This year’s Guild Elections will be decided using the Single Transferable Vote, or STV.
Image Credit: University of Exeter
STV is a form of proportional representation, and candidates do not need a majority of votes cast to win.
The electorate selects candidates by numbering them in order of preference, with votes then being transferred between candidates as per the instructions given by the voter.
If a candidate is mathematically unable to win, or if they already have enough votes to secure their place in the next round of voting, then their vote will be transferred to the next candidate on a voter’s order of preference. This ensures that very few votes are wasted, and that everyone’s vote has been taken into account.
STV has been promoted by the National Union of Students (NUS) as their preferred method of voting for student union elections. The format is known for putting power in the hands of the voters, since votes are not wasted unnecessarily. This leads to more voters being able to identify with the eventual winner, and indeed arguably improves the chosen representative’s accountability.
Secondly, the fact that candidates are ranked in order of preference means that those wishing to be elected are seeking both first and lower preference votes, inherently reducing the effectiveness and chance of negative campaigning.
This January sees the return of the National Student Survey (NSS) for 2014. First launched in 2005, the NSS gives independent, year-on-year data regarding hundreds of Higher Education Institutions and courses across the UK.
It aims to gather information from final year undergraduates on the quality of their courses to help both current and prospective students make informed decisions of where and what to study.
It gives students the chance to have their say on a range of academic affairs of their university, such as assessment, feedback, learning resources and personal development, and it is designed to improve the quality of courses across the UK.
The NSS is a nationally recognised survey, undertaken by the independent body Ipsos MORI, and published on the website Unistats. The survey asks students to respond to statements using a five star scale ranging from ‘definitely disagree’ to ‘definitely agree’. Last year’s survey was taken by around 304,000 final-year students.
The University of Exeter has had a very positive relationship with the NSS. Last year it scored 91 per cent in overall satisfaction and came in seventh place. The university has also actively taken on the feedback provided regarding where improvements can be made. After the 2012 NSS results, the University of Exeter implemented changes such as increasing staff to student ratio, the development of the Forum and Exchange buildings as well as continual investments into teaching and learning spaces. Vice Chancellor Professor Sir Steve Smith also personally read each of the 4,260 pieces of written feedback to ensure action was taken.
David Miller, Head of Marketing at the University of Exeter and co-ordinator of NSS promotion this year, commented: “The University takes student feedback on the NSS very seriously. Thanks to the students, Guild and staff working together to make the student experience as good as it can be, we have been in the NSS Top 10 every year since its inception. We are determined to stay there by continuing to listen and to invest”.
Alex Louch, VP Academic Affairs, commented: “The NSS is a crucial barometer for student opinion and I strongly advise all final year students to fill in the survey and to have a say on their university experience. The university and Students’ Guild have worked throughout this year to make significant changes based on feedback from the NSS, such as the addition of 164 study spaces to the Forum library and power provision to the spaces. The NSS is crucial for gathering student opinion and I encourage students to take part and influence change”.
The NSS gives students a unique opportunity to anonymously speak up and make a positive impact towards the quality of UK higher education. For your chance to get involved and have your say, head to http://www.thestudentsurvey.com.
The Gender Equality Society of the University of Exeter has changed its name to Feminist Society. The decision was taken by a society vote and was passed by the Students’ Guild Societies Officer shortly thereafter.
Lucy Whitaker, President of Feminist Society, explained the reasons and process for the name change: “There are a couple of reasons we wanted to change the name. One is that no one in the society shies away from the word ‘feminism’ but our society name suggested otherwise. In fact, many people both in and out of the society criticised the name ‘Gender Equality’ for this reason. In descriptions of the society I have always referred to it as a feminist society so it made sense to change our name so that we did not have to explain that we were in fact feminists and proud to be so despite not being called Feminist Society. We’ve occasionally been met with hostility for changing the name but we took a vote as a society and an overwhelming majority were passionate about changing the name so we stand by our decision.
“The terms ‘Gender Equality’ and ‘Feminism’ should be interchangeable but the fact that we had to have this discussion proves that they are not. This could be because of hostility or fear of the word feminism or simply people not understanding that feminism is anything above equality for the genders. The fact that the York Feminist Society couldn’t get ratified by their union shows that fear of feminism, or at least the term feminism, still exists. The fact that we will be taking on the name shows our desire to educate people on what the term actually means, our pride to identify with the feminist movement and our solidarity with other feminists who may be experiencing hostility over their use of the word”.
Jak Curtis-Rendall, VP Participation and Campuses, told Exeposé: “Feminist Society chose to change its name to reflect the important principles and activities it has held since it was first affiliated. This name change brings the society into line with those nationally, and the change was unanimously approved by the Societies Executive”.
Megan Furborough, a third year English student, said: “It’s really encouraging to see that ‘Feminist’ is being celebrated by the society. Feminism is not a dirty word, and in order to achieve and improve rights for women, the first thing we need to do is more fully embrace and use the term”.
Plans for Exeter’s community-owned solar energy project will be discussed in the next month.
Proposals for the establishment of Solar PV 1, Exeter Community Energy’s first community-owned project, are high on the agenda as a topic to be discussed at next month’s ECoE public meeting.
The event, which is to be held at 6.45pm on Tuesday 4th February in Stephen Scown Solicitor’s meeting room at Curzon House, Southernhay, constitutes the starting blocks for the installation and commission of approximately 100Wp of solar panels in the summer of 2014. By that time, the panels will be all set to produce green energy for the community for at least the next twenty years.
The purpose of the meeting is to solicit the launch of a community share offer in April, which will be the method used to raise funds for the cost of the panels – estimated to be £150,000.
Those who invest in the project will be entitled to benefit from its returns, which are to come from the sale of electricity to the owners or users of buildings and from the 2010 Government feed-in-tariff scheme, which includes the sale of electricity to the national grid.
Members of the community, organisations and businesses alike are expected to attend the meeting, according to project Co-ordinator Gill Wyatt, who told the Express & Echo: “Our aim is to bring together people who are interested in building a sustainable future for our community, who care about climate change and the depletion of resources and who want to reduce fuel bills, promote energy efficiency and address fuel poverty.
“We can work together to learn and change the way we produce, use and think about energy, and in doing so create a more sustainable, resilient and prosperous community.”
Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw, who is strongly behind the initiative, added: “I’m delighted to be a part of this exciting project. Community energy gives people the opportunity to take ownership of renewable power and use it to make positive change in their communities. It’s exactly what we need in Exeter.”
Presently, ECoE is in search of suitable roofs on which the panels may be situated. They have specified that the roofs must face either south, southeast or southwest and a pitched roof is preferable to a flat alternative. Amoung others, ECoE suggests that schools, hospitals, churches and local businesses should consider leasing their roofs for the project. The profit generated by Solar PV 1 will be set aside in the form of a community fund in order to help finance future community energy projects, involving renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Some Exeter students will face further disruption to their studies between 2-4pm today, in a fourth round of strikes over a long-running pay dispute between academics and universities.
The University and College Union (UCU) last week announced its plans for a series of two hour long strikes, the first of which took place last Wednesday.
UCU has also said that the strikes will potentially involve academics refusing to mark examination papers, which could theoretically result in some students being unable to complete their degrees.
Another two-hour stoppages will take place on Monday 10 February (9-11am).
In a email sent to all students yesterday, the University claimed – in virtually identical language to a similar email last week – that there was a “very small possibility” timetabled events in the two hour slots would be cancelled or finish early.
Speaking on the eve of last week’s action, a University spokesperson added: “The University abides by a national pay bargaining agreement: so the one per cent pay rise recommended for 2013 is one for the Higher Education sector as a whole, not just this University. The pay offer is made on the basis of what all universities can afford. Many universities said they could not afford to pay more than one per cent without imposing job cuts.
“The employers’ final offer for 2013 was rejected by the three trade unions recognised by the University of Exeter.”
The action comes on the back of two full days of strikes last term, and takes place amidst an increasingly fractious pay dispute between academic staff and universities.
UCU General Secretary, Sally Hunt, said: “Despite another embarrassing round of embarrassing revelations about the very handsome pay rises those at the very top have enjoyed recently, universities are still refusing to improve a miserly one per cent pay offer and are still oblivious to the hypocrisy of their actions”.
She added: “Any kind of disruption is always a last resort, but, after five years of pay suppression and members 13 per cent worse off in real terms, we have little option but to escalate our action”.
Hannah Barton, University of Exeter Students’ Guild President, recently told Exeposé: “I am concerned by the change in tone from the UCU regarding these strikes, with a clear message from the union that industrial action is intended to disrupt teaching. Additional reports that exam scripts may not be marked are also deeply concerning. The full impact of these planned strikes can’t yet be known, but the sabbatical officers and the Students’ Guild will be listening and responding to student concerns”.
The University will withhold pay from any member of staff who participate in strike action, much like during previous disputes. The money will be donated to the student hardship fund.
This year’s SABBs. Image credit: Exeter Students’ Guild
The announcement of the full list of candidates running for Sabbatical Officers has shown an approximate 50% increase on last year, after 31 students put their name forward.
VP Education and VP Welfare & Diversity have the largest number of nominees – 8 – with VP Activities having 6, AU President 4 and Guild President 5.
The group will now be involved in ‘information week’, which ends on Friday and have until Wednesday to submit their manifestos.
Candidates for each of the roles will be involved in debates between February 1 – February 5 and the results will be announced on February 7th. A full timetable is available on the Students’ Guild website.
Last year, 21 students vied for the sabbatical positions while in 2012, 22 students stood. The elected officers will spend next year leading the Guild in full time positions, representing Exeter students.
Exeposé will be providing extensive coverage of the elections over the coming weeks, using the hashtag #ExeterVote.
A full list of candidates is available below.
Guild President Candidates
Ajay Gaur
Rachael Gillies
Ronnie Henderson
James “The Goat” Hitchings-Hales
Joel Smith
AU President Candidates
Ali Borland
Andy Higham
Indigo Hull
Emily “Robbo” Robinson
VP Activities Candidates
Matthew Bate
Kit Fortheringham
Daniel Richards
Michael Smith
Douglas Statt
Sam Woody
VP Education Candidates
Hannah Barr
Holly Collenette
Jessica Fenlon
Meghan Honeysett
Matthew Mackenzie
Charlotte Rush
Ben Street
Matthew Thatcher
VP Welfare & Diversity Candidates
Charlotte Cooper
Kate Hawkins
Charlie Mackay
Lydia Popiolek
Jaz Sansoye
Katherine Sladden
Spike van der Vliet-Firth
Disun Vera-Cruz (Dis)
Harrison Jones, Online News Editor,
Additional Reporting by Tom Elliott, Online News Editor
Oxford names and shames lowest performing students in e-mail gaffe
The names and grades of nearly 50 undergraduates studying at University College, Oxford, who achieved a 2.2 or below in pre-Christmas exams were accidentally included in an e-mail sent to hundreds of other students. The recipients of the e-mail were quickly asked by the university to delete the e-mail due to ‘inaccuracies’, but not before they had an ample opportunity to peruse the confidential information regarding the academic shortcomings of their peers.
Though the pre-Christmas exams do not count towards the students’ final grades, the marks do offer an accurate representation of the levels at which the individuals are working. University College has since apologised for the error and Abi Reeves, the Junior Common Room President, told students “The document was sent accidentally and the disclosure of results was not intentional”. The identity of the staff member responsible has not yet been revealed, but Dr Anne Knowland, senior tutor of University College, has assured students that the university is “investigating exactly how this happened and are determined to make sure this does not happen again”.
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20 per cent of York students admit to using prescription drugs
An investigation by York Vision this week revealed that 20% of students admit to using prescription drugs such as Ritalin, Adderall or Modafinil during exam period to improve their concentration and obtain higher results.
Out of a sample group of 240 students spread across the three years, 79% of those studied claimed they would consider using these drugs to improve their capacity to study, despite the fact that they are known to instigate adverse side-effects such as anxiety, insomnia and hypersensitivity. Third year students were found to be the most likely to take mental stimulants regularly due to the academic pressures of dissertations and third term exams.
The Student Union Welfare Officer George Offer told Vision: “I strongly recommend any student currently taking or considering taking any sort of drugs to improve their study, to look carefully through the information available. There’s little to no good, empirical work suggesting that these drugs can improve students’ performance in assessments, and they’re fraught with health risks”.
The Students’ Green Unit have funded 16 new sustainability projects which will take place this term.
Projects such as the ‘Sustainable Festival and Art Exhibition’ and a rewriting of the University’s Carbon Management Plan have been designed by students and were awarded £25,000 worth of funding for the rest of the academic year.
Other projects include a clothes swapping app titled ‘Style Cycle’ and ‘Bag Free Campus’ which will involve the designing and distribution of reusable bags.
Basic cooking courses for students with a focus on sustainable consumerism will also be running alongside free workshops on responsible electricity consumption and wildflower planting as part of ‘Going Wildwards’. These workshops will take place in the A&V Hub and commence on Monday 20 January.
The Student’s Green Unit was formed in October 2013 by a £300,000 funding grant from the National Union of Students (NUS) Green fund. Exeter was one of 25 UK universities to receive this funding and the Unit’s purpose is to create a more sustainable University and Guild.
Emma Hutchings, Student’s Green Unit intern said: “We were pleased with the high quality of project bids that we received and have been working closely with project leaders to develop their ideas.
“A wide range of issues will be addressed by the schemes now underway and we are excited to see the outcomes and impacts of the students’ hard work and collaborations with stakeholders and academics”.
Each project has been provided with an academic mentor from the University and will also have the support of the Student’s Green Unit interns and external partners based in Devon. The Unit aims to encourage inter-societal involvement such as the collaboration with the Debating Society during climate week.
Grace Stoneman, second year Geography student commented: “It is vital that students take charge of sustainability issues both on and off campus. Creating new projects with a modern twist is essential in order to make a step towards combating climate change”.
Students, staff and external organisations can get involved in these projects via the Student’s Green Unit newsletter and the Guild website.
Exeter police are launching a new crackdown on begging in the city centre after increasing complaints about begging around cashpoints intimidating the public.
The news comes following a concerted campaign effort from Exeter Council to tackle begging in the city, which started last September.
Superintendent Chris Eastwood said: “Neighbourhood police officers will be providing a visible presence in the city and working closely with partner agencies to address the issue”.
Begging is a criminal offence, and the Council and police force’s combined plans are becoming more strict with the growing belief that the majority of Exeter’s beggars are not actually homeless. Instead, they use begging to make up to £80 a day to fund drug and alcohol addictions.
The growing problem of beggars targeting cash machines is affecting students out in the city centre particularly badly, as Exeposé reported in September. A female student told Exeposé: “I am used to being asked for money in my hometown, and assumed that perhaps this wouldn’t be as much of a problem in Exeter as it’s such an affluent area. I’ve actually found it much more of a problem here, and felt particularly intimidated when I was asked by a group of a few homeless men for money, whilst I was trying to withdraw money from the cash machine outside Sainsbury’s. This has now happened to me on three occasions, and most times I’ve been lucky enough to be accompanied by friends who have intervened. When I was on my own, however, I was genuinely worried that I was going to get mugged, and I think people demanding money whilst others are trying to withdraw from a cash machine can feel very threatening. I am now much less likely to withdraw money on my own, especially in the dark”.
The Council recommends that people wanting to help genuinely homeless people in Exeter should donate to local charities rather than handing money over. Exeter police suggest avoiding cash machines at night, particularly those near to Arena and Timepiece.
Chris Rootkin, VP Welfare, commented: “I fully support the Council and the police in targeting illegal begging activity in the city. If any student has been made to feel unsafe in Exeter, please get in touch with me”.
Allegations of mobile phone use during exams have decreased during the recent exam period. Following campaigns from the Students’ Guild, January saw a significant reduction in the number of alleged cases involving the use of mobile phones or electronic devices.
The use of a mobile during an exam, considered a disciplinary offence by the University, can lead to the failure or disqualification of a student. The 2011-2012 academic year recorded 61 offenses concerning electronic devices, representing a 79 per cent augmentation on statistics from the previous year’s exams. Following this, 2013 saw the Guild raise awareness that “mobile phones and exams don’t mix”. Guidance included giving the phone to invigilators or friends, or making use of the lockers in the Forum. Above all, it was advised that students left their phones at home to avoid any risks.
VP Alex Louch led a campaign setting out to address the persistent problem of students being found with mobiles in exams. Louch told Exeposé: “In addition to regular measures such as posters and messages on exam tables, we have increased our use of social media channels and the sabbatical officers defied the terrible weather to speak to students around campus wearing mobile phone costumes”. A giant Guild mobile phone was also placed around campus during exam week reminding students to be aware of their phones.
The University witnessed a significant decrease of offenses for the 2012-2013 academic year, with 22 electronic device-related incidents. Each allegation is investigated by a review panel and although this process hasn’t reached completion for the January exam period of 2014, it can be confirmed that allegations relating to mobiles have fallen dramatically since this time last year.
VP Academic Affairs Alex Louch told Exeposé: “I’m delighted that the rate of allegations relating to possession of mobile phones by candidates in the examination venue is nearly down almost 60 per cent against this time last year. Allegations of academic misconduct relating to mobile phones are completely avoidable and the Students’ Guild has worked closely with the University to address this issue during January exam week”.
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