Double Death Car Crash on A28

CANTERBURY Christ Church University student, William Wise, 20, has died tonight in a fatal car accident.

An unnamed 25-year-old woman, who worked at the William Harvey Hospital in the town, also died.

William, who lives in Ashford, is believed to have been driving back from Canterbury when his Renault Clio collided with a the woman's VolksWagen Polo on the Canterbury Road.

The incident happened at about 10.30pm. Roads will be closed until further notice. Police are continuing to investigate.

For the latest update click here. 

Anyone with any information or who may have witnessed the accident should contact police on 01622 690690.

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Posted in: News

Government Tackles Unpaid Internships

Prime Minister, David Cameron has launched a new intern scheme

THE GOVERNMENT has launched a national internship scheme that will see organisations paying their interns. 

The move to address unpaid internships is a welcome change for future graduates. Many of whom are digging deeper in their pockets, trying to gain ‘experience’ in order to even get recognised for a paid graduate job.

Third year undergraduate at Canterbury Christ Church University, Kate Jarvis, 23 studying English Literature said: “I have been doing internships and work experience during my time at university. The cost of it all however, has made me go overdrawn on plenty of occasions.

“I am currently interning at View magazine in Folkestone who do not substitute my travel costs or food allowance. I do not get paid for my work that gets published either.

“I just think it’s unfair that I have to end up literally broke to show how keen I am to work for them.”

Newly elected Welfare and Education Sabbatical Officer for CCCU, Jo Bartson-Umuliisa, said: “Its good as now it will feel as if you are not doing the organisation’s dirty work but more getting recognised. 

“I recently attended a NUS conference who stated that they are going to lobby the Government to tell businesses and organisations to give interns the national minimum wage.”

 So far only a number of organisations have agreed to the Government’s new scheme.

Channel 4 are one of the companies agreeing to new internship rules

Channel 4 and The Guardian are among some of the companies who have agreed to the new pay guidelines for interns. They will all pay the minimum wage or “reasonable out-of-pocket expenses” to interns.

The Government’s plans also bring smiles to future graduates whose parents aren’t aristocrats.

Naomi Taylor, 22 studying Marketing at CCCU said: “I’m about to graduate and this is great to hear.  This will see everybody from every class having the opportunity to enter career fields. It should be about what you know.
 

“But as everybody knows it not what you know is who you know. I think that’s always been the case but it counts for a lot more now.”

Christina Pita, 21 studying Media at CCCU added: “The government needed to do something. I am living in a generation where it is harder than ever to shift social class.

“If you were born into a lower class family, it’s sad to say but you will probably stay at that. The same applies for the upper class. You will never see them shift into a lower class.

“The fact is you need support from your family when you graduate these days. If you take on a six-month internship that is unpaid, the person you’ll be asking to help you get that train to work or to buy the food for you lunch will be your mum or your dad.

“If they can’t afford it, you can’t do an internship, which means you cannot progress. You end up in a job that you didn’t even want to be in. That’s the truth when it comes down to it.”

In a letter to The Daily Telegraph Nick Clegg and Iain Duncan Smith laid out their strategy to build career choices, stating that your job should not be based on ‘who your father’s friends are’.

 ‘Our drive to open up internships is intended to prevent the lucky few grabbing all the best chances’ said the letter, addressing the fact that many young people are cut out of the internship system because they simply cannot afford to work for free.

‘This is mobility for the middle, not just the bottom,’ continued the letter, revealing that ‘More than half the people at the top of the legal profession, politics, business and journalism went to fee-paying schools, which can only be afforded by a few’.

The announcement by the Government comes after the scandals of the Tories. It was revealed that internships were sold and auctioned for thousands of pounds at the Conservatives’ annual Black and White Party.

“Their scandal just confirms that you need to be an elitist to get that job you want. That’s also evident in the rise of tuition fees" said Jo Bartson-Umiliisa.

What are your thoughts on the government’s decision to help jobseekers?

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Posted in: Education,News,Student

Lucky Numbers For CCCU Sports

CANTERBURY Christ Church University students are jumping for joy after hitting the bonus and securing National Lottery funding.

CCCU has secured nearly  £175,000 from Sport England National lottery funding that will be used to kick start and encourage more people to take up sports. Such is British sport's obsession with London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

CCCU director of Sport, Dr Andrew Balson said: “This will allow students to have the opportunity to try a variety of sports. 

"Our aim is to work in partnership with national governing bodies and local sport providers, especially sports clubs such as Polo Farm Sports Club in Canterbury, where we can integrate our students into playing sport in the local community whilst they are studying."

Students at CCCU believe this could be a flying start to the future of their university.

Sports sabbatical officer, Steph White, 23, said: "We are so lucky to be one of the few universities to be offered such a large amount of money to go directly into sport.

"174,000 will mean a coordinator to increase particpation and increase the variety of what sport and exercise opportunities there are at Christ Church, and hopefully the impact this money will have on sports here will go a long way to attracting prosepctive students when fees rocket to 9,000.

"The sports federation is booming at the moment and I can only wonder the enjoyment future students will get belonging to a federation bigger and better."


Matt Garner, 21, studying sport science and on the mens football team said: "I think this is a great opportunity for CCCU to get on the map and be recognised for its sporting ability.


"This university isn't known for its academic ability and rightly so. Many think University of Kent is better and you can't really deny that it isn't when their 20 odd in the university league table and we're something like 107th out of 118.


"So if this university can get recognised for its sporting side, they could potentially bring a lot of sporty students."

James Alder, 21, studying History and sports psychology said: "I am a keen sports man and this we be a great benefit for CCCU. But to be honest, I play cricket, football, golf and whether this university had little funding for sport teams, it wouldn't throw me off sport one bit. You play a sport because you love it.

"Sport has changed. Supporters remained loyal to local teams rather than switching to commercial 'brands' teams, who have that extra cash in their back pocket. It's the same with the professionals. They play for money now. I hate it.

"You'll have a much better time watching a local team in league two. You see fans with their football scarves and their burgers all chanting for their team."

What sport do you participate in and do you think it could be improved? For more information click here.

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Posted in: Education,Sport

You Know Where To Stick It

CANTERBURY City Council are getting their teeth into cleaning up the streets.

The dropping of chewing gum on pavements can be very expensive. Ian Mckenzie from Canterbury City Council explains.

The maximum fine for dropping chewing gum is £2,500.

Since 1992 Singapore have made chewing gum illegal and it comes as no shock that they have been deemed the cleanest city in the world.

So what do the residents of Canterbury do with their chewing gum afterwards?  

 Listen to the Full iCan2bury News podcast report;

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Have your say on the dropping of chewing gum.
 

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Posted in: News,Strange news,video

It's Time For Malaysia

A MUSICAL extravaganza was held in Canterbury showcasing the rich cultures of Malaysia.

The carnivalesque show, held by Canterbury Christ Church University students, exhibited performances of song and dance accompanied with games and food.

To hear the full Malaysia show click here.

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Posted in: News

Heard It All Before

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THOUSANDS of university hopefuls are trying to cheat their way into university. Ucas have revealed that college students are plagiarising and writing phrases in their personal statement, parrot fashion from the internet.

THE TOP 10 OPENING LINES


Using its copycatch software, Ucas compiled a list of the most common opening sentences used in personal statements in 2010.

1. I am currently studying a BTEC National Diploma in … 464

2. From a young age I have always been interested in … 309

3. From an early age I have always been interested in … 292

4. Nursing is a very challenging and demanding career … 275

5. For as long as I can remember I have been fascinated with … 196

6. “Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only” … 189

7. Nursing is a profession I have always looked upon with … 178

8. For as long as I can remember I have been interested in … 166

9. I am an International Academy student and have been studying since … 141

10. Academically, I have always been a very determined and … 138.

  

For more information and guidance for applicants click here 

Why are so many students cheating on their personal statements and are they a waste of time? Should universities concentrate on grades alone, or is a personal statement the only way to stand out from the crowd? We want to hear your thoughts.

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Posted in: Education,News,Student

Love is in The Food

ASDA customers may be able to find love among the cabbages. The supermarket has started their own online dating service that they believe is the key ingredient for love.

According to Asda, the novel idea came about after a survey conducted on 10,000 of their shoppers showed that 71 per cent of men and 64 per cent of women look for a possible match in their local supermarket. And 41 per cent said they viewed contents of fellow shoppers baskets to try and gauge whether they were single.

Their dating service asks those who register to pick from a range of food items so they can use this as a recipe to match make with people who have the same eye for food.

Julia Lamb, 21, local resident of Canterbury believes it’s a great idea. "You can get your weekly shop done while chatting to fellow Asda shoppers who take your fancy".

But others think it’s a waste of food.

Store manager at Asda Canterbury, Francis Raynes said: "With over 18 million shoppers visiting Asda each week the company realised this could be an opportunity to help set up a few dates.

"Who knows, maybe we’ll an in-store marriage.”

AsdaDating.com is run in association with dating agency UKDating.

To check out asda's matchmaking website click  here. 

So what would you be looking for in a potential partner's trolley? And what would they think of your preference for microwave meals and Asda smart price Vodka?

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Posted in: News,Strange news