[HDNG]INTRODUCTION:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL] Formerly Paisley College[EBOLD][PARA]Paisley, to the west of Glasgow, is a town [ITAL]in manufacturing [PARA]decline, but business growth [EITAL]- long gone are those 18th and 19th [PARA]century days when, it had a great weaving industry. The town [PARA]used to produce so many shawls, that it even invented its own [PARA]pattern - the now familiar 'paisley' that appears on millions of Tie [PARA]Rack ties, MandS boxer shorts, and Prince. Spread around the [PARA]centre of town is the University campus, mostly a set of concrete[PARA]blocks, joined by walkways, [ITAL]scoring zero on the eyeability scale, [EITAL][PARA]but also including lecture halls in converted churches. The [PARA]education faculty's in Ayr, about 30 miles away.[HDNG]ATMOSPHERE:[EHDNG][PARA]1/2 the students are in the Faculty of Engineering (including [PARA]Computing Science and Technology and Management).[ITAL] In [EITAL][PUSH]push[EPUSH] [ITAL][PARA]94 we made a few gentle jibes at Paisley engineers, suggesting [PARA]that, perhaps, they're not at the cutting edge of grooviness, and [PARA]that their, well, geekiness, tends to influence the social tone. This[PARA]drew a few cries of protest from certain members of the student[PARA]body. 'Don't call us nerds!' they snarled. 'Why not? Aren't you?' [PARA]we responded. Pause. 'That's not the point!' they squealed, and [PARA]went off for a cup of cocoa, and a spot of advanced calculus. [EITAL][PUSH][PARA]push[EPUSH] [ITAL]rests its case. The general attitude is that Paisley is a place[PARA]to get a degree, and you get a degree to get a job, rather than a [PARA]life-enhancing experience. If you share this attitude, you'll have a [PARA]great time.[EITAL][PARA][PARA][ITAL][HDNG]PAISLEY:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA][ITAL][STAT][BULL] Population: 100,000 [BULL] London: 371miles [BULL] Glasgow: [PARA]7miles [BULL] Edinburgh: 51miles[ESTAT][EITAL][PARA][ITAL]You can't spend centuries, making fine swirling shapes without a [PARA]fair amount of artiness rubbing off on you. And indeed, despite [PARA]everything else, Paisley remains a thriving arts centre. [EITAL]Right [PARA]opposite the University are the town's museum and art gallery. [PARA]Along with shops, banks and the like, there are other attractions [PARA]such as Paisley Abbey (parts of which date back to the 12th [PARA]century), the Coats Observatory and the Weaver's Cottage, [ITAL]but [PARA]Paisley isn't one of Scotland's tourist draws.[EITAL][HDNG]THE CITY:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Population: 654,542 [BULL] London: 367miles [BULL] Edinburgh: [PARA]52miles[ESTAT][PARA]The Clyde flows out to sea from Glasgow to its Firth and [PARA]towards the Isle of Arran. Inland, the city is surrounded by the [PARA]rolling hills of Strathclyde. It used to be a centre for shipping and [PARA]steel, before the city dropped into a recession as deep as a [PARA]saying by Confucius. [ITAL]With enormous effort in recent years, [PARA]Glasgow has been dragging itself up from the gutter, and has [PARA]shown itself to be a thoroughly cultural, modern European city. [EITAL]In[PARA]fact, in 1990, it was declared Cultural Capital of Europe ([ITAL]more by [PARA]way of encouragement than appreciation[EITAL]). [ITAL]Glasgow is again [PARA]beginning to deserve the pride that its people never lost. [EITAL] In the city[PARA]centre ([ITAL]ignore the outskirts which are still fairly depressing[EITAL]), there[PARA]is some [ITAL]magnificent [EITAL]architecture (with many buildings designed [PARA]by home-grown Charles Rennie Mackintosh) and there are 35 [PARA]museums and art galleries, including [ITAL]notably [EITAL]the Art Gallery and [PARA]Museum in Kelvingrove Park, the Burrell Collection, the McLellan [PARA]Galleries, the Tobacco Lords House and many National Trust [PARA]properties. You might expect a city of this size to have loads of [PARA]shops, public amenities and stuff like that - you wouldn't be [PARA]wrong. [ITAL]Fed up with the sniping about Glasgow being miles [PARA]better, the new catchphrase is 'Glasgow's Alive'. Crass, but true.[EITAL][PARA][ITAL]In the under-belly of Glasgow life, there is a massive amount of [PARA]drug abuse with both hard and soft drugs easily available. There [PARA]is a considerable problem with related crime. [EITAL][HDNG]TRAVEL:[EHDNG][PARA][BOLD]Trains:[EBOLD] The nearest mainline station is a 5min walk to Gilmour St.[PARA]It has a regular direct service to Glasgow (ú2.50 return) with the [PARA]last train at night at 11.46pm. Other services around Ayrshire.[PARA][BOLD]Coaches:[EBOLD] Served nationally by Scottish Citylink, via Glasgow.[PARA][BOLD]Car:[EBOLD] The M8 is 1 mile from the town, also the A737 and A726.[PARA][BOLD]Taxis: [EBOLD]Relatively cheap; there's a huge rank by the station.[PARA][BOLD]Hitching:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Generally not recommended[EITAL].[PARA][BOLD]Local:[EBOLD] Local buses allow easy access to surrounding areas. A [PARA]single bus fare to Glasgow at 85p is cheaper than the train and is [PARA]available till 3am.[PARA][BOLD]Bicycles:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Quite hilly [EITAL]and nowhere to store bikes on campus, but [PARA]quite a few students give it a go.[HDNG]LIBRARIES and COMPUTERS:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Books: 117,000 [BULL] Periodicals: 1,250 [BULL] Study places: 420 [PARA]Computer workstations: 2,116[ESTAT][HDNG]CAREER PROSPECTS:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Careers Service [BULL] No of staff: 2full/3part [BULL] Unemployed [PARA]after 6mths (1993): 33%[ESTAT][HDNG]SPECIAL FEATURES:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL]If you're late for lectures, reckon on being locked out.[HDNG]FAMOUS ALUMNI:[EHDNG][PARA]Gavin Hastings (Rugby international).[HDNG]FURTHER INFO:[EHDNG][PARA]Undergrad, postgrad, part-time prospectuses.[PARA][PARA]
