Author: Iona Pinches

With only one week of term left it’s time to jump for joy at the prospect of going home for Christmas to a house with central heating, a full fridge and being surrounded by your nearest and dearest.  The prospect of actually getting home is however one many people are far less enthusiastic about. News broke last week of the rise of rail fares by 2.5% on 4th January 2015. In a society in which rail fares are already higher than any other country in Europe maybe even the world, not to mention quality of travel actually being poorer, it…

I always believed as a young woman heading out into the big wide world that I was fortunate to be in the position I am, a world of equal rights, gender equality and equal opportunities. News over the past few weeks has however contradicted such beliefs. Last week the World Economic Forums revealed that Britain ranks 26th in the world in terms of gender equality, meaning we have dropped 17 places in the last twenty years. This disturbs me greatly, in a society where women fought so hard for their rights how could this possibly have happened? Now before I…

The rose tinted spectacles have once again come off and the reality of what this forthcoming academic year has in hold has started to set in.  Freshers week is a distant memory and those all important exams are starting to creep up on you.  It’s times like these that it’s easy to feel stressed, anxious and depressed, but how do you tackle these feelings, where can you go for help and who is around to support you? The prominence of mental health among students is growing every year with the number of students seeking a counselor rising by a third…