Gair Rhydd

A Huge Let-Down

Just 30% of respondents satisfied with their letting agency

The results of the gair rhydd 2008 Housing Survey have for the first time revealed the extent of the problems students face in getting a satisfactory service from their letting agent in Cardiff.

70% of the survey’s respondents were dissatisfied with the service provided by their letting agent, while 72% said that their letting agent did not provide good value for money,

From fitness to fair trade: student council courts controversy

Student council this Tuesday is likely to be a site of heated debate as two controversial motions concerning the Union’s provision of a gym and its fairtrade status are brought forward by the Union’s sabbatical team.

A member of the sabbatical team will submit a motion requesting that the Union looks into the possibility of incorporating a new gym into the Students’ Union.

Chippy lane: up Vogue's alley

One of Cardiff’s most popular institutions is featured in December’s issue of Britain’s top fashion magazine, Vogue.

Caroline Street, better known as chippy alley or chippy lane, is perhaps a surprise addition to this iconic publication.

An oar-some result

The Fly Navy, one of the biggest sections of the Royal Navy, has been named as the new sponsor of Cardiff University Rowing Club.

The club held an official boat naming ceremony in celebration on Monday 17 November, where the sponsors named two of the 8-boats.

Students are "becoming more demanding"

Universities are experiencing a ‘new breed’ of student according to Dr Brian Lang, vice-chancellor at St Andrews University.

He told fellow university chiefs at a summit held at Princeton University in the US: “We are becoming a service society and students increasingly think they are buying a service – for which they want a return.”

RAG raises a charitable sum

RAG week has been a huge success, raising £1,390.85 for various charities from events and contributions two weeks ago.

The Raise and Give week started with a fancy dress stall at Cardiff University’s Student Union where confiscated fancy dress items and fund-raising fairies raised money for Action Aid and Children in Need.

'Hands off' over Christmas

Cardiff's own 1970's style crime-fighting force remind students to be extra vigilant over Christmas

In a bid to help tackle the increased risk of burglary in Cathays over the Christmas period, students from universities in South Wales have joined forces to form an elite ‘crime-fighting force’.

This campaign, entitled ‘Hands off Cardiff’, is designed to raise awareness of the risk of burglary, and aims to encourage students to take their valuable possessions home when they leave university over the Christmas period to help prevent break-ins.

Union Watch

What Jew think you’re doing?

Students at Oxford University have caused controversy by dressing up as Orthodox Jews for a night out.

Evicted from prison...for being obese

A convicted drugs gang member has been released from jail because he is too fat to fit in his cell.

Michel Lapointe is a convicted drugs gang member who was arrested in 2006 and weighs 450lb (205kg).

Head and shoulders above the rest

An oversized skull with a built-in sauna is turning heads in the Austrian capital of Vienna.

The “Wellness Skull” is located near a hectic intersection in Karlsplatz, one of the most frequented districts in Vienna, and possesses a bathtub and shower on either side of the neck so that visitors can ‘freshen up’ whilst on the move.

Male gets bail after jail mail

Charlotte Laken

A manhunt is under way in Germany after a convict escaped by mailing himself out of jail.

The 42-year-old Turkish citizen, who was serving a seven-year sentence for drug dealing, had been making stationery with other prisoners.