Campus Radicals

Military officials and protesters alike were attracted to the Defence Systems Exhibition International arms fair at the Excel Centre in London last Tuesday (11 September).

The numbers of protesters outside were noticeably lower than previous arms exhibitions in 2001, 2003 and 2005. Numbers inside, however remained strong. Up to 25,000 people were expected to attend over the four days that the event was running. Defence officials from countries with ... read more

In recent months, students and staff across the UK have been lobbying their universities to sell their shares in arms companies and invest ethically.

When University College London students discovered that their university had £900,000 invested in Cobham (which manufactures components for Hellfire missiles- used widely in both Afghanistan and Iraq)they formed Disarm UCL in order to bring this relationship to an end.

In a meeting with student ... read more

After some dynamic campus campaigning helped by a lively discussion on this blog, University College London (UCL)students have done it. UCL Provost Malcolm Grant and the UCL Council agreed that it's now time for their university to invest its money ethically. Our case for divesting from the arms trader Cobham and for adopting an ethical investment policy has always been very strong. In the end UCL’s leadership, ... read more

Why is London’s global university, University College London (UCL), so desperately clinging on to its investment in arms companies?

UCL currently has shares worth over £900,000 in the arms trader Cobham PLC. Cobham produces parts of weapons systems which have been used in Israeli bombing raids in Lebanon last year, and in many other conflict zones around the world.

To me, and to at least 1,253 other students and staff ... read more

I want to draw the reader’s attention to a worrying and, I do concede, age-old trend that I see not only in global society in general, but more depressingly perhaps, among a certain ‘educated elite’ with whom I study, associate and work. The trend I refer to is people’s inclination to see and encourage difference between ourselves, rather than see the things we have in common. This occurs, often unconsciously, ... read more

With the imminent departure of Tony Blair, all our attention has naturally turned to Prime Minister-in-waiting Gordon Brown. Groups from all sectors are now speaking out to try and influence the next leader of this country.

The National Union of Students (NUS) recently released a pamphlet listing five challenges to the new Prime Minister. They include challenges to make prescriptions, dental care and eye tests free for all student, ... read more

After the London bombings of July 2005, Prime Minister Tony Blair announced his intention to ban the British arm of the global Islamic political party, Hizb-ut Tahrir. On Friday 30th March 2007, the same organisation hosted an event at Friends House, Euston, north London, to mark the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq by coalition forces, and to discuss their report, Iraq: A New Way Forward.

Three Hizb-ut Tahrir ... read more

Amnesty International was founded 46 years ago by Peter Beneson, and has worked consistently since then in its ceaseless campaign to promote international justice and the most basic of human rights laid out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948. The main focus of its campaign is the system of letter righting, which involves bombarding the respective governments who have ignored human rights legislation with letters, in the hope ... read more

College tuition costs in the United States are continuing to skyrocket, making many students question whether they want to pursue further education.

Although enrolment has increased in recent years, and students are emerging with impressive degrees, they also have empty wallets and are no longer able to enjoy simply easing into the workplace.

For many graduates, landing a job within months, or even weeks, of graduation becomes essential ... read more

In the aftermath of the four London murders in February Tony Blair, criticised for responding to the growing level of gun crime with "knee- jerk" reactions, has upped his game in a bid to try to tackle the escalating firearms culture in Britain.

The Prime Minister is proposing an extension of mandatory sentencing of 17 year olds from the already implemented three years to five years - the current ruling ... read more

Mention student accommodation, and the traditional images conjured up are squalid, mouldy and miserable.

People talk of 'digs' and the 'Young Ones', and reminisce cheerfully about the time they caught a lung-infection from the damp in their student house. But actually, decent student accommodation is no laughing matter. The environment you live in impacts massively on your experience at university. And when we see that over the last 3 years, ... read more

University admissions will always be a tricky business to manage. Ensuring fairness amongst a large number of stakeholders, all aiming to get the best deal, is no easy feat. The main problem with admissions is that it is predominantly based on A-level results or equivalents which aim to reflect ability but also reflect consequences of fortune and privilege which the applicant cannot control. This is a problem inherent in the ... read more