fb.com/warwickboar twitter.com/warwickboar theStudentboar Publication of the Year 2013 Wednesday 2nd October, 2013 Est. 1973 | Volume 36 | Issue 1 Boar student The science behind Student film book swap a pint of Purple festivals p. 20 p. 30 p. 22 COMMENT page 10 LIFESTYLE page 16 MONEY page 17 GAMES page 24 Uni life: work hard, play hard? Putting the ‘sex’ in homosexual Prepare for application season To game, or not to game at uni Fresh anxiety: no room on campus • 200 undergraduates asked to share rooms on campus at the start of term due to course oversubscription • Some postgraduates have been put up in University conference facilities and in a hotel in Coventry • The Students’ Union has accused the University of putting potentially vulnerable students at risk Full » A number of students are being made to share permanent accommodation in Sherbourne, Benefactors and Rootes, and temporary rooms in Westwood. Photo: Sian Elvin rarily being put up in Felden, part many students will complete their the University have overreached friends in that time and find a pri- George Ryan of the University’s conference facil- first term. on places and have not accounted vately owned house independently ities. Mr Dunn stated: “It is because for the impact that this has on stu- within that time. A shortage of bedrooms on cam- Others are being housed in a ho- we appeared to be an outstanding dent welfare during the crucial first “This is not an easy task given pus has left many students arriv- tel in Coventry. popular choice in clearing this year term, and year, of study at Warwick. the lack of private accommodation ing at the University this week This year the rules around the we actually had to pull out of clear- “This is a grave oversight, and now available so soon to the start of finding out that they are sharing clearing process changed, which ing after just 12 hours of operating is especially worrying for interna- term. a room. allowed universities to take on un- our clearing hotline.” tional postgraduates who do not “Students have already resorted Over 340 students have been limited numbers of students who Cat Turhan, welfare and cam- have the support network in this to signing risky and costly con- asked to share rooms on campus. achieved AAB or higher in their A paigns officer at Warwick Students’ country to overcome the practical tracts for houses advertised on the Around 140 have been allocated Levels. Union (SU), has expressed concern and emotional difficulties this situ- internet.” permanent twin bedrooms in Sher- Peter Dunn, the University’s about the situation: “We are deep- ation is likely to carry with it.” Shatarupa Saham, a first-year bourne, Benefactors and Rootes head of communications, acknowl- ly concerned about this develop- Ms Turhan added that postgrad- student who will be sharing a bed- and 200 are temporarily sharing a edged that there are more students ment, particularly as we feel these uate students who are being tempo- room in Westwood, is pleased by room in Westwood. at Warwick this year than in previ- arrangements put vulnerable stu- rarily housed in conference facili- the situation: “I’m actually quite Many postgraduate students ous years, but the University is un- dents at risk. ties and a hotel are being asked to happy about the room-mate situa- have been left without a permanent able to give a clear figure until later “We believe that this has arisen move out in three weeks. tion. room on campus and are tempo- in the term once it is known how because the departments within “They are expected to have made Continued on page 5 Sponsored by: 2 News theboar.org/News | @BoarNews | NEWStheboar.org 2 Coventry University: league table adversity Executive Team Former polytechnic is quickly climbing national and international league tables [email protected] George Ryan Nicole Davis Abbey Lewis Helena Moretti » The University has gone from strength to strength in recent years photo: Flickr/ Herry [email protected] Sian Elvin It has been the sixteenth year “It also ranks third globally in is all a bit of fun… This certainly Georgina Lawton Rosanna Hiscock running that the University has the new top 50 universities aged shows that Coventry [isn’t] afraid Ann Yip topped the Times and Sunday Times under 50 list in the QS World Uni- of catching up with Warwickers!” university rankings for the Mid- versity Rankings.” The universities are often seen [email protected] Both the University of Warwick lands region. Coventry University has also to compete in sporting and social Dan Mountain and Coventry University have The Times and Sunday Times said recently been voted the UK’s best events such as the annual Varsity Daniel Cope been ranked highly in the QS of the University: “The University modern university. The Times sporting competition during the Charley Kai John World University Rankings 2013. of Warwick is still the top dog in Guide ranked Coventry University Spring term. The University of Warwick re- the West Midlands. a s 45th in the UK, making it Coventry student Tom Greene [email protected] “The most suc- the highest ranking said: “I think that Coventry being Georgia Harris cessful of the modern univer- awarded this accolade will certainly baby boom- sity estab- raise the profile of both the Uni- [email protected] er univer- lished since versity and the city, and encourage Roxanne Douglas 45th sities of the 1992. even more people to want to come 1960s, War- One sec- and study here. Maybe Warwick [email protected] Coventry’s ranking in UK- wick has ond-year won’t be as smug now and will take Rebekah Ellerby wide Times Good University never been English Coventry more seriously.” Chloé Booyens Guide outside of the Literature top ten in the student at [email protected] Sunday Times Warwick com- Poppy Rosenberg or the Times mented on the Jess Devine tains its high academic status as university league recent figures and Is Coventry Uni Lillian Hingley one of the top ten universities in tables – a feat it has the friendly rivalry really catching up the UK, and the top West Midlands managed to maintain between both univer- with Warwick? [email protected] university in the newly combined in the new combined sities: “The competition Tell us on Facebook Michael Perry Times and Sunday Times Guide. guide. between both universities Sam Carter [email protected] Warwick opens new £5 million Phytobiology facility Sam Steiner [email protected] Wellesbourne, which has a more get plants which have resistance to world hunger: “As a University we Raghav Bali Robin James Kerrison traditional glasshouse. diseases,” Professor Thomas added. intend to rise to our part of that Hayley Westlake The research conducted by Vice-Chancellor Nigel Thrift challenge. School of Life Sciences in the Gro- has also stressed the importance “This £5 million investment [email protected] Warwick University’s latest state- Dome and the controlled environ- of research into sustainable food sends a clear signal of how serious Tolga Kuyucuoglu of-the-art Phytobiology facility ment chambers will look to develop production and the elimination of we are about this.” Richard Brown opened on main campus earlier sustainable food sources in the light this month. of the planet’s burgeoning popula- [email protected] The Phytobiology Facility repre- tion. Maya Westwick sents a £5 million investment from Professor Brian Thomas, deputy the University into food securi- head of the School of Life Sciences, [email protected] ty research and is operated by the told the Boar that the new facility Philly Betts School of Life Sciences. is “probably more suited to some The two-storey building consists of the research projects where you [email protected] of a ‘GroDome’ located above ‘con- perhaps better temperature control Ellie May trolled environment chambers’. The in the glasshouse than you would Cayo Sobral futuristic GroDome, developed by get at Wellesbourne.” Unigro, is designed to be four times On the importance of integra- [email protected] more energy-efficient than tradi- tion with other departments, he Isaac Leigh tional glasshouses. said: “The idea was to move the Tom Ward Features of the GroDome in- plant scientists to main campus clude a heating and cooling sys- because nowadays plant science is [email protected] tem through which temperature is very multidisciplinary.” Ellen Buckerfield controlled entirely by manipulating One potential goal of the re- Louise Machin airflow and a polycarbonate roof search conducted in the Phytobiol- Clare Crossfield which insulates better than glass. ogy Facility is to lead scientists “to Josh Denoual The new facility complements understand plants’ natural defences Rachel Knight the School of Life Science’s exist- against diseases and how we can Daryl Yam ing Warwick Crop Centre based at use plant genetics in particular to » The Phytobiology facility opposite Claycroft. Photo: Sian Elvin [email protected] Aditya Pappu Students’ Union, (SUHQ) The Boar is the University Except where otherwise noted, Alexander Bunzl The Boar is printed on University of Warwick Alessandro Pressa of Warwick’s editorially the Boar and the works in the recycled paper. Gibbet Hill Road Oliver Siemek Coventry independent students’ Boar are licensed under: CV4 7AL newspaper produced http://creativecommons.org/ [email protected] entirely by and for licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk Warwick students. theboar.org News 3 theboar Student Publication of the Year 2013 Welcome Meetings Wednesday - Weeks 2 & 3 in H0.52 | 14.00 - 15.00 Find out how to get involved with your student newspaper News theboar.org 4 Deutsche Bank Financial support can only take you so far db.com/careers 4 | Agile minds know how to go further 5566_011_DB_Banner_265x36_B.indd 1 24/10/2012 17:23 Leam club ‘evolves’ into Neon “I thought the Neon ‘world The nightclub Evolve has been given a make-over and new name premiere’ was actually solve that problem” said Luke Co- a third-year currently on Erasmus Flo Forster hen, a third year Maths student.