gair h dd NEWS@GAIRRHYDD.COM MONDAY NOVEMBER 02 2009
grr Bi-election results 2009 gair rhydd introduces your newly elected officers
EDITOR DEPUTY EDITOR Simon Lucey CO-ORDINATOR Elaine Morgan SUB EDITOR Sarah Powell NEWS Ceri Isfryn Gareth Ludkin Emma McFarnon Jamie Thunder FEATURES Daniella Graham Robin Morgan OPINION Oli Franklin Paul Stollery COLUMNISTS Tim Hart Oli Franklin POLITICS Damian Fantato LISTINGS Steve Beynon Ed Bovingdon TAF-OD Nia Gwawr Williams Branwen Mathias Cadi Mai SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT Amy Hall Priya Raj JOBS & MONEY Katie Greenway SPORT Joe Davies Adam Horne Lucy Morgan Robbie Wells CONTRIBUTORS Lizzie Blockley Anne Bochow Arzu Bokhari Zoe Bridger Alex Bywater Michael Cove Lauren Cowle Cari Davies James Davies Jamie Davies Alex Evans Rachel Henson Rhys Howell Ayushman Jamwal Alex Gill Richard Greenan Katie Greenway ! " # $ % ! & ' ths Jordis Lau Camille Lavoix Simon Lucey Siân Powell Ben Price Lucinda Robinson Oliver Smith Michelle Taylor Gethin Thomas Lucy Trevallion Chris Williams Alex Winter Ellen Sutherland-Wootton
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Divya Lakanpal Women's Officer "It's a great honour to be elected as this year's Women's Officer. My key ain is to represent Cardiff University both nationally and internationally in my work within the realm of female employment."
Edmund Schlussel
Rachelle Simons LGBT Officer
Craig Sutherland Postgraduate Officer
"I'm particularly eager to build awareness about the way that uni staff are treated; tuition fees are on the rise, yet there seems to be more and more job cuts."
"I pledge to attend activist training, conferences and keep abreast of news affecting LGBT people. I will blog weekly so I’m accountable and accessible. I also aim to try and end bi and trans invisibility."
"I’d aim to expand the leading ventures which the housing agency embarks on, to ensure that fewer postgraduates are forced into sub-par housing."
Mature Students Officer
Successful block of 14 candidates:
Sally Wood Student Council Chair "We've got lots planned, such as our FM broadcasts, live music nights, outside broadcasts as well as lots of giveaways and prizes throughout the term."
"As council chair I am keen to improve the accessibility and visibility of the Student Council. I feel it's important to keep the Union as transparent as possible."
Amelia Barker Chaitanya Badr Iqbal Chaudhary Tom Chilma Sam Coates Liam Coleman Dan Drummond Daniella Graham Lucy Hiscox George Howard Sohiab Khan Emily King Rajat Praddeep Becky Vaughan
Plans proposed to "kick bad landlords out of Cathays" Alex Evans Reporter Cardiff Council has announced a new public consultation period in order to establish the level of support for an Additional Licensing Scheme that would affect Cathays landlords. The proposed new regulations, backed by Liberal Democrat councillor for Cathays Ward, Simon Pickard, would require individuals wishing to let HMOs – Houses of Multiple Occupation – to obtain a license, granted only if the properties intended for letting meet certain basic safety requirements that render it ‘suitable for occupation’. In addition, the new regulations would require the prospective licenseholder to be a ‘fit and proper person’, barring those with a ‘serious criminal record or bad housing record’ from holding a license – a stipulation Pickard hopes will help rid the area of irresponsible landlords. Commenting on the proposed implementation of the scheme, he stated, ‘It’s time we kicked the bad landlords out of Cathays.’
The new proposal, which would attempt to raise standards for privately owned, shared properties available to rent in the Cathays area, bears particular relevance to Cardiff students, many of whom currently live in residences defined as HMOs by the Additional Licensing Scheme. A study published in 2005 by Cardiff Council found many such residences to be sub-par, with over 58% lacking any provision for escape in the event of fire, and 13.5% lacking Automatic Fire Detection systems and smoke alarms. Almost 9% of HMO properties assessed in the Cathays and Plasnewydd areas were deemed ‘unfit for human habitation’. Cardiff Council cited several issues common to areas of ‘high student density’ as motivating factors behind the proposed introduction of the plans to Cathays, pointing to disproportionately high rates of burglaries and complaints about the accumulation of rubbish occurring in the neighbourhood. In subjecting prospective landlords of privately let student housing to greater scrutiny, it is hoped that conditions of student accommodation in the
area will improve, proving benefical to both students and to other residents of the area. The consultation period will run for two months, from October 15th to December 15th, allowing both tenants and landlords, as well as the general public, to express their views on the scheme. Liberal Democrat MP for Cardiff Central, Jenny Willott and Cardiff Students’ Union President, Ed Carey, are among the proposals proponents. Pickard has urged students, who constitute as much as 75% of the population of some Cathays streets, to take part in the consultation. “Far too many student houses in Cathays are left neglected by poor landlords, with tenants suffering as a result. A license would force landlords to improve the security, safety and energy efficiency of properties.” Said Mr Pickard. “The online questionnaire only takes a few minutes to complete, and will make a big difference” he added. The questionnaire on the scheme can be accessed at www.cardiffdigs. co.uk.
Cancer centre opens in Cardiff Rachel Henson Reporter A new Cancer Research UK Centre has been launched in Cardiff. The centre will focus on understanding the biology of leukaemia, urological cancers, breast cancer and bowel cancer to improve prevention, treatment and early detection of cancers. The partnership between Cardiff University, Cancer Research UK, Velindre NHS Trust and Cardiff and Vale University Health Board hopes to better understand the variations in cancers found in patients and develop suitable treatments for individual cases. The centre will also work with the University to expand existing PhD programmes for training clinical and non-clinical postgraduates. Local research in cancer biology is already supported by Cancer Research UK, the leading funder of cancer research in the UK, and the establishment of this centre will bring an extra £2 million to the work in Cardiff over the next three years. The centres of excellence are part of a prioritised initiative by Cancer Research UK to provide a better understanding of the diseases. Also announced this week was that researchers in Cardiff University’s Department of Primary Health Care and Public Health are to be involved in a new five-year programme to improve cancer diagnosis. The DISCOVERY programme, which will begin in January 2010, stems from a £1.94 million grant from the National Institute for Health Research. The grant will fund six projects, the findings of which have the potential to directly affect clinical practice and health policy. The expertise of researchers at Cardiff University will be drawn on as one of four universities working on the project, led by Bristol University.
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