Monday 10 June 2013

Giving the University Centre Folkestone the send-off it deserves.

In December 2012 I wrote two articles for my university newspaper, Unified, one of which was a comment piece on the closure of my university campus in Folkestone (UCF).

This article came just four months after the plan to close the Canterbury Christ Church campus was announced by email by the then Vice-Chancellor, Professor Robin Baker. His email, sent on August 3 2012, stated that the upcoming closure was to ensure students "the best experience" at university.

Initially there was uproar amongst the students. The email delivering our news stated that the results of the University Student Survey, carried out during the previous academic year, which we were all encouraged to fill out by the previous Campus Director, Chris Price, was "at the forefront" of their minds when making the decision to close the campus. This left many students feeling "resentful" and as though the Uni were "twisting their words", as stated in Facebook comments and posts in the UCF Student Facebook page, shortly after the email had been received.

Now, ten months after receiving the news and six months after writing about the decision and the effect in Unified, most students have got past the initial shock and are looking forward to their time in Canterbury, which has so much more to offer than Folkestone.

I've been wanting to write about the close again for some time now, but there was just so much to say that I put off publishing anything - whether it be here on my blog, or on HerUni - for fear of not doing UCF justice.

For me, just writing one article on the subject wasn't enough. Thankfully, the Deputy Editor of The Medwire, Matt Charles, has a soft spot for the campus. On behalf of UCF he has set up a page on The Medwire's website.On this page a different opinion piece, written by a different UCF student, will be uploaded every day of this week, starting today. This week-long series is our way of saying a farewell to UCF, and having our say on the close. The series will also consist of news and interviews about the move - starting today with an article about the reasons behind the move, and developing with staff interviews.



Seven UCF students are getting to have their say, thanks to The Medwire's week-long series.



The articles on The Medwire: 

Matt Charles: Former Vice-Chancellor 'UCF closure was to further student experience'
http://www.themedwire.co.uk/2013/06/10/former-vice-chancellor-ucf-closure-was-to-further-student-experience/

Montana Allen: 'The dull and slimy image I think about'
http://www.themedwire.co.uk/2013/06/10/the-dull-and-slimy-image-i-think-about/

Celine Cuddihy: 'It felt as though the wool had been pulled over our eyes'
http://www.themedwire.co.uk/2013/06/11/it-felt-as-though-the-wool-had-been-pulled-over-our-eyes/

Matt Charles: 'UCF in number (may contain sarcasm)'
http://www.themedwire.co.uk/2013/06/11/ucf-in-numbers-may-contain-sarcasm/

Matt Charles: 'UCF campus director insists move is a 'positive' one'
http://www.themedwire.co.uk/2013/06/12/ucf-campus-director-insists-move-is-a-positive-one/

Edd Hodson: 'Canterbury will be better - much better'
http://www.themedwire.co.uk/2013/06/12/canterbury-will-be-better-much-better/

Lauren Hewitt: 'UCF reaffirmed my love for singing ... and being centre of attention'
http://www.themedwire.co.uk/2013/06/13/ucf-reaffirmed-my-love-for-singing-being-the-centre-of-attention/

Nick Duffy: '#SecondCampusProblems'
http://www.themedwire.co.uk/2013/06/13/secondcampusproblems/

Joe Morgan: 'Folkestone is fantastic and ever so slightly seedy'
http://www.themedwire.co.uk/2013/06/14/folkestone-is-fantastic-and-ever-so-slightly-seedy/


Follow: @the_medwire and like their Facebook page: The Medwire to keep up-to-date with the articles uploaded each day.

Follow the whole week on twitter and voice your opinion with #ByeByeUCF