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I once asked a mystic who dwelt atop a mountain what the secret of a contented life was, and the mystic replied: "Act as though your actions might get written up in the news media if they obviously make for good headlines". I wonder what he meant by that.
https://thetab.com/uk/leeds/2020/09/22/leeds-uni-security-are-breaking-up-flat-parties-with-dog-squads-52193
https://thetab.com/uk/leeds/2020/09/22/leeds-uni-security-are-breaking-up-flat-parties-with-dog-squads-52193
MMU, likewise, more or less writing its own negative press at the moment: https://twitter.com/Gabriel_Pogrund/status/1309907164560060416
There's a certain inevitable interplay of cause and effect in these situations, which some of us can see, and some of us can't.
A surprising number of the people who can't see it turn out to be making high-level decisions at universities. https://twitter.com/LevinsLaw/status/1310008628771008512
A surprising number of the people who can't see it turn out to be making high-level decisions at universities. https://twitter.com/LevinsLaw/status/1310008628771008512
Fair play: as bad actions go, this statement is less bad than previous bad actions.
It does rather leave you wondering what the "assert arbitrary powers that melt on exposure to a moment's lawyerly attention" phase of the charm offensive was in aid of. https://twitter.com/helenpidd/status/1310249296135106560
It does rather leave you wondering what the "assert arbitrary powers that melt on exposure to a moment's lawyerly attention" phase of the charm offensive was in aid of. https://twitter.com/helenpidd/status/1310249296135106560
Update: so-called "rule of law" may be operative in UK, applicable to universities, warn legal professionals https://twitter.com/LevinsLaw/status/1310567997648637953
Meanwhile, back over in Leeds, one of our highly responsible private accommodation providers appears to be going with "Maybe we could try burning the students?" Again, I can't say I'm 100% sure that's going to turn out well for them. https://twitter.com/g_louise02/status/1310652165560635392
Top tips for academic success:
1. Always do your referencing as you go along
2. Don't subject your students to false imprisonment
3. Don't go out of your way to make it easier for your students to perish in a fire
1. Always do your referencing as you go along
2. Don't subject your students to false imprisonment
3. Don't go out of your way to make it easier for your students to perish in a fire
Ah, I need to add an important clarification: the fire exit (identified by a fire exit sign reading "Fire exit") is, per @leedsbeckett, not a fire exit.
...actually, it might be clearer if we dispensed with the clarification.
" https://twitter.com/mralanjohnsmith/status/1310637625364164608
...actually, it might be clearer if we dispensed with the clarification.
" https://twitter.com/mralanjohnsmith/status/1310637625364164608
I'd just like to point out that iQ's containment strategy, as such, seems to have been to remove the cable ties, which didn't show up very clearly on camera, and construct something you could virtually sell to Alamy as a stock photo to be tagged "health and safety breach".
Meanwhile in Edinburgh.
It's the "twice" that gets me here. https://www.itv.com/news/2020-09-29/university-covid-crisis-muslim-student-stuck-in-self-isolation-served-ham-sandwiches
It's the "twice" that gets me here. https://www.itv.com/news/2020-09-29/university-covid-crisis-muslim-student-stuck-in-self-isolation-served-ham-sandwiches
OK, let's run through it again, because some people at the back are clearly not getting it.
When you perform "actions", there follow what we call "consequences". They are, if you like, the "consequences of your actions". For instance, https://twitter.com/jim_dickinson/status/1313448538123239424
When you perform "actions", there follow what we call "consequences". They are, if you like, the "consequences of your actions". For instance, https://twitter.com/jim_dickinson/status/1313448538123239424
You would have hoped that "Number of incidents that end up with fire services having to explain to universities that they are prohibited from burning their students" was not the kind of value on which you could keep a running tally. https://twitter.com/ucu/status/1317005527218589696
Brief (hopefully) reactivation of the "actions have consequences" thread, and this time, I'm saddened to say, it's my own employer: https://mancunion.com/2020/11/05/breaking-manchester-university-to-remove-lockdown-fencing-as-students-gather-in-protest/
I don't get it. How could they possibly have imagined this would play out any way but the way it did?
I don't get it. How could they possibly have imagined this would play out any way but the way it did?
Also: why do institutional damage-limitation comms always make the same unforced error of qualifying the acknowledgment with a touch of vaguely pass-agg self-justification? It can't help but look either petulant or clueless. Just say you messed up and will try not to do it again.
Ten points and a coconut to anyone who saw the UoM announcement saying they'd be taking the fencing down tomorrow and said "I don't think you'll need to be doing that..." https://twitter.com/themancunion/status/1324449448861278209
UoM response thread: https://twitter.com/OfficialUoM/status/1324454941319139328
Taking this in good faith, I can't help but feel that putting up a fence around people without prior warning or explanation in a bid to make their distress levels go *down* rather than *up* is culpable behaviour in its own right.
Taking this in good faith, I can't help but feel that putting up a fence around people without prior warning or explanation in a bid to make their distress levels go *down* rather than *up* is culpable behaviour in its own right.
Just found this @MENnewsdesk report from before the protests, in which my employer's spokesperson is quoted as stating that the fence "is designed to help highlight main entrance areas".
I'd have used signage myself, but what do I know? https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/manchester-university-installs-new-lockdown-19228777?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebar
I'd have used signage myself, but what do I know? https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/manchester-university-installs-new-lockdown-19228777?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebar
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/manchester-university-installs-new-lockdown-19228777?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebar
Because Twitter, the @themancunion tweet with the video above garnered at least one reply along the lines of "pah, there's only about 30 of them."
Reader, there were not only about 30 of them: https://twitter.com/rentstrikeUoM/status/1324458044479184903
Reader, there were not only about 30 of them: https://twitter.com/rentstrikeUoM/status/1324458044479184903
One thing that throws the terrible state of my employer's comms into particularly sharp relief is the fact that the affected students' comms are very good: https://twitter.com/HeartNWNews/status/1324622441977700352
In this piece, published late this morning, our Vice-Chancellor is quoted as stating that she does not know who approved the fencing-in of the residences, and is relying on the enquiry to find out.
This is, once again, a big problem in its own right. https://thetab.com/uk/manchester/2020/11/06/university-of-manchester-has-launched-an-immediate-inquiry-into-the-fences-49572
This is, once again, a big problem in its own right. https://thetab.com/uk/manchester/2020/11/06/university-of-manchester-has-launched-an-immediate-inquiry-into-the-fences-49572
