Beyond Edinburgh

1. A petition has been launched at Oxford University demanding an increase in salary for college and departmental staff employed by the university.

The petition was created by OUSU’s Living Wage Campaign and aims to raise wages to meet the so-called living wage rather than minimum wage standards, which, in Oxford, are calculated as £7.01 per hour and £5.93 per hour, respectively.

Living wage is the minimum level of pay required to maintain a decent standard of living in a certain area, calculated using a formula from the National Income Standard.

Students are reported to be supportive of the initiative, with one undergraduate commenting: “Scouts, waiters, and other college staff work hard to make our college experience easier, and their pay should reflect that. I would not be comfortable with having my room cleaned by someone who is paid the bare minimum.”

2. Tuition fees appear to be on the rise globally, as Washington University’s Student Life reports an increase of 3.9 per cent to $40,950 for the 2011-12 academic year.

Even traditionally lower-cost options such as public universities have been affected.

The University of Missouri system, with campuses in four cities across the state, will see its fees rise between 5 and 6.5 per cent with further cutbacks in the form of staff redundancies and reduced maintenance costs as a result of budget deficits.

The Governor of Missouri, Jay Nixon, was quoted as saying: “Universities should look first at achieving every efficiency in their operations before taking this type of action that affects families’ ability to pay for higher education."

3. Leeds Primary Care Trust (PCT) has also seen the effects of the recent financial turmoil as it could not muster the funds to carry out its annual Chlamydia testing.
The PCT oversees the sexual health of students but this year had to settle for more pro-active measures.

Just in time for Valentine’s Day 29,520 condoms and 4,800 bottles of lube descended upon Leeds University Union as part of a sexual health campaign and promotion of a website providing information about contraceptives and STIs.

Jack Cheyette, LUU Welfare Officer, was quoted as saying: “It’s essential to always use the correct protection, the Union offers condoms, they are free and readily available, why wouldn’t you use them?”

Students feeling frisky were encouraged to follow Jack’s advice and stay safe.