Photo - Sean Anderson

George Binning

Glasgow 52 – 38 Sheffield

You might think it’s a bit crazy to race anticlockwise around an oval dirt track on a motorbike that does 0-60 in 2.5 seconds, only turns to the right and has no brakes or gears. But this is exactly what Glasgow’s speedway racers do for the benefit of enthralled crowds every Sunday at Ashfield Stadium.

Sunday, May 3, saw Glasgow Tigers take on the Sheffield Tigers, with both sides fighting for a place in the semi-final of the British Speedway League. Fans of all ages packed the stadium, not that there was a crowd of thousands, but that Ashfield is a stadium in the humblest sense of the word. In fact, unlike most motor sports, the proceedings as a whole were cheerfully low key.

The commentator would have looked more at home calling out bingo numbers on Phoenix Nights as he appealed to the crowd for sponsorship deals and politely asked people not to sit with their legs over the safety barriers. Between heats the track was raked and sprayed with two antique tractors, and the Tiger’s mascot was behaving as though he had just got out of bed with a near fatal hangover.

If you were standing on one of the corners you would be treated to a refreshing spray of red dirt with each circuit of the bikes. Aside from the racing, the Ashfield proprietors kept everyone entertained with a bar, tombola, some fairly basic merchandise and a small chip shop, which proved so popular the queue was never less than half an hour long, though worth the wait …

An unusual, sweet smell of exhaust fumes hung in the air, not too dissimilar to vegetable oil, evidence of the methanol, or wood alcohol, fuel the bikes must run on. The use of this biofuel makes speedway one of the most environmentally friendly motor sports in the world, and although it is quite toxic I couldn’t be sure that my chips had not been cooked in it as well.

Each team put forward seven riders who raced four at a time over fifteen three-lap heats. Three points were awarded to first place, two to second and one to third. The start was delayed by the malfunctioning of the starting mechanism and it was eventually decided to use a long elastic band to start the first few heats: the traditional method, as the commentator told the crowd. Though the elastic was far from satisfactory — the riders nearest the release point had an advantage of a fraction of a second — the starting pole was fixed by heat five.

In speedway the rider quickest off the starting block is usually the winner and so rigorous starting procedures are essential for a level playing field. There were in fact only two successful overtaking attempts that day.

Sean Parker, Glasgow’s esteemed captain and veteran of the sport, took the first heat with a savagely quick 58.7-second run, the fastest time set for the day and almost his track record. He might have been quicker if his bike hadn’t started billowing smoke on his last lap; it was clear that the machine couldn’t handle it’s rider’s grit. Unsurprisingly, lap times deteriorated as track conditions wore down over the afternoon.

Sheffield’s Joel Parsons slid off dramatically in heat three, pushing just a little too hard for the lead and paying for it dearly when he was excluded from the restart. In spite of Parsons’ fall and Parker’s early victory, Sheffield held the lead for the first few heats.

Heat eight provided a seminal turning point in the game when Glasgow’s Josh Grajczonek came first, pushing Glasgow ahead of Sheffield. Another highlight was Chris Mills’ overtake of teammate Paul Cooper in Sheffield’s doomed battle for third place. From then on Sheffield were just wiping the dust from their eyes in the wake of Glasgow’s stampede to victory.

The crowd exploded when James Grieves roared past Sheffield’s captain Ricky Ashworth. Overtaking is rare, risky and very difficult, but always well received.
By the fifteenth and final heat Sheffield needed the full five points available just to pull a draw out of the hat. Unfortunately an over eager Ritchie Hawkins snapped the starting tape and was given a 15-metre penalty effectively scuppering Sheffield’s last chance to claw one back.

Over the course of the competition, it was James Grieves who gave the most distinguished performance, winning all five of his races and picking up the maximum fifteen points. The whole of the Glasgow side did their fans proud.

Parker described his pride to the fans saying: “It’s a good feeling to win, that’s why we ride. When we won I saw someone jumping up and down like it was Christmas.”
He cheerfully dismissed rumours of his retirement to the amusement of the crowd, saying: “This is definitely, possibly, maybe my last year.”

On Friday, May 8, the Tigers suffered a narrow 46-44 defeat to the endearingly named Somerset Rebels in the first leg of their two-part duel and there is a good old-fashioned derby to look forward to when Glasgow race Edinburgh on the May 17. Although the University of Glasgow has yet to field its own speedway team, an afternoon up at the track certainly provides a wholesome diversion.

Photo - Jim Wilson

George Binning

As student debt in the US hits $700 billion American international students are resorting to self-imposed exile rather than paying off their “exploitative” student loans.

Sallie Mae is the primary student loan company in the US with over 10 million borrowers holding a total debt of over $126.9 billion. The company has attracted extensive criticism from borrowers across the world, with accusations of predatory lending practices.

Andrew Wilbur, an American PhD Candidate in the Department of Geographical and Earth Sciences, graduated from Glasgow University in 2005 with total balance of $29,048.52 on his Sallie Mae student loan.

Since then he has made over $5,000 dollars in payments but his current balance stands at $33,227.90.

The variable interest rate on Wilbur’s loan has been as high as 14%. He has since decided to stop making payments, even though this means he cannot return to the US.

He explained: “I took the loan and have tried to pay it back in good faith, though I now feel like it was sold to me in bad faith, with the conditions so difficult that I’ll never get on top of it. For that reason, I can’t return to America to work or buy a house. My credit rating will be ruined and any income I make will be swallowed up by loan repayments. It’s just not worth putting up with that – paying Sallie Mae to make my life a misery.”

The U.S. Department of Education recently reported a rise in the student loan default rate from 5.2% to 6.9% in the past year. Wilbur went on to criticise Sallie Mae’s practice of running its own debt collection agency.
He said: “The fact that Sallie Mae actually owns its own debt collection agencies who profit when you default on your loan shows how exploitative the system is.”

Patricia Nash Christel, a spokesperson for Sallie Mae, pointed out that the company was able to be flexible on repayments when borrowers were in difficulty.

She said: “Individuals need individual loan repayment solutions, and in this environment, we want to work with students to make sure they can successfully manage their loans. We do everything we can to offer counselling and individual flexibility to help students avoid default.”

The burden of student debt is often carried over generations. Sculpture and environmental art student Kira Thomas told Guardian that her grandparents had to act as cosignatories for her Sallie Mae loan as her mother was still paying off her own student loan.

Provided she makes every payment on her private loan, which constitutes 80% of her total borrowing, she will eventually pay back more than twice the $43,000 she borrowed.

“I am worried that if my grandparents get to old to cosign and I am unable to borrow more I will have to drop out of art school.” she said.

Caleb Churchill, a photography student at Glasgow School of Art, originally took out loans totaling $85,031 in 2005. Since then, in spite of making regular payments of over $500 per month on the accrued interest, he now owes Sallie Mae over $94,000.

However, he took a different view on his situation, as he explained:
“This is the way it goes, the way the system is structured. I don’t understand why students borrow from Sallie Mae then bitch about it; they should know the conditions before they sign up.”

American student loans are divided into federal and private loans; federal loans are limited but have a lower interest rate as they are guarunteed by the government; private loans have higher interest rates and no state subsidy.

Speaking for Sallie Mae, Christel claimed that their private loans had a higher risk for the lender: “Sallie Mae offers private loans, which are different from federally guaranteed loans in that all risk is assumed by the lender and there is no government guarantee.”

However in the case of federal loans, companies such as Sallie Mae are able to take payments from a debtor’s social security fund or pay check if they default on a federal loan, giving the lender total security.

Alan M. Collinge, spokesperson for the resistance group StudentLoanJustice.org, was more critical of the American loan system than Sallie Mae itself, citing the gradual reduction of borrowers protections as the reason for the exploitation of student loans.

He said: “Student Loans are the only type of loan in modern US history to be specifically stripped of bankruptcy protections, statues of limitations, refinancing rights, and other fundamental consumer protections.

“The root cause of most of these problems lies in the fact that Congress removed these fundamental protections. This has made it more lucrative for the system when students fall behind, and has caused predatory behavior to occur. This predatory lending system also has contributed greatly to the astonishing rise in tuition costs – much like in the subprime home mortgage industry.”

Christel defended the practicality of their student loans:
“When compared to other types of consumer debt, for example credit cards or car loans, student loans offer a variety of options.”

Collinge called for a solution to the problem, he said: “The answer is simple: Congress must, at a minimum, return the standard consumer protections to student loans that it took away. This is at a minimum.”

In accordance President Obama has already expressed a desire to expand the availability of Direct Loans from the Board of Education, thus bypassing the private loan companies. This move is being resisted by lobby group America’s Student Loan Providers.

Students from Glasgow School of Art (GSA) exhibited work alongside Chinese contemporaries in the Central Academy of Fine Art (CAFA) in Beijing early this April.

The show comprised of 20 third year GSA students and 15 from the CAFA. Steve Rigley, visual communications lecturer and organiser of the venture, explained how the exhibition had been coordinated in spite of linguistic and cultural barriers: “We both tackled the same brief then we exhibited together in the CAFA in Beijing. The brief was centered on the theme of translation.

We had the opportunity to see what was going on at art schools in Beijing. It seems to have become a lot more commercialised in the past two or three years.”

The project was supported mostly by the fundraising efforts of students and received a £3,000 grant from the Scottish Government.

As well as receiving financial support, the exhibition was supported in person by members of the Scottish Government as Rigley described: “As luck would have it the exhibition coincided with the visit to China from Fiona Hyslop so she opened the exhibition.”

This news comes in the light of the Education Secretary, Fiona Hyslop’s announcement of two schemes to promote economic and cultural ties between Scottish and Chinese Universities, revealed during Hyslop’s same visit to Beijing.

The initiative aims to encourage exchange programmes for PhD students between nations. In addition a new programme of scholarships for Masters scholars from China, jointly funded by the Scottish Government and Scottish universities will provide one-off funding of £2,000 for 50 scholars from China who wish to come to study in Scotland later this year.

Hyslop claimed that these projects would develop Scotland’s potential as a strong economic force in the future.

“By encouraging the long-term exchange of education and knowledge between our two countries, these two new schemes will help our students, institutions and industry develop the knowledge they need to compete in today’s internationally competitive markets.”

George Binning

Lending is one of the essential mechanisms of a fluid economy, whether it be for starting a business, buying a house or funding a university education. Without the availability of loans, huge, useless reservoirs of liquid assets would sit stagnating to the detriment of society as a whole.

It seems only right then to encourage those with the means, to share the wealth; to make it desirable to invest in the potential of others; and if that means allowing them to set a profitable interest rate on a loan then so be it. However the aggressive profiteering that is taking place on loans intended to fund the education of young Americans seems a step too far. It is objectionable in the same way that it is objectionable to pay to go the loo in bus stations. Education, like a bodily function, is a priceless and vital commodity that should not be sold with profit in mind.

This is one economic problem that precedes this recession, the one before it and the one before that. As a second generation of Americans become enslaved to their student loans, as communications improve and the recession tightens its grip an increasingly vocal and disgruntled movement is arising on the Internet. Comments on relevant news articles, and websites such as StudentLoanJustice.org provide an insight into the various states of despair that such a huge proportion of American graduates are suffering.

As well as lobbying for the restoration of borrower protections to American law, some groups are calling for a total amnesty of student debt in the US. Having seen what some students have already been through it may seem like a good idea, but who will be willing lend to future generations students if their debt is to be cleared once every few decades?

The US President is promising reform across the board, including in the area of college debt; the effects of recession are being felt acutely, by heavily indebted American graduates in particular, and change, whether regulated or radical, is imminent.

George Binning

It is with a certain amount of disappointment that Guardian reports on the fallout from Glasgow’s occupation. When a serious and urgent cause is pushed by an interest group with such force, almost everybody in the community seriously considers where they stand on the issue. This means that the group in question will be somewhat responsible for informing the opinion of the many; a hefty burden to bear even if shared amongst 30 (or four, depending on how you look at it).

One always hopes that the campaigners will set a model example and that people will react favourably. Sadly this time neither wish was granted.

In the case of the Israel/Palestine conflict where racial, national and religious tensions run high, it is important to project a clear message. Inevitably humanitarian efforts in this area become wrapped up in politics, and racism and anti-Semitism are easily confused with valid resistance. This was clearly not the intention of the Socialist Workers Party, Stop the War Coalition and Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign. However the use of militaristic slogans, though not racist or anti-Semitic in itself, only alienates those who are genuinely pro-peace, perpetuating the confusion.

Refusing to collect for a children’s charity on the grounds that it was not part of the original deal simply does not wash, surely the SWP are opposed to this kind of stifling beaurocracy? Refusing to collect because it detracts from the DEC appeal is an equally frail defence.

Similarly the failure to follow through on what they originally hailed a “triumphant success” was not a good way of gaining solidarity with the wider student population. When they took Computer Sciences by storm none of the activists were complaining about the amount of essays they had, and this excuse is likely to be met with scepticism as well.

It is good news that any money has been raised for Gaza, though demanding a DEC Appeal day with so little time to prepare might have been a little hasty. Although time was a significant factor in getting aid to the crisis and £673 is a sum to be proud of, the vet rodeo was able to raise over £26,000 with a fundraiser organized well in advance. A second fundraising day has been proposed, which will hopefully be better publicised and organised.

The SRC, who normally tread very softly in even the slightest of contentious issues, responded surprisingly strongly. If their extreme level of disappointment is any sort of barometer of general student opinion, perhaps these political groups ought to be reassessing their public image.

Photo - David Graham Scott

George Binning hunts down the controversial James Cruickshank, editor of Glasgow’s infamous Digger magazine

Imagine a publication with such relentless and detailed crime reportage that even the most scandalous tabloid journalists turn their backs in disgust. Imagine this magazine’s editor retreating underground and working from a secret office to evade the death threats he receives from the infuriated criminals and gangsters that fill its pages. Welcome to Digger land, please check your sense of all that is good and true in at reception.

I met with James Cruickshank, the Digger himself, to discuss why his publication both thrilled and appalled me. I also spoke to David Graham Scott, creator of the documentary: “The Dirty Digger”, who worked as a Digger photographer and filmed his experiences at the paper.

Cruickshank has had quite a turbulent career; In 2003 he was ejected from the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) for an allegedly libellous article in a union newsletter about Paul Holleran, National Organiser for the NUJ, “It was absolutely ridiculous,” he told me, “It just reinforced allegations that the NUJ is a communist organisation. It’s out to protect its own members and wants to bring the industry to its knees.”

The Digger started in August 2004, selling for 30 pence with a first print run of 500. Now it is 85 pence and its print run is round about 11,000. The history of the magazine has often made its own headlines. Cruickshank has faced a series of lawsuits as a result of his no-holes-barred brand of often libellous or unfounded investigative journalism.

“We’re banned from the city council, Glasgow city council, we can’t phone up their press office, because again it’s an agency which is an enemy of free speech.

“The state at one point withdrew our court privileges on unfounded allegations, and I eventually had to pay £6000 to right a wrong.”

This is Cruickshank’s version of a time when his journalistic privileges were withdrawn after The Digger named and pictured the eight-year-old daughter of a Glasgow crime boss wearing a bulletproof vest in her garden.

Scott’s documentary is quite critical of the Digger and its ruthless naming and shaming of local petty crooks, so I was quite surprised by his insistent defence of a man he did not seem to have much affinity with.

“I did notice there was quite a lot of hearsay printed.” He eventually admitted, “The problem is you’ve got some wee guy talking about some junkie and Cruickshank’s printing something which might be a heap of lies. The issue is going to be that that person is probably not going to be in a position where they can take out a legal action against the Digger.”

This is the kind of dilemma that the magazine regularly throws up; the practice printing the addresses of suspected paedophiles or naming police informers can get those involved badly hurt. Cruickshank does not seem to consider the implications of sharing such sensitive information as his problem.

“If you own a shop that sells kitchen knives and someone buys and knife and stabs someone is the shop that is at fault?” he argues, “I don’t think so.” It occurs to me that it’s more like selling a knife to a lunatic who offers to pay in severed fingers.

Scott describes the reputation the Digger has picked up amongst the criminal fraternity: “The prospect of being in the Digger frightens folk because it does get people incensed. With those small time characters the Digger can probably get away with quite a lot of naming and shaming. But not when fighting the Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) though, they’re a very powerful organisation.”

Nevertheless Cruickshank does take on the GHA as well as the police, the council, the masons, and any other stories the mainstream press won’t touch.

“That’s when stories can start to not be fully substantiated,” Cruickshank says, “The police are a secretive organisation and it’s very difficult to prove allegations of corruption within the police because, who’s going to corroborate it? Violent crime only survives if its being aided and abetted by so called law-abiding citizens.

“The police must be made properly accountable, the government could investigate the police but they don’t — the only way that is going to happen is if the mainstream media start investigating the police but they won’t do it either.”

He admits that it’s almost impossible to substantiate some stories to the standard of the mainstream press, but Cruickshank is agitated by my suggestion of a vigilante like edge to his editorial policy. “It’s not vigilantism, it’s genuine investigative journalism that the Scottish press have stopped doing.”

Whether you agree or not, if none of the mainstream papers want, or are legally able, to pursue such scandals within the authorities, is there no justification to continue under the radar?

With Cruickshank’s casual gossip of communists, corruption and conspiracy, I feel like I’m beginning to understand his worldview: his Digger-ish outlook. As my sense of the good and the true seems to have gained the upper hand Scott throws a curveball, showing the situation in a different light.

“The Digger works from a grassroots level which the newspapers don’t speak from. It taps into a popular myth or misconception that there is this huge conspiracy going on. The readership wonder how these big time crime lords are getting away with it and Cruickshank says because they’re in cahoots with the police. They wonder how the GHA are running ruffshod over the tennants and he will explain it’s because it’s run by gangsters. They wonder: “Why are we so fucking poor? Why do we not get public services? Because there’s this big conspiracy keeping us in poverty,” and that can placate them to a certain extent.

“I thought at first the Digger was going to be very right wing but it isn’t. It covers stories of racial abuse sexual abuse, minority issues, issues to do with the corruption that he sees in the council, the police and the HHA especially. It’s a big deal, the GHA, because a lot of the readership are in that environment.”

I wonder how my attitude to the Digger has been affected as a distanced, broadsheet reading, wannabe journalist who just wants to see codes of practice upheld and standards met in the media; whether it prevents me from seeing the real value the Digger has to its target readership.

“The Digger is a thorn in the side of the establishment,” Cruickshank sums up cheerily. By all accounts, this allegation is well founded.

George Binning

A total of £673.27 was raised for the DEC appeal on the University’s fundraising day. However the preceding occupation of the Computer Sciences Department provoked a wave of complaints from students in Glasgow.

The occupying activists had won their demand to publicise the DEC Appeal but were heavily criticised for both their low turnout on the fundraising day and their refusal to collect for Save a Child’s Heart, an Israeli-based charity that supports children from developing nations who suffer from heart disease. The charity sends 49% of its proceeds to help children in Palestine.

Although around 30 students took part in the occupation, the group only signed out four collection tins for the whole fundraising day. Gavin Lee, president of the SRC, criticised the occupiers’ lack of positive action saying:“We’re extremely disappointed that those who called for the fundraising day didn’t actually support it. Had more people participated we would have been able to raise significantly more money.”

Raymie Kiernan, a representative of the Stop the War Coalition (SWC) rebuffed, criticising the haste and lack of consultation with which the day was organised.
He said: “The fundraising day wasn’t organised properly, the agreements weren’t stuck to and the university didn’t give much notice that it was happening and that had a serious impact on the money raised. Everybody knows Friday is not a busy day.

“Without enough notice you can’t expect people to drop everything to do the collection, we got as many people as possible on a shift rotation for the four cans we signed out.”

There were also concerns as to the aggressive nature of a number of the slogans that the group chanted. The SRC took a strong line of disapproval against the reported antagonism. President Gavin Lee told Guardian that the council had received anxious reports from students across campus.

He said: “There were considerable concerns raised by a number of students about some of the comments and racial slurs that were being bandied around during the occupation. We were told of Jewish students feeling uncomfortable on campus during that period also. The SRC worked with the Jewish Society to help alleviate any concerns students had, and to reduce any offence that may be caused.

“While everyone can have their own opinions and can campaign on campus, it’s really damaging if even one student feels threatened or uncomfortable because of their racial, religious and ethnic background. It shouldn’t happen anywhere, never mind at University, and whatever’s going on in the world that doesn’t mean that hostility is permissible or beneficial in any way.”

Adina Roth, president of the Glasgow Jewish Society, was supportive of the University’s handling of the occupation but echoed the SRC’s objection to the aggressive manner of some of the protest chants.

She told Guardian: “We welcome the steps of Glasgow University to support the DEC Appeal and Save a Child’s Heart, along with their refusal to boycott goods and academics. However, we’re extremely concerned about the intimidating language used in these protests and the calls for the destruction of Israel that actively work against a peaceful two state solution which the majority of Palestinians and Israelis are desperate to achieve.”

Having granted some of the occupiers’ demands, University authorities added to the number of objections.

A University spokesman said: “The University does not wish to see any groups of students on campus made to feel uncomfortable by the behaviour of others and it is a matter of concern that several Jewish students found some chants used by demonstrators upsetting.”

One of the slogans that has been called into question called for victory for the intifada, which has been linked to the two Palestinian revolutions in the latter half of the twentieth century. Heavy casualties were sustained on both sides during these especially violent periods of Israeli/Palestinian history. Objections were also raised to the chant “Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea” which alludes to a single Palestinian state covering the territory west of the Jordan River, a lot of which is accepted as belonging to Israel.

Kiernan was swift to defend the group’s chant saying: “It’s a misunderstanding of the word intifada, it literally means the shake up or in common usage to mean popular uprising, now that doesn’t have anything to do with violence or armed struggle. I object to it being called a militaristic chant because people use the chant to identify with the struggle.”

Anthony Silkoff, chair of OneVoice Glasgow, also warned that any hostile messages were not conducive to the peace process.

He said: “Aggressive protests or actions by supporters of one side are not helpful, but it’s important to acknowledge how the tragic events in Gaza have angered people and led to rash behaviour. Popular frustration at the lack of progress, and apparent worsening of the situation, has led to violence and outrage both in the region and closer to home.”

There were serious misgivings from the occupiers camp that the decision to collect for Save a Child’s Heart was detracting from the donations for the DEC appeal.

Kiernan told Guardian: “Everyone who supported the occupation was very disappointed and some were very angry at the decision.
“Where were the protests or petitions for Save a Childs Heart? It was supposed to be an official collection day for the DEC appeal. We specified that the money we collected be put towards the DEC appeal only.”

Gavin Lee explained that the collection for Save a Child’s Heart was a diplomatic gesture to bring political balance to the collection day.

He said: “The University, in consultation with the SRC, decided to raise for this charity also because it is a wonderful example of, and represents, a peaceful and beneficial relationship between people of both Israel and Palestine. It is particularly pertinent to recognise this collaboration during the conflict.”

Silkoff also praised the decision to hold a bipartisan collection day, saying: “The decision to raise money for the DEC Gaza appeal and Save a Child’s Heart was a wise one, as these charities are both completely humanitarian in aims and character.”

Lee added that there had been a number of complaints of aggressive chanting, some due to the appropriation of the Computing Department’s facilities.

He said: “There were many complaints made by students, both to the University and the SRC, during the occupation. A significant number supported the SRC’s stance on the occupation; a significant number demanded the University remove the protesters from the building.”

George Binning

The upcoming elections for the Student’s Representative Council (SRC) look like a foregone conclusion with the overwhelming majority of open positions, including the presidency, being left either unopposed or completely vacant.

Of the 21 positions available only five will be contested, while six positions may be won by default. The remaining ten positions will be left open for a by-election on May 6.

There has also been no application for the position of Vice-President (Media & Communications), one of the four most senior positions on the council, all of which command a salary of £15,216 per annum.

Laura Laws, who is currently Vice-President of Learning & Development this year, will be President next year by default unless the majority of students vote to re-open nominations instead.

Laws was careful not to claim her victory prematurely saying: “Although I am running unopposed in next week’s election, I’m not taking anything for granted.
“I really want students to look at what I am proposing, come and speak to me on election days and to vote for me if they think I am the right candidate for presidency.

“If I do get elected, I’d obviously be absolutely delighted to be SRC President 09/10.”

The only positions that will be contested are those of the Vice-President (Learning & Development), Vice-President (Student Support), LBSS Faculty and Faculty of Medicine convenors and Minority Ethnic Officer.

Nominations for the other 16 posts will either be re-opened or will be subject to a ‘Re-open Nominations’ vote, in expectation of the May by-election.

Nominations will open for the by-election on March 23. Information will be available and distributed by the SRC in the coming weeks.

Gavin Lee, the current SRC president, was disappointed by the lack of student participation in the nominating process stating that the SRC were examining the reasons for this.

He said: “At the moment we’re looking into different theories about why fewer people ran in this election than we were expecting, and hoped for. It’s certainly a strange happening considering the record-breaking number of candidates who stood in the Autumn Election.

“Representation through the SRC is a key method of ensuring that students get the best experience possible at the University, and as such its essential to have as many people engaged in Council as possible. It’s disappointing that, looking at the number of candidates, this has not happened as much as it could have.”
In last year’s Spring elections four positions on the SRC were won unopposed and two positions were left vacant. Even in this comparatively competitive election, voter turnout was just over 7%.

Laws admitted that the SRC would have to make an effort to engage with the student population.

She said: “Next year I think we need to work really hard to build upon the relationship we have with students.”

Her campaign has been built upon tackling the problems faced by students and graduates in the current recession.

She explained: “It is essential to get formal recognition for students involved in volunteering or leading clubs and societies and to continue to develop more opportunities for students to develop their skills in preparation for getting a graduate job.”

The elections will take place on March 4 and 5 with the results due to be announced soon afterwards.

George Binning

Interest groups such as the Stop the War Coalition (SWC) and the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC) seem to split students into two camps. While there are plenty of sympathisers and supporters, a surprisingly large number of students find ‘that bunch’ very annoying. Perhaps its all the aggressive rhetoric and blocking the steps of the Queen Margaret Union, perhaps it’s the volatile persecution complex, or maybe its just the hats and scarves. The most common complaint seems to be; “Well they’re never going to stop the war from here so why don’t they just give it a rest?”

Such complainers should be made to eat their words since, in the past few weeks, these groups have brought radical changes not just to the institutions we inhabit, but hopefully changes that will be noticed on a more global scale. This sudden wave of political activity in universities across Britain has provided long awaited evidence that protest can make a difference. Though the nature of the occupations has generally been peaceful, the tactic of targeting the central nervous system of a university, i.e. the registry, seems faintly inspired by the Bolshevik revolution, and has proved almost as effective in achieving its goals.

The very idea that Dundee University should completely disinvest from BAE Systems would have seemed too fantastic if it hadn’t already happened, and that Strathclyde should so willingly agree to almost all of their occupiers’ demands is equally surprising. Strathclyde were faced with some very taxing demands, and their offer to hold a public debate on the future of BAE Systems’ relationship with the University must have been the most diplomatic solution, especially given the considerable sums of money that are no doubt involved in any dealing with the company.

At the time of going to press our own occupation continues. Surely the principal will be feeling the pressure not just from them, but also from the example set by Strathclyde and Dundee. As our university would not match the gestures made by its sister universities the irate reaction from those pushing for solidarity with Gaza is unsurprising.

Whether in favour of, or in disagreement with their agenda, one has to appreciate the product of their efforts. It is an admirable feat that a small group of passionate activists can lean on an institution as massive as a university, armed with nothing but an argument and a petition. Perhaps this achievement will raise their profile in the eyes of otherwise disinterested students, though judging by some reactions it might just serve to increase the divide.

Photo - Jim Wilson

George Binning weighs up the scales of criminal justice with Scottish legal heavyweight Donald Findlay Q.C.

If you believed everything you read in the tabloids, Donald Findlay QC would be a name to steer clear of. This is a man who only ever seems to appear in connection with the most horrible crimes, who has forged a career no doubt in gleefully hypnotising juries into acquitting the hardest criminals and murderers. Although there are two sides to the story, it is rare for Mr Findlay to defend himself in public. He claims he has no inclination to speak to the press, or have anything to do with them, made clear by his refusal to let us photograph him.

“Given the way I regard the media as having misrepresented and mistreated me in the past, I don’t frankly see why I should waste my time talking to them. I haven’t read, bought, looked at a newspaper for ten years. Principally I wouldn’t waste my money on a paper, I don’t read them and if that upsets them I don’t care.”

The highest earner in the Scottish legal trade for three years running, Findlay has lead the defense in a number of infamous murder cases including Peter Tobin, Luke Mitchell and ex-soldier Michael Ross, who was convicted last year for the murder of Shamsudden Mahmood in Orkney in 1994. He has most recently been recruited to defend Tommy Sheridan against his perjury charge.

Although he would not discuss any of his cases past or present, I was keen to hear, straight from the source, why those accused of the worst crimes needed and deserved the strongest legal representation available.
Findlay explained, as he continued his denunciation of the popular press, that the image of court proceedings portrayed by the media was far from accurate.

“Generally the media are not interested in justice, they’re only interested in sensationalizing certain aspects of the trial. And that, I came to the conclusion, has been evidenced over the years because when in a major trial someone is acquitted, you never see that as being heralded as a triumph of the Scottish legal system. Its always presented along the lines of: another guilty man walks free.”

One of the most admirable, yet difficult to grasp, aspects of criminal law is the dispassionate approach which a lawyer must take with their clients. This became quite evident in speaking to Findlay, who never seemed to let his professional guard down, and his opinions, though often controversially phrased, seemed well grounded.

“If your professional role is to represent someone charged with a crime then the nature of the crime is almost irrelevant, any more than would a consultant cardio thoracic surgeon, confronted with a patient who had a lengthy criminal record for child killing or child abuse, say, ‘Well I’m not going to try very hard for him’, of course he would, it’s his duty. He does not make a value judgment on the person in front of him, that is not his job.”

To illustrate his point further, he recalled a time in 2002, when journalist James Doherty had written a condemning story about him for the Scotsman. Although it was very difficult to get past his unwavering professionalism in the field of law, Findlay certainly was not holding back his distaste for the media.

“Some years ago I was asked casually if I would defend Osama bin Laden, and my answer was ‘yes of course’. Some journalist somewhere wanted to run this great story that I was prepared to defend Osama bin Laden, until somebody else pointed out to him that if I wasn’t prepared to defend Osama bin Laden, that would be a story. The fact that I was wasn’t a story at all. The reality is that if I had been around in 1946, I could have found myself representing the Nazis at the Nuremberg trials and of course I would have done that because it was my professional responsibility.”

Whilst his point served its purpose in the wider context of our discussion, I could easily understand how his outspoken manner was easily picked up upon in the press.

It follows, then, that accepting a client’s instruction is also a question of professionalism, but I wanted to know how far a criminal lawyer would put their trust in an accused suspect’s statement. Again Findlay was a model of good practice, adamant that he had no personal opinion on the subject.

“You will test it to some extent obviously, for example if a person says I have never been in that bank which they say I robbed, but his fingerprints are found inside the bank vault, then you would have to point out to him that that would tend to indicate that he is either a safe maker or a safe breaker and that his position that ‘I have never been in that bank in my life’ does not appear to hold good.

“If somebody comes to me and says I committed this crime, I’d like you to get me off, then we would part company there and then. We don’t sit around with various defenses on the shelf and pull one down and say ‘that’s the one for you my boy’.”

Findlay’s career frequently puts him in the unenviable position of devil’s advocate, but his description of his role in the perspective of the Scottish legal system as a whole was based much more on principle than pragmatism.

“You really have to go back to the fundamentals of what the legal system is all about, which is very seldom, if ever, portrayed. In a free society, if you take the view, which we do in this country, that if the state makes an allegation against one of its citizens of a criminal act, and it doesn’t make any difference if it’s a minor criminal act or a serious criminal act, our law says it is the duty of the state to prove it…. An accused person is entitled in an open court, to have the allegations against them tested and that quite simply is what defense lawyers do. Very often the claims the prosecution makes are, to say the least of it, optimistic.

“It is the job of the court to decide the guilt of the accused, and it’s our job to make sure the evidence is tested, and if it stands up to that scrutiny and the accused is convicted, that seems to me that justice has been done. If you test that evidence and it doesn’t stand up to scrutiny and the accused is acquitted, that also seems to me that justice has been done. If you don’t like it, don’t bitch about it.”

In 2008, the Scottish Parliament began to discuss a proposal to revise the double jeopardy law — a law which prevents a citizen being tried for the same crime twice. Findlay was extremely critical of the idea, highlighting a number of the issues it raised for an accused suspect and their lawyers.
“The double jeopardy is a huge issue; there are so many ramifications to it. For example, where do you draw the line? If somebody is acquitted can you come back five, 10, 20, 25 years later and reopen it? What if an essential witness for the defense has died in the meantime? What if evidence has been lost?

“The basic principle of the law is if you are tried for the defense, you are tried once. Now if an appeal is successful you can be retried, the crown can have another go, but I believe the state should be given one opportunity to prove guilt, and if it fails to prove guilt then that should be the end of it. Otherwise you just leave the thing open ended and it brings a level of uncertainty to the whole legal system that is not in the interests of anybody.”

While I certainly would not like Donald Findlay’s job myself, and perhaps because of this, I do admire his dedication. It can’t be easy to suffer the accusations leveled by the media, and when the importance of one’s role in a free society is understood by relatively few, it must take a steadfast constitution as well as a fantastic legal mind to take on such notorious and challenging cases.