www.thegryphon.co.uk @_TheGryphon Issue11 10/02/17 TheofficialnewspaperofLeeds University QuestionTime Round Up What were all the candidatesdebating atthis week’s event? Page 5 In TheMiddle with Eleanor Conway It’s agreat time for womenincomedy, says the up and coming comedian In The Middle, Page 12 Image: Viola Luo SoaringHalls Prices Halted by Exec Victory Bye Bye Oxley? Oxley Hall to be soldtopaveway for Real term rent cuts agreed aftercostofaccommodation rises 19%infive years investmentinmorehalls Page 3 Polly Hatcher longerbecharged for. Formanystudentsthese improvements News Editor “Leedshas abroad range of have beenalong time coming,asfrom affordability in itsuniversityhalls – theacademic year 2010/11to2015/16, LUUCommunity Officer JamieAli has from yourcheap andcheerful Lupton, theaverage amount of moneythat securedanagreement betweenLUU and to CharlesMorrisatthe topend -and each student spentonaccommodation LeedsUniversitytomake‘realtermrent thereare even more cheapresidencies increasedfrom£4045 in 2010/11to cuts’inthe 2017/18academic year,which coming onto line thisSeptember.It’s £4814in2015/16,arise of 19%. will ensure rentcosts do notrise higher astart, butwe’ve alongway to go and However,the increase in student than inflation. we’rebuildingonour good relationship loansdid notmatch theserentrises,as Thenewscomes followingthe with ResidentialServices.Private halls themaximum amount studentscould announcement that OxleyHallistobe howeverare adifferentstory with rip receiveasaloanonlywentupby16% Prince,Bowieand George Michael sold,and more moneyinvestedbythe off rentsand badcustomerservice being from £4,950to£5,740. How some of the biggest names in music universityintonew affordablehalls. common.” In theacademic year 2014/15loans shaped our perception of sexuality From theacademic year 2010/11 Leedswillbethe first universityto rose by 1%,which meantthatstudents In The Middle, page 4 to 2015/16the averageprice that a getrid of charging studentstodotheir whostarted universityafter 2012 and studentatLeeds Universitypaysfor laundry. ResidentsinUniversityowned were living away from home outsideof accommodation hasrisenby19%. hallswill be given20laundry credits London couldaccessmaximum loansof He said:“Cuttingthe cost of Leeds whichequates to 20 free washes. £5,555 (which wasupfrom£5,500from Uniaccommodation wasone of my Although thisiscurrentlyonly 2013/14) andin2015/16 themaximum main pledges when Iran to be an officer in accommodation ownedbythe loan rose 3.34%further to £5,740. last year. Rent is ourbiggest outgoing University, theUnion is nowworking Maintenance grants for2015/16 were as students. ForSeptember 2017,I’ve with ResidentialServicestolobby also frozen at thelevelsofthe previous negotiated arealtermrentcut for Leeds privateproviders so that creditscan be year,atamaximum of £3,387,and for Uniowned hallsand laundrywillno used by studentsthere too. fiRead more on page 2 id 2 | News thegryphon.co.uk Editor’s Letter: Dear StudentsofLeeds, candidatesfeelwhenrunning in theLeadershipRace, buttostop that stress from occurring in thefirstplace. Contents It’s easy to dismissthe Leadership Society hustingsshouldbebannedfor astart.Ifsocieties want Race as abunch of nonsense that to endorsecandidatestheycan easily readtheir manifestosor will have no impact on yourtime come alongtoQuestionTime, an eventthe union areconstantly 3-7 News at university. It’s easy to sitbehind trying to boostattendanceat. Making candidates go throughthe acomputerscreenand writeacatty samepublicspeakingordeal multiple timesisnot only unfair but 8-10 Views tweetmocking candidates’ efforts,or unnecessary,and is amajor barriertothose whoaren’tcomfortable therolesthey’re runningfor.Yes,the in thoseenvironments, formultiple reasons. 11 Society righttomakethese remarksisall part Ialso thinksocieties shouldn’tbeendorsing candidates,but of democracy andfreespeech,but what most obviouslythisisn’t somethingthe unioncan reallypolice. Society 13-15 Features people fail to realise is thecourage anddetermination it takesto endorsements have beenproven to make little difference,but are putyourselfonthatkindofpublicplatformand essentiallytry and reallydisheartening to candidatesand simply increase thepressure 16-17 Business sell yourselftoother studentsyou’venever metbefore. andstressofthe process. Because there’snodenying that theLeadershipRaceisabit of This year,aswithpreviousyears,troll Twitteraccountsare 18-19 Science farce. Yes, theunion arekeenitasdemocraticaspossible,but starting to popuptomockand make disparagingcommentsabout in theprocess they make candidates jump througharidiculous theeffortsofcandidates. Oneparticularaccount thisyearhas 22-24 Sports amount of hoops. From Question Time to hustings, campaign beenmocking candidates’appearances,criticising theirpolitical videos to banners, theamountcandidatesare expectedtodoas viewsand proclaimingthat2017willbethe year of ‘Why Is My part of theircampaignisridiculousand,inmyopinion,doesn’t Exec So Shite?’While thesecommentsare badinthemselves, AudioExpansion: make theprocess anymoredemocratic. Iwas disappointedatthe waypeople were so freelylikingand Whileit’struethattobeable to take on therolesofthe student sharing thesecomments. Having beeninthe position of the Mondays, exec you need to have acertain levelofconfidence andrhetorical candidatesmyselfayearago,Iwouldnever promote or encourage 12pm, LSR skill, therereallyisjustnoneed to push candidatestothese limits, such unhelpfulcriticism.Yes,everyoneiswell withintheir right andfor studentswithmentalhealthdifficulties, disabilities or self- to criticiseorchallenge candidates on theirpolicies, butthese confidenceissues, thewhole processiscompletelyunaccessible. tweets do little to further debate or increase discussion. Instead Catchthe newradio My job, forexample,requires me to be good at editingand of cowardly hiding behind ascreen, theseanonymous tweeters showfrom The proofreading,atmanaging finances andtrainingstudentstobe should trygetting up on stageinfront of everyoneand sharing Gryphon,GryphOn better journalists. Noneofthese skillsweretestedduringthe theirviews. LeadershipRace. Thereare plentyofstudentswho wouldhave TheLeadershipRaceisagreatinitiative. It’s achance forall Air, every Monday made greateditors (orother exec positions),but whowereput off students to getinvolvedinunion affairs anddecidingwho is going at 12pm on Leeds runningbythe demands andstressofthe LeadershipRace. to determinethe future of our union. ButLUU andstudentsalike Student Radio! Many aspectsofthe Leadership Race aren’t compulsory;you should be more supportive of candidates, workingtoreducethe don’thavetodoacampaign videofor example,but thereisso barriers to participation andstamp outharmful disparagement. much pressure to competewithother candidates in ordertowin. Credits LUUmay saythathustingsaren’tcompulsory,but if everyother JessicaMurray candidate is attending, to notgofeels like admittingdefeat. LUU Editor-in-Chief Editor-In-Chief ~ JessicaMurray should be workingmuchhardertonot just reduce thestress [email protected] AssociateEditor ~ DominicJohnson Continued from front page DigitalAssociate ~ FloraTiley every£1ofmaintenance grantreceived, 50 penceis takenfromthe loan. News ~Polly Hatcher, Sarah Berry,Euan The priciest are ensuite rooms in acatered Hammond, Christopher accommodationand costupto£6,820.80 fora42 Tobin weekcontract with afood allowance of £49.70for 31 weeks. Society ~ElsaAmri, Bea Warleta At York, thecheapestaccommodation is £106per weekbut they also offertwin rooms which, per Features ~Jessie person sharingaroom,cost between £85 and £112 Florence Jones, Hannah 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 Macaulay, Ella Healing forself-catered accommodationand £124to£141 for catered accommodation. The mostexpensiveis Views ~RoryClaydon, Most Expensive £158.75 £162.87 £177.41 £181.57 £186.64 £179per week which bringsitto£7,150 for the year. Rooms per week LiamKerrigan, Jess (39) (39) (39 (39) (39) (tenancy length) Readett This means that at York, somestudents are paying more to share abedroom than studentsincheaper Science ~Sam accommodationatLeeds University. Cheapest Rooms £69.34 £71.07 £73.15 £77.09 £79.41 McMaster,Dougie per week (tenancy (42) (42) (42) (42) (42) Phillips There’s no denying that rentprices in halls length) are priceyfor students, with somestudents’ Average mean cost £4,235 £4,313 £4,667 Business ~Sam Bailey, maintenance loans notevencovering rent costs £4,045 £4,041 Matthew Moore per room (total and thescrappingofmaintenance grantsfurther student rental income /number Sport ~LukeEtheridge, disadvantaging poorer students, so itsreassuring of students) JamesFelton, John Gibby to see some real progress towards more affordable accommodationfor first year students. Design ~Becky Nolan, Frazer Sparham Now our attentionmustturntothe private ‘luxury’ hallswho are saturatingthe market and ripping studentsoff. thegryphon.co.uk News | 3 Editor of the Week Oxley to close Thehallswillshut to make wayfor newer accommodation Christopher Tobin The university has confirmed thatOxley Hall will be soldtoraise funds fornew accommodation. The University’s governingbodyhas approvedplans to sellOxley in addition to five smaller properties ‘at somepoint’and invest the funds from that sale into thedevelopment Liam Kerrigan of new accommodation. TheUniversityhas no Views Editor current plans forwhen the sale willgoahead, withprospective students still beingable to applyfor residency nextyear. Liam did agreat job this Image: Pinterest week, carrying out