Gair Rhydd

Cancelled

The doors to Solus were locked last Wednesday night after poor ticket sales forced the cancellation of Rubber Duck.

The club night, which is run by the Students’ Union (SU) and was traditionally popular with sports teams, has been suffering from a decline in attendees since midway through last semester.

Giving you extra?

gair rhydd takes a look at ‘the definitive student discount card’ and finds out if they are worth the plastic they are printed on when shopping on the Cardiff High Street...

NUS Extra cards aren’t value for money in Cardiff according to an investigation by gair rhydd. gair rhydd visited several retailers in the Cardiff area that are only supposed to offer student discount to National Union of Students [NUS] Extra card holders and found that our Cardiff university cards, that bear the NUS logo, were accepted by many of the retailers.

The retailers including Subway, Topshop and Claire’s Accessories all of which are on the ‘exclusive discount’ list of NUS Extra discounts. However, the staff at these retailers accepted a Cardiff University ID card, which bears the NUS logo, and offered us discount.

Nash doesn’t need to read

Pop star Kate Nash has sparked debate among university-critics after she questioned the importance of higher education during her acceptance speech at the Brit Awards last week.

The Brits, which took place on Wednesday February 20, saw the singer scoop the award for Best British Female Solo Artist.

Dr David Kelly (1955 - 2008)

David Kelly received his Ph.D. degree from the then-flourishing Chemistry Department at the University of Salford under the guidance of Professor Stanley M. Roberts and Dr Roger Newton.

This was followed immediately by a prestigious Postdoctoral Fellowship at Oxford University, where he worked with Professor Sir Jack E. Baldwin, FRS.

Million pound spending fails to curb university dropouts

More than one in five of the 230,000 full-time students entering university each year - an estimated 50,000 - drop out before graduating

Since 2002 there has been no improvement in the number of students dropping out of university, despite £800 million being spent in a bid to tackle the problem.

MPs revealed last week that the rate of full-time students abandoning their degrees has not changed, and remains at 22%.

Volunteering Frenzy

Student Volunteering Cardiff (SVC) celebrated the nationwide Student Volunteering Week in style last week.

The organisation held a variety of events throughout the week to raise awareness of volunteering and celebrate the work that students do in their community.

Islam awareness

A series of events aiming to promote Islam in a positive light and dispel myths surrounding the religion will be held this week by Cardiff University’s Islamic Society.

‘Islam Awareness Week’ starts on Monday March 3 and will run until Thursday March 6.

CUTV: ready for action

CUTV is getting ready for its largest broadcast event since its launch last November.

The television station will be covering the Students’ Union elections by way of a massive outside broadcast which will see results streamed live online and on screens around the Union.

Students take to local tipples

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The alcohol was flowing last week as Cardiff Students’ Union celebrated its 11th annual Beer and Cider Festival.

The event, which was organised by the Real Ale and Cider Society, took place on Wednesday and Thursday February 26 and 27 in the Great Hall.

Much ado about nothing

Cardiff Flashmob society hold pointless protest at the Students’ Union to prove students’ political involvement is truly alive and kicking

Last Wednesday saw over 30 students gather in protest behind the Students’ Union building.

Waving placards, beating drums and blowing whistles they chanted loudly in favour of their cause.

Nihilistic and Doctor Nut take the last two Battle of the Bands semi final slots

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The final heat of Battle of the Bands saw some amazing performances, from four extremely diverse acts.

It was impossible to predict how the voting was going to go, but after much deliberation from the judges and audience members (some of which had travelled from Bristol to support the acts) Nihilistic and Doctor Nut came in ahead of Langur and New Fast Black to gain a place in the semi finals which are to be held on March 6 and 13 in CF10 – tickets are on sale from the Union Box office and online at www.sutickets.com.

“Donate, don’t discriminate”

Students are in favour of relaxing the ban that prohibits gay and bisexual men from giving blood, a forum held by the Students’ Union (SU) has found.

At a forum to discuss the NUS campaign Donation Not Discrimination last week, an informal vote was taken in which the majority of students voted that they agreed with the campaign’s aim to give gay and bisexual men a chance to donate.

Put down your arms

Student campaigning across the UK pressures top universities

Students across the UK took part in a nationwide protest last Wednesday February 27 against their universities’ financial investments in the arms trade.

The event was organised by Campaign Against the Arms Trade (Caat).

Specialist care secured for cancer patients

Plans for a new Cancer Education Centre have been announced for South Wales.

Cardiff University’s School of Nursing and Midwifery Studies will be joining Velindre NHS Trust to secure specialist care for cancer patients.

Healthy living for future generations

Biobank Cymru, a Cardiff University-based medical project and the first assessment centre of its kind to open in Wales, has celebrated its 10,000th participant, a Ms Audrey Hirst.

Ms Hirst stated that she was motivated to participate in the multimillion-pound project because of its goals to prevent and treat serious illnesses.

Voting concerns voiced

Student Councillors last week elected not to have an extra two days of voting for this year’s Students’ Union elections, despite the fact that entire departments will have broken up for Easter before voting begins.

Due to Easter falling early this year departments who traditionally give their students a reading week in week six have moved this to week eight – the week before Easter holidays begin.

Arts opportunities

5000 apprenticeship schemes have been created as part of a government strategy to provide young people with more opportunities in the creative arts.

The apprenticeships, which will be available to those between the ages of 14 and 25, will be offered in subjects such as film, fashion, music and design.

Learning to work

A vice chancellor’s claims prompt fears that students no longer love learning

Universities have been reduced to “engines of the economy”, a prominent vice chancellor has claimed.

According to Professor Mike Thorne of Anglia Ruskin University, students have been encouraged by the government to view higher education as merely a tool for getting a job.

Turkish ground incursion sees miliarty troops

Turkish troops have crossed into Northern Iraq in their first major military ground incursion against Kurdish rebel bases in nearly a decade.

The Turkish military have stated that their only target is Kurdish guerrillas.

Anger in France as pupils name and shame bad teachers on web

A French website which allows pupils to rate their teachers is being threatened with legal action by the Educational Establishment.

The site, www.note2be.com, has been hugely popular with students since it started on January 29 this year, but has been met with outrage from the Teachers’ Union.

A real-life Italian Job

Millions of euros worth of jewellery

Thieves posing as policemen stole several million euros worth of jewellery from a Milan showroom on the day of the Oscars.

Seven men, dressed in police uniforms, came through the cellar wall of the showroom on Sunday February 24 before tying up staff and running off with some of Damiani’s most valuable pieces.