UCL and Faculty
Our coverage of news at faculty level and UCL at large.
Quad Closure
Quad Closure: UCL to evict Art Museum following hasty consultation
The UCL Art Museum is being ‘evicted’ by the University in a ‘hugely sensitive and problematic’ move that has angered students, ac...
Quad Closure: Kiss goodbye to the Main Quad until 2026, says UCL
In a blog post titled ‘Improving experience and accessibility for our campus’ central spaces’, the University has announced its p...
Management
Cut ties and divest from genocide, careers fair protesters tell UCL
Pro-Palestine activists have in recent weeks carried out disruptions at UCL careers fairs to highlight the University’s ties to c...
Revealed: UCL Provost third highest-paid in country
UCL’s Provost Michael Spence was paid just over half a million pounds last year, making him the third highest-paid university bos...
What is it with the Provost and ‘Disagreeing Well’?
If you are new to UCL, you will probably notice very soon that the Provost has a particular obsession with ‘free speech’ and a li...
No free speech for UCL’s outsourced workforce
Despite his repeated claims that the ‘right to protest, debate, and challenging ideas is fundamental to our role as a university’...
On the Provost’s Update
Dayan MustafaIn his attempt to say nothing at all (nothing political, that is) Dr Michael Spence, the UCL Provost, has re...
The Provost’s Record on LGBTQ+ Support Sinks to a New Low
Rebekah WrightN.B. The Cheese Grater has reached out to Michael Spence’s Office for comment, but is yet to hear back from the...
Race To The Bottom: UCL’s Commercialisation Comes At A Cost
British universities are in the midst of a transformation. Higher education institutions are competing, like enterprises in consum...
The Cheese Grater Interviews Dr Michael Spence
In February 2020, Sophia Robinson from The Cheese Grater Magazine interviewed Dr Michael Spence, UCL’s new Provost. Among other th...
Faculty
A ‘culture of overwork and abuse’: Years after the first complaints, the mistreatment of PGTAs continues
Andrea Bidnic, Malvika Murkumbi and Mayra Nassef In 2017, The Cheese Grater published an article titled “Teaching on the...
The Bleak Reality of UCL History Department’s Redundancy Crisis
Robert Delaney Higher education is in a bad place. Those reading who were at UCL last year know exactly what I mean. Mar...
TERF out Transphobia: The IOE and “Academic Freedom”
This article was awarded Best Media Piece at the 2024 Students' Union UCL Arts Awards.Mads BrownStudents have finally h...
Nightmare at Gower Street! How Negligence and Administration Errors Pushed One Student to the Brink
Anna Maria Papaoikonomou & Neil MajithiaIf you’ve ever had to change your modules, inquire about extenuating circumstance...
The Bartlett: Architects of Bullying & Intimidation
Zhenya Robinson and Samir Ismail UCL’s Bartlett School of Architecture (BSA) has consistently ranked amongst...
Separate But Equal: Social Sciences’ Superficial Inclusivity
I chose Social Sciences as my undergraduate degree thinking, almost naively, that understanding the world around me would help me ...
Student Support Whilst Studying Abroad: Is UCL Doing Enough?
Students on study abroad programmes have always had to deal with a unique set of challenges, such as visa complications, communica...
Academia and air travel: how sustainable is UCL?
By Juliette Grieve & Riddhi KanetkarDespite a growing awareness towards tackling the climate crisis, many UK universitie...
Sexual violence
‘I am happy to accept further training is needed’: UCL ‘Report + Support’ and their self-admitted negligence
Rebekah WrightContent warning: discussions of sexual assault and rapeAll the people in this article have been given pseud...
Case closed: A Testimony to the Failure of UCL ‘Report + Support’
Mads Brown and Zhenya RobinsonContent warning: discussions of sexual assault and mental illness [‘Report + Support’]...
The Story of How Rape Went Unpunished At UCL
*Content warning: this article details a real case of sexual violenceFor the purposes of the victim’s privacy, this article us...
“Rape is not normal; it is normalised”: A First-hand Account
Trigger warning: mentions and graphic details of r*pe and sexual assault Everyone has drunk sex at university, right? That’s w...
UCL’s Response to Sexual Misconduct Remains Riddled with Loopholes
*Trigger Warning: this article contains mentions of sexual assault and harassment “Before a system like Report and Support exi...
Violated, Harassed, Ignored: Abuse in Halls by UCL Security Guards
“[He] leaned over the desk and sniffed [me] in three places, typically where you put perfume.” Content Warning: The following ...
No Report, No Support: How UCL Fails Victims of Racism
“It was obvious that this was someone that has never had to be around black people their entire life”In early November, employ...
“Zero Tolerance is just a marketing scheme”: Union hypocrisy fails sexual assault victims
“They make you run around in circles until you give up.”Imagine having a drink with a friend in Phineas. All around are po...
Workers
Cruciform cleaners win pay parity after hard fight
Outsourced cleaners at the Cruciform were finally offered parity in pay and conditions, five years after it was promised by UCL… ...
No free speech for UCL’s outsourced workforce
Despite his repeated claims that the ‘right to protest, debate, and challenging ideas is fundamental to our role as a university’...
The Bleak Reality of UCL History Department’s Redundancy Crisis
Robert Delaney Higher education is in a bad place. Those reading who were at UCL last year know exactly what I mean. Mar...
UCL v. Security Staff: Echoes of Exploitation Ignored by Student Apathy
Rusheen Bansal“They're hiring new people when employees are losing hours.” On December 4, spirited chants reverberat...
Exploitation and Inequality: The Plight of UCL’s Outsourced Security Staff
Andrea Bidnic, Mads Brown & Lily ParkIn a statement made in November, UCL claimed outsourced security staff were “employe...
Cost of Greed Crisis: UCU’s Persisting Strike Actionucl
Zhenya Robinson & Finley LittlefairOn the 24th, 25th and 30th of November, universities saw the biggest strike turnout ...
The Past, Present and Future of Strike Action
Do you think your working conditions are adequate? “No! I’m sending this email at 23:59
In February 2018, Jason Murugesu and Pete...
Workers demand furlough after being compelled to work in non-essential buildings at UCL
Although Sadiq Khan declared COVID-19 to be a ‘major incident’ in London, many workers are still being compelled to provide cleani...
Estates & facilities
Quad Closure: UCL to evict Art Museum following hasty consultation
The UCL Art Museum is being ‘evicted’ by the University in a ‘hugely sensitive and problematic’ move that has angered students, ac...
Punnett Hall: IOE finally names a room after a woman
The Institute of Education has renamed its Drama Studio after a woman for the first time in its 122-year history.Robert Delan...
Quad Closure: Kiss goodbye to the Main Quad until 2026, says UCL
In a blog post titled ‘Improving experience and accessibility for our campus’ central spaces’, the University has announced its p...
Access denied: UCL fails disabled student on graduation day
At the Faculty of Arts and Humanities graduation on Tuesday (3 September), one student was forced to receive their degree certifi...
Rats, Floods, ‘Fermented Pineapple Juice’: the Trials and Tribulations of UCL Estates
Robert Delaney, Malvika Murkumbi, Mayra Nassef, and Andrea BidnicA year in student accommodation is a rite of passage for mos...
Unfair Gordon Square: The Problems with Accessibility at UCL
Finley Littlefair, Yash Zodgekar, Emma Begley-Collier, and Sirjan NarangFrom the picture-perfect Portico to the houses lining...
Open Season on The Student Centre: The Lack of Security & Support at UCL
Samir Ismail, Investigations EditorThe Student Centre is a study spot frequented by most UCL students. It is common knowledge tha...
Why is UCL’s WiFi so bad?
This academic year, it has often been impossible for students to access WiFi in UCL libraries. Though eduroam functioned fine befo...
UCL East
One Pending Street: Communication Failures Worsen Accommodation Delays at UCL East
Rebekah Wright, Thais Jones, Samir Ismail and Nandini AgarwalTo protect anonymity, some names have been replaced with ...
UCL East: Flowery Promises Conceal Costly Commercialisation
As UCL prepares to open its new campus, questions arise over its true purpose and value to Bloomsbury’s current students. In 2...
Exorbitant student accomodation at UCL East
UCL East students will face central London prices for accommodation in decidedly-not-central London.The primary justification ...
Don’t know what UCL East is? Here’s An Explainer
As students enjoyed a break over the summer, work continued apace on UCL's new campus in Stratford, East London — six miles from B...
“Fuck off, or you are going to have a war on your hands”
UCL's proposal to build a £1bn "university quarter" in Stratford was passed by a Newham council meeting tonight, much to the anger...
Why Were Newham Complaints Not Heard for Eleven Days?
For background on this story, see CG34 (March 2012) and the September 2012 Welcome Issue.Warren Lubin, chair of the Carpenter...
Eugenics
Will the Eugenics Inquiry learn from past mistakes?
At a town hall meeting on 1 March, students and staff came together to debate and testify to UCL’s complex relationship with eugen...
A brief history of Eugenics
UCL is finally facing up to its past. An inquiry has been convened to investigate UCL’s history of eugenics and make recommendatio...