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ISSUE 689 29 OCT 2018 exepose.com @Exepose
THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1987
Baby, it’s cold inside
Uni concerned about detained researcher Hattie Roberts News Team
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HE University of Exeter and Durham University have released a joint statement over their concerns of the welfare of Matthew Hedges. Matthew Hedges, who studied Middle Eastern studies at Exeter and then went on to study a PhD at Durham, flew to the UAE on a research trip. On his departure, he was held at Dubai Airport after interviewing sources about the country’s foreign policy and security strategy for his research on the impact of the Arab Spring. Hedges travelled to the UAE for his doctoral thesis, however, he has been detained on charges of “spying for and on behalf of a foreign state.” His wife, Daniela Tejada, who lives in Exeter with her husband has said that her husband visited the UAE “exclusively for academic research purposes”. According to Hedges’ family, the academic has been held in solitary confinement for almost six months. They have raised concerns that he will not have a fair trial as he has limited access to his lawyer. The academic’s wife has raised concerns over his wellbeing, as she claims he was denied a shower for a month and forced to sleep on the floor for the first three months of his detainment. However, the UAE government have said in a recent statement that Mr Hedges has been provided with “constant medical attention and psychological care.” They also stressed the fact that he has been able to contact family and legal staff.
• Guild staff working in “substandard conditions” • Office refurb will give space to Humanities
Megan Davies Editor
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TUDENTS’ Guild staff have had to work in “substandard conditions” according to senior staff. Temperatures last winter got so cold that the Guild would have had to send staff home had temperatures dropped any lower. The Devonshire House offic-
The Guild is excited to be able to [...] invest in an improved workspace
Students’ Guild Spokesperson
Image: Graham Moore
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Image: Rwendland
Image: Petr Kratochvil
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es, which house the majority of the Guild’s permanent staff, are the last part of Guild facilities to not have had a comprehensive refurbishment, and has gone the longest in the same state, Exeposé was told. The Guild has received £270k of funding from the University this year to refurbish their offices, Exeposé has found.
This isn’t the first time that the University has contributed to Guild refurbishment projects, although in the past both institutions have supported in priority spaces open to students such as DH1. This funding was only available to be used to improve staff spaces. The University’s original assessment was that the work would cost an estimated £200,000, according to the Guild, but this figure was increased to £270,000 due to both structural elements and a shortage of builders. The Guild will also be giving up some space to the Humanities department, creating space for postgraduate students’ offices in Queen’s Building. Tracy Costello, Chief Executive of the Guild, told Exeposé in conversation that she was “delighted” to be able to reward Guild staff ’s patience without guilt, i.e. without taking money away from services aimed at its student membership. The same documents revealed that the Lemon Grove incurred... a £100,000 shortfall in the past
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FEATURES
Debating the student Halloween experience
Building a better Britain: an interview with Owen Jones
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