{"id":686,"date":"2018-06-21T10:21:23","date_gmt":"2018-06-21T10:21:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/?p=686"},"modified":"2018-08-09T10:29:21","modified_gmt":"2018-08-09T10:29:21","slug":"subtext-180-better-sorry-than-safe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/06\/21\/subtext-180-better-sorry-than-safe\/","title":{"rendered":"subtext 180 – ‘better sorry than safe’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fortnightly during term time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Letters, contributions, & comments:\u00a0subtext-editors@lancaster.ac.uk<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Back issues & subscription details:\u00a0http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/about\/<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

In this issue:\u00a0editorial, welcome week<\/a>, deanshare<\/a>, lab location<\/a>, UA92 galore<\/a>, FASS typos<\/a>, house-building<\/a>, union blues<\/a>, shart<\/a>, poem<\/a>, TV review<\/a>, letters<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

*****************************************************<\/span><\/p>\n

EDITORIAL<\/span><\/p>\n

Gaps, holes, deficits, cuts, absences. Call them what you will, it would be hard to deny that the academic year has been littered with them, providing the subtext drones with more than enough metaphorical material to stretch to breaking point and enough space to fly the traditional end of year round-up through on a bus.<\/span><\/p>\n

The biggest gap generator has been the ongoing building work on campus, particularly on the Spine. There have been holes in the ground where the Spine has been dug up, communication gaps where the pink and purple diversion signs have failed to keep up with the actual situation ‘on the ground’, and most worryingly there has been a huge gap in provision for disabled users of the spine, with accessible routes around the pinball game that traversing campus has become having all but disappeared. Add to this the gaps of buildings that failed to appear (squints at the Management School) and the gap we didn’t know we had (cocks an eyebrow at Alexandra Square’s Big Screen), and it’s a wonder we didn’t all get a collective sprained ankle.<\/span><\/p>\n

There have been financial gaps as well. Students who may have specific learning disabilities have seen a cut of 50% in the funding available from the University to be assessed for them – a massive blow to the life chances of those that need one but can’t afford it. Nationally, the most disruptive gap of the year was the deficit in the UCU pension fund \u2013 and understanding thereof \u2013 that saw an unprecedented turnout in support of strike action, and UCU members picketing for two weeks in freezing conditions. Whilst the picket lines saw a huge amount of support from students and non-striking staff there was another gap: no clear or coherent response from the VC. The University as a whole continued to fail to cover itself in glory when the Gender Pay Gap report was published in April, revealing LU to be third from the bottom in the country (University of the Year, though!) with a mean pay gap of 27.7% as opposed to the national average of… cough… 17.8%.<\/span><\/p>\n

There have been notable gaps in democracy, honesty and decency. Maybe it started when Lancaster University Students’ Union refused to take a stance in regard to supporting the UCU strike, and it definitely didn’t end with their ‘creative’ approach to the online AGM ballot. Maybe it started when the University Court was abolished, removing one of the last democratically elected bodies in the institution (and one that oversaw the appointment of various posts). In fact, subtext notes – with some glee – that you can read all about the machinations of Lancaster University’s ‘Strategic Planning & Governance’ division at gap.lancs.ac.uk. Maybe it started when the VC led us to believe that Lancaster was the first port of call for UA92 (it wasn’t) and shrouded the entire business in a cloak of secrecy. Maybe it started with swastikas on Sociology department doors appearing overnight followed by the attempted setting up of a new student society concerned with white supremacy and other alt-right (i.e. fascist) ideas. This is a gap that is going to take more than a bit of polyfilla and a trowel to sort out.<\/span><\/p>\n

And we’ve been feeling a bit gappy ourselves – retirement and illness have left us short of an editor or two in the subtext warehouse, so we welcome all those readers with a critical eye, a writerly bent and a typing speed of 80wpm to drop us a line at subtext-editors@lancaster.ac.uk<\/a> to get involved. And so, once more unto the breach, dear readers – starting October. Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks for writing in – do keep doing that. Failing that, hit us with your ‘like’ stick on our Facebook page, at www.facebook.com\/lusubtext<\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fortnightly during term time. Letters, contributions, & comments:\u00a0subtext-editors@lancaster.ac.uk Back issues & subscription details:\u00a0http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/about\/ In this issue:\u00a0editorial, welcome week, deanshare, lab location, UA92 galore, FASS typos, house-building, union blues, shart, poem, TV review, letters ***************************************************** EDITORIAL Gaps, holes, deficits, cuts, absences. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":568,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[372,11,370,227,294,374,20,179,70,62],"class_list":["post-686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editorial","tag-accessibility","tag-design-the-spine","tag-disability-support","tag-fascists","tag-gender-pay-gap","tag-issue-180","tag-lusu","tag-strike","tag-ucu","tag-university-court"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p99sHo-b4","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":662,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/06\/21\/subtext-the-poem-17-18\/","url_meta":{"origin":686,"position":0},"title":"SUBTEXT – THE POEM: 17\/18","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"June 21 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Panic in granadaland better sorry than safe dragging us into a black and white photograph their tongues are silver forks. There's a lack of wisdom, you can hear it on their breath empowering your opinion with impartial information. For the avoidance of subtext a frontier without borders, a subtext without\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Issue 180\"","block_context":{"text":"Issue 180","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/tag\/issue-180\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":309,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/01\/18\/subtext-171-the-stable-genius-of-a-shithole-subtext\/","url_meta":{"origin":686,"position":1},"title":"subtext 171 – ‘the stable genius of a shithole subtext’","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"January 18 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Fortnightly during term time. Letters, contributions, & comments: subtext-editors@lancaster.ac.uk Back issues & subscription details:\u00a0http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/about\/ In this issue: editorial, tech, groveling apology, website, UA92 bonanza, court, leadership bonanza, UCLan, BAM, lowercase letters, shart, concert review, letters. ***************************************************** EDITORIAL We had it all sewn up - the editorial was written, the issue\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "editorial"","block_context":{"text":"editorial","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/editorial\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":646,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/06\/07\/subtext-179-dragging-us-into-a-black-and-white-photograph\/","url_meta":{"origin":686,"position":2},"title":"subtext 179 – ‘dragging us into a black and white photograph’","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"June 7 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Fortnightly during term time. Letters, contributions, & comments:\u00a0subtext-editors@lancaster.ac.uk Back issues & subscription details:\u00a0http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/about\/ In this issue:\u00a0editorial, LUSU, access, calling on gary, lost & found, fascists, tech, canal quarter, garden village, sports science, impact!, more access, no letters. ***************************************************** EDITORIAL In the last edition of subtext we focused on the subject\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "editorial"","block_context":{"text":"editorial","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/editorial\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1530,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2021\/11\/11\/subtext-197-you-know-your-worst-is-better-than-their-best\/","url_meta":{"origin":686,"position":3},"title":"subtext 197 – you know your worst is better than their best","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"November 11 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Frequency determined by contributions received. Letters, contributions, & comments: subtext-editors@lancaster.ac.uk Back issues & subscription details: http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/about\/ In this issue: editorial, campus update, campus by-election, bailrigg garden village special, tolerance update, honorary degrees, valete spineless, post-lockdown dystopia, peter scott review, three widden reviews, letters. ***************************************************** EDITORIAL Before 2021, the longest ever\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "editorial"","block_context":{"text":"editorial","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/editorial\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":530,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/04\/26\/subtext-176-for-the-avoidance-of-subtext\/","url_meta":{"origin":686,"position":4},"title":"subtext 176 – ‘for the avoidance of subtext’","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"April 26 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Fortnightly during term time. Letters, contributions, & comments: subtext-editors@lancaster.ac.uk Back issues & subscription details:\u00a0http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/about\/ In this issue: editorial,\u00a0fash, more fash, gender pay gap, UA92 (in four parts), bad governance, more governance, assistant deans, appeal for more assistant deans, bomb shelter update, grad ball, alternative grad ball, lu text lost and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "editorial"","block_context":{"text":"editorial","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/editorial\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":717,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/09\/13\/watch-this-space-part-i-study\/","url_meta":{"origin":686,"position":5},"title":"WATCH THIS SPACE: PART I STUDY","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"September 13 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Part I study was a brief feature at the start and end of subtext's academic year. In issue 168, we reported on a serious proposal to drastically limit the amount of time that students spend on minor subjects, which would impact greatly on departmental budgets and workloads. If implemented, it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "history"","block_context":{"text":"history","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/history\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/568"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=686"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/686\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":687,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/686\/revisions\/687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}