1. S
THE
OTONIANThursday, March 26, 2015
BY
REMINA
NAIR
FEATURES 9solentjournalism.co.uk
Southampton’s
Matt Bennett wins
Eastleigh 10k race
There were more than 2,600 runners in
Eastleigh for the town’s 31st 10k run last
Sunday. The runners were raising funds
for the Mayor of Eastleigh’s appeal, Wave
105’s Cash for Kids appeal and WaterAid
Zambia.
First to cross the finish line was Southamp-
ton Athletic Club’s runner Matt Bennett.
The 26-year-old finished in 30mins 48secs.
The first woman was Helena Tobin, from
Brighton, who finished in 24mins 34secs.
Southampton petrol
station to sell booze
24/7
Plans to sell alcohol 24 hours a day from a
Southampton petrol station have been given
the go-ahead. Residents have opposed the
plan since the outset, over fears the move
would lead to antisocial behaviour, loitering
and people urinating outside their homes.
Police had originally objected the idea,
however Manor Service station agreed to
bring in tight rules on selling alcohol which
meant the objection was withdrawn.
These tight rules include, not selling single
cans or high strength beer or cider and
improving site security.
Open Rights Group
slams Channel 4’s
Caught on Camera
Footage of a woman from Southampton
performing a sex act in a city tower block
lift should never have been handed to
Channel 4, a Rights Organisation has said.
The 30 second clip showed the woman,
whose face was blurred, urinate in the lift
before performing a sex act on the man.
The woman involved claimed the video,
shown in the Channel 4 documentary
‘Caught on Camera’, violated her right to
privacy, however the complaint was dis-
missed by OfCom.
Body found in
Golden Grove area
An investigation has been launched by po-
lice after a body was found in Southampton
on Saturday.
Officers were called to Golden Grove, St
Marys, at around 1:50pm following the
discovery of a man’s body.
The area was cordoned off and police are
treating the death as “unexplained”. Less
than a month ago, two people were charged
following a stabbing at an address in the
same area, which left a 34-year-old in
hospital.
Shaw Taylor dies
One of the pioneers of solving crime on TV,
Shaw Taylor, has died at age 90 on March
18.
Taylor was one of the best-known faces
on regional TV during the 1960s to early
1980s. He presented Police 5 on independ-
ent Southampton-based TVS.
The show was five minutes long, and
appealed to the public for help in solving
crimes. The shows broadcast gained an
estimated 25,000 appeals to help with police
work.
FOR many students, the decision to go to
university isn’t just about getting a degree;
it’s about becoming independent.
The draw of living away from home,
particularly in halls, provides young people
the chance to make new friends and enjoy
living away from home for the first time in
their lives.
However, there are a number of students
living in the UK who choose to stay at
home and commute to lectures.
This can be for a range of reasons, for many
the decision is a financial one, staying at
home can save thousands of pounds worth
of debt from monthly rent and bills.
Students who live locally to their universi-
ty are often more inclined to make this
choice, as there is little hassle involved.
But there are also those who commute from
afar.
Josh Mitchell-Tipton graduated from
Southampton Solent last year.
In his first year he settled into life in halls
of residence, quickly becoming close to his
7 new flatmates - it seemed obvious that
they would move into a house together the
following year.
With the pressure placed on students to
put down deposits just a few months into
their course, this is not an uncommon
occurrence.
But, problems often begin to emerge
thanks to the added burdens of the likes
of bill organisation and closer communal
living.
For Josh, the cracks began to show just
a few months into his second year “I was
really close to my flatmates in first year, I
thought moving in together would be so
fun, but a house is really different.”
He says of his experience “we started argu-
ing over petty things like washing up and it
just made everyone really tense at times.”
Sharing a house with 7 other people
provides challenges that most young people
would not have experienced before and the
fallout can be extreme.
Josh reached breaking point just 4 months
into his house share “I hated living with
them and it was making me miserable so I
went home.”
Home however, was Cornwall, an expen-
sive and time consuming commute.
“I didn’t want to quit my course, and I still
got on with some of my housemates so I
lived at home most the time and then came
back for certain days.”
This was not an easy option because he
missed a large amount of lectures and semi-
nars as a result, but Josh ended up
moving to a smaller house in third year
and finding a much happier experience.
For others, travelling from home is simply
a financially viable option, even if it means
allowing for a longer commute.
It can often allow for a more education
focused outlook, taking the temptation
of partying and ‘student life’ away, whilst
also providing a sense of organisation
through time management.
There are of course cons to commuting,
particularly the reliance on an often unpre-
dictable mode of transport.
Southampton Central train station is one
of the busiest in the country, and delays are
not uncommon.
When a student makes their way in for a
one hour lecture, a delayed train can be
the difference between attending and a
wasted journey.
Similarly, drivers not only face the pros-
pect of traffic, but petrol costs and the
struggle to find parking can also make for a
tricky journey.
Whilst commuting can save students
thousands of pounds in the long term, there
are the obvious downfalls, mainly missing
out on the ‘uni experience’ that so many
graduates before them have spoken of.
The bonds made in fresher’s week can
often have a lasting effect on a student’s
time and for those who do not live near, it
is often important to make that extra effort
to ensure their time at university is not
negatively impacted by their choice.
LIVING AT HOME WHILE AT UNI: IS IT WORTH IT?
IS STUDYING YOUR COURSE
ABROAD CHEAPER THAN UK?
In my previous article I explored how University Students could save roughly thirteen thousand pounds if they choose to spend a year abroad at a foreign
university. Some of the most cheapest costs included the likes of Poland’s Warsaw University, costing only £4,119 for the whole academic year and Por-
tugal: University of Lisbon costing a total of £5,640. The analysis combined travel cost, accommodation, tuition fees, living and language learning costs.
But is this the case? I spoke to Nicki Woodcock, a Solent Journalism student who is currently doing her Erasmus year out in Antwerp, Belgium.
BY
SOPHIE
AIKEN
Do you live at home
while studying? Tweet
us your thoughts @
TheSotonianNews
Do you think you have saved money by
going abroad?
As I am an Erasmus student, I definitely
haven’t saved money by studying abroad
for a year, as this year is voluntary and
is adding an extra year to my degree
overall. It turns it into a 4 year sandwich
degree, not a 3 year (which it would be if I
stayed in England), therefore immediately
making it more expensive as it is an extra
year of maintenance loans from Student
Finance England as well as the tuition fees
to my home university (Solent) of £1,350
therefore increasing my overall student
debt after I graduate.
However, after living abroad and speaking
with Belgian students I know that their tu-
ition fees are a lot cheaper here compared
to England, but if you were to save money
you would have to study your entire degree
abroad. Then to do that, in general, you
would need to speak the language
fluently as most courses are taught in the
official language - it is only an Erasmus
exception that they are taught in English
and because of that the units are limited.
If you did was it noticeably cheaper and
what was cheaper?
In general, Belgium, even taking into
account the exchange rate, is an expensive
country. Antwerp in general is very expen-
sive with living costs, and looking back on
it, it would actually be cheaper for me to
live in England in my hometown in Surrey
or in Southampton where I study.
Why did you decide to study in Belgium?
Even with the more expensive living costs
in Belgium, I do not regret studying and
completing an internship here - it is one
of the best decisions of my life so far. I first
decided to study in Belgium because it
was the only university which offered an
internship as well as studying. I decided
on this because it would look better on my
CV and give me great experience in the
working world before I graduate as well as
making me more employable. Also, seeing
as not many students decide to complete
the Erasmus study year abroad it puts you
ahead of the other students who you will
graduate with. Employers are looking for
people with work experience, international
experience and increasingly life experience
and the Erasmus year enhances that. It was
a no-brainer for me really
There are only currently 40 students who
study abroad compared to 120 students
who come to Solent.
Why do you think not as many students
study abroad?
When speaking with other students in
England before we moved abroad, they all
really loved the idea of studying abroad and
wanted to do it but the main reason holding
them back was leaving their friends/family/
partner behind and not taking the plunge.
The second reason tended to be students
were worried about money and didn’t
totally understand the funding available to
them if they went so I think their needs to
be better information accessible to students
in the UK about Erasmus. To put it into
perspective - other European students I’ve
met fight for places to study abroad in, for
example, England! It’s like two opposite
ends of the scale.
ABROAD: Nicki says moving was “one of the best decisions of my life”
ANTWERP: One of the Eurasmus institutions available to Solent students