On Wednesday 1st March 2013 UCLU took the decision to close its services and functions in order to celebrate International Workers’ Day. Whilst the decision was welcomed by some it provoked questions from others, most notably the UCL Provost, Malcolm Grant. Grant wrote in his email newsletter that ‘This is the first time I can recall that facilities provided by and for students at UCL have been closed by their own Student Union, especially during the examinations period when demand is high.’ His letter provoked a rather public war of …

Tension is mounting regarding the University of London’s decision to remove the full-time elected officer positions from ULU. Whilst ULU president Michael Chessum has pledged to fight the changes, some students have pledged their support for the reforms and have set about trying to ensure Chessum does not get his way.
Pi can reveal the contents of a letter addressed to UoL senior management sent today from 14 students from UCL, KCL and Birkbeck College which argues that the current sabbatical officers should be sacked as soon as possible in order …

The University of London’s academic governing body, Collegiate Council, voted this morning to reform the University of London Union (ULU) following an exhaustive eight month review.
The most drastic change to be made is the removal of the elected full-time officer positions, currently held by former UCLU sabbatical officer Michael Chessum (President) and Daniel Cooper (Vice-President). The reforms would also see the annual £750,000 (roughly) currently paid to ULU redirected to student services within individual Colleges and Institutes. The changes would come into effect from summer 2014.
The swimming pool, gym, shops, …

Both the University College London Union (UCLU) and University of London Union (ULU) election results were announced on Friday, 8 March to the relief of all candidates, weary after weeks of campaigning. The UCLU elections had been dominated by the furore surrounding Kirk Sneade’s candidacy for women’s officer, yet this was not the only controversy of the elections. Having investigated into both the UCLU and ULU elections, we have discovered several issues which overshadowed the voting process.

Perhaps the most startling revelations surround the position of London Student editor, which was …

Mirren Gidda reports on Kirk Sneade’s disciplinary hearing.

Shushu Aberbach looks ahead to award winning author, Francesca Segal’s visit to UCL.

A debate held at UCL on Saturday, 9 March certainly got students and professors talking, and has even found itself reported in the wider media – but for the wrong reasons.
 
The event, held as part of Hamza Tzortzis ‘Islamic Awareness Tour’, featured the public speaker Tzortzis debating against cosmologist and professor of Physics, Lawrence Krauss on the topic of ‘Islam or Atheism: Which Makes More Sense?’ However, attendees soon began to question the organisation of the event when an email sent by the Islamic Education and Research Academy (IERA) and …

UCLU election results were announced today at 6pm in the George Farha Cafe. There was an unprecedented percentage of student voters this year at 16.3%.The results are as follows:

Controversial Women’s Officer candidate Kirk Sneade has withdrawn his candidacy less than 24 hours ahead of voting closing.In an email sent to UCL media outlets, current Democracy and Communications Officer Sam Gaus said:
As of about 30 seconds ago, Kirk is no longer on the candidates list. Sneade realises that his campaign has caused offence and as a consequence has decided to withdraw as a candidate. He apologises for the offence that he has caused. Any individuals voting for him will have that preference transferred to the next eligible candidate.

Sneade has added a …

The second candidate for editor of the London Student newspaper is Kings student and current deputy editor of the paper, Katie Lathan. Pi found out just why she thinks she’s the woman for the job.

There have been a few issues with the paper this year, including pages being reprinted. What do you think was the reason for this and how would you make sure it doesn’t happen again next year?
Unfortunately, there was an issue with the printers which meant that in one issue, a feature which should have been three …