So, degrees these days are worth around £40,000. We know you won’t have to pay that back all in one go, but sooner or later we will have to start paying for it. These are just some of the things you could eventually buy yourself for Christmas if you hadn’t done a degree.
1. A House and Shop
Image Credits: Bradleys Estate Agents
For £35,000, this house and pet shop could be yours. Situated in Topsham, it has two large double bedrooms, an adequately sized kitchen and living room, and you could run your very own pet shop!
2. A Car
Image Credits: Mercedes Benz
You can buy a Mercedes Benz A-class for as little as £20,000, so you may as well have two for the price your degree will cost.
3. Kate Middleton’s Engagement Ring
Image Credits: Huffington Post/ PA
Prince Charles spent £28,000 on Diana’s engagement ring, which has since been passed to Kate Middleton. It may be worth a lot more now, but still, you could’ve swapped two years of 9ams and exams for that iconic ring.
4. A Luxury 5* Stay on a Private Island For You, Your Family and Friends
Okay, so it’s only for one night, but you will have an island all to yourself and your family and friends, with 5* luxury facilities and the most perfect surroundings. It’s basically like Lost meets The Ritz.
5. Duncan Bannatyne- 8 Day’s Hire
Image Credits: Paul Grover
At £5,000 a day hire, Duncan Bannantyne could be yours for a whole eight days. Think of what you could do in that time… who needs University to start a business, when you have your own personal dragon obeying your every command.
Okay, so realistically, a degree is worth a lot more in life value than a one night stay on an exotic island, but it’s always nice to dream about what could have been. What would you buy yourself for £40,000?
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Meg Lawrence, Online Features Editor
Read more about whether your degree is really worth the money here.
Online Features Editor Meg Lawrence chats to Tracy Costello about her role in the Guild and her plans for the future.
What does officially having this new role mean to you?
It means a great deal. I feel very privileged to have been appointed Chief Executive. I have worked for the now since 2005 and I have worked my way through the organisation, so to be finally in a position where I can support the Sabbaticals fully and oversee the strategic direction of the Guild and make even greater differences to the lives of our students is a very big privilege and one that I will take very seriously.
What made you want to progress from the role of Deputy Chief Executive to Chief Executive?
I felt as if it was a natural progression; I was Deputy Chief Executive for about two years, and I had the great privilege of being able to learn from James Hutchinson who was our Chief Executive and a very good coach. It felt like a natural time for me to apply for the position but I was very conscious that it would be a very much desired job so the competition would be quite stiff, but I just felt like it was a natural development for me.
Tracy Costello Image Credits: Exeter Guild
What is the best thing about working at Exeter University?
Our students. And I’m going to say it twice, our students. I am very passionate about supporting students whilst they are in higher education. I think that the wider experience that we can provide for students above and beyond the academic experience is vital for employability reasons, and for the future, but there’s something very special that I believe about Exeter University and that’s not least the fact that the students it attracts are very predisposed to engage and participate. We have a very caring student population who will go to great lengths to make a difference to their peers and their community. To be able to work in an organisation that has students at the heart of it is a very big privilege indeed.
Why is the Guild so important?
For all sorts of reasons. We deliver hundreds of different services and provide that absolutely vital academic representation role that no other agency on campus can deliver. We make sure that students are represented and connected in their academic colleges and courses, that they have the ability to make change within their own learning and teaching experiences but also within the wider community, which is vital. The second very important role that the Guild performs is that we are then the exponent of the student voice back to the University, and where the University are making decisions or facing particular challenges, by having the Guild at the heart of their decision making processes we can make sure that the absolute best outcome is achieved for the students in all circumstances.
What, if anything, would you change about the Guild in your new role?
There will be lots of things that we need to continue to improve upon. Any Student Union needs to constantly change and adapt to remain entirely relevant to the student population. What that means for each student is very different, so the thing that we will need to get even better at is understanding the absolute needs of our students, wherever they might be studying, on either campus, or whatever mode of study they might be in, either undergraduate or postgraduate. We will be constantly changing and improving our services to make sure we are in the absolute best possible position.
You first joined the Students’ Guild in 2005, how has it changed since then?
It has changed tremendously. We are much bigger, we have gone through five or six different branding exercises, and thankfully now we have a brand that we are very happy with, that has been very warmly received by the student population, so physically we look very different. The services that we provide are very different, the needs of students now are a lot different to how they were in 2005, when fees were some dim and distant dread on the horizon, so we have changed a great deal, mostly because the needs of our students have changed.
What are you most proud of in your time working for the Guild so far?
Image credits: Life@Microsoft Australia
Apart from getting Chief Executive, I would say my most proud moments- there are two- one was back in 2007, when I secured a VAT rebate for the Guild, and we got £280,000, which was an amazing amount of money that we have recycled entirely back into our services, so for us to get that was really transformational. The more recent thing that I am really proud of is the development of Ignite, our new entrepreneur service. About eighteen months ago the innovations centre and myself recognised that there was a gap in provisional campus for entrepreneurs, and we decided we needed to do something about that. We have had a really good first year for ignite, and being privileged enough to accompany Colinked to St Petersburg in the summer, for them to then go on to win the global finals of the Imagine Cup in Russia was just phenomenal, and the way it makes you feel when you have been able to have that sort of impact on people’s lives, transforming their chances, is just wonderful.
What are your plans for the future?
I think we need to understand exactly what the needs of the current students are going to be with the current University priorities, so with the building programme that’s currently underway, with the challenges that they face, we are going to need to make sure that the Guild is very well positioned to be that exponent to the student voice. The other priority that is within our strategic plan for 2013 until 2016 is to really invest in our academic representation. We need to become even more sophisticated and even more effective at channeling the student voice, specifically in the areas of their teaching and learning experiences.
Love it or hate it, the apostrophe is in the English language to stay. Or is it? Online Features Editor Imogen Watson tells us more.
Image credits: lisbk
It stands in the shadows of your sentence, hoping and praying that you will remember it and not kick it to the kerb; poor, small and misunderstood, it is the apostrophe.
I am going to admit to being what some might term as “quite sad” right here and right now. Incorrect usage of apostrophes really, really bothers me. Scraping your nails down a blackboard is less bothersome than a wrong apostrophe. And, of course, your response may be to inform me that there are bigger fish to fry and that I should find a real problem. There are some strains of truth to your unkind jibes; indeed global food and energy shortages are probably more pressing, as are the state of the economy. But I would wager these things would equally be much improved by a better understanding and usage of that tiny little extra flick of the pen, or that single extra tap on the keyboard. English is, after all, the international language.
Firstly, no plural ever needs an apostrophe. “Apple’s” is not the plural of the much-loved red or green fruit. Neither is it necessary to claim you have “seven A’s” at GCSE – I will happily congratulate you once I’ve asked “seven A’s what?” You needn’t mind your p’s and q’s, but please do mind your Ps and Qs and equally please don’t ask me where the RSVP’s to the party have been put (because, again, the RSVP’s what?).
The simple fact of the matter is that an apostrophe marks either a possession or a contraction. Hence if this article had instead been written by my lovely co-Editor, it would be Meg’s but, unless you suddenly had become Meg in some weird situation about which I don’t want to know, it would not be your article. Nor would it even be you’re article. But I’m coming to that.
Examples of contraction are littered throughout this article so far – “needn’t”, “don’t”, “I’m”. Some might argue this article is slightly
Image credits: CarbonNYC
poorer for them, as writing “need not”, “do not”, and “I am” are just as good. But that’s a whole different issue. However they are a demonstration of how to go about using an apostrophe in contraction: there is a letter or two missing, and so the apostrophe demonstrates that. It is neat, and simple. It is also a good way to remember whether you need “you’re” or “your” – is it “you are” and therefore a state of someone’s existence, or is it an object belonging to someone? And for heaven’s sake (the sake of heaven) please do not put an apostrophe in a verb. I have a number of metaphorical bruises on my head from face-palming when I have read “[insert name here] want’s to go to bed” or similar Facebook statuses.
Perhaps the lack of apostrophes has a time and a place, and it is one I have just mentioned. Social media is such a big part of our life, and who can be bothered to keep putting in apostrophes when they are not immediately available on our phones’ keypads (unless you are me – missed apostrophes are a sure-fire way of telling I have had a drink)? However it is slightly worrying if the situation is such that we cannot distinguish between whether or not to use one. We are becoming more lax about it, and although, granted, the apostrophe won’t solve world hunger any time soon (though if only it could…) using it wrongly does confuse meaning. Grammar and punctuation are there for a purpose – to ease communicate – and we communicate more often today by the written word than ever before – we just have to be careful to know how to communicate properly when we transfer from the internet to professional exercises such as reports, presentations, and academic writing, ambiguous meaning is not something of which we ought to be accepting.
In many senses, English is an annoying language to learn if you are not a native. Try saying “cough”, “bough”, “rough” and “through” aloud, for example. I will concede that the apostrophe is frustrating, however when, having given you two rules, I then throw an exception at you where “it is” becomes “it’s” (“it’s made out of glass and wood”), but the possessive has no apostrophe (“its glass is broken)…
A Civil Rights Memorial in Richmond, Virginia. Image credits: OZinOH
With a personal account of Black History Month, Meg Drewett, Editor, explains her own experience of the importance of black history in schools.
It’s October 1999. I’m seven years old and sitting in class at my primary school, which is located a few streets away from where I live in the London borough of Brent. The 2001 census will show that Brent is the most ethnically diverse borough in London, with an 85 per cent chance that any two residents drawn at random will belong to different ethnic groups. In 2013, it will still be referred to as London’s “multicultural heartland”.
But back in 1999, all I know is that my best friend Tamara and I are eagerly awaiting to hear about the class assemblies that are going to take place to celebrate Black History Month. They happen every year; each class is assigned a significant person from the vast realms of black history and make their very best seven-year-old attempt to provide an informative and entertaining assembly about them. As it happens, my teacher this year is Miss Archer. She also runs the drama club at my school, and thus it may not come as that much of a surprise to hear that class 3A will be presenting their assembly in the form of a play: The Life and Times of Mary Seacole.
I know nothing about Mary Seacole; she won’t be added to the National Curriculum until 2007 and thus I am oblivious to her. So is the rest of my class and the lesson is dedicated to teaching us Mary’s history. For those who aren’t aware, Mary Seacole was a nurse of Jamaican and Scottish descent, born in the early 1800s. Having travelled to Britain from her hometown Kingston in her late teens, Seacole had desired to serve as a nurse during the Crimean War. She was refused sponsorship to do this a number of times, but, quite determined, finally made her own way to the Crimea and rose to her important place in history by caring for soldiers there.
Once the history bit is covered, we move on to what is frankly the most important part of this assembly-play: the casting. My seven-year-old self believes I’m the best actress in the class and I want to play the lead. My teacher, Miss Archer, has made her plans and the tension builds until she reveals who will be who. Tamara is to play Mary.
I am outraged. Tamara is to be Mary? I can’t? What does she mean I can’t play Mary? I delve further. I can’t play Mary because I’m white?!
At the time, it feels like the greatest example of racism I have ever encountered. Over a decade later, having since learnt a little more about the inherent power structures at play in any real case of racism, I realise just how ironic this is. Never before have I experienced being told I can’t do something I want because of my race. The infuriated, ashamed feelings that it provoked in me as a confused seven-year-old have always risen up when I’ve spent time since considering what it must be like to really belong to a discriminated-against, ethnic minority.
This is the story that I return to whenever Black History Month comes around, because I think it demonstrates the need for the month on a number of different levels. As the years have passed, Black History Month has become an increasingly more controversial subject. It is increasingly divisive, particularly amongst the black community itself, as many have argued that its continued celebration segregates and compresses black history and further distances different races from each other in an endless cycle of resentment.
But that has never been my experience of Black History Month. For me and my schoolmates, Black History Month has always been a time to reflect on and celebrate an important history that has a tendency to be overlooked in the British history curriculum. It is all too common for children to be taught a history of black people where they only appear as slaves and this deeply problematic portrayal can have a damaging impact and potentially deepen racial intolerance.
And, in fact, many would argue that the ‘supplementary’ nature of Black History Month is now more important than ever. With the continued changes to the National Curriculum and the education system under the current government, there’s a danger that black history may be whitewashed from our children’s education even further (excuse the pun). Just last year, a series of reforms by Education Minister Michael Gove suggested removing Mary Seacole, as well as key abolitionist Olaudah Equiano from the National curriculum. Only a petition with over 36,000 signatures prevented this.
We have to acknowledge the imbalance that remains between people of different races today. Although massive leaps have taken place in equality between the races, there are less than 30 black MPs in the House of Commons and on Empire’s recent list of the Top 10 sexiest actors and actresses in the world, only one black actress appears – Zoe Saldana. We live in a time when a significant number of obstacles stand in the way of our young people, and it’s important to remember that the power structures of our world don’t aid minorities.
In an ideal world, there wouldn’t be a need for Black History Month, but racial equality doesn’t yet fully exist and, for now, Black History Month fills the void that is unfortunately left behind. It provides an opportunity to celebrate the diverse range of cultures that make up black history and enhances an education system that doesn’t give a fair space to the history of black people.
It may not entirely be my place to comment on the aptness of Black History Month as it’s impossible for me as a young white woman to truly understand what it’s like to grow up in a world where your history and culture is not reflected in the wider world around you. But Black History Month must its have merits; before her debut as Mary Seacole back in 1999, I’m not sure that my seven-year-old self’s best friend Tamara, the daughter of first-generation immigrants from Ghana, would ever have believed that she could be the lead in a school play. And so, maybe in some ways, Black History Month for now does more good than harm.
President of Exeter African Caribbean Society, Disun Vera-Cruz, gives us his view on the priorities of Black History Month and the implications of having one.
Whether it is the idea behind Black History Month, or the importance of its historical references, or even the accuracy of the arguments it makes, there is an unresolved problem in regards to the history of the most populous race on earth. This divisive issue is whether it is acceptable for one race to have a particular month devoted to the study of itself. The selfishness of that act, and the discriminatory impression given by a race that tries to unshackle the chains of discrimination and its effect on its people today leads to more and more concern surrounding the celebration of Black History Month. Of all of these problems, there are some that start and end with Black History Month and some that transcend the topic itself. But, of all of them, it is the idea that historical facts, figures, individuals and references are used as learning tools and precautionary examples among many policy makers and analysts today.
Through constant repetition, we have heard how David Cameron has called on many European leaders to avoid the mistakes their predecessors made during their recovery from a gruesome economic climate.
Leaders of the civil rights march on Washington, 1963. Image credits: US National Archives.
Every year, we hear about the triumph of a particular race overcoming slavery, colonialism, discrimination and deprivation of their rights, and now we are growing into the routine of using these historical obstacles as the root cause of their current economic and social problems. What began in America as affirmative action has now transcended into British politics in the form of positive discrimination in employment law. It causes one race to blame itself for the misfortune of another. It also causes the ‘unfortunate’ race to become not only reliant on the benevolent nature of its successful counterpart but also emphasises the ghetto mentality that ‘there is no way out of here’.
Although we live in a self-proclaimed meritocratic world, we tend to ascribe the reasons for success of one person or one group of people to an unfair society. Not only is there unfairness of population distribution in regards to race but there is also unfairness in the opportunity given to one group of people over another. The number of minority races in the top universities and public schools provides the most convincing evidence of the disparity in racial opportunity.
While it is undeniable that this disparity exists, the causes and the solutions find their origin in the context of the celebration of Black History Month, or at least, that is what we are led to believe. Slavery built two of the world’s greatest civilisations in Britain and America. From this lowest form of humankind, we have witnessed the transformation of the social class of a race to the extent that one of its own now leads the most powerful country in the world; a country that was built on the sweat of its forefathers. Steady progression has led to the current position of black people in modern society – very few at the top and many, many more at the bottom. Colonialism deprived black people of their resources, both human and natural. Segregation and discrimination led to deprivation of the essential needs of a race and a group of people. It is for these reasons that many will assume that a race can find itself in the position many black people have found themselves in today.
Also undeniable to all of this is the success of many black people. There are influential women of this race, like Oprah Winfrey, Beyoncé and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. In their diverse respective fields, none of them have mentioned positive discrimination as the cause of their success. Perhaps the common factor in their individual success stories is circumstance; the fortune of coming from black families that are in the minority of black families; that they were well off or exposed to situations to which many other black people living in the same country would not have been exposed. If this is the case then the essence of using the history of black people as a reference to formulate policies for social progression is futile.
During a very heated debate on Black History Month, someone asked me whether I like being associated with a race that connects itself and its history with negative stories of oppression. The reason I was caught out and rendered speechless was because for a race that prides itself on overcoming so many forms of oppression, self-pity seems to be the message of Black History Month. If this commemorative month were to be used at all as a tool to draw historical reference, maybe, just maybe, it should focus on the positive outcomes of the struggle of a race as an encouragement and not as another cause for division in an already divided world.
Will Cafferky looks at the origins of Black History Month.
As we enter into October, citizens of the United Kingdom are once again called upon to observe Black History Month. It is a particularly divisive subject, especially amongst the community it aims to recognise. Some view the festivities as an opportunity to
Black History Month critic, Morgan Freeman Image credits: lwpkommunikacio
recognise forgotten and marginalised heroes of history. Others, such as actor Morgan Freeman, have complained that it merely serves to further segregate history by race through confining the entirety of black history to a single month.
To understand the debate surrounding Black History Month it is necessary to look back on its origins. The idea was first conceived in 1926 by prominent African-American historian Dr. Carter G. Woodson, who proposed a Negro History Week, as an attempt to expand public education in matters of black history stating that, “If a race has no history, it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world and it stands in danger of being exterminated.”
The proposition was a resounding success, and Dr. Woodson continued to work with schools and the black community until his death in 1950. Despite the almost immediate success of his idea, Dr. Woodson never saw much longevity in Negro History Week and in the long-term, had a vision for a ‘Negro History Year’, whereby the education system embraced the entirety of black history as an integral part of all history education.
Following work from The Association for the Study of African American Life and History, transition of Negro History Week to Black History Month was completed in 1976. Then President Gerald R Ford encouraged Americans to “seize the opportunity to honour the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavour throughout our history.”
The first British recognition of Black History Month came in 1987, when a number of special events were organised across London Today, the celebration is marked nationwide, through art exhibitions, lectures about prominent times and people from history, stage performances throughout October. All of this has been possible due to the co-operation between Ghanaian Akyaaba Addai Sebbo and the then-leader of the Greater London Council, Ken Livingstone, who stated his belief in the importance of the cause, as “Africa’s contribution has been omitted or distorted in most history books,” despite its “significant role” in world civilisation “since the beginning of time”.
Whilst the movement has thrived since its inception nearly 90 years ago, it has not done so without controversy. In a notable interview with the American television network CBS, Morgan Freeman labelled Black History Month as “ridiculous” and questioned, just as Dr. Woodson had before him, the decision to restrain observation of black history to a particular time frame: “You’re going to relegate my history to a month? I don’t want a Black History Month. Black history is American history… Which month is white history month?”
When probed further as to how to combat racism without awareness, he blamed the continued existence of racial categories, stating: “I am going to stop calling you a white man and I’m going to ask you to stop calling me a black man.”
Whilst Morgan Freemans views on racism may be somewhat unorthodox, his critique of Black History Month is much more mainstream. In an article for the Guardian, Afua Hirsch outlined her worries about the propensity for “hero worship” during the festivities, and furthermore criticised the segregated nature of historical education in the UK. Hirsch argues that: “The original motive behind Black History Month was to redress the dishonest way history was taught in British schools… There is equally dishonesty in elevating people such as Muhammad Ali and Mary Seacole into simplistic figures of black pride.”
Black History Month has accelerated beyond what its founder, Dr. Woodson could ever have envisaged. The celebration now spans across four countries – the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Germany. The debate surrounding the appropriate way to educate children in the multicultural history of Britain is a complex one which needs further attention. Meanwhile, Morgan Freeman’s desire to move away from racial differentiation altogether perhaps provokes more questions than answers. The debate surrounding Black History Month arguably transcends its original purpose, and forces us, as it should, to question the way in which we present culture and history in our modern society.
Features Editor Imogen Watson shares and explores her view of the apparent troubling culture surrounding rape and rape victims.
“I’m going to get in trouble for something I should be getting thanked for taking care of you.”
“It’s on YouTube. I’m not stupid. Stop texting me.”
A sixteen-year-old girl was the victim of rape, and above are two of the text messages between victim and culprit.
I speak specifically of the case in Steubenville, Ohio, which took place in August 2012, and for which two male juveniles – a sixteen- and seventeen-year-old – were prosecuted in March but, unfortunately, rape, and underage rape, is not as uncommon as it should be. We live in a rape culture.
Neither, does it appear, are the attitudes which went with this case. From the perpetrators themselves to the news broadcasters reporting it, the world seemed to have gone mad. An underage girl had been violated in such an appalling manner when she ought to have been looked after in that vulnerable state and coverage seemed more bothered about the boys convicted than the struggles the victim would have endured and would be yet to endure.
Because the case was so reliant on text messages and social media not only when it came to taking place, but also in prosecution, the evidence of the disrespect from Trent Mays and Ma’lik Richmond for women and the lack of knowledge or care for their actions is evident. They are not alone. Their friends and peers are equally unaware (in court, the party’s host Evan Westlake says “I didn’t know exactly what rape was,” when asked why he did not stop the digital penetration of the girl) and equally unbothered. Mays says in a text message, “I shoulda raped her since everyone thinks I did,” and he and other high school students – apparently friends of Mays – repeatedly refer to the girl in her inebriated state as “a dead body” rather than a living human being. Many adults could not be trusted either, with the football coach apparently became aware of the situation and “was joking about it”, according to the text messages.
One of the USA’s Big Three cable news channels, CNN, amongst others, did little better in their portrayal of the case, focussing on the end of the rapists’ future football careers rather than the girl’s future in getting over a rape. Referring to Richmond and Mays, CNN reporter Poppy Harlow spoke of “These two young men who had such promising futures — star football players, very good students”, who “literally watched as they believed their life fell apart.” Few seemed to think of, or be willing to report on, the effect on the victim’s life.
It is a taboo subject in mainstream media: the feelings of the victim. Yet if the media were brave enough – as in so many other situations like war, politics – they could use their influence to change these attitudes. Because rape is sufficient for anyone to have to deal with, but this time, and I suspect it is not a unique case, it was a rape about which she had to discover through text messages, pictures and video footage shared between supposed friends and much of the school, and one for which she was name-called and received death threats.
Regardless of anybody’s state of sobriety, and there is little condoning a culture which encourages teenagers to get blind drunk, these kinds of acts must be automatically considered a no-go area. Our culture still is one where football means more than human decency (as long as you delete the evidence, you won’t get caught for your wrongdoings), where people are taught not to get raped rather than not to rape, and where we encourage those on the receiving end of rape to not come forward or face a barrage of disbelief and accusations. Moreover, it still neglects to teach people what actually constitutes rape – as seen in this case – and that taking photos and videos in the first place, let alone sharing them is a vile manner in which to behave. All in all, the end result is a huge lack of respect for both women and for each other more widely in society.
Alex Thomas examines the making or the breaking of your career…
I’m sure that the majority of you are not worried at all, or haven’t even thought about getting a graduate job. We are, after all, studying at the University of The Year. Employers love that stuff, right? Having gone through the process myself this year, I too started off with a similar attitude. It didn’t take me long, though, before I realised it wouldn’t be a walk in the park, but more like a walk around campus; an uphill effort to get to your destination.
We are constantly bombarded with stories of unemployed graduates and high applications to job ratios (56 applicants for every graduate job) which highlight the fact that a good degree alone is not enough.
One way of securing a job upon graduation is by getting a summer internship. High Fliers’ annual review of the graduate market said 75% of graduate vacancies advertised by City investment banks and half the training contracts offered by leading law firms are likely to be filled by graduates who have already completed experience with the employer. Many recruiters are warning graduates who have no previous work experience that they have little chance of receiving a job offer.
Can you afford not to get a summer internship? Having secured myself an accountancy internship this summer, here’s a guide to getting that golden opportunity:
1. Start early and prepare; update your CV and start to think about what industries or careers interest you. Sectors range from marketing and journalism, to engineering and finance, so starting to explore all of your options is a good way to start.
2. Don’t leave your applications too late, they can be time consuming and many companies will fill up before their closing dates, which makes it much harder to get jobs later on. Don’t lose out to the early birds.
3. There are lots of resources for internships or graduate jobs. I found The Times and RateMyPlacement were the best, but other good sources include Target jobs and Milkround. Don’t apply to any old scheme, as there are so many out there. Find schemes that interest you, make a list of potential companies and rank them in order of preference.
4. The application forms can be time consuming and tend to ask similar questions. I found it handy to have a word document with all the questions and my answers, so I could work on them at my own leisure. It’s also handy for the repeated questions that inevitably blight the application process. If the time that you saved a cat from a tree was when you reacted quickly to a bad situation, then why do you need to constantly write up other examples?
5. Apply to at least 12 companies, although for very competitive markets such as investment banking, apply for more. Making a note of the deadlines and the stages you have reached is a good idea so you don’t get confused.
6. Prepare for rejections. If conservation work on the beaches of Costa Rica or conquering your fears with the largest bungee jump in the world didn’t impress employers enough, they were probably just jealous.
7. You may be asked to perform psychometric tests, which include numeracy, verbal and non-verbal reasoning assessments. It is well worth practicing before; you can even buy practice kits if you fancy. It is amazing how many companies use the same testing software with similar questions and answers, so if you practice enough it really does pay off.
8. When you get that interview don’t put too much pressure on it. The key is to be well prepared but also be relaxed and confident in your abilities. It might help you to organise a mock interview so you know what to expect; helpful housemates can be invaluable. Be yourself, because they don’t want someone reeling off standard answers; they want someone who would add something to the company. Glassdoor.co.uk is a really good web-site for finding out what others have been asked in interviews. It may not sound much, but if you are prepared to be asked what their share price is or who the CEO is then you stand a much better chance of getting the gig. Think of it like The Apprentice, but much more friendly. Good luck!
The press likened her to Cruella De Vil and entrepreneur Michelle Mone told her that she “gives businesswomen a bad name”. Francesca Gillett, Exeposé Online Features editor, meets controversial ex-Apprentice candidate Katie Hopkins.
Wicked Witch of the West? Picture credits: Shakuura
She first hit our screens as the fearless, sharp-tongued candidate on the third series of The Apprentice, but since then Katie Hopkins has been busy. Busy carving out her media persona through appearances on shows from Question Time to I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, busy working as a journalist-cum-businesswoman and more recently, busy as she attempts a career in politics. In ambition she is clearly not lacking, and neither in opinions. But whatever your view on the outspoken Hopkins – whose Marmite effect has led to her being hailed as both a feminist and anti-feminist – her beginnings were closer to home than you might think. A University of Exeter graduate in Economics, she says that the university today is very different to the “small, provincial and country” one she remembers, but cites “fond” memories of her time here.
And it is back at Exeter University where Exeposé Features now meets her, speaking on the panel for Exeter Debating Society’s motion that ‘This House Believes Feminism Has Gone Too Far’. Perhaps most well-known for her forceful businesswoman personality on The Apprentice, Hopkins is often asked to speak about feminism and women in the corporate world. At points throughout the debate she both captivates and riles the audience into shuffles of boos, but always remains entertaining. It is only afterwards, when the lecture theatre has mellowed and we meet for our interview, that she comes across more personably, and less like the ‘Wicked Witch of the West’ as she was dubbed by the press.
Hopkins – who manages to look well-groomed despite the 20-hour working days she says has become part and parcel of her life now – is clear that she would not call herself a feminist. “No. I think I’m sort of the strong face of women in the workplace. That to me is a sort of modern feminism, but it’s not the feminism that I hear about here.” She is strongly against quotas, positive discrimination and victims, which she cites as “probably the result of too much time in a classroom setting and not enough time in real life”. Interesting then, what she thinks about both maternity legislation and last October’s amendment to the Equal Pay Act, meaning aggrieved employees now have six years to make equal pay claims. “This is the point where women start to legislate themselves out of the game. [The Equal Pay Act] has made things much more difficult for employers because if they’re concerned in the slightest that they may have differential pay grades between a man and a woman, six years later they can still come back and get you for it. And that’s where employers start to go, ‘well shall I employ the woman or not?’ And that’s where we start to make trouble for ourselves, we start to make ourselves less employable and that breaks my heart.”
Her opinion on all-female shortlists is equally disapproving. “I think all female shortlists have got to be wrong. Because as soon as you enter a job where you’ve been selected off of a positive action shortlist then the men instantly know that that’s where you’ve come from, you haven’t gone through the same tough regime to get there that they have and you’re instantly a peg or two below where they’ve got to, and I think that’s the problem for us.”
The Everyday Sexism Project, founded by Laura Bates, seeks to get people talking about the sexist attitudes that persist in today’s society. Picture credits: becca002
Instead of relying on special allowances, Hopkins maintains that women must just be “prepared to fight” and that only a more competitive spirit will lead to more women in the boardroom. But is she underestimating the problems facing working women? According to previous EU surveys, the UK has one of the highest pay gaps between men and women and a recent study of nearly 3,000 managers found that 73 % of women agreed that the glass ceiling still exists. Laura Bates, founder of the Everyday Sexism Project which seeks to expose the sexism that pervades in every life, told the BBC this week that almost “every single woman I spoke to” have recounted first-hand stories of sexist behaviour. So is it unfair to say that the problem lies solely with women themselves?
“The workplace is a tough and competitive place to be. If we take the example of pay rises, men are very good at asking for a pay rise, they will go into a room with their boss and say ‘I would like £20 000 pounds extra this year please, thank you’. A woman will go in and say ‘Ooh I don’t mind actually, oh thanks, oh I don’t mind’. We’re more diplomatic, we’re more cautious, we’re more reserved, and in a way we just need to be a bit bolder with the way that we are.”
Perhaps Hopkins has a point. Often there is a sense that ambition is considered a rather negative trait in women, whereas men can afford to be more ruthless in their drive for success. Does she agree? “Yes, absolutely.” She cites some the attitudes towards her perceived ruthlessness on The Apprentice. “Certainly some of the traits and things I had levelled at me – that I’m an evil woman because I’m so thrusting whereas a male would just be seen to be competitive. That I am overly vocal about a certain issue, but a male would just be seen to be putting his point across. And we are perceived in those ways but we just have to keep thrusting ourselves through.”
So how can women learn these valuable skills of thrusting? Hopkins’ answer is education, and starting early. Just this week mother-of-three Hopkins wrote in The Daily Mail of the importance of parents’ role in their children’s early academic success. “I’d love to get into my child’s primary school and give them some sort of commercial nous,” she says enthusiastically. “And certainly in secondary schools. I think girls could really do with help in understanding how to put themselves forward, how to compete because I think that’s where we fall behind.” Her twitter page, almost 4,000 followers strong, also speaks of her disapproval at the messages society is sending to our children: “Pair of books by Scholastic out today. Girls book, pink cover ‘How to be Gorgeous’. Boys book, blue cover, ‘How to be clever’. Dear god.”
After speaking with Hopkins, you are left with a sense of her frank passion and gusto, urging both strong women – and men – to strive for success in the workplace. Her message is ultimately an optimistic one which encourages both self-belief and determination, arguably imperative for any Exeter graduate who will soon find themselves in the bleak job market. “By the time you guys are out there it will be an easier road,” she says, her piercing blue eyes hopeful, “but at the moment we still need to fight our way through”.
Madeleine Berry investigates a frequently-posed question.
Getting you down: is a degree good enough? Picture credits: casalewebnet2
We hear countless horror stories about the terrible state of the job market and the looming pool of disappointment waiting for us on the other side of graduation week and supposedly the best years of our lives. Despite being encouraged at around the age of 16 that university is the “best choice”, we have arrived to find that from here there is a whole other realm of fear and scare-mongering. It is almost as if we are being told that a degree is not good enough, despite previous promises, and that even once we graduate from the world in which we have no money (where we are all too often forced to turn off the heating in January to save those pennies) we are soon to be equally impoverished.
The shrinking business market seems to be one of the main fears within this issue. According to recent studies, the number of unemployed young people aged 16-25 in the UK is set to increase on the dismal figures from 2011. In 2011, one in five within this category were without a job, and if that is set to become even more bleak this is not a prospect that calms the nerves of students who already feeling under pressure. This is particularly resonant when it is further revealed that many of these unemployed are graduates, with only 62% of last year’s students finding a job within six months of leaving university. So where does that leave us in such a period of job-hunting? Moving home with parents, claiming benefits, or in general squalor?
What also appears to be something of a sore subject is that it is felt that a degree is no longer sufficient, with further hoops must be jumped through. It is disappointing to think that we can spend three years of our lives working towards something which ultimately an employer might not see as good enough and demand more from us. A professor at the University of Warwick, which has recently been conducting research into the graduate job market argues that “employers have this big supply of graduates and are becoming ridiculously selective… companies want the perfect person, pre-formed for the job. They have to recognise that they can’t have that.” This can be an incredibly unnerving prospect for an individual who has worked hard throughout their university career to find that in fact, it doesn’t guarantee them anything.
According to one study by the University of Warwick, 96% of graduates said they were glad they took their degree. Picture credits: RMIT University
However, in my opinion, it’s a great time to be a student. According to Purcell’s research at Warwick, 96% of those asked were in fact glad they took their degree and a distinct majority were hopeful of their future prospects. Becca Goode, a student here at Exeter, says: “it’s a great time to be a student with all the opportunities for work experience and with lots to look forward to”, whilst recognising the increased pressure for the more coveted jobs. Yes, there is a constant fear of what happens after we leave the comfort of campus but that’s always going to be an issue. We’re surrounded by people like us, all with the obvious inevitability of wanting to find a job after university, so of course it’s going to seem quite bleak. But there’s so much to be thankful for as a student. Firstly, jobs do exist outside of the restricted structure of the much-anticipated “graduate scheme”. These are often not taken into account, or not measured as a mark of success due to the emphasis on business and management opportunities which don’t necessarily appeal to everyone.
To my mind, university is about more than just to the degree. While it is important and, in literal terms it is what we are paying for, but the experience itself is just as if not more crucial. I think you will find very few people would regret their time at university, because it is exciting and it does open up their eyes to what they can achieve. This is a view shared by one student, Rose Bray, who recognises what we have to offer here, stating that “despite the difficulties faced by all students at the moment, this is a great time to be at Exeter compared to other universities, as University of the Year”. And the scare-mongering of the press does nothing to encourage students to put themselves out there. We might feel when considering job applications that our competitors are inevitably going to be better-qualified than us, and we should therefore not bother. But this is the exact opposite of what we should be doing; so don’t just roll over and accept the difficult economic climate. Get involved and get competitive, because the chances are, you’ll have something to offer beyond your degree.
exeposedev 