exep sé
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ISSUE 754 9 FEB 2024 exepose.com @Exepose
THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1987
Guild found throwing old branded items in skip Image: Anonymous witness
Campus Crushes Pages 7 and 11
Anabel Costa-Ferreira and Livvy Mason-Myhill Editors-in-Chief
MPs support Exeposé’s campaign for awareness of Type 1 diabetes Pages 8 and 9
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N the 23rd January, staff from the Students’ Guild were pictured disposing of what was perceived to be old merchandise, including fleeces, T-shirts and tote bags, into a skip in the Devonshire House service yard. The photographs were taken by an anonymous witness who shared the images with Exeposé. The majority of the old branded items that was disposed of was pictured having the old
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Images (top to bottom): Joshua Hughes, Diabetes UK, Dixie Srone, pngimg.com
witness further highlighted that after further inspecting the skip, they found that it was half-filled with the old Guild branded items, explaining that they believed “none of it seemed destined to be recycled, and definitely not donated.” The skip that the Guild were pictured binning their old branded items in was from the tipping company Coastal Recycling. The company have been offering “recycling and waste management services” across Devon for more than 30 years and while they aim for as many materials as possible to be reused and recycled, they ack-
nowledge they are unable to guarantee this is the case for all received items. The witness also noted that despite them knowing that the items were binned in a mostly recyclable skip, they feel that “with everything going into the skip together, I don’t necessarily believe that everything was recycled.” However, Coastal Recycling state that “on average our operations achieve a 90 per cent recycling and recovery rate for mixed materials” to remind their customers of their own sustainability targets.
on flights taken in first class, with any first class flights taken having to be “fully reimbursed by an external funder or sponsor.” Business class flights can be expensed so long as the flight is longer than seven hours, which would include any flights to countries such as the United States or China, while premium economy fights can be expensed for flights taking between four and seven hours. Stated justifications for why an employee may not travel in economy class include “a demanding work schedule” such as when there is a “short time between a flight landing and the commencement of University duties” or “where there are multiple flights over an extended being taken.” Additional justifications include medical grounds and “where it is cheaper or the same price at a higher grade, including first class.”
Other travel expenses include £5000 on train travel and £600 on vehicle hire. The ten most senior employees of the University over time (18 in total) whose expenses have been disclosed also spent a combined £17,000 on domestic accommodation and £21,500 on overseas accommodation. That accommodation is defined as being “in a reasonable quality hotel, taking into account value for money, location convenience and health and safety.” £36,500 was spent on ‘other business’. According to the University’s expenses policy, other business may include relocation costs, membership subscriptions, childcare and an assortment of other costs. A spokesperson for the University said: “the University of Exeter has a robust and fair expenses policy in place for all staff members. All expense claims
are submitted for approval, and staff are encouraged to use measures which are as cost-effective as possible. However, as a global research-intensive university with world-leading research and industry partnerships, it is vital that representatives attend meetings, engagements and appointments regionally, nationally and abroad. These engagements not only promote the University’s expertise and knowledge to a global stage, but also bring vital partnerships and incremental investment into the South West. Any travel that is undertaken complies with our institution’s Travel Policy, which includes a commitment to ensuring any travel is undertaken as sustainably as possible, and was reviewed and updated in 2023.”
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Top University staff claimed £140,000 in expenses since 2018
Charlie Gershinson Deputy Editor
Review: Singin’ in the Rain
Guild logo on it, some of which dated back to as old as 2019, according to the witness. This comes after the Guild’s rebrand was launched on the 5th July 2023. The anonymous witness shared that they saw staff from the Guild coming down the corridor of DH2 with empty trolleys. They then watched the staff members go outside to the Devonshire House service yard with these trolleys now filled with items where they were “binning hundreds of T-shirts, many fleeces and dozens of tote bags (among other things like tables etc.) during a clear out of their basement cupboard.” The
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XEPOSÉ can reveal that in a period of five and a half years, over £140,000 has been claimed on expenses by senior employees of the University of Exeter, an average of around £25,500 per year. The figures from March 2018 to October 2023 — disclosed through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request — saw that the largest portion of expenses was spent on plane travel, amounting to £44,500 overall. This is the equivalent of almost five years’ education for a domestic undergraduate student. The University’s expenses policy (dated from 2018) specifies that staff may not claim back
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