While you were not at Warwick…
Flicking through an entire year of Boars made me extremely nostalgic this summer, as I realised that not only did we have a fantastic year of news, but a stupidly busy year across Warwick campus. So let the Boar News team fill you in on the fun you’ve missed: anxieties over asbestos, staff strikes, light switch-offs in Leamington, suspicious shops in Leamington, a student revealed to be the leader of a fascist group at the University, and an extremely tight presidential election at the Students’ Union.
It’s all well and good telling you what you’ve missed out on, but remember, you’re a fresh year and each and every one of you is a part of creating fresh news. And reporting on it, if you want to be the expert in your halls on what’s happening around Warwick. You’re the people living on campus so the biggest stories will be the ones affecting you, and because we’re a paper by students for students, that’s what we want to know about. If you’ve heard of something huge going down over in Rootes, write us the story – and even if you don’t want to write it for us, tell us about it.
Seeing fresh faces already around campus has made me excited to find out what the class of 2015 is going to do, and I hope that getting you up to speed with the past year makes you excited for the future too. You’re at university and life moves at approximately 365 mph; so you’ll have to expect the unexpected. And while you’re stuck in the campus bubble we know it can be hard to keep track of the unexpected – so don’t worry, the Boar will do it for you. Bring it on, we say.
It was revealed that a fascist leader was studying at the University in Term 3 of last year.
The Sunday Mirror revealed that Alex Davies, a first-year Philosophy student, was a leader of the National Action Movement. The group is openly racist and is known to be anti-semitic.
Alex Davies distributed posters around campus and also disrupted an anti-sexism protest.
When Davies’ activities were published, he chose to withdraw from his course of study and no longer attends the university.
Photo: Warwick Anti-Racism Society
Several staff strikes broke out throughout the last academic year as the Unions argued with the University over staff pay rises.
Teaching staff were unhappy with the one percent pay-rise offered by the university.
Protesters pointed towards the five percent pay increase given to vice-chancellor Nigel Thrift.
However, while some staff chose to go on strike, some also chose to continue as usual with students attending lectures, despite pleas made to support the staff.
Local Coventry nightclub, Kasbah,attracted attention after hosting shows that were condemned for being sexist.
The club held events which actively encourage girls to play games on stage based on sexual acts.
The presenter reportedly used demeaning terms towards the girls including “filthy slut” to one and “the dirtiest bitch in Coventry” to another.
The University of Warwick’s No More Page 3 (NMP3) campaign published an open letter to the club, after which the presenter was dismissed.
The club runs a regular Friday event, ‘Kinky Fridays’, which was condemned for promoting the sexualisation of women.
Literature professor Thomas Docherty was suspended by the University early in 2014.
Professor Docherty is nationally recognised for his critical views on higher education management and policy.
The University maintains that his suspension follows improper conduct including behaving poorly while interviewing prospective job candidates.
However, the University and College Union (UCU) has called for his reinstatement, suggesting that the professor has been removed due to his political voice.
As of present, Professor Docherty is due to be unsuspended.
There was an asbestos scare on campus last year when the Boar revealed that every single bedroom in campus accommodation buildings Westwood and Tocil contain asbestos.
Photo: Sian Elvin and Wikimedia
The news came after the Guardian revealed that Warwick provides the most rooms that contain asbestos to students.
It became apparent that the substance can be found in 35 percent of all campus rooms – 2,313 rooms overall.
It was also revealed that over 94 percent of rooms in Rootes and Redfern also contain asbestos.
A number of students expressed confusion and frustration over the matter. They claimed that they had not been told that the substance was in the vicinity of their rooms.
However, Peter Dunn, director of Press and Policy at the University insisted: “The asbestos is sealed inside other materials and is therefore completely safe.”
He added: “The University complies fully with all statutory requirements and good practices regarding the materials containing asbestos in those rooms.”
Warwick University was hit by a bomb scare on campus during the first week of the last academic year.
On the third day of Week 1, a 51-year-old male left a voice message stating that an explosive device had been placed on campus.
Parts of the campus were evacuated and the area was searched. No bomb was found and the call was revealed as a hoax.
The man responsible for the call, Nigel David Lewis, was prosecuted and received a jail sentence.
The evacuation led to an early closure of the societies fair and disruptions to Warwick Tennis trials.
A U1 bus caught on fire in June.
The bus which was only carrying eight passengers caught on fire by Library Road.
The fire started from the back of the bus when a passenger noticed smoke coming from the back seats.
The bus was evacuated and within ten minutes the whole bus had been destroyed leaving just the frame.
Reports suggest that the fire was caused by a malfunction with the tank.
Photo: Jessica Glass
There were ‘racist swans’ on campus over the Easter, the Daily Mail reported last year.
Throughout the summer, the swans go through their mating season making them more aggressive.
The issue gained media attention when an Asian students claimed that the swans were particularly vicious towards students of ethnic minority backgrounds: “I’m from India, and they attack me especially, they focus straight on me.”
The student who initially made this claim has since retracted his comment and insisted it was merely a joke.
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