- A creepy clown whose eerie appearances have spooked a town has been unmasked as a University of Northampton student, the Sunday People revealed on 13聽October. Dressed as the homicidal clown Pennywise from the film adaptation of Stephen King鈥檚 novel It, 22-year-old Alex Powell would stand motionless clutching balloons in Northampton town centre, unnerving many passers-by. More than 180,000 people have liked pictures of him on Facebook, but others suffering coulrophobia 鈥 the abnormal fear of clowns 鈥 begged the film-maker to stop, the paper says. However, it seems that Mr聽Powell has no intention of ending his mysterious appearances despite a聽spot of bother from locals. 鈥淚t was just a聽bit of fun at first and a聽lot of people seem to enjoy it, but it gets a聽bit hard sometimes with the death threats,鈥 he said.
- Growing numbers of students are popping 鈥渃ognitive enhancing drugs鈥 to boost their grades and job prospects, the Daily Mail reported on 10 October. The use of prescription-only pills such as Modafinil is 鈥渟weeping campuses鈥, with many students 鈥渁ddicted to [the] brain Viagra鈥 that allows them to study for 12聽hours without looking up from their books, the paper said. One in four students at the University of Oxford had taken 鈥渟mart pills鈥, while one in 10 at the University of Cambridge had experimented, according to some surveys, the Mail said. Although the drugs can have known side-effects, Barbara Sahakian, a professor of clinical neuropsychology at Cambridge, was concerned that little was known about their long-term effects. 鈥淣ot enough research has been done to see what effects these have on fit and healthy people,鈥 she told the paper.
- The UK鈥檚 student finance set-up is 鈥渁 fragile system that is聽going to break鈥 because most graduates will struggle to repay their loans, the Observer鈥檚 Will Hutton argued on 13聽October. Mr Hutton, principal of Hertford College, Oxford, and chair of the Independent Commission on Fees, said those emerging from England鈥檚 universities would be more debt-laden than US graduates because of a 鈥渦nique double whammy鈥 of 鈥渉igh interest rates and sky-high debt鈥 added to low starting salaries. Instead of 鈥渓oading the entire burden for university financing on to the shoulders of the innocent young鈥 鈥 an act of 鈥渁rrant selfishness鈥 by older generations 鈥 there should be a聽鈥渕ixed economy of student finance鈥, with moderate fees contributing to funds received from general taxation, he argued.
- Future students petrified by the thought of even higher tuition fees in England can rest easy 鈥 deputy prime minister Nick Clegg has promised not to raise them to 拢16,000, the Huffington Post website reported on 14聽October. The Liberal Democrat leader鈥檚 pledge followed a speech by Andrew Hamilton, vice-chancellor of the University of Oxford, that called for fees, currently limited to 拢9,000 a year, to better reflect the full annual cost 鈥 拢16,000 鈥 of educating his undergraduates. 鈥淒on鈥檛 worry, we鈥檙e not going to聽raise tuition fees to 拢16,000,鈥 insisted Mr Clegg, in a line that would be more appropriate for the Alanis Morissette song Ironic than 鈥渞ain on your wedding day鈥. So how can Mr Clegg convince students that his latest vow on fees is more credible than his last? A聽cast-iron written pledge signed by him and all his MPs should do the trick.
- Plans by three unions to call a national strike over this year鈥檚 1聽per cent pay offer from universities were being finalised at the time 糖心Vlog went to press, with a date of 31聽October looking most likely for action. It comes after separate ballots by the University and College Union, Unite and Unison returned a majority in favour of a聽strike. It is thought that a national walkout would represent the first time the three unions have taken such joint action over pay. Union leaders are demanding a better offer from universities, claiming that four years of below-inflation pay rises have reduced salaries by 13聽per cent in real terms. The Universities and Colleges Employers Association said last week that its 1聽per cent offer 鈥 including joint work on the gender pay gap, casual contracts and flexible working arrangements 鈥 鈥渞emains on the table鈥.
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