Author: LSU Media
Volunteer writer, David Owens, speaks about the concerns many students have in regards to the University’s Safety Nets. Students have been left concerned by the University’s approach to calculating degree classifications following the publication of the Loughborough Safety Net 2020/21. On Thursday 10th December, Rachel Thompson, Loughborough University’s Pro-Vice Chancellor for Teaching, emailed students to provide further information about the arrangements for study and assessments after the Christmas break. Amongst other key details about examinations, a detailed explanation of the Loughborough Safety Nets for 2020/21 was provided. In theory, the safety nets are designed to ‘ensure students are not disadvantaged…
Imago, a Loughborough University subsidiary company that delivers “conferences and events” at Loughborough, has been found to have failed to pay their staff minimum wage, along with 139 other companies, the Government has announced. The investigation took place between 2016 and 2018 in which these 139 companies failed to pay £6.7 million to over 95,000 workers in total, in what the government is calling a “flagrant breach of employment law”. Imago was found to have failed to pay £6,319.05 to 101 workers during this period, and have been fined as a result. Paul Scully, the Business Minister said: “Paying the…
In a late-night statement, the Government has announced that they will be asking Universities to pause the return of most students until January 25th. Following the rise in cases of COVID-19 across England, the Universities Minister Michelle Donelan has written to Universities, saying that they will be taking “further steps to reduce transmission in education settings”. As a result of the new developments, students returning to in-person University teaching from January 4th will be restricted to those studying: Medicine & dentistry Subjects allied to medicine/health Veterinary science Education (initial teacher training) Social work Courses which require Professional, Statutory and Regulatory…
Volunteer Writer, Katrina Maria Sweeney, discusses how disability has been portrayed in TV and Film The representation of disability in the media has changed significantly throughout history and, compared to some earlier satirical, harshly comical perceptions of disability, we are now seeing better portrayals of it. However, there is remaining controversy, as whilst the overall representation has improved, some of the ways in which disabilities are represented can be problematic (such as having non-disabled actors acting as disabled parts). This is the case in many films and TV series, for example, the smash hit TV series, Glee, had a character…
Loughborough will once again return to a form of lockdown after under a month of Tier 3, as Leicestershire is moved to Tier 4 restrictions from 00:01 on New Years Eve. The area has had gradually increasing rates in recent weeks, with the borough hitting a rate of 207.2 cases per 100,000 residents in the last 7 days, although this is well below the national average of 353.7. Those in the areas in Tier Four must not leave home except for specific purposes, should work from home if they can, and can only meet one other person in public outdoor spaces. Those…
Charnwood Borough Council have this week opened part of their offices to be used as a community-based vaccination centre in the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine. As we reported last month Charnwood was in discussions with local NHS groups to how best to deliver the vaccine throughout Charnwood and Loughborough. Working with the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Clinical Commissioning Groups 4 new community vaccination centres have been opened throughout the region, in Leicester, Oakham, Melton Mowbray & Loughborough. Opening these community vaccination centres allows for the speed of the vaccine rollout to be increased by allowing for more people to be vaccinated per…
A new report into Coronavirus transmission in Loughborough has shown that the close-contact nature University halls were partly the cause of Loughborough’s case spike in October. According to analysis by the Office of National Statistics, cases among Loughborough students rose steeply during October 2020, with the cases in halls of residence rising sharply in late October. The ONS deemed the close proximity of students in Loughborough’s halls of residence to be the key contributing factor to the high peak of COVID-19 cases in Loughborough halls, along with the university’s ability to monitor cases more easily on campus. In halls such as…
Volunteer writer, Leah Langley, writes their reflection of 2020. As 2020 has been a hard year for many, Leah shares the positive moments of their year. 2020 has been a tough year for all. We’ve had to completely transform the way that we are living and learn to adapt to an ever-changing society. There have been more trials and tribulations than any of us could have ever expected when that bell chimed 12 on January 1st, and I think it is safe to say that it is a year that none of us will be quick to forget no matter how much…
Loughborough University’s IT Services are implementing a change to their Email system which will mean students and staff can no longer accidentally ‘Reply All’ to an email. The long-overdue change will put an end to students replying to entire classes, modules or programmes. From January 2021, IT Services will be carrying out work on the University Email system for both Staff and Student email when using an internet browser, meaning when accessing their mailbox through Outlook on the web, they will experience a new default setting when responding to an email. The new setting will display ‘Reply’ instead of ‘Reply…
Green Pea’s Director of Operations and volunteer writer, Zoe MacBean, speaks about the environmental implications of Covid-19. For many of us 2020 has been a very challenging year with a complete loss of normality as we have been told to stay at home for months on end. Despite the numerous challenges we have faced this year COVID -19 has also had an effect on our global climate – some good and some bad, a few of which I aim to outline here. Although there have been many good things that have happened for the environment as a result of the…