www.thecourieronline.co.uk Monday 30 April 2012 Issue 1250 Free
Festival Special
Violence and theft on campus
•Parklife•Leeds•Latitude •Bestival•Benicassim •What to wear•Health•Beauty
Uni must react to international student deaths
By George Sandeman News Editor Two men and a woman were arrested after trying to steal a student’s motorcycle. A 17-year-old man remains on police bail whilst a 16-year-old man has been charged with criminal damage and is due to appear before Newcastle Magistrates’ Court on 15 May. They were apprehended on 22 March by the University Security team after attempting to steal a red Honda motorcycle secured beside Merz Court. The three criminals were held after initially being spotted on CCTV trying to cut the securing chain with a pair of bolt cutters. However, security’s initial attempt to arrest the three was unsuccessful as a scuffle ensued leading to one of the males swinging at a security officer with the bolt cutters. The offenders then fled into nearby Exhibition Park with security officers giving chase and eventually detaining the individuals before handing them over to Northumbria Police. As a thank you gesture the owner of the motorcycle gave the two security officers involved 20 cans of beer. In addition, the security team has helped to arrest three bicycle thieves, including two at the Robinson Library who attempted to steal a student’s wheel, and one male armed with bolt cutters outside the Paul O’Gorman Building beside Richardson Road. The security team also investigated reports of cannabis smoke in Windsor Terrace that led to the arrest of a male student and his guest. They were found with a quantity of cannabis and a grinder and were given formal cannabis warnings by the police. In addition, upon further investigation of the flat, the fire alarm was found to have been covered by a condom, which is deemed dangerous by the University as it threatens to endanger the lives of other residents in the event of a real fire. Police presence was further felt last Wednesday morning when three young men were stopped and searched by horse-mounted officers. CCTV operators noticed the trio’s suspicious behaviour concerning locked bicycles but they were later released without charge.
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Goodbye text sent to mum before fall from Claremont Tower Body found on Tyne mudflats identified as third-year Hasan Albash
By Kat Bannon Editor and George Sandeman News Editor
Outisde Claremont Tower the day Xijia Zhang fell to her death Photography: Susie Beever
There are concerns that the University has not reacted satisfactorily to the tragic deaths of two international students. On 5 December, Chinese student Xijia Zhang fell to her death from Claremont Tower. At her inquest, which took place last week, it was heard that she deliberately took her own life, sending a goodbye text to her mother moments before plummeting from the University building. A few weeks after this incident, on New Year’s Eve, 21-year-old Marketing and Management student Hasan Albash, from Bahrain, was believed to have been seen throwing himself from the Tyne Bridge. In February, his body was found washed up on the mudflats in the River Tyne. These two incidents throw light on the experience of international students at Newcastle, and question whether the University is doing enough to ensure they are supported and happy during their time here. Dr. Alison Oldam, head of the Student Wellbeing Service said: “All our staff and students have been saddened by these tragic incidents, and every support possible has been given to all those affected. “We consider the health and wellbeing of all our students as a priority but particularly our international students, who we recognise face particular issues studying away from home.” In the immediate aftermath of Xijia’s death, the Wellbeing service worked to
ensure all those who had been affected by the incident received appropriate counselling and support. Also, meetings were held between the University and students to establish a working group in order to “hash out ideas about how things could be improved [for international students]”. However, Ben Giles, academic representative of Societies Exec, voiced his concerns that although there was a “good push” at the beginning for change, the “urgency died out a lot.” It was intended that the working group would include representatives from Welfare, the Anglo-Chinese society, the Chinese Student Scholars Association and possibly the Students’ Union in the form of the President. It was also the intention that it would invite other members of the university to attend depending upon what action was needed to be made, for example from the Accommodation sector. A number of ideas surfaced during the initial meetings, which included establishing a more structured ‘buddy’ system, Chinese-speaking councillors, and improving the staff understanding of the pressures international students face whilst at Newcastle. However, according to Giles, these plans failed to be implemented due to a “lack of drive from the Uni”. “Because this happened just before the holidays, the urgency was very in your face so everyone was getting very on top of it. But then after the holidays it just died a death. That’s the real frustration that I personally have. “The urgency is gone and so they [the University] don’t really feel like it’s continued on page 4