The controversial head of the NUS has been defended by the President of Winchester University's student union.
Seb Miell was responding to claims that Aaron Porter has failed in his job as president of the National Union of Students, after failing to stop tuition fees from being trebled.
Miell was quick to defend the outgoing president: “I think NUS leadership was very good this year. It's been a very difficult year. He's been shoved into the spotlight more than other NUS presidents would have been.”
Aaron Porter, 26, led students through an ultimately unsuccessful campaign to stop the coalition government from raising tuition fees.
He is to stand down as head of the NUS after a turbulent few months which saw students hit the streets to campaign against a proposed raise in tuition fees
The decision comes after increased pressure from students within the organisation. The student president has suffered abuse in recent months and had to be escorted from a protest by police.
Planned protests in November descended into chaos when protestors stormed Conservative headquarters at Millbank Tower. Porter attempted to distance the NUS from the violence, but in doing so attracted criticism from more radical students.
Much of the anger was directed at the coalition government. Liberal Democrat leaders came under criticism for going back on a pre-election pledge not to raise fees.
When asked about Porter's decision to step down, Isabel Heslop, a student at Winchester University, said: “Because of the bad organisation and the violence at the protest, maybe it's a good idea.”
In his blog Porter said that it was a “tragedy” that many aspiring students will now decide that higher education is not for them and that the new president will face big challenges getting a good deal for students.
Aaron Porter's successor will be appointed this April at the NUS National Conference.
Hampshire County Council will axe almost 1200 jobs as budget cuts force a massive shake up.
On Friday the cabinet met to discuss financial plans for the next couple of years. County Treasurer Carolyn Williamson warned that the County is 'facing changes of an unprecedented scale.'
This decision has been made after it was revealed the Council is facing a funding gap of £55 million. Job cuts will take place and final redundancies are expected to be announced by the end of March. Overall 1,171 members of council staff will lose their jobs. Several departments will be affected, losses include;
458 from children's services
378 from adult services
111 from environmental services
Hampshire County Council Chief Executive Andrew Smith said: "The impact on senior management will be significant."
Cabinet member Councillor Mel Kendal believes that most cuts will be part of the natural cycle. He said: "Most people that will be leaving will be senior management, people towards the end of their careers anyway. They will be offered voluntary redundancy and that will cover most of the posts. Obviously we will still have to make some other redundancies, and that is always sad. We think though, that these are skilled individuals who will hopefully be able to find new jobs with out to much difficulty."
The number of people that need adult services has increased, and although the department faces heavy lay-offs Councillor Ken Thornber, Leader of Hampshire County Council stressed: "In the midst of cuts, we will still care for the vulnerable."
There was some good news for Hampshire residents, it was confirmed that council tax will not increase. “The people of Hampshire will not be asked to pay more for council tax next year, which I feel is quite an achievement.” said Councillor Thornber.
By Kieran Brannigan and Sam Homewood
Hampshire County Council's plan to cut 458 jobs from Children's Services means that many Sure Start centres could close for good.
The centres provide educational and healthcare support for pre-school children and their parents.
“I'd spend my whole week there if I didn't have other commitments.”
“To a lot of people I've met through the Sure Start system these places are vital.”
“Single mothers rely on the Sure Start system. It is a big part of their life, it is very important for them.” Ayisha Tryhorn, a mother from Shirley.
“I am just one of many parents upset at the possible closure of my children's centre. We are angry at the prospect that our centre may have to merge with another, or at worst close.”
“People rely on this service, it's been there for me through some difficult times. It's really important to us.” Tracey Watts, from Holbury, near Southampton.
“It has really helped me meet new parents and friends. I'd be really upset if it had to close.” Chloe Phillips, also of Holbury.
Another entertaining week working for Winchester News Online. As the weeks go by I feel the team is growing in confidence, which can only lead to better results. Once again there were some great packages and a brilliant link to the news room involving Julie (our news editor).
On a personal note I still have a lot to learn when it comes to putting together a great news package.
I have been given the job of education correspondent on the team, and I cant say I was particularly excited by the prospect of this. However, my first assignment was actually quite enjoyable.
I began the week struggling for a story, but after a little research found some that I thought had legs. The story I decided to run involved budget cuts at Hampshire County Council and how they could affect education in the area. At last Friday's budget meeting it was decided nearly 1200 jobs would be cut, with 458 to go in children's services (thanks to Sam Homewood for the info from the meeting).
After emailing most of the county's Sure Start centres it became apparent that many of them may be forced to merge or to close in the foreseeable future because of this. One set of parents contacted me to tell me about a protest they are organising in a few weeks, and that I should come down and speak to them.
I proceeded to interview the group outside a set of school gates. I was extremely happy with the answers they gave me, both informative and full of emotion. They really seemed to care about the future of their centre. As soon as I got home I realised I had made an absolute rookie mistake. I had accidentally filmed my footage in HD and in wide-screen, therefore, I wouldn't be able to use it as WINOL works in DV and 4:3.
I had another interview arranged with another concerned mother an hour later. This time I made sure all the setting were correct before going out. I managed to get some great shots of her kids, as well as some good footage in the kitchen for a sequence. The interview again went really well, although I think I need to work on where I interview people. The background looked quite messy and the sound had a bit of an echo to it.
At this point it was decided that I probably wasn't going to have enough footage to make a package of my own, as unfortunately no Sure Start centre would allow me to come interview staff, or film inside at all. So me and Sam Homewood were partnered together, he focused on the Council cuts, whereas I brought an interesting case study to the table.
We set out and got some good Gvs of the Council (as well as a few poor ones; signs and a bronze pig, which in retrospect we really shouldn’t have used!) and then worked on the scripting of the piece together.
Sam's piece to camera was good, straight to the point and not overloaded with info. I made the recommendation that he should look at his piece of paper when reading a quote. I think this would have worked if we had done it properly, but unfortunately you couldn’t see the piece of paper on camera. So, it ended up looking like he was taking a shifty look to try and remember his lines. I'll take the blame for this one.
I was really happy with our scripting, especially at the start, where the words really worked with the pictures. The links between interviews also worked really well.
What I'm most proud of this week is the way the sequence and interview linked together. It was edited together in a very interesting way, including some good cutaways. I really like the idea of hearing someone’s voice on screen before you see them. We actually used it twice in this package, doing it for the piece to camera as well, which in hindsight may have been overkill.
One thing I've learned this week is that even if I know what my pictures mean, the viewer may not. An example of this is the GV of the pig at the end of the package. For me, the bronze pig outside the Council offices is an obvious symbol of Hampshire County Council. But I quickly found that most people didn't have the same opinion. We ended the package on a shot of the pig, and looking back on it really shouldn't have. At best it had nothing to do with the content of the package, and at worst it could have been construed as an attempt to paint Council bosses as swines.
First week back after Christmas and we have been thrown straight into WINOL. I have been given the “beat” of education. However, we had other stories prepared so we will start those jobs next week.
For my first news story of the semester I attempted to put a local spin on a national news story. The new government website www.police.uk has received a lot of negative press because the servers running it were overworked, causing the site to crash. My take on the story would be to see how much crime the site recorded for Winchester city centre in the last month, and consequently, if residents were worried about the results.
I used voxpops to gauge the mood of the people of Winchester in response to the new site. I don't really like the idea of voxpops in general. They seem quite weak to me, and often don't add any real insight or important information. But on this occasion I thought they were appropriate as the public were an integral part of the story.
Another issue with the voxpops this week was that I ran the risk of identifying people in the background. Obviously we have to be very careful with privacy of people when we don't have permission for them to be on camera and I shall endeavour to avoid having people in the background in future.
I decided to use a piece to camera (e.g. me on camera) to help explain my story. I felt it was appropriate as I was talking about a particular area of the city to be on the street in question. The first attempt I had I walked straight down the road. I took this in for editing but Charlotte (our editor) didn't like it as I had walked straight down the street. She wanted me to do it again, this time walking at an angle, which I was more than happy to do. I realised I wasn't happy with what I had said on tape so I re-scripted and headed back out. The result was much better this time, it looked more natural walking at an angle. Looking back there is still a problem; I left too much headroom, making me look even shorter than usual.
This was also the first time I had used a radio microphone (the ones you see on peoples clothes on TV all the time). This went really sucessfully. The quality of the sound really is much better than using a gun microphone. Much less interference and background noise is picked up, leading to much cleaner and crisper sound.
I'm grateful to MP Steve Brine for getting back to me and providing me with a quote, even if he didn't have time for an interview. It was important for me to get a quote from somebody who supports the scheme in order to provide balance.
I'm realising how easy it is to get in contact with people, but tying them down for an interview can be a different matter altogether. In order to use the quote I thought it might be a good idea to put the words on screen and read them out in my voice. I have since learned that this technique is only really used when people are making a statement defending themselves or their company. Therefore, from an editorial point of view it was not the best idea.
However, from an aesthetics perspective I think it came across quite well. My skills on Final Cut Pro are coming along and I think I showcased them here.
I'd just like to thank Ian Tait for once again taking the time to meet me, and for summing up the mood of people he has spoken to so well.
Overall, a pretty solid effort first time out. Especially considering the time constraints we were under this week. Roll on next week.
A local MP has dismissed the view that a new Government website does not achieve its main aim.
Steve Brine, MP for Winchester and Chandler's Ford, has hit back at claims that www.police.uk could create a climate of fear.
The website has been introduced by the Government as part of their plan to cut crime levels. It allows the user to input a postcode and view the amount of crime that took place in that area in the previous month.
It is reported that Winchester city centre had 251 incidents of crime in December. This figure included 41 violent crimes and 72 occurrences of anti-social behaviour. The city centre was rated as "above average" for crime levels.
Steve Brine MP said: "I am of course concerned that the city centre has higherthan average inciednts of criime, but I know that this website will serve to empower local residents to contact their local police teams and discuss ways of combatting crime as a community.”
However, residents have a different view. Conor Power, a student from the Stanmore area of the city, said: “It's shocking really. I'm always cautious out anyway, but this highlights places that I wouldn't like to go on my own.”
Michael Howell, a pensioner from Abbotts Barton, said: “I think the public should know but now I wouldn't feel at all safe here in the evening or at night, which I find quite awful.”
Despite the concerns Hampshire Police urge the public to continue reporting crime. A spokesman said: “Tackling anti-social behaviour is a priority, and we encourage the public to contact us whenever they see activity of this kind taking place.”
This is not the first time that police.uk has caused controversy. On the website's launch it was beseiged by up to 75,000 hits per minute. This caused servers to crash and many people were unable to view the crime in their area.
