Boar News roundup: the biggest stories of the year

As another academic year draws to a close, here is a roundup of this year’s biggest and most important Boar News stories.

1. One of the biggest stories on campus was about the racist incident that occurred within student accommodation to a first year Biomedical Sciences student, Faramade Ifaturoti, who was targeted via racial slurs written on a bunch of bananas placed in her cupboard.

The viral tweet that followed garnered much attention with not only the Boar reporting the incident but other major mainstream publications doing so too.

2. The racist incident that happened to Faramade stimulated the debate on how prevalent racism is on campus that Boar News spearheaded with one of the most revealing surveys of the year.

The survey showed that 85% of racist incidents go unreported at Warwick and the survey and article highlighted how the banana incident was not an isolated example of racism within halls.

Image: @Faramade_ / Twitter

3. The article ‘Warwick failing to meet carbon emissions targets’ investigated how Warwick is failing in its target of a 60% reduction in carbon emissions between 2005 and 2020, and in fact has only achieved a 1% reduction on 2005 levels.

This article was one of the biggest articles of the year given how important this issue is on campus to students and societies alike with the presence of societies such as Fossil Free Warwick.

4. Boar News also conducted a drugs survey this year that showed that 57% of students had taken an illegal drug compared to the national average of 70% and also that 6% of Warwick students take drugs almost daily.

5. Another huge news story was the Boar‘s coverage of the NUS referendum on campus and how the campaigns by both parties were conducted.

This was an important referendum that had huge implications on Warwick students and was part of a wider movement with numerous universities voting on the issue of NUS affiliation. 63.4% of the 2463 that voted chose to remain in the NUS.

63.4% voted to remain in the National Union of Students.

6. The start of the academic year saw the introduction to the new Warwick brand image alongside the new logo which, when revealed at the end of the previous academic year, caused much divided opinion among students.

One of the main issues with the new logo, the Boar reported, was the minimal discussion with the student body with only 160 students consulted over the new brand image; which is less than one percent of the total student community.

7. The second term of the academic year saw Warwick have a new Vice-Chancellor, Stuart Croft. From this occasion, the Boar reported on the salary of the new vice chancellor, which in previous years was a much-contested issue.

The Boar revealed that Croft’s starting salary is £280,000, a £68,000 cut in comparison to what the former Vice-Chancellor, Nigel Thrift, was paid.

8. Boar News also heavily covered the student activism that occurred during the year, one of which was the Warwick for Free Education (WFFE) protest in November.

It saw a group of Warwick students march through campus dressed as grim reapers as part of their campaign to raise awareness about the government’s Higher Education green paper.

Image: Facebook / Warwick for free education

9. The start of the academic year saw the Students’ Union get into hot water over the apparent decision to ban ex-Muslim activist Maryam Namazie from speaking at Warwick.

The Boar reported on how Warwick Atheists, Secularists and Humanists were initially denied their speaker request by the SU. This situation not only caused a controversy at Warwick but was also reported on by the national press.

The decision was quickly overturned as it was found that a simple administration error was to blame for the whole debacle.

10. The Boar also covered one of the biggest stories of the year over the ‘I Heart Consent’ workshops that were held in the SU, where the Tab journalist and Warwick student, George Lawlor, wrote a hugely controversial and debated piece on his invitation to one of the workshops.

Lawlor’s criticisms of the campaign gained coverage in the national press, resulting in Lawlor and former SU Women’s Officer Josie Throup invited to a discussion with BBC Newsbeat, in which Lawlor agreed to attend a session.