www.thecourieronline.co.uk Tuesday 8 March 2016 Issue 1328 Free
STAN CALVERT PULLOUT Pride restored p.24
The Independent Voice of Newcastle Students
THE OSCARS The lowdown on the
nominees and winners p.27
Est 1948
DARK SOULS III Insights and tips into the
hardest game coming soon p.37
Students support EU, Courier suvery shows Image: Lewis Bedford
By Victoria Armstrong Editor
Image: Louisa Hattam
SU holds second annual Inspiring Women conference, p.7
Fit to Sit exam policy rejected by University in face of opposition By Antonia Velikova News Editor
The University has rejected a proposal to introduce a ‘Fit to Sit’ policy for examinations, following consultation with students and staff. In November, the Student council passed a motion which declared that NUSU will actively oppose any and all attempts to implement the policy. The report from the Taught Programmes Sub-Commitee praised NUSU’s official response to the consultation for making “a particularly cogent and detailed case against” ‘Fit to Sit’. Back in November, Student Council passed a motion, with 95% support, which declared that NUSU would actively oppose any and all attempts to implement ‘Fit to Sit’. A similar policy will remain in place for students studying medicine
and dentistry in accordance with the requirements of their respective professional bodies. However, members of the University Learning, Teaching and Student Experience Committee endorsed the recommendation of the Taught Programmes Sub-Committee not to extend the policy to other programmes. Luke Allison, Welfare and Equality Officer, said: “I am thrilled that the University has decided not to pursue further ‘Fit to Sit’ policies. The Students’ Union response, compiling feedback from Student Council, Mind the Gap, the Student Advice Centre and other students
played a huge part in this decision and highlights that the representative structure does work and that the University does listen to student opinion.” ‘Fit to Sit’ aimed to establish that all students who sit an exam will be deemed fit to take it – therefore, submitting a PEC (Personal Extenuating Circumstances) form after the exam, even if they feel they have underperformed, would have been impossible. The University initiated an open conversation with students last term and staff about the policy and welcomed any and all comments regarding its
“The fact that the University invited NUSU to be a part of this consulation demonstrates the positive relationship between us”
possible implementation. “I am extremely pleased with this decision,” Matt Price, NUSU’s Edication Officer told The Courier. “The fact that the University invited NUSU to be a part of this consultation once again demonstrates the positive relationship between us and the University, which allows the student voice to have a real impact. I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who helped us with our response for their hard work, particularly Mind the Gap, the Student Advice Centre and all the students and staff who got in touch to lend their support!” The policy has been introduced in 19% of UK universities. Staff from Coventry, Nottingham Trent and Southampton Solent have reported a decrease to staff workload but issues with student and staff awareness when introducing it initially.
A survey conducted by The Courier reveals that Newcastle University students are overwhelmingly in favour of Britain remaining within the European Union. 80.8% (235 of the 291) of the students asked stated they would vote ‘In’ at the time of answering. Only 10.7% said they would vote out, and 8.6% said they were unsure. When asked what political parties students would vote for, the majority responded with the Labour Party (49.5%). The Green Party was the next most popular, with 18.6% of the vote, evidencing that the so-called ‘Green surge’ before the 2015 general election has since a genuine long-term increase in support for Green Party, despite only one Green MP being elected, the same as in 2010. The numbers suggest that the LiberalDemocrat party are also slowly making a return. Whilst a poll conducted by The Courier in April 2015 showed that only 4.5% of students would vote for the Lib-Dems, this survey shows 8.29%(check) of students have adopted the Lib-Dem bearings. Whilst this number is still far below the level of support the Liberal-Democrats received from students before the 2010 Coalition Government, it seems that the faith of students is slowly being restored in the party following their U-turn on higher education tuition fees in 2010. This may be aided by the stepping down of Nick Clegg following the 2015 General Election results, and new leadership of Tim Farron, who was President of Newcastle University Students’ Union in 1990/91. The common view of the EU referendum as a partisan issue seems affirmed by the statistics, which show that 23% of Conservative party supporters would vote Out, whilst only 1.4% of Labour supporters and 2% of Greens would vote Out. A significant trend for voting Out also appeared in the smaller parties. Whilst only two students stated they would vote for UKIP, both intend to vote Out, as do five of the six students who support the Scottish Nationalist Party. The significant proportion of students who intend to vote in may be attributed to the fact that the Higher Education (continued on p.9)