V-C’s pay should not be contrasted with the living wage

By Edward Grande — February 6, 2012

The recent criticism regarding the disparity between the Vice-Chancellor’s wage and that of other university employees should not be held as valid reflection of the Vice-Chancellor’s contribution towards University.

God save our Queen (and her consort)

By Alex Slingsby — February 6, 2012

“I don’t think that she could do it without him,” Prince Harry tells Marr, reflecting on the Queen and Prince Philip, “especially when they’re both at this age”. And, to be completely honest, I agree. There is no way that the Queen would be able to carry out her duties as Queen without the aid of her husband

You Run Us

By Josh Boswell — February 4, 2012

“You run us” is the slogan for the elections page of the YUSU website, and never were there truer words said, albeit in garish, mismatched fonts. We the students will vote for the team that will make up this year’s union

Land of the free, home of the detained

By Lyndsey White — February 2, 2012

Guantánamo makes a mockery of progress in securing human rights, and shows the extent to which national security is now an excuse for removing common freedoms.

Increasing salary discrepancy is unacceptable

By Rose Troup-Buchanan — February 2, 2012

We should not dismiss the increasing disparity in the amount paid to university employers as a hyperbolic inflation of the figures, or as an invalid comparison to be ignored as over-zealous journalism. Our Vice-Chancellor’s wage is unacceptable because of the disproportionate salary increases, not because of his nominal salary.

Anti-piracy law a danger for freedom to share

By James Harle — February 2, 2012

A number of notable websites, including Wikipedia, recently conducted an ‘internet blackout’ protest in order to raise awareness of two bills moving through the US congress: PIPA and SOPA. The short-term defeat of SOPA and PIPA has been met with jubilation amongst the sites that participated in the demonstrations – the most notable of which was Wikipedia ‘blacking out’ for a day. It seems internet-based opposition has been strong enough to overturn the propositions – for now.

Honorary degrees are unnecessary

By Stephanie Milsom — February 2, 2012

As of last week, the University can now hold to its name four new doctors: Lyce Douset, Dr Thomas Brewer, Professor Dame Sally Davies, and Sir Mark Walport. Honorary doctors, I should point out, are ‘doctors’ who have not slogged for a PhD or equivalent at this university. They are becoming something of a trend these days, especially among celebrities, which raises a few questions: what the hell is an ‘honorary’ doctorate? And what’s the point?

The pay differential matters

The Vice-Chancellor’s pay has been a continuous discussion point over the last few years. It isn’t the highest paid in the sector, but that doesn’t mean that it is therefore justified. The angry public attitude to executive pay in the private sector is primarily targeted at those in the financial sector earning figures four or [...]

Confusion over society elections

Although YUSU’s proposed streamlining of societal elections has been condemned by some prominent societies, this is not a reason to disregard it completely. There is merit in the idea of centralisation if it will help improve society cohesion and effectiveness. However, the proposal from YUSU does not seem clear enough in its objectives. The relaxed [...]

Putting students above research

The University cannot control the income it receives from external organisations. However, to use student fees to plug the funding gap left by a drop in research funding is wrong. While students realise the need to pay fees for their education, the University should be sourcing money to replace this loss of income itself. The [...]