Universally of Salford: See the future in a whole new light?

Tuesday, 30 November 2010

See the future in a whole new light?

After much fighting talk, it turns out this solemn promise actually consisted of a stereoscopic projector and three minutes of psychadelic video footage which sort of resembles a bad experience with a Class A hallucinagenic drug:

It reminded us of a cross between that kaleidoscope sequence in Kubrick's 2001: A Space Oddyssey and an episode of Chris Morris's totally bizzare TV show, Jam.

So, did anybody see the future in a whole new light? For us, it was simply a reminder of the past - a questionable way of spending what we would guess was a considerable sum of money (stereoscopic projection does not come cheap). One student has already said they refused to attend because this is not how they wished to see their tuition fees being invested. The 'Prizes' given away are to include an iPad, a tour and a day at Sumners post-production facility - clearly not a sufficient attraction for most students.

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What is 'Universally of Salford'?

The openness of any social structure can be validated by how it treats criticism. A democracy would never be described as open or liberal if it failed to encourage a climate in which criticism and opposition to the ideas of an executive body can flourish. A University is no different.

During our experiences with the University of Salford, there has never been an effective outlet for the sort of objections to executive policies and decisions raised in this blog. Almost every attempt we have ever made to investigate any controversial decisions, activities, spending or events has been met with threats, derision and concealment.

The Students' Union – the obvious forum in which to raise these issues – remains silent owing to virtually the entirety of its funding being conditional upon donations from the University.

It is our opinion that the University of Salford can never improve if it, as an institution, cannot distinguish between good and bad decision making. Achieving this is conditional upon both the student and staff bodies being kept informed about both the good and bad within the University.

Since the University have a monopoly over their internal publications (including, we would argue, the Student Newspaper), and since this 'monopolised' publicity is almost without exception propagandist, it is our opinion that a purely critical alternative ought be available to staff and students to balance out this inequity and assist in keeping both parties informed.