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The Founder | Thursday 11 March 2010
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interview with the
new SU President
» continued from front page
concentrating on her degree.
At the same time however Rachel
is preparing herself for next year.
Soaking up advice from James Pigeon,
David Cummins and any previous
sabbatical officer willing to
give advice it was clear that Rachel
is giving next year considerable
thought. Following a fairly empty
General Meeting on the 23rd Rachel
talked about how she was “kept up
for quite a while” that night trying
to think of ways to increase turnout
to this important event. Though
not wishing to “take away a person’s
right to be apathetic” Rachel is keen
to publicise the event especially to
next years freshers.
During both interviews Rachel
was brimming with ideas for next
year including; holding a fortnightly
two hour surgery to improve accessibility,
a variety of practical plans
to open up more space for students
and societies, and holding a “design
your own union night competition”.
With over 8,000 students to please
Rachel identified the need to gain a
deeper understanding of what students
want as another important
aim, achievable through the expansion
of “Operation Entertainment”.
Recognising space, both for study
and extra-curricular activates, as
one of the most important issues affecting
students, Rachel remained
dedicated to helping improve the
use of space, publicise the genuine
improvements being made and improve
awareness and ease of using
resources in London.
tf Newsdesk
Pragmatism is an equally important
part of Rachel’s approach. Acknowledging
that some changes that
students want are simply impossible
to achieve in just a year or given
their financial implications. However
Rachel remains committed to
lobbying for the big changes along
with making the small changes that
will improve the student experience
at Royal Holloway.
It is important to remember that
Rachel’s campaign for the SU presidency
has been three years in the
making. When asked during an earlier
interview for The Founder during
polling week what had inspired
her to run for the demanding and
often thankless role of president,
Rachel described how “the seeds
were very much sown even before I
got here, I knew I wanted to make a
big impression” and that by November
of her first year she had decided
to get involved and eventually run.
Involved continually in the union
since arriving at Royal Holloway
as first year rep for the drama society,
president of the drama society,
chair of roscars committee, societies
federation officer and a volunteer
around campus and during freshers
week; it is strikingly clear just how
much Rachel knows about Royal
Holloway and how the lives of its
students can be improved.
Next year will show just how successful
the many and varied ideas
of next year’s sabbatical team will
be yet from what has been seen so
far Royal Holloway Students’ Union
looks like it will continue to go from
strength to strength.
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Rise in university applications is both a good and bad thing
Photograph: Yaopey/flickr
Rise in university
applications increases
competition
Amy Norman
Recently published statistics have
shown that university applications
have reached record levels for the
fourth year in a row, and this year
could see over 200,000 prospective
students missing out on a place at a
UK university.
According to the latest figures
from UCAS, applications are up almost
a fifth on last year. At the moment
more than 570,000 students
have applied for a place at university
starting this autumn, an increase of
over 100,000 on the same time last
year. UK applicants are up 22.1%,
while overseas applicants are up
28.7%, having risen from 55,245 to
71,105.
Last year, despite 633,000 applications,
only around 480,000 people
got a place at university. This year,
if applications continue to come in
at the same rate until the June deadline,
over 200,000 school leavers will
not gain entry to university, as the
Higher Education Funding Council
for England (Hefce) has confirmed
there will be 6,000 fewer places for
full-time undergraduates in the next
academic year.
Mary Curnock Cook, chief executive
of UCAS, has said “this cycle
will be very challenging and competitive
for applicants”. Coupled
with the government placing a cap
on places like last year and the fact
that universities who broke this cap
and over-recruited now face having
to pay fines for each extra student,
mean places will be scarcer than
ever, and inevitably many students
will be disappointed.
It is thought that many of the increased
number of applications are
as a result of the recession, espe-
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cially as applications from the over-
25s rose by 63.4%, while those from
the 21 to 24 year old category rose
44.8%. There has also been a 45.5%
increase in people reapplying for
places.
Professor Steve Smith, president
of Universities UK, the group that
represents ¬vice-chancellors, has
said “it’s inevitable that we are going
to see even more pressure on places
this year and the strong possibility
of many well-qualified students
missing out.”
However, the higher education
minister, David Lammy, simply
said: “Getting a place at university
has always been, and should be, a
competitive process. Not everyone
gets the grades, and some decide
university is not for them. It’s early
days and students haven’t even sat
their A-levels yet.”