CHEAPER FUEL, CHEAPER TRAVEL?
If you haven’t noticed, they’re practically giving away petrol at the moment (it’s cheaper for a litre in Asda than it is for a Twix at the train station). For most students without a car, this doesn’t mean much in the grand schemes of student life, but maybe it should. When it costs just under £250 to buy a three-term bus pass, a bus pass which Stagecoach has priced up for the last two years on the basis of costly fuel amongst other things, we have to ask the question: will they freeze or lower the pass fee next year? The answer is probably a resounding ‘no’, but it’s worth a thought.
CONFIDENTIAL CRISIS
For those more interested in reality than the political wave that is LUSU, you might not have noticed our president’s latest piece on the SCAN website. She openly and honestly talks about the rent and fee increases being a confidentially marked issue last term, with the University asking her to keep it quiet for just under a month. While it’s not the choice I would have taken, I commend Laura’s reflections and hope that next time she makes a different decision and at the very least, shares any confidential issues that affect the student body with the rest of her officer team. In my experience as a Full Time Officer, it was always easier and far more effective to deal with when I was backed up by five other officers, and working it all out with six minds instead of one.
WORKING CLASS HERO
If you read the agenda for the last LUSU Council (I bet you did as well, you saddo) then you’ll have noticed a discussion item on the introduction of a Working Class officer, an idea which I fully support. As a student movement nationally and in Lancaster, we need to discuss the social and economic restrictions on those from low-income backgrounds seriously, especially as universities across the country show increased numbers of young working class students. Issues such as families back home being unable to help them practically or financially are common place, and in many cases, they lead to students dropping out of university altogether. And to those screaming “Grants!” at the screen, two things to consider: not every working class student is entitled to a grant (trust me, I know), and money is easy to consume when you’ve never had any.
REGISTER TO VOTE
Just by writing those three words, I’ve done more than our VP Campaigns and Communications to encourage the student body to register themselves to vote. Only joking, Ronnie! Good luck with the campaign! (If you want to get involved in the campaign, you can email Ronnie on lusu.vp.communications@lancaster.ac.uk.)
