Lauren Gilbert has been honoured for raising awareness for students with disabilities

Man is rescued from River Tyne

Rosa Gac

A man who fell into the River Tyne during a stag do in November was rescued by local services

Aman visiting Newcastle on a stag do fell into the River Tyne three weeks ago. Luckily, he was saved by John Dickinson, a security guard at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art on the Gateshead side of the river, who set a rescue mission into motion.

The party-goer jumped into the Tyne from the Millenium Bridge.

John Dickinson called 999 when he saw what had happened. Later, he told The Chronicle that he was "pleased he helped to save somebody's life.”

A fire boat ended up retrieving the man from the river.

This coincides with the Royal Life Saving Society UK launching a campaign named 'Don’t Drink and Drown' as a result of the increased drinking from the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The campaign is running until 18 December, and aims to encourage people to watch out for their intoxicated friends, particularly around bodies of water.

After the incident, the Area Manager Rickaby told Yahoo! News, “Cold water shock can be deadly and if you have had a drink then your reaction time is even slower, making it more difficult to get to safety. "This is why, especially around this time of year, we would advise people to take extra care when walking near to rivers, lakes and ponds after being on a night out with friends,” he continued. 80 people in the UK die every year from substance related drownings. Although this incident fortunately ended in the man's favour, it's essential to make sure to watch out for your friends this world cup season.

Newcastle's Disability Officer wins 'Influencer of the Year'

Zahra Hanif

- Lifestyle sub-editor

Newcastle University's Disability Officer, Lauren Gilbert, also known as @ neurodiversitywithlozza on Instagram, has been awarded Sense’s Influencer of the Year. They won for their outstanding work in their efforts to raise awareness about issues that the disabled community still face, as a means for spurring change.

They also act as a representative for all students with disabilities across Newcastle University’s campus. They highlight the issues students may face and actively fight to overcome them, as they themselves have lived experiences of ableism in an educational setting, and are well aware of the lack of support that their disabled peers receive.

Speaking to Lauren about their win in an influencer category, they said: "I still can't believe I've won, all the others that were nominated have been huge role models for me and I look up to them so much, so I feel so lucky to have not only been nominated but to have won too. "It really means a lot; I never intended to become an 'influencer' of any kind, I just really enjoy writing about my own experiences, political issues and making information accessible to people. If that helps even one person then that's a win," she continued.

Alongside their role as Disability Officer, they also act as Treasurer and Social Media Officer of the Disability, Mental Health and Neurodiversity Society at Newcastle University. As well as this, they are a member of the NHS Youth Forum, meaning their work is used by mental health nurses as a source of information about autism in the workplace.

They are certainly deserving of this influential title, for both their hard work and their admirably candid talk of their personal experience as someone with complex disabilities.

Image credit: Instagram (@neurodiversitywithlozza)

Local MPs respond to cost of living concerns

Poppy Bedford

Local MPs have responded to a letter from our Students' Union

Earlier this year, representatives from our Students' Union wrote to local MPs of student areas regarding the cost of living crisis and the growing impact it was having on students.

This is especially important as the weather continues to worsen and the new year dawns.

Due to the cost of living crisis, food and non-alcoholic beverage prices rose by 13.1% in the 12 months leading up to August 2022, and inflation remains at a high level.

Chi Onwurah, Labour MP for Newcastle upon Tyne Central, responded to the letter with an invitation for an in-person meeting with the SU that is set to take place on 16 December.

Catherine McKinnel, Labour MP for Newcastle upon Tyne North, has pledged her support to the student cause.

She said that, should the debate over the cost of living's effect on students be raised in the House of Commons, she will support students and "press for greater support" as the government has failed in their “appalling” handling of the cost of living crisis.

Nick Brown, Independent MP for Newcastle upon Tyne East, responded with a letter as well as an invitation to talk about the impact the cost of living crisis is having at an in-person on 11 November.

The results of the meeting have yet to be published, but he made his support for students clear after expressing that he wants to "press the government for better support for students".

He also emphasised his opposition to the recent changes in student loans which will “increase the cost for lower-earning graduates while reducing it for higher-earning borrowers.”

Overall, these responses are not ground-breaking or even effective in combating the cost of living crisis or other problems that face students, but they do show that we have the support of the people who represent us and who will be making important decisions about our futures.

If nothing else, we will be supported by our local communities and our concerns are being documented by those who need to know about them.

For more information and access to support and advice, visit the Newcastle City Council website.