack should be given prominent position on Edinburgh Castle
Thousands in charges levied against schools using unauthorised seminar space at University of Edinburgh Pierre Thistlejohn
DEPARTMENTS AT THE University of Edinburgh are being fined several thousand pounds a year for not holding classes in the right rooms, The Journal can reveal. The School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences was charged roughly £3500 in the 2009/2010 academic year, with £50 being levied for every class that takes place anywhere other than the room that has been booked for it – representing roughly 70 classes over the course of the year. One tutor from within the school, who wishes to remain anonymous, told The Journal: “It just seems crazy.” “The whole room-booking situation is a mess,” they said, adding that tutors were in “competition” for the best venues for classes. The Journal has learned that at a meeting of prospective undergraduate tutors held three weeks before the start of the current term, attendees were warned by Linguistics & English Language school administrator Debbie Moodie not to teach classes outside of their assigned room, as they would incur fines for their department. Tutors have expressed their unhappiness at the system, which
prevents them from switching class venues if the room they are assigned is inappropriate. One told The Journal: “Tutors have been given rooms without a blackboard – how are you supposed to teach a class of 16 without a blackboard?” Asked whether classes were ever assigned to rooms that were too small for the number of students, the tutor said: “There have been instances where there’s no room to manoeuvre. It makes it far more difficult to engage with the class and make the lesson interesting.” It is understood that university security staff, who regularly interrupt tutorials held in buildings at the George Square campus, are in fact being used to verify the occupancy of rooms and establish whether a fine should be handed down. Another tutor from the same school, who has taught at a university abroad, told The Journal: “At my last position, you could even take classes outside if the weather was good. I can’t do that here.” The University of Edinburgh is responding to a request to disclose how widespread the policy of fining departments for class venues is, how the fines are implemented, and how the revenue is spent.
IN COMMENT >> 13
Funding our future NUS Scotland president Liam Burns talks to The Journal about the need to protect students from poorer backgrounds
IN MUSIC >> 17
Back to the Futureheads
Godiva gets dressed
Financial Masochism at the University of Edinburgh >> 12 EDMUND FRASER
» 21
The Journal joins the Freshers' Week crowd at Potterrow for the return of 2004's 'next big thing'