BRITs fail to include women! University gets involved in UCU strikes

we consume, remain increasingly political — the messages they send, whether they are directly or indirectly implied, represent sections of society. Putting men and women in the same category is simply the bare minimum award shows can do to increase inclusivity, before we even begin to talk about other identities and other means of equality, such as race. If inclusivity is not present to a credible extent, we must reconsider what this tells us about society as a whole. Award shows are more than just a competition or a celebration, and again, just like most areas of our lives, they require positivity and inclusivity — but evidently, as the BRIT awards have recently proven, it seems that there is still a lot for the mass media to work on with regards to eliminating possible gender bias.

Cherrett gives her take on the University’s recent intervention in the pay and pension dispute

We are all living through the postCovid recession, with the cost-of-living crisis devastating the majority of people. But as an organisation pocketing an annual nine grand per student, surely our university has the funds to have prevented this. Had the University prioritised its staff and students surely they could have allocated some of this profit towards assisting staff with the crisis we’re all experiencing. Yet instead, the NUS have affirmed, “the failed marketisation of the sector which has put profit above staff and student well-being”, and our lecturers have been forced to strike. Why this has only been realised following two weeks of strikes is absurd, as indisputably it could have been prevented several months ago.

emerging, Exeter was in the 18-month process of rebranding, changing the colour of our website and the University logo. A University spokesperson eagerly promoted the “exciting opportunity to create a brand that represents our values, allows us to grow as an institution and reach new audiences worldwide”. In the face of lecturers failing to pay their bills and paying students losing out on valuable teaching hours, however, this seems rather trivial. Building a successful university is undeniably crucial — Exeter’s marketing has helped to establish us as a prestigious institution — but why has this then been privileged above current student and staff wellbeing? Students do not want a fancier logo; they want teaching unaffected by strikes.

become businesses, which isn’t necessarily bad; but good businesses should support their employees in order to anticipate and prevent necessary striking, and should also value their clients — us students. I hope that a resolution can be quickly made, and that we will no longer be paying extortionate amounts for no teaching. But I also hope that on a wider scale, university institutions can learn what they owe to their staff and students.

Instead, the university sector has seen a fall to commercialism.

Whilst the recession was

I appreciate that progress is being made between the UCU and the University, but I can also not comprehend why these strikes have been allowed to occur in the first place. Universities have