Spate of thefts in Sussex library

The University of Sussex library was the scene of a spate of thefts over the Easter holidays. In a series of thefts a number of laptops, mobile phones and wallets were stolen. The incidents took place in the library in the week before Easter in which students were working hard on dissertations and essays. All of the items were stolen when individuals left their desks leaving their possessions unguarded. Read more

Poor students at Sussex twice as likely to drop out, says research

The University of Sussex is failing to keep its students who apply through ‘Access schemes’, new figures reveal. The figures, quoted in national newspaper The Sunday Times, show that students who apply through ‘access’ schemes are twice as likely to dropout as those who don’t apply through the schemes. While overall 10.3% of students at Sussex give up their degrees before completion, this rises to 15.8% among those who had entered through “access” programmes. The article named Sussex as particularly bad at keeping students from non-traditional backgrounds. In an interview with The Badger the University also said that despite its commitment to widening participation at Sussex, as yet there are no plans to expand its ‘access’ schemes, which have actually contracted slightly in recent years.
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Leeds Uni bans bottled water

Leeds University Students’ Union has announced that it will ban bottled water on campus in a move towards environmental sustainability. The move, which will cost the University £32,000 a year, is aimed at cutting the University’s waste levels. As part of the initiative the Union will install free drinking fountains across the campus. Tom Salmon of Leeds University Union said “It’s a measure of concern about the environment, putting sustainability before profit,”

Union Council agrees to NUS and military referendum

Union council last week decided to hold cross-campus referendums on two of the most controversial motions tabled at this years Students’ Union Annual General Meeting (AGM).

The motion for Sussex disaffiliation from the NUS and the motion for a ban on military recruitment at Sussex will now be put to the student population in referendums planned for next year. Read more

Obamania comes to Sussex

US Election results draws excited crowds

In the early hours of last Wednesday morning a packed East Slope Bar was sent into raptures as the announcement came through that on the other side of the Atlantic, Fox News had called Ohio for Barack Obama. The state – one of the closest in the 2008 Presidential election – was a must win for John McCain as no Republican had ever become President without winning Ohio. From this point on the bar became a party as it became clear that it was only a matter of a few hours of waiting before Barack Obama would be declared the 44th President of the United States of America. Read more

New international student legislation “appalling”

From the end of this month international students wanting to come to the UK to study will be subject to finger-printing, in a piloting of the biometric identity cards that will be introduced nationally from 2011. Read more

Education system failing minorities, says new HE Minister

In the week in which Barack Obama may become the first black president of the United States, the new British Higher Education minister has warned that there is still a long way to go in tackling inequality. David Lammy, the MP for Tottenham, has warned that there are still nowhere near enough black males getting the chance to go to University.  He said: “Let’s be honest about it, we’re not yet living in a society where everyone has an equal chance” and argued that the low numbers of black men going to university exemplifies “the scale of the challenge faced by those of us who want everyone to have the chances in life they need”. Read more

Police investigate rave attacks

Sussex Police came to campus this week to appeal for witnesses in the search for a group of males who carried out a series of violent attacks and robberies on students. Read more

Sussex struggling to attract students

The University of Sussex is falling behind its competitors in appealing to potential students, latest figures have revealed. An internal report shows that applications for undergraduate degrees have declined by three times the national average in 2008.
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