NOISE Issue 5 (Mar 2012)

Read the issue HERE

This is a special issue regarding the changes being made to RuTC.
Includes interviews with the principal and the UCU chair, Dave Carrier.

The Race is On! - RuTC SU elections

This week is RuTC elections - vote for students to represent you in the Student Union!
Here are two of the candidates' plans for the college if they are elected: READ HERE

NOISE Issue 4 (Feb 2012)

You can read NOISE Issue 4 HERE

includes:

Drop Everything and Read, happening on March 1st
Murder? But he hit me first... bullying and its limits
RuTC student Tristen's play, SKEEN! (watch his interview here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuY9JgFmLyU)
Film review The Iron Lady
War Horse: the play or the film?
and a recipe, Pasta alla Puttanesca

NOISE Christmas Bumper Issue (Dec 2011)

NOISE Christmas Bumper Issue (Dec 2011) is available HERE

includes:

Public Sector Strikes - Interviews with RuTC lecturers
No Change for the Uni fee rises, but should there be? - A debate on university fee rises: Are we overreacting?
Interview with Gbemi Okunlola - The Young Apprentice from RuTC
For those 67 million... - more than a charity at RuTC
Get Involved: The Partnership Scheme
"Why have we given up on New Year's Resolutions?"
Book Review: Notes from an Exhibition by Patrick Gale
Top 10 Christmas Films - a Holiday movie guide
and a recipe - Oreo Cookies and Cream Cheesecake

NOISE Issue 2 (Nov 2011)

Read Issue 2 (Nov 2011) HERE

includes:

The Drastic Change of EMA - The issue of cuts to EMA
All for One... and one for a few? - Debate on the Occupy Protests
Music of Today - Our generation's music
Things to do in London - A Christmas guide
Play Review - Saved by Edward Bond

NOISE Issue 1 (Oct 2011)

Issue 1 (2011) can be read HERE

includes:

For even more life at RuTC - An intro to the Student Union at RuTC
"You've got to be Kindle-ing Me!" - A debate on Kindle
STEVE JOBS: Legend or Revolutionary?
Book Review - A Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier
"Where are the women?" - Comment on feminism
How not to die (In a Zombie Apocalypse) - Halloween Special
and a recipe : Spaghetti Marinara

Copy of paper version

A PDF copy of issue 4's newspaper is available to download here

RuTC students Get Set

· Pedro Diogo

A recent report from the college’s Further Education Sports Coordinator (FESCo) shows that an increasing number of students are taking part in three hours or more of physical activity per week in the college.

Twenty one per cent of Richmond College students took part in at least three hours of physical activity in 2009/10, up from 17% in 08/09; and 335 students last year took part in sports volunteering, which includes helping and coaching at after-school clubs and sports events, compared to 167 in 08/09. This places the college in the top 2 in London for sports volunteering.

Hannah Ross-Tatam, the College’s FESCo, said “I am pleased that the college has managed to increase the number of students participating in Sport and Physical activity. There are more clubs and activities on offer now for students to participate in, with at least 2 things to choose from every lunchtime. Activities vary in intensity and competitiveness so hopefully cater for most students and a number of female only activities have been set up which I believe has helped to increase participation.

The sports facilities are almost at their maximum capacity now. We have to go over to Nuffield Health Club for some of the activities as there isn’t any availability in the sports hall.

I would still love to see more students participating in the activities we offer and welcome any suggestions on ways to improve them or offer alternatives. The hard bit is finding the money to deliver the activities!”

Award-winning volunteers

Four students also received Youth Sports Trust awards for their commitment to volunteering in community and school settings.

Lia Korley achieved a Community Gold award for her 330 hours spent volunteering at London-wide events, including volunteering at rugby matches at Twickenham and Wembley, as well as at the London Youth Games. Lia said: “I feel proud that I have achieved the Community Gold Award as it acknowledges the numerous hours of volunteering I have done. The award  encourages me to volunteer more, even though I have achieved the highest award. It is a great feeling to know that you've had a hand in running  successful sports events.”

Frankie Shrieves, who also won a Youth Sports Trust award, said that “I think physical activity is a very important part of anybody’s life. There are so many benefits and opportunities that come from playing sport, including the obvious health benefits, stress relief, social opportunities and then possibilities to get work from it.”

Jake Cottrell and Caroline Nowicka-Dylag are the other students who received Double Gold and Bronze Community Awards respectively, for their dedication to sport in the local area.

College joins Get Set scheme

In July 2010, RuTC was 11th college in the country and third in London to join the London 2012 Get Set scheme which encourages young people to participate in sport and engage in the spirit of the Olympic Games.. A regularly-updated blog can be found on the 2012 website at www.tinyurl.com/rutcgetset

Issue 4 Editorial

· Pedro Diogo, Editor

A few days after Christmas, we awakened to the tragic news that one of our students, Sylvester Akapalara, was tragically killed by a group of teenagers in South London. Sylvester, who was on a Construction course at the college and a prominent athlete, was victim of a horrendous type of crime. The Metropolitan Police reported over three thousand crimes involving guns last year in London alone; as if these numbers weren’t alarming enough to cause communities to be alert and report crime, and despite the Police’s attempts to stop this type of violent crime, certain community leaders have been running appeals against “snitching” to the police. This is completely unacceptable when thousands of young people still die on the streets of Britain every year because of violent gun crime. Politicians too, need to up the stakes and take a more serious stance on violent types of crime, especially those involving firearms. Every person, community and politician has a responsibility to work together and with the police so that any more tragedies can be avoided.

EMA TO BE SCRAPPED AND REPLACED BY ‘MORE TARGETED SYSTEM'

· Myfanwy Hughes

On Saturday 29 January, thousands of students and trade unionists attended protests in London and Manchester to rally against the impending rise in tuition fees and the abolition of the Educational Maintenance Allowance.

Sally Hunt, General Secretary of the UCU, accused the coalition government of being "at war with young people and … at war with out future". She added that the government is "betraying an entire generation" and the nature of the cuts will leave the poor even more vulnerable than ever.

Although current recipients of EMA will continue to receive it for the rest of this academic year, the scheme has been permanently closed to new applicants.

Chancellor George Osbourne described the system as "90% deadweight costs" and insists that EMA is far too costly (£560m/year) to maintain when trying to reduce the national deficit. The Department for Education is confident that 90% of students who receive EMA will continue their education without it.

An alternative system with "more targeted support" will replace EMA, and will be aimed at young people who are most likely to drop out of education. Other than that, details of the alternative payment system remain sketchy at best.

Critics of the plans to scrap EMA claim that the 90% of students currently on EMA who will supposedly remain in education, is unrepresentative. In fact, their research shows that EMA recipients have higher rates of course completion than other students in some colleges. Most college principals believe that the EMA keep attendance levels high.

Other critics have predicted that the scrapping of EMA will also affect future youth unemployment figures which currently stand at over 20.3%, a record high since 1992.

Book: Only Human by Tom Holt

 · Jade Smith

 “Only Human” is the outrageously imaginative fifteenth novel by writer Tom Holt. It is a comic fantasy based on what happens when God goes on a fishing holiday and leaves his second son, Kevin Christ, in control. Kevin decides to muck around, and in doing so manages to start a revolution in hell, cause an eclipse and swap individuals’ souls into other bodies. The whole story is brilliantly silly and inventive.

 Holt’s ideas about the personalities of certain objects are not to be missed. His best characters consist of a painting who swaps souls with its owner and a mechanic which trades its flesh for the metal of its machine. The confusion and antics that happen are particularly entertaining and laugh-out-loud funny.

 What makes this book great is that there are so many different characters in various crazy situations. Their reactions to what happens to them are often hilarious and priceless, and as something new happens in every chapter it’s very difficult to get bored.

 I love this book for its wackiness and difference to anything else I have read. It constantly caused me to stop and reread parts to make sure I was reading properly. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any weirder, Holt proved that he has an imagination to match Douglas Adams’ and Terry Pratchett’s!

Enrichment Review: Creative Writing

· Kaoru Kodama

What: Creative Writing

When: Wednesdays 1pm-2pm

Where:  Room 1E5

Run by English lecturer David Loffman, this enrichment club will encourage you to broaden your knowledge of literature as well as build up your self-expression through writing. During a session you will have the opportunity to do some writing according to the theme or task set by the teacher; you can take your work and share it with the group or just hear other people’s work and spot some talent! Overall, this is a very useful enrichment club that helps developing your literary skills. Highly recommended to anyone interested in literature and creative writing.