A veneer of marketibility tainting research: As funding bodies feel the squeeze academic integrity is jeopardized

Like most people I am filled with anxieties about what the future will bring. I always imagined, though, that the one fixture in my life would always be academia. If all my other dreams failed to materialise, I knew I would enjoy tucking myself away with books and papers, emerging occasionally to share my enthusiasm with students and other academics. This scenario might seem naive, but it brought me comfort. Yet to an extent these aspirations were shattered this week.

I am lucky enough to have been awarded an Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) grant funding my postgraduate studies. When encouraged, along with other awardees, to attend a meeting with its head I was happy to oblige. I was greeted, however, not with a ‘casual chat’ allowing us to give feedback, but by an increasingly frantic woman with a notepad who, it turned out, was there to pump us for ideas. Read more

Cowley Club: the hub of community action

On London Road, situated snugly between Oxfam and a closed-down party shop, lies a rather unique place – a place that can at various points in the day masquerade as a café, a library, a kids’ club, a debating chamber, a bar, a drop-in advice centre and a gig venue. A social club whose aim, their website explains, is to “establish a share in the general prosperity for all – the breaking down of racial, religious, national and sex barriers – and to fight for the life of one earth.” Indeed, the Cowley Club is no ordinary, run-of-the-mill place.

The centre, entirely run by volunteers, was created in 2002 in memory of famous social activist Harry Cowley, whose work with the poor, unemployed and disadvantaged of Brighton is mirrored in the work of the Club’s volunteers today. Amongst others, they hold human rights, climate change and pro-immigration protests (check out the No Borders meetings every Thursday fortnight); drop-in sessions offering advice on welfare, accommodation and employment for migrants; and gigs, book readings and film nights all in aid of fund-raising for important charities. As always they have a great need for more volunteers, for all areas involved in the running of the Club, and there’s far more information on that topic on their website – cowleyclub.org.uk. Read more

Flexing the gay body politic

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, far away from the rows of heart-covered cards in supermarkets, and depressing conversations between student singletons on nightbusses, you will undoubtedly be aware that last Sunday (at the point of writing) was Valentine’s Day. And as I bought my boyfriend his tacky heart-covered card and token box of chocolates from Asda, it occurred to me that life for Lesbian and Gay couples is quite possibly better than it has ever been.

Not only is Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender History Month finding its momentum, with a large number of events being held nationwide, but couples like us have, in recent years, made a number of important gains. We have the prospect of civil partnerships; should we so wish, protection from discrimination enshrined in law; the right to adopt, an age of consent which is, at last, equal to that of our straight counterparts; and the list goes on… During the Labour government of the past twelve years, LGBT rights and protections have been an important issue, but with a general election looming and the major parties gearing up for their campaigns, it’s a good time to look at what we can expect from them. Read more

Objectification: no ifs, no butts

The power of the media to shape people’s perceptions of sexuality and gender dynamics are becoming ever more influential. Can we legitimately claim that all forms of sexual representation have an adverse affect on these perceptions?

The ‘Motion against the Objectification of Women Students’ proposing to ban “lads mags” and nude sports calendars on campus in an attempt to overcome objectification is a flawed strategy. The censoring of a select band of magazines on campus does nothing to overcome a wider social concern. This poses the question, is the motion to ban the “lads mag” from the shelves of Union stores likely to overlook some vital points?

Firstly, why stop at “lads mags”? The power of sexual representation in advertising found in Cosmo, Vogue, GQ and any other glossy magazine found on our shelves objectifies the human body to the same extent as material in a “lads mag”. Objectification of the human body is not confined to the pages of “lads mags” and to ban all magazines would be consistent yet nonsensical when a more edifying tactic could be utilised. Read more

No stupid surveys, thanks very much

If you are a third year student and oppose the local and national cuts being made to the higher education sector, there’s something simple and really effective you can do to help the movement – don’t fill out the National Student Survey (NSS). The motion for the boycott was passed at this year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) and then ratified by Union Council, and is one of the most heavily discussed topics amongst students and staff at Sussex right now. Here’s a few basic questions answered about why Stop the Cuts believes that this is an effective and radically new element in the fight for higher education.
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What next for Stop the Cuts? An open letter to the Stop the Cuts Campaign, from the Stop the Cuts Campaign

Fellow students, staff, and interested parties,

We know the cuts are bad, we know they are only the beginning (a few more million next year, and after the election – who can predict?). We know that they need to be stopped. We know that there is something wrong with the way this university is managed. We know that management are pursuing a project inimical to our education, that their vision of the university is very different from our vision of the university.

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Want an honest Press? Boycott newspapers!

I hate newspapers. Unless I can have my say in them. So aside from The Badger, the only one I have any grain of respect for is the Financial Times, not because I’m in it (yet), or because I’m a dirty capitalist (I’m not), but because it consistently provides well sourced articles with minimum emotive drama – granted, its subject matter helps. Contrast this with the rest of the British press, which is ready to make a quick buck on practically any subject. It’s like the worst kind of person – someone who lives their life for gossip and inconsiderate rumouring, making mountains out of molehills, failing to give the entire picture if it means boosting sales.

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NUS no-platform policy is hypocritical

A few hours before the deadline for this comment piece, I was going to write a piece slating the NUS’s no-platform for the BNP policy. I started writing it, but then realised that this hot potato was too complex to give justice to here, so I’m going to write a piece slating the NUS instead.

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Gay is the new black: Why it is wrong to think BME and LGBT identities are mutually exclusive

 

 

This week is Diversity Week across campus and to mark it we are having our main event for Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender History Month, “Invisible To Invincible”. This Thursday we will be looking at minority groups within the LGBT community, in particular focusing on Black and Minority Ethnic, and faith groups.

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Racking up the truth on Mephedrone

For those of you familiar with the programme “Brass Eye”, the current media portrayal of Mephedrone can seem absurdly similar to the fictitious drug ‘Cake’.  If you are misfortunate enough to remain unaware of this great series, it was one which very successfully satirised the media’s depiction of various social ills including drug use, and made fun of the sensationalism and moral panic we have become accustomed to in today’s newspapers and documentaries.  How much of what we read can we truly believe? Read more