The University Vice Chancellor Pay Scandal

Hello Procrastinators!

A recently published BBC article showed the average pay of a university vice-chancellor was a staggering £260,000 a year. To put that into perspective, the average pay in the UK is £26,500, and the average student will leave university with debts of around £40,000. Madness.

Vice chancellor of York St John University

The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. These latest pay figures will give students a real sting, considering in the period that tuition fees have been trebled, vice chancellor's pay has gone up by 10%. Oh, and these figures don't include expenses, some of which total £27,000 for hotels alone from one vice chancellor.

But where is the media uproar? It's been barely reported, and it dwarfs that of the MPs expenses scandal in terms of money, they also only get paid £67,000 a year, bless them. There will be no uproar as once again the aristocratic English regime has exploited the young: the group that is so often exploited. These salaries and expenses are not coming from the tax payer, they are coming from the student having to pay their way through life, debt-ridden just so they get a decent chance a getting a half-decent job. If you're not born into money, you're going to struggle to earn it, lets face it.

Also, what does a vice chancellor actually do? They don't teach their students, in fact they spend very little time on campus at all, they spend a majority of their time abroad promoting their institution. So they're essentially getting paid hundreds of thousands of pounds to go on holiday. Hard life. In fact, most students wouldn't be able to name their vice chancellor, I certainly can't name mine. Some spearhead, eh?


Connor x

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Expectations vs Reality of Living in York

Hello Procrastinators! 

York is a beautiful city entrenched in history, with plenty of sights to see and places to eat and drink. It is the ideal place to spend a weekend with the family or as a romantic getaway. Living in it, however, is a completely different story.

The Minster

Expectation: I can't wait to be able to look at the Minster everyday and admire its beauty. It truly is one of the finest pieces of Gothic architecture around. I'm sure the prices are reasonable to look inside it.

Reality: It's just a massive fucking church which is constantly surrounded by gormless tourists making it harder to walk into town. Yeah it's pretty but like every building, once you've seen it, you've seen it. 10 fucking quid to look inside?!

The Shambles

Expectation: Wow it's just like being back in the Victorian period. All these little shops look so unique and cute. It is like I'm living in history.

Reality: Bloody hell these streets are narrow. Why is everyone pointlessly meandering at the speed of a snail? Well at least the shops prices must be reasonable. Or not.

Nightlife

Expectation: York has the greatest concentration of pubs and bars in the country so the nightlife must be pretty good, right? There must be loads of bands playing, celebrities appearing at nightclubs and plenty of clubs to choose from.

Reality: Pretty much every club has a sticky floor and charges you a fiver to stand on it. There's no arenas, so no bands, comedians or anything decent. But there is opera. Great. One saving grace is the amount of varied pubs and cocktail bars. But you might as well just travel 20 miles and go to Leeds.

Things to do

Expectation: With the National Railway Museum, Jorvik Centre, Dungeons and much more, there must be plenty of things to do. York's well known for being a tourist magnet, so they must all come for a reason, right?

Reality: For a weekend you can easily fill your time with York's attractions, but much longer than that and you're going to struggle; especially on a tight budget. The few free things (the walls, museums, etc.) soon wear out and you'll find yourself struggling to find things to do. 

The people

Expectation: York is advertised as being one of the friendliest and most welcoming places in Britain. It is famous for being depicted as a posh, upper-class, Conservative haven.

Reality: This expectation is largely true actually. As an outsider, the residents of York are rather odd. It's difficult to pin it down, but there's just something peculiar about them. Maybe it's the real reason tourists flock to York.

York can be a fantastic place, and when I'm away from it for a while, I miss it. But I'm a cynic. Whilst it isn't the most practical place to live, it's an excellent place to visit or retire. But that's about it.

Connor x

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Student Holiday Destination of the Week

Hello Procrastinators!

To fill your Happy Mondays with dreams of the summer where jobs and university work seem like a lifetime away, each week we'll be posting a new destination that's affordable, fun, good night life and lots to do during the day (if you aren't too hungover from last night's antics). 

This week is Magaluf, Majorca.

Now bear with me. I know what you're thinking. This place has a bad reputation but I've also seen first hand how fun it can be. It's really not as chavvy or as horrible as you imagine.

A lot cleaner than I remember it...

Night Life
There is the "strip" in Magaluf, a street lined with Magaluf's best nightclubs. There are wristbands available for queue-free entry into a lot of places with drinks offers included as part of the price. There are a range of places to try depending on what you're after. On the strip there are sports bars, nightclubs, bars, clubs, cocktail bars, casual lounges, clubs with pole dancers or rude competitions. Or to try them all why not sign up for one of the many pub crawls which usually have a fancy dress theme? It's a great way to make more friends while you're there. Just off the strip there's BCM which is one of the world's biggest nightclubs and it always has great atmosphere, packed dance floors and even better the entry fee includes unlimited free drinks inside. There's also Magaluf Rocks which is an outdoor bar with a swimming pool and they normally attract a range of big name singers and bands performing all throughout summer. 

See? No chavs.

During the Day
Nearby Palma Nova is within walking distance of Magaluf and is more of a family resort and that's always good to explore. There's mini golf, a terrifyingly high slingshot ride, markets, beaches, Katmandu fun park, different water parks within walking distance, an easy bus route to capital city Palma and other day trips to nearby islands and attractions.

Dat beach.

Weather
The weather ranges from 18 degrees in May to 28 degrees in August to 18 degrees in October. So whenever you go in Summer you're more than likely to come home with a tan lines and freckles galore.

Affordability
I've done a bit of research and prices vary depending on dates and how classy you want your hotel to be, but for flights a nice three star hotel in May after uni finishes it's about £300 in total. If you have a good look around you could find a much better deal, or try and get a few mates together to get the price down even more.

You can hire a pedalow around this area!

Extra Info 
Magaluf is a popular destination for seasonal workers, so if you're looking for somewhere to work in the four month summer holidays then this is the place to go. 

I hope this helps your daydreams of a sunnier, better time in a not so distant future. Holidays for students are doable!

Jess x

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