Nigel Thrift's Final Interview
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fb.com/warwickboar twitter.com/warwickboar theboarMore than just hot air Wednesday 4th November, 2015 Est. 1973 | Volume 38 | Issue 3 Warwick’s dark cloud looms University set to fail to meet emissions target by 2020 INSIDE: Nigel Thrift’s final interview Books Music Travel Sport Marlon James: Booker Prize The near death of the Culture Shocks: My time Warwick Surf pace 3rd in Winner 2015 independent label with a native tribe BUCS Page 23 Page 25 Page 37 Page 40 >>Photo: Warwick Media Library Registered charity: 1098294 EmployEr To book your place, sign up via our website: prEsEntation teachfirst.org.uk/graduates 2 novEmbEr | 6:30pm rootEs building Toib Olomowewe Teaches: Business Studies Sponsored by: News Editors’ Picks Transgender Eastenders Should we read the classics? Skirting with controversy The death of indie labels TV (p. 33) Books (p.23) Lifestyle (p. 18) Music (p. 25) You don’t watch Eastenders anymore, do you? Having studied English to degree level, I’ve Our Lifestyle editor Lizzie made it clear Having spent much of my life desperately It doesn’t matter really. What is more inter- found book politics to be a real and danger- during our Freshers welcome talk that, while trying to distract from my own lack of an esting is that the BBC have made the deci- ous phenomenon. Being asked ‘what’s your her section may be bright magenta, it’s by no engaging personality through an increasingly sion to delve into more gender diversity when favourite book?’ always incites a certain de- means just for women. esoteric choice in music, I was enthralled and casting. Callum is justified in wanting a more gree of panic as most of us wonder what’s disappointed in equal measures by Christo- inclusive national broadcaster, where the in- the most acceptable answer; Dickens seems In her excellent section this week, Sport ed- pher Sanders’ piece on the death of the indie terests of a number of different communities far too obvious (and would be a lie in my itor Shingi Mararike is out to show that the label. As it turns out I was being sold a lie from whatever racial, ethnic, sexual or other case), but something more modern might be same goes for skirts. Check out his article for the whole time! A cabal of shady tastemakers background should feel more involved with judged badly. Whether or not you can still a fresh perspective on hetero-normative atti- keen to prey on impressionable youngsters what is on their screens. However, I have a be said to appreciate good literature if you tudes to street style, not to mention an even such as myself had been slipping me Pave- funny feeling that in a dark corner of Broad- haven’t read the classics is still a pertinent fresher photo of The Boar’s resident fashion ment CDs while I slept. Luckily, not all is casting House, there is a HR manager ticking question, and both articles in Books’ tête-à- icon himself. lost: we may be able to gain some semblance off another box on her ‘Equal Opportunities’ tête do a great job at defending their views. of authenticity in the world of “independent” target list. How disappointing. Definitely worth a read. music after all. Hiran Adhia Bethan McGrath Jake Mier Sam Evans Editor-in-Chief Hiran Adhia NEWS Connor O’Shea & FILM Kambole Campbell [email protected] [email protected] Arthi Nachiappan [email protected] Tom Hemingway Joe Lester Deputy Editors-in-Chief Sam Evans Matt Barker GAMES Ali Jones [email protected] Bethan McGrath Alex Ball [email protected] Jacob Mier Lily Pickard MUSIC Stephen Paul & Sub-editors Hannah Campling COMMENT Nour Rose Chehab [email protected] Jess Mason [email protected] Halimah Manan [email protected] Ollie Ship FEATURES Blessing Mukosha Park TV Carmella Lowkis Director of Business Harshini Singh [email protected] Lauren Bond [email protected] [email protected] LIFESTYLE Elizabeth Pugsley SCIENCE & TECH Selina-Jane Spencer Head of Sales Lauren Garvey & [email protected] [email protected] John Butler [email protected] Pim Pearce FINANCE Alexander Shaw TRAVEL Jack Prevezer Head of Marketing Iris Du [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] ARTS Sophie Dudhill PHOTOGRAPHY Shruti Dayal Head of Distribution Simran Thakral [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] BOOKS Lucy Skoulding SPORT Shingi Mararike Head of Apps Kate Mant [email protected] [email protected] Sam Nugent [email protected] Get in touch: WE WANT YOU! SUHQ, Floor Two theboar is printed on 100% recycled paper University of Warwick Leave your paper for someone else when finished To write for your student paper University Road Coventry theboar is the University of Warwick’s Email the section editors above if CV4 7AL editorially independent student newspaper produced entirely by and for Except where otherwise noted, theboar and the you want to write for the paper students. works in theboar are licensed under: [email protected] http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/ News Editors: Arthi Nachiappan & Connor O’Shea News [email protected] “You will never get things right” Robert Ebenburger and Matt Barker interview Warwick’s outgoing vice- chancellor Nigel Thrift What would you say is your legacy at some students are concerned. Warwick? Why did you decide to rebrand Warwick, If you start talking about your legacy, and why now? you have seriously lost it. Having said that, what I like to think We did it now because it is Warwick’s is that we put the University in a position 50th anniversary. The brand had become to keep going. That is probably the single quite tired and it was remarkably similar most important thing you can do. to some other universities, who basically pinched it. It was not distinctive any more. What are your biggest regrets about your Some students thought that the crest time as vice-chancellor? would be deleted from public memory, but that’s not the case, we’re still using it in all Of Warwick’s endowment, a very large sorts of ways. part goes into things like student bursa- What we were looking for was some- ries. We do not have the money that places thing that represented a university which like Oxford and Cambridge have, which has got to 50 and gone to the next level. allows them to balance the socioeconomic background of students. I am frustrated we Should students have a say in the Univer- could not do even more in that respect. sity’s management and long term strate- gic decisions, like rebranding? The trust relationship between the Uni- versity has been damaged on several oc- Students are massively represented in casions during the last year, such as vi- the University, and indeed in the manage- olence in handling the Free Education ment of the university. We are one of few protests and lack of student consultation universities that have the Students’ Union over rebranding the University. How do president on the main management board you think trust between students and the of the University. I go mad about this, be- administration could be improved? cause I genuinely believe we are doing all we can. When such events happen, they will have a dividing effect – one simply has to Have you ever felt the media treated you deal with that. unfairly? When? Communication is always going to be a difficulty, and even more so with social It comes with the territory. Whether media: stories just go and by the time you you like it or not, in institutions there has have presented your side of things, the sto- to be someone to criticise, because the in- ry is already done and dusted. stitution feels amorphous. Someone is re- Different groups of students also com- ally evil, and it’s as straight forward as that. municate in very different ways: this adds It’s sometimes not very pleasant, but a to a difficult exchange of information. If lot of it is so extraordinarily personal that we can get communication right, we can it becomes impersonal. improve trust in the institution. You will never get things right so far as See The Boar News online for full interview 4 NEWSNews theboar.org Warwick fails to meet emissions target Billy Perrigo investigates reduction of carbon emmissions at the University over the past 10 years Warwick University is failing to undergoing across this period. report highlight the scale of the of just how little is being done to However, communications meet its carbon emissions reduc- But even using a measure that challenge of delivering meaningful tackle these issues.” manager Alex Buxton stated: “I’m tion targets, according to sustain- accounts for the University’s ex- emissions reductions in absolute In a statement to the High- not aware that we have received ability consultancy Brite Green’s pansion, Warwick performed rela- terms while also achieving com- er Education Funding Council any share of the £90 million grants Billy Perrigo Carbon Progress report. tively poorly. mercial growth.” (HEFC), Warwick said: “A focus from the Higher Education Fund- The ambitious targets were When emission was measured Hiba Ahmed, a representative on energy-intensive research activ- ing Council as part of the climate agreed as part of the Climate in CO2 per m2 of floor space, of Warwick Green Party Society, ity inevitably has knock-on effects change act in 2008.” Change Act of 2008. Warwick’s Warwick comes 104th out of 121 accuses Warwick of “green wash- to energy use and consequent car- “Significant examples of the target was a 60% reduction in car- UK universities surveyed, actual- ing” the issue.