inside - Seren - Bangor University

Students’ Union, Deiniol Road, Bangor LL57 2THTel: 01248 388017 Fax: 01248 388020 http://seren.bangor.ac.uk20 SEREN October 2001 EDITORIAL AND COMMENT editor@seren.bangor.ac.ukSpreading the costAs the government continues towards its arbitrary target of 50% ofschool leavers entering University, so the bill mounts. So we shouldnot be surprised to find it looking more and more to the taxpayer tofund its social engineering projects. “There is,” admitted EducationSecretary Estelle Morris last Tuesday, “no other way.” It now appearsthat those who enter Higher Education after 2003 may be expected topay increased income tax to “repay” the cost of their education.The tax is, ideologically, no different to a student loan. The governmentforwards to a student a certain amount of taxpayers’ money toassist with his or her studies; and then, once the student is in a positionto repay the money, the government reclaims it on behalf of thetaxpayer. This is not, on the face of it, grossly offensive. Indeed, inremoving the detested Student Loans Company from the equation,a graduate tax could in fact provide a better service to graduates.Under the present system, students are effectively forced to becomedebtors of a private company. On graduation they must authorise thiscompany to withdraw funds from their accounts without notice, andshould their circumstances change the onus is upon them to satisfythe company that it should pause its systematic harvesting of theirmoney. An automatic 1% deduction from a graduate’s income wouldbe a far simpler and less intrusive way to achieve the same aim—and,if the figure remains at 1%, only very high earners will retire havingpaid more in total than they would have under the present scheme.Since attaining a University degree is becoming a general expectation,rather than a mark of distinction in a specific area, we must welcomeany move that eases the financial burden it places on students.It would, however, be fairer still to foster a society that allows schoolleavers an unprejudiced choice of whether to spend three years andupwards of £10,000 acquiring skills they may well never use.Great expectationsthere was much that was memorable about this year’s Serendipity(not least the flying fish); but one aspect that struck me particularlywas the way that practically every stall, regardless of what itwas trying to promote, was giving out free condoms. Even one dramagroup was gaily proferring prophylactics, with the slogan “if you’rejoining us, you’ll need one of these.” Nothing wrong with that, ofcourse, as a humorous pitch to students; but the overall effect wasunfortunate. Alongside three religious groups, two mobile phonesuppliers a band and a choir, Serendipity offered six opportunities toget free condoms. The obvious conclusion was that, whatever elsestudents might want to do, they were supposed to be having sex.I’m not suggesting for a second that this was the intended message.But if, like most students, you’re unhappily single, being invitedsix times over to help yourself to condoms isn’t going to make youfeel any more attractive. Worse, it raises expectations among studentsof both sexes which can trap them in horrible situations. I’msure many of you will recognise the kind of thing I’m talking about.Free condoms are not a bad idea. There will always be studentswho do have sex: let’s at least try to help them avoid infectionsand unwanted pregnancies. But perhaps next year the CCSO or WelfareOfficer might address the context in which they’re given out.Feeling sexually unwanted is painful and destructive, and if the Students’Union, while contining to support couples, can show moresensitivity towards single students it will be a better—and morerepresentative—institution.LATE PUBLICATION OF THIS ISSUEDue to failures on the part of an external company, this month’sSeren appears four days after its advertised publication date. Detailswill appear in next month’s issue pending legal advice. We offer oursincere apologies to our readers, staff and advertisers, and havetaken every measure to ensure future issues appear on schedule.Darien Graham-Smith editor@seren.bangor.ac.ukState of the UnionPresident James Brownsell reviews the month“PAY AS YOU LEAVE”Hi everyone! My name’s James.Well, what a month it has been!Freshers’ week was the most successfulever, with 89 stalls at Serendipityon each day and recordnumbers of thirsty students dancingtheir socks off in Time. Thecommunity of Bangor opened itsarms to some 2,000 fresh-facednew students, plus around 6,000returnees. Many friends have beenmade, and much beer has beendrunk.I have actually tried to writethis article eight times, trying tosummarise the month and put myspin on things. Every time I finish,however, something else happensand I have to start again. I’velived in Bangor for a while now,and nothing much has happenedin all that time. “So why is it,”I ask myself, “that suddenly allthis crazy stuff is going on in theworld?” Let’s see what we’ve hadto put up with since the startof term… a government U-turnon tuition fees, world war breakingout, Gorky’s playing in Time,World Mental Health day, bombsin Bangor, the IRA decommissioningweapons, NUS sending usbilingual campaign material, thepossession of Cannabis becomingno longer an arrestable offence,the return of Bob Connerton….So what is going on? Part of myjob is taking the blame for thingsthat go wrong (I was even blamedfor the entire foot & mouth outbreakin one committee meeting!),but even I can’t put my handsup to events on this scale. I’vebeen ‘in office’ since the first ofAugust, and I haven’t declared waron anyone yet, so I think my termof Presidency can’t be going toobadly. I know that it’s early daysyet, and there will be plenty ofopportunities for me to mess upin really big ways!I have actuallytried to writethis articleeight times.By now, even the most ardent ofthose Fresher’s week hangoverswill have subsided. Your memorymay not be intact, but now you’resettling down into your academicroutine and trying to get used tolife as a student. Great, isn’t it?I hope you’re loving it as muchas I do. Balancing the demandsof lectures with the freedom todo whatever you want is one ofthe best things about student life.One of the worst things about studentlife, however, is that you’reskint. All the time. It’s not a newthing—since time immoral, beinga student and being skint are twofacets of life that walk hand inhand like a pair of new lovers leavingthe Octagon. It’s not somethingyou didn’t realise before youcame here (by the way, it rainshere, too!).Just because being povertystrickenis something we expect,doesn’t mean that it is somethingwe should accept. The governmenthas recently announced areview of student funding. Wemust use this time to hammerhome the message to those bodsin Whitehall that this is a real issuethat directly affects three millionpeople in Britain. So what canwe do, stuck up here in Bangor?We can use the local and nationalmedia (they like us) to put pressureon the key decision makersof the country. November 13thsees a rally against student hardshipin the Main Arts car park (at1pm), we have invited a number ofprominent speakers, and alreadyhave confirmed that Prof. RoyEvans, Vice-Chancellor (the topman) of UWB, will be speaking.He’s the bloke that you get yourdegree from when you graduate,so if you want to know what hethinks about this issue, turn up -it’ll be great! We’ll have bannersand placards and all sorts of funstuff!I’ve got to go now, and geton with some work. Please emailme (james@undeb.bangor.ac.uk)if you want to know more aboutwhat it is that the Union does. Takecare now—we’ll speak soon…