My thoughts on life, the universe and everything
Archive for year 2010
HSAFC Occupation – The EGM and the end (sort of)
Dec 18th
December 17th, 2010 is the end of semester one at the University of Hull. HSAFC had a decision to make – carry on the occupation or suspend it and reoccupy at the start of the next semester. Carrying on would mean interrupting events happening over the weekend and they would risk being removed by university…
HSAFC Occupation update
Dec 15th
The student occupation in Staff House has definitely been noticed and there has been a certain amount of success. A large number of students have noticed it and provided their support. Certain university staff have made some form of contribution too – from good luck messages, to spreading the word, to copying leaflets. The general…
The HSAFC occupation at The University of Hull
Dec 14th
Starting on 13/12/2010, a group of students calling themselves ‘Hull Students Against Fees & Cuts‘ (HSAFC for short) occupied part of Staff House as part of ongoing protests relating to the increase in the maximum rate of tuition fees (amongst other things). I went there to find out more about the occupation, the group’s goals…
HE fee increases and funding cuts – the Hull perspective
Dec 9th
Yesterday, Hull University Union organised an event outside it’s building on the Hull campus of the University of Hull. This was one of many similar events happening at other universities nationwide. The NUS and it’s member unions felt these needed to happen as it’s close to the vote about HE funding (that’s happening today) and…
Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath’s missing MP
Dec 5th
It has been said that it’s very difficult to carry on as an MP after you have been Prime Minister. John Major famously left to ‘watch the cricket’ in 1997. Tony Blair left to become a Middle East Envoy – a highly paid job with the aim of getting peace in that region. Gordon Brown…
Sticks and Stones
Dec 3rd
The title is the beginning of an often-used phrase to show people that even if your body can be broken down, you cannot be broken mentally because of insults and slurs. If this is the case, how come there are so many words in society that are considered ‘taboos’? Also, do this taboos exist in…
Sit ins, walk outs and shouting about fees and cuts
Nov 24th
If you kept up with the news today, you will have noticed a large number of demonstrations across the country. This follows the demo/march organised by the NUS, which took place two weeks ago. Once again, they centre around the proposed changes to education funding (particularly in the HE sector) and fees. The NUS didn’t…
Sheer disrespect for those who gave their lives
Nov 14th
Whether you agree with a given war or not (for example, in an old blog post I vehemently disagreed with the most recent Iraq War), you can’t help but agree that the people involved do their jobs to the best of their abilities in the face of great risk to their own safety. For that,…
Labour shouldn’t have Shadow Cabinet elections
Oct 1st
For the first time since 1996, there is going to be elections for a Shadow Cabinet. This is because the Labour Party are the only mainstream party that require this. Interestingly, if they are in government, the leader can choose whoever he/she wants. In this post I explain the problems with these elections and why…
Has Mili-D done the right thing?
Sep 30th
David Miliband has recently announced that he won’t be part of his brother’s new Shadow Cabinet. In an interview with Nick Robinson, he stated that he wanted to “support his brother in the best way possible” by working from the backbenches. He went on to say that this would give Ed the “freedom and the…