The Fresh Face Of Students At Freshers Fayre

Every October a new intake of students comes to Reading University bringing with them a whole range of issues and concerns.

According to the National Student Survey Reading University offers a better than average experience, with the quality of teaching and student support particularly praised.

However with the current economic climate putting pressure on tax-payer funded services the imperative to balance budgets may have negative effects.

Charges are already being introduced for counselling, which a spokesman for the University and Colleges Union described as a false economy.

Meanwhile financial dependency is a major cause of stress for students, many of whom are living independently for the first time in their lives. Student support officer Cheryl Milne described the transition period as normal but expressed concern for the 'hidden victims' of the system who get caught in the bureaucratic complexities.

Reading's LibDems have been campaigning on behalf of students and reasserting their opposition to top-up fees.



Cllr Benson notes how unemployment among recent graduates and young people has almost doubled in the past year, before going into greater depth to describe how social mobility has reduced under Labour as inequality has become more ingrained.

A further worry is the threat of criminals who deliberately prey on student innocence. Police attended the Freshers Fayre as a public information initiative which forms part of Operation Breaker.

The aim is to help reduce burglaries targetted against the students by reminding them of the few small steps they can take which ultimately has a damatic impact on their safety and the ability to protect their property. The operation claims to have helped reduce burglaries by almost 15% in the 11 weeks since it started compared to previous years.

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Update: Rob Wilson MP has issued a press release showing he turned up long enough to get his photo taken, talk about 'a range' of issues, and says RUCSOC signed up 'a lot' of new members.

Labour candidate (and former councillor) Richard MacKenzie has decided to become a mature student at Reading University since becoming unemployed. He notes that Labour had a petition to 'to force the Uni to make space for a car club on campus to reduce car use'.