Download - The Medwire Summer 2014 edition
theMedwireFree
EXCLUSIVE: interviewwith Jamie Johnson
Summerball Preview
Medway Festival
Guide
May- July 2014
‘Study Drugs’ investigation
Special Summer Edition
The Team Editor: Victoria Polley
Deputy: Michelle Gleaves
Campus News: Stine Wannebo
Local News: Katie Palmer
Lifestyle: Sarah Boast
Sport: Danny Rust
Comment: Jackie Gordon
TV: Cecily Snowball
Production: Amy Nickalls
Ben Kosma
Milli Midwood
Emily Rouse
Jem Collins
Ola Ojuko
Conor Diggin
George Hopkin
Dave Cocozza
What’s Inside? 4-5: Campus News6: What’s on? 8-9: Study drugs 11: Mental Health week12-13: Lifestyle 15: Comment 17: Medders’ profile 19: Sport
Welcome
back to The Medwire for
the last time this academ-
ic year and maybe for
some of you, the last time
ever!In this special summer
edition we have advice on
coping during the busy
exam period (page 11) as
well as a special investi-
gation into ‘study drugs’
and the extreme lengths
people will go to in order
to get a good mark from
their degree (page 8-9).
As well as all that, we have fashion, food and festivals for you in our lifestyle sec-
tion (page 12-13) and an exclusive interview with The Voice star Jamie Johnson
on recording his new album in Medway (page 17).
And as always we have the latest Team Medway sports new for you, including a
round up from Varsity and all you need to know about Sports Awards (page 19).
I’d also just like to say a massive thank you to all the students graduating this
year who have been involved in The Medwire. Jem Collins, Kieran Watkins, Matt
Charles, Clarissa Place, Milli Midwood and the rest of the third years; thank you for
all your hard work.
Good luck to everyone taking exams and I hope you all have a great summer!
See you next term,
Victoria
themedwire.co.uk
Find us online Who are we?The Medwire Student Media LTD is run as a non-profit organisation, seperate from both the University and Student Union. All the money we make from advertising is used to produce free and independent student news and entertainment. No-one in the company gets paid;we’re all volunteering stu-dents. our aim is to report events both on and off campus accurately and contemporanrously uing on-line,print and film.
Like us on Facebook! /themedwire
Follow us on Twitter @the_medwire
Email us at [email protected]
3
Want to know more?Book now for an Open Event Canterbury – Sat 1 Feb, 10am-2pm (all programmes and locations)Medway – Wed 5 Feb, 5pm-7pm (Medway programmes) www.kent.ac.uk/pg
Paris Athens Rome
Canterbury Medway Brussels
Continue your studies at a top 20 world-leadingresearch university with a global outlook.Discover Kent’s European postgraduate centresand specialist programmes.
Benefits• Discounts and scholarships for Kent graduates• £8m postgraduate scholarship fund• The Graduate School’s Global Skills and
Researcher Development programmes• Remain a member of your clubs and societies
POSTGRADUATE STUDYAT KENT WHERE THEWORLD MEETS EUROPE
Subjects availableAnthropology and ConservationArchitectureArtsBiosciencesBusinessComputingEconomicsEngineering and Digital ArtsEnglishEuropean Culture and LanguagesHistoryJournalismLawMathematics, Statistics and Actuarial SciencePharmacyPhysical SciencesPolitics and International RelationsPsychologySocial Policy, Sociology and Social ResearchSports Studies
AD_116224_Scholarships_Medwire_v2_fullpage 06/01/2014 11:46 Page 1
Victory for Collins at SPANC What’s On?There are loads of events coming up on campus and Emily Rouse has selected a few for you to have a look at.
Coopers FestMay 17- 18:00 to 02:00Head on down to Coopers for this year’s cooper fest. With Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens and Chipmunk performing, this year is set to be biggest and best Coopersfest to date.
Medway volunteers22nd May 18:30 til lateJoin us at the Pembroke building to celebrate all the hard work of this year’s volunteers. If you have completed your 25 hours of volunteering this year then please purchase your tickets from the GK unions office in the Pilkington building. Quick! They are selling out fast!
Give It a Go - Goalball28th June – noon til 2pmGoalball is played in over 100 countries and is a great way to get fit and meet new people. Medway park goalball club is for all people in Kent and surrounding areas, so why not give it a go? Sessions are free and take place at Medway Park’s sport centre in Gillingham. For further information please contact John Hatchett ([email protected])
Relax and unwind sessionsNow to the 13th of JuneWith Exams on the mind all the time, surely you deserve the chance to relax and loose all that stress?Sessions will be held outside the Rochester building on the Rochester lawn with yoga, boxercise, stretching and toning themes.A full timetable is available on Medway activities facebook page.You can book in advance by emailing: [email protected] with your name and student number.
Freshers Help NeededGK Unions are looking for volunteer fresh-er’s helpers. Do you want to meet new people, make new friends and help others at the same time? Then sign up to become a helper and guide freshers through the daunting new experience we have all had to go through!Please visit: www.gkunions.co.uk/fresher-shelper
By Ben Kosma
Ending with a bang!
Campus NewsSummer term is well under way but there’s still plenty going on, whatever campus you are from. Stine Wannebo and her reporters have the lowdown for you before you head off on your holidays...
4 themedwire.co.uk
Party in the car park returns
themedwire.co.uk 5
For the second year in a row the Kent Union Summer Ball is themed ‘Party In The Car Park’ and this year’s edition breaks loose on June 7 at 6pm.
Unlike most proms, this one does not have a dress code, so whether you want to dress up as Cinderella, John Travol-ta or Elmo – anything goes!
DJ Fresh and Wretch 32 will be headlining the end of the year party, along with other artists such as Zane Lowe and Ella Eyre.
DJ Artwork, Faith SFX, Troy and Rewire + Varski will also be making appearances at the eight hour-long concert.
Tickets are available from the loveitkent.co.uk and Unique or Man-dela reception on the Canterbury campus and they are £37.50 for Kent students and £40 for any guests.
Once you have bought a ticket it can be picked up from the Venue in Canterbury or TBC on the Medway campus – but not until June 2.
The ball has received a surprising amount of unwanted attention in recent months because of its rather
unfortunate publicity campaign.A poster with the slogan “Some-
one will lose their friends” picturing a girl sitting alone at last year’s ball was released in March, prompting questions as to what kind of people the Union was trying to attract.
In addition to a joint uproar from students from both campuses, The Huffington Post and KentOnline also picked up on the campaign.Read more about Party in the Car Park on themedwire.co.uk and tweet your photos to @themedwire
Festival vibes are coming early to Medway campus as Coopersfest returns, this time bigger than ever.
On Saturday, May 17 Coopers will see 10 acts across two stages performing as a way to see out exam-time stress.
Headlining the main stage will be Chip, who many will remember as Chipmunk, with sup-port from Aztec, Happycore, Wondermoth and Radio One DJ Huw Stephens.
Also performing with full backing band will be Dan Greenwood, who’s kickstarter campaign for his new album was recently featured in the Medwire.
Mayzez, Prismism and Garrick will also be performing.
Multi-MOBO award winning Chip, who changed his name in 2011 after signing a re-cord deal with US rapper T.I, will be treating fans to older tracks as well as ones form his latest release ‘London Boy’.
As well as the music in store, Coopersfest goers can also have fun with the photobooth, surfing simulator and marquee bar between acts.
Tickets are priced at £5 and are available from Pilkington Reception, Medway Essentials and Coopers.
If you take any great pictures at Coopersfest, tweet them @the_medwire to have them featured on themedwire.co.uk
Medway’s independent student publication, The Medwire, is celebrating this week after picking up two awards from the Student Publication Association National Conference (SPANC).
Outgoing Editor, Jem Collins, picked up the awards at the annual event in Nottingham, beating hundreds of other student newspapers from around the country.
Jem was awarded highly commended in the Best Reporter Category and won the title of Outstanding Commitment.
The awards, which were judged by industry professionals from The Times, The National Student and The Sun, were open to all student newspapers in the UK.
Commenting on her success, Jem said: “I was really shocked to have won anything, let alone two awards, which reflected in what was proba-bly the world’s worst acceptance speech ever!
“I’m so proud to be able to say The Medwire is an award winning publication. It almost makes all the sleepless nights worth it!”
The 22-year-old will this year be graduating from her degree in journalism at the University of Kent and hopes to gain a full time job in journalism.
Jem’s successor, Victoria Polley, hopes to keep up Jem’s hard work.
She said: “ It’s great that Jem and all the hard work she has put into The Medwire over the last three years has achieved national recognition.
“We hope to continue her success.”
TOP TIPS!1) Bring cash: as in most
car parks, there is no cash machine once you are past
the barriers.
2) If you have run out of cash, start searching the
ground: if you go out to find a cash machine, they will
not let you back in.
3) Ditch YOLO for the night: there are thousands of
other students looking for a taxi once the ball is over –
book in advance.
4) Once you have a tick-et, don’t let go: no refunds
if you accidently toss it, destroy it or flush it down
the toilet.
5) Be safe: bring friends and bring extra cash.
This year the KSCV Awards and the Activities Awards will be rolled into one tremendous award ceremony: the Medway Volunteering Awards.
On Thursday, May 22, all the hard work done over the past year will be put on display as the best societies, the best volunteers and the greatest achievements will step up to get their reward.
Last year the awards were held at Gillingham FC’s Prestfield Stadium, but the price and too little food made GK Unions move the awards elsewhere.
This year’s ceremony will be held in the Ward Room on campus and the catering will be by the Pilkington Café.
The society nominated for the most categories this year was the LGBT society, while Clarissa Place is the volunteer with the most personal nom-inations.
Kieran Watkins is the Presi-dent of the LGBT society and is very proud of the way his society has changed for the better this year.
Clarissa is looking forward to celebrating all the successes on campus.
She said: “When the nomi-nations came out I smiled for a couple of days, it was a lovely feeling seeing my name and what my peers think of me, it is a high honour considering the effort that everyone has put in this year.”
The deadline for voting is Tuesday May 13 and every society member can help de-cide what their society’s vote should be.
The free tickets can be picked up from the GK Union’s office.
Volunteering Awards take place
Above: The Medwire team at last year’s Party in the Car Park
Above: Jem Collins receiving her award
What’s on?School is out, summer is here, and now it’s time to have some fun! Katie Palmer has found some great things to do on your holidays.
Family bird watching experience
themedwire.co.uk6
Want to come and hear the best local music and dance acts for free? Come to the Medway Love Music Hate Racism Festival on June 7 and 8 and have fun at Fort Amherst in Chatham.There will be four stages including the Unity Stage, the Youth Stage, Speakers Corner and
the Bob Wade stage. On Sunday June 8 there will be the Love DJ’s experience.The full line up for all stages at this family friendly festival will be announced later in the
year.
Come to Capstone Farm country Park in Gillingham on Wednesday, July 30 for a fun family experience.
Learn about all the birds and wildlife that live in the country’s woodlands. There is a fee of £3 per person and you can book in advance by calling 01634 338191.
From 10.00am until 12.00 noon you can explore the outdoors and enjoy the summer weather with the whole family.
Brian Blessed will once again be giving his commentary on Medway’s open-top tour bus this summer.
Last year was the tour bus’s first year, and over 3,000 people had fun riding around the town. This year, the bus will be coming back for more.
Families can hop on and off whenever they choose and can even get discounted entry at various local landmarks.
Everyone is welcome to this free event on May 14, which is an introduction to the senses. Speaker Professor Fiona Macpherson from Glasgow University will be giving a talk in
Room 203, Bridge Wardens College at the University of Kent in Chatham’s Historic Dock-yard from 6.00pm to 8.00pm.
There are more events including The Nth Sense talk on May 21, Perception on May 28 and Loss, Impairment and Mechanical Senses on June 4.
Come and expand your knowledge on the outside world this summer. Visit http://inspire-gatherings.wix.com/senses for more information.
Your summer will be sizzling once you have experienced the excitement of Britain’s big-gest burlesque extravaganza at The Central Theatre in Chatham on May 16.
Straight off London’s West End, a group of burlesque stars will be encouraging you to dress up and enjoy the exotic cabaret. This event is for over 18s only.
The show starts at 7.30pm and tickets are £22.50 for Band A and £20.50 for Band B. If you buy 10 tickets you can get one free.
Brian Blessed’s Medway tour bus
Love Music Hate Racism Festival
Inspire Gather: The Senses Explored
An Evening of Burlesque
Student Accommodation Jon Gauld Student Lets
Call Us NOW on 01795 534416 £330 Per Month Per Person
Just Look What You Get For Your Money: All Your Utility Bills Included
*****Broadband*****Flat Screen TV*****
*****Furnished*****Free Rent in July & August*****
*****Lounges*****Washing Machines*****
*****Mains Linked Smoke Alarms*****Gardening Included*****
AND
No Deposit -‐ Simply a £125 Non Refundable Admin Fee
AND
We Will Pick You Up From Campus & Take You To See Our Houses
AND
We Get Things Fixed As Fast As Possible
NEW HOUSES AVAILABLE ALL THE TIME PLEASE REGISTER YOUR INTEREST on our website: www.jgstudentlets.com
Jon Gauld Student Lets has been renting accommodation to students since 1985. We normally rent whole houses but will rent to individuals to make up groups.
themedwire.co.uk themedwire.co.uk
Drug use, plagiarism and cheating: The pressure of getting a 2:1 or higher...
Michelle Gleaves reports on the
extent some students are
going to in order to succeed at
university
doing so “under certain circumstances”. One respondent said: “In my first year at uni-
versity I was threatened with being reported to the academic registry for plagiarising from a friend’s essay.”
Another admitted that their mother had written numerous essays for them.
But students aren’t just copying from others, some are profiting by being the ones to write essays for people.
At least one person who replied to our sur-vey completes coursework for other students, priced at around £80 for a 2,000 word essay.
They have been paid on around seven or eight different occasions.
Another wrote most of an essay for someone for free. It was unclear whether this was a result of them not being paid or a favour.
The Medwire survey also revealed that two per cent of respondents would consider paying more than £150 for someone to do their coursework to meet a deadline, while more than 20 per cent said they would be happy to pay up to £50.
However, writing coursework for someone else could also lead to being suspended from university.
Cheating in an exam was another area where students admitted foul play.
Just over 12 per cent said they had either used their phone for notes, tried to see other people’s answers, brought in a pre-written page with them or notes in various forms.
Outgoing Vice President for Education, Alex Murray, said: “The numbers are indeed quite low, but the University takes cheating incredi-bly seriously and we don’t want to see anyone
putting their degree at risk by cheating.“If a student is concerned in advance of an
exam, my advice is to have faith in your own abilities that have got you this far, and to try and to make the most of the time remaining before the exam begins.
“It is important to ensure that you are look-ing after yourself by eating healthily, drinking lots of water, taking breaks and doing some exercise.”
Medway students are going to extreme lengths, including plagiarising coursework, cheating in exams, and taking drugs to aid revision, in order to graduate with a good degree.
The results, acquired by The Medwire in an anonymous survey, were a result of recent news that students across the UK were taking Modafinil, a drug to treat narclepsy, in order to become more focused.
Kent students who have taken the drug de-scribed their experience as giving them “tunnel vision” and stopped them from procrastinating and becoming distracted during their revision sessions.
However, common side effects of the drugs include anxiety, headaches, nausea and nervous-ness.
There is also the issue of taking prescription drugs without speaking to a doctor beforehand, which could lead to long-term health problems.
But it isn’t just Modafinil that students claim to have taken in order to help their concentration levels.
Isaac* claims to use marijuana to enhance his learning experience and make studying “less dull”.
He said: “I think weed is great for opening your mind to taking things in and can make what you’re doing a little less dull.
“It has to be in small doses though otherwise it will have the opposite effect.
“I found out I liked it when I was studying as a lot of it was so boring.
“It just ‘spices it up’ a little.”Isaac also says he knows people that have taken
amphetamines (speed) or “preach the use of” beta blockers to become more alert and handle high stress situations such as exams.
Speaking of his friend who had taken beta blockers, he added: “He thinks they did help his grades because he feels he was able to perform better under exam pressure using them.
“He originally took them for stage fright, but tried them for exams and liked it.
“He’d use them again but just for exams not for studying.”
Both marijuana and speed are Class B drugs and are illegal to possess, give away or to sell.
Students found to be in possession of such drugs will also have their contract with the Univer-sity and Liberty Living terminated, meaning they will be unable to complete their degree.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the only way students have risked their degree in order to gain a better grade.
Some students also plagiarise their coursework in order to get their three or four year course.
More than a quarter of respondents either consider themselves to have “cheated” on course-work by having significant help or would consider
9
78 people responded to our survey
What you said...
Above: People have admitted
using their mobiles and
notes in exams to get a better
mark in their degree
1 in 6 admit they
have copied a “large
chunk” of their
coursework from
somewhere
Technology has meant some students have used their phones
or Google in their exams
One surveyrespondent
made hundreds of pounds from
writing essays for other people
You can visit talktofrank.com if you’ve been affected by anything in this feature.
*Name has been changed.
8
Coping with the stresses of the exam season
themedwire.co.uk 11
Mental Health Awareness Week takes place between May 12-18. Victoria Polley investigates what our Universities are offering to help students cope with stress and anxiety during the exam period.
University is supposed to be the best time of your life. But for some, it can also be the most stressful and anxious time, managing a heavy workload and often, living away from home for the first time.
Everybody deals with the daily hassles of uni life differently. Living with messy, noisy flat mates, worrying about that upcoming essay or deadline and copying with home-sickness.
But if these things get too much, who do you turn to?
According to the Royal College of Psychia-trists, the demand for mental health support has gone up, with 29% of students demon-strating signs of psychological distresses.
The Mental Health Foundation also report-ed that 50% of university students have ex-perienced severe anxiety had over one in ten have shown signs of clinical depression.
Between May 12-18, Mental Health aware-
ness week takes place. This year, the event is focusing on anxiety.
This time of year can be particularly tough for students with exam time looming.
The University of Kent has organised a number of events to help student relieve some of the stress that may be caused.
Following last year’s Wellbeing Day in Canterbury, there will be Wellbeing exhibi-tion and a number of activities taking place throughout the summer term, such as a well-being walk and a teepee to chill out in.
On the Medway Campus, a series of ‘Relax and Unwind’ activities will be taking place, such as yoga and boxercise for students to take part in.
However, in times of need sometimes the
best solution can be talking. So what can Medway offer you?
The counselling service at Medway offers each student an assessment and then six sessions of counselling.
The Medway campus has worked to im-prove the services it offers over time and more councillors are working each day in or-der to give students the support they need.
Sarah Kenyon, student services assistant said: “Counselling provides a safe, supportive and confidential space which helps to look at any problems they are facing in a non-judg-mental way.
“Staff are really friendly and approachable and are used to dealing with nervous stu-dents.
“In general many [cases] relate to stress, re-lationship issues and bereavement. Anxiety in all kinds of forms is one prevalent area.”
Despite being surrounded by thousands of people on a campus everyday, sometimes university can seem like a lonely place.
It’s well worth remembering that whatever you may be feeling, there are services and ac-tivities available to help you.
“Counselling provides a safe, supportive and confi-dential space”
“There will be Wellbeing ex-hibition and a number of ac-tivities taking place through-out the summer term”
Private View: Monday, 31 March, 18:00 - 21: 00Exhibition Opens: Tuesday, 1 April 10:00 - 17:00
“The Medway Campus has worked to improve the ser-vices it offers”
Don’t forget to check out the Kent Uni-versity website for details on the Well-being exhibitom in Canterbury. You can also book classes to Relax and Unwind available at the Medway campus. If you want some tips on how to cope with exams, outgoing Education Officer, Alex Murray has put together his best advice at http://alexwmurray.word-press.com/2014/05/11/exam-tips-and-checks/
lifestyle
themedwire.co.uk themedwire.co.uk12 13
Flash forward to summer: it’s pool party time. Blue skies, tropical temperatures and cocktail in hand. It’s time to think about your style by the pool!
Step into this summer in style
From fashion to festivals and the best books to read, our lifestyle editor Sarah Boast and her team have summer covered for you...
By Milli Midwood
Bikinis in neon colours and structured bandeaus will have you longing for leisurely afternoons made out of long, indulging moments of pure relaxation spent on a sun lounger. H&M bikini top – £12.99Bottoms - £7.99
Cover up with floaty, summery layers. Try a sarong or beach dress to add some style or just keep cool by the pool. A personal favourite this season: the kaftan.Boohoo.com - £20
The biggest comeback of the 90’s – the jelly sandal. These are already cropping up everywhere and I guarantee the majority of girls on the beach will be in them.ASOS- £20
That fundamental pair of sunnies. Topshop always have a great selection of sunglasses to suit every face shape and size!Next- £20
Carry a cute beach bag; it’s fashionable and practical! Stripes or polka dots are best for summer.Marks and Spencers - £19.50
The Festival season returns to Medway So you want to hit the festivals but don’t have the money or means to make it to Glasto? Turns out Medway has its own ring of fun Festivals and Cecily Snowball has a rundown of what to check out over the next few months.
Dickens Festival – 30th May to Sunday 1st June – Rochester – Love some litera-ture? Then head over to the Dickens Festival in Rochester. Characters from his famous novels will come to life with street parades, readings and costumed characters.
Love Music Hate Racism Festival – Fort Amherst – 7th – 8th June – This festival is bringing music to Medway for a good cause. Four stages will play host to bands, spoken word artists, with previous acts including The Voice Finalist Jamie Johnson, so it’s sure to in-clude some amazing acts this year.
Listen to local Medway music and help out a worthy cause.
Fuse Medway Festival – 13th to 15th June – This is a different kind of festival, but still hopes to bring out your creativity. The Fuse Festival will turn parts of Medway, including Chatham and Rochester high streets, into open spaces for free arts events, from drama shows to artis-tic creations.
Hop Farm Festival – 4th-6th July – Hop Farm, Paddock Wood, Kent – The famous
Hop Farm Festival returns after a year off and promises to entertain.
With big names such as James Blunt, Sophie Ellis-Bexter and Grace Jones, a comedy tent and a jazz and blues tent, there is something for everyone. Tickets are on sale now.
Homespun Festival – 25th- 26th July - Med-way’s answer to the Camden Crawl, Homespun takes place in venues across Chatham, Roches-ter and Gillingham, and is sure to be loud.
The independent music festival, which is in its second year, plays host to a number of lo-cal bands in venues such as Sun Pier House in Chatham, The Barge in Gillingham and The Billabong Club in Rochester. Love noisy music? This is for you.
Medway has a whole host of festivals to choose from
BBQ on a tight budget
This Summer’s Must ReadsUniversity is nearly out for summer, which means we can finally put down those text-books and indulge in some good summer reads. So whether you’re laying out by the pool on some exotic getaway or relaxing for a few moments in your room, Monica Samia has something for everyone.
The Beach by Alex Garland
It remains a cult read amongst young trav-elers. This exciting, drug-fuelled, fast-paced and modern tale will leave you wanting to pack your bags and get on the first plane to Thailand. Alex Garland’s novel-turned-into-major-film (starring Leonardo DiCaprio) tells the story of Richard, a young traveller who sets out in search of adven-ture. Once he gets there, he realises that paradise comes at a high price.
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
This dystopian thriller is not just for guys. However, with a major film coming out in October 2014 starring Dylan O’Brien (Teen Wolf ) and Kaya Scodelario (Skins), The Maze Runner is set to take the crown for fa-vourite young-adult series amongst males. It tells the story of Thomas, who wakes up in a lift remembering only his name, to find himself imprisoned in a unsolvable, ever-changing and limitless maze. No one’s ever made it out alive. The plot is full of twists and turns, digs about today’s governments and surprises. We can’t wait for the film!
The Last Summer (of You and Me) by Ann Brashares
From the author of the The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, comes this fiery adult story about two sisters, who have been returning to their parent’s beach house for their entire lives. When a hot attraction, a serious illness and deep secret all collide, all three friends must learn that their perfect summer getaway can no longer protect them from the adult world. 11 minutes by Paulo Coelho
A sit-down-and-read-the-entire-book-in-one-go type of novel. 11 minutes is no different from Coelho’s other classics like The Alchemist. It tells the story of Maria, a young Brazilian prostitute who’s convinced that she will never find true love. When she encounters it, she must decide for herself whether sex in the context of love is more worthy than the dark path of sexual pleasure.
By Victoria PolleyIf you want to impress your friends with a no fuss, sophisticated BBQ menu then why not try these easy potatoes to go with your burgers.
You will need:
• 1kg Jersey Royal New Potaties• 1 tbsp Olive Oil• 1 clove of garlic chopped• 1 pinch of mixed herbs• 1 pinch of paprika• Salt and pepper to season.
1.Boil the potatoes for 20 minutes or until tender2. Lay out on a baking tray and lightly crush with a
masher. Sprinkle over the olive oil, garlic, herbs and the rest of the seasoning. 3. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until crispy.
Alternatively, once boiled, put the potatoes in foil and cook on the BBQ with the rest of the food.
Now you’ve got the fashion, get the hair to match! Ola Ojuko has the best tips for keeping your hair in top condition during the heat:
Good old water is a great moisturiser. Pour some into a spritz bottle with a few drops of any natural oil (olive oil, coconut oil, and castor oil are hair bloggers favourites), to seal the moisture in. Natural butters and leave-in conditioners like Garnier Fructis Hydra Recharge Moisture Whip Leave In Conditioner £2.95 contain humectants that also attract moisture.
If the sun decides to make any kind of appearance in the coming months it’s a good idea to find a few products to protect your tresses such as Charles Worthington Takeaways Sunshine Shampoo and Con-ditioner, 1.99 each
Summer often signifies frizz,and less con-trol because of the air’s humidity, but your products can help you combat frizziness. Sulphate-free shampoos are gentler on the hair and scalp, and don’t strip the natural oils out, which are actually good frizz-fight-ers. Tigi Essensuals Spray Shine, £7.95 contains little of these frizz producing ingredients; grab it quick so you can start to enjoy your summer without that barmy barnet
Student politics obviously isn’t as important as national politics, but it’s crucial when it comes to campus is-sues, and to students’ lives while at university.
Over the past year alone we’ve seen students en-gaging with Kent Union on everything from dodgy posters, through to whether a student entertain-ment company should be banned, or sabbatical of-ficer elections.
That’s not even to mention the referendum on whether the students’ union should support UCU’s pro-posed marking boycott—something that has fortunately been voted against by the trade union’s own members, following the recent pay offer by national universities.
The thing is, our students’ unions didn’t just natural-ly spring up and they certainly don’t automatically run themselves.
They rely upon students to get involved and engaged, and to steer them in the best direction.
Issues revolving around student housing, representa-tion to the university and local community, and empow-erment of minority groups, mean that we need to take a lead and make sure that there’s genuine progress.
And even if you don’t always agree with your union officers, like myself, you can get involved and make the changes that need to happen.
Whether we like it or not, student politics is very neces-sary while we are studying, and something that everyone should be more clued up on.
Comment
15
Sabbatical officers exist to run the student unions within universities. But with less than half of the student electorate voting in elections across the country to decide who takes on these roles, we’re asking...
Is university politics really necessary?
Student politics IS necessary to the success of student unions, but you don’t have to necessarily get involved in them to get your degree!
They are necessary to have, but it’s an individual’s choice on whether to participate or not. Yes, that is the freedom of democracy and sometimes we need to realise that.
As sabbatical elections can annoy us, they are crucial to the success of union activities.
Should a council with just 40 members make the majority of decisions?
In my view, student unions exist as charities to enhance the education of their members at their universities and to provide entertainment and social activities. In addition to this, Kent Union is a member of NUS, which has become more of a lobbying platform and a political cause than a membership body to guide student unions.
Political activism within the student movement is nothing new, and even in its early days Kent Union was still politically inclined with students actively protest-ing and lobbying the government or local councils for
various causes. Last year, University of East Anglica SU caused an
uproar when their Union Council voted to boy-cott NatWest Bank, and thus because the bank sponsored Six Nations Rugby they banned it from being shown in the union pub because of the policy. Does that not restrict an individual’s
choice on their stance, and instead forces a view upon them? I may sound like a bit of a hypocrite
here, but bear with me on this one. I’ve been an active member of Union Council, and actively run in many elections and exercised my democratic ‘arm’ many a time – but none of it is ‘necessary’ for me to complete my degree.
Whilst student politics opens up a whole new world and experiences that help you develop as an individual, and you should exercise your democratic right where you feel you want to, many students happily tran-scend through their university degrees with little or no involvement in it.
The democracy system at Kent has its problems, and over the next year Kent Union is going to go through a democracy review; I hope we come out with a system that is less representational and more ‘open forum’ – for me, that will be university politics that would really be ‘necessary’ to be involved in.
Got a view you want to
share? Tweet us @the_medwire or ‘Like’ us on
Facebook!
No Dave Cocozza
Yes George Hopkin
Left: George campaigning this year and above right: Dave Cocozza
themedwire.co.uk
The Medders’Profile
How’s the recording going?
All the music’s nearly done but it’s a crazy experience you don’t really know where to start. Yesterday, my friend Matt got a bassist and guitarist down and they were brilliant. They got 6 tracks done in 4 or 5 hours. I’m trying to do these tracks get them out there hopefully on iTunes depending on copyright etc.
Who arranged this?
Rob, another good friend of mine, works at the uni and knew about the studio which is going to open up to every-one soon. It’s been brilliant to come down and do it and it’s a brilliant experience for all of us and for me it’s been nice to start from scratch.
What have you been doing since the voice finished?
Booking up some gigs so I’m playing a thank you gig at the Casino Rooms because it’s a brilliant space and I want to give back to the community, I know it sounds silly but I want to say thank you to everyone. I’m also supporting Shane Filan at the castle concerts and I can’t wait for it.
How did that happen?
I got approached by a group called Training Them Live who got me started in music at Underseige (part of Rochester Castle concerts).
Why did you choose The Voice rather than the X Factor?
I went for X factor but didn’t get anywhere but the Voice was more about the voice and you can only get on The Voice if you sing. X factor, if I’d got through I obviously wouldn’t be com-plaining, but even if I did get through you realise it’s all TV and they know what they want.
Did you always know you were going to pick Kylie?
No, it was a gut feeling to pick her and I was actually her first ever turn on the show.
Are you still in contact with any of the other contes-tants? What about the winner?
Yes, Lee and Rachel from Ireland (both on team Kylie), she’s cool, and I stay in contact with Sally too. I think Jermain’s got a brilliant voice and a big career ahead of him. 100%. I lived with him in London and he’s a really nice guy.
To find out more about this local lad, visit our website at www.themedwire.co.uk.
themedwire.co.uk
Jamie Johnson, local superstar and finalist on The Voice, speaks about concerts, Casinos, Kylie and contestants. Amy Nickalls and Sarah Boast went to the University of Kent studio where he is recording to find out more.
17
Above: Sarah Boast with Jamie Johnson’s famous yellow Mini.
• All inclusive rent• FREE superfast broadband & Wi-Fi• Convenient location• Great offers – cash back for returning students & shopping vouchers for students booking as a group
• No agency fees... ever!• FREE contents insurance• Post handling• Bike hire• Friendly maintenance team• 24hr on-site staff & security
To arrange a viewing at Liberty Quays call 016 3485 3285 or email [email protected]
Studio rooms from £130 per weekBook now www.libertyliving.co.uk
Great student accommodationin Medway
Reasons to book your student accommodation with Liberty Living:
By Conor Diggin
Varsity was hailed as a big success this year as Team Medway took on Team Greenwich for the second time.
The footballers kicked off the day with three thrilling encounters at Priestfields playing fields, where Medway 1sts were unlucky to lose to Greenwich 2-1 after taking the lead in the first half.
Unfortunately for Team Medway, their luck didn’t change despite Medway 2nds dominating play.
They lost 3-2 in a fiery match which saw Medway finish with ten men after a late scuffle between the two teams.
The women’s team fared better in a very one-sided game as they took the spoils in a 6-1 thrashing of Team Greenwich.
Wendy Danso, Medway’s captain, said: “We played really well today. A lot of goals and great weather; it’s all good.
“This is our first year here but we’ll keep coming. As long as it’s this team we’ll do it.”
Rugby also proved to be a turning point as Medway stormed to victory in a 43-16 maul-ing of Greenwich.
In Tennis, Greenwich took the plaudits in the ladies singles and men’s doubles com-
petitions but it was Medway who took over-all victory with wins in the men’s singles, ladies doubles and mixed competitions.
M e d w a y ’ s b a s k e t b a l l team contin-ued from where rugby and the women’s foot-ball left off with
a victory at Med-way Park.
After a slow first quarter which saw Med-way trailing by 15 points, they managed to pull it back and win 83-79.
Benjamin Pajeaux, Medway’s coach, said: “The first quarter was really bad simply be-cause we did not respect the other team.
“As soon as we did, we had control of the game so that was really good. It was good to win the last game of the season.”
Greenwich had come into the game on the back of winning their league.
Ashley Thomas, Greenwich’s coach, said: “It was a tough game and was very well fought between both teams.
“I think since winning the league the en-ergy levels have dropped quite drastically. They have to remain high for the entire sea-son.”
Unfortunately for Medway, the netball teams couldn’t capitalise on the victories of the basketball and women’s football teams as both sides suffered losses.
After having led for most of the game in an evenly-matched encounter, Medway 1sts fell at the final hurdle, losing the lead in the final quarter in a heartbreaking defeat of 32-30.
With Greenwich fielding the same side in the next match against Medway 2nds, many were thinking Greenwich would cruise to victory.
However, Medway did well to keep the scoreline tight throughout but it wasn’t enough to stop Greenwich winning 26-16.
Brompton Academy did, however, witness Medway bowl all of Greenwich’s batsmen out in indoor cricket after 128 runs, winning the game comprehensively when they fin-ished 211-3 after 15 overs.
With both Team Medway and Team Green-wich winning five games each, for the sec-ond time since varsity’s creation last year, the competition ended in a draw.Keep up to date with all the scores and news from Team Medway at www.themed-wire.co.uk/sport
Sport The sporting season may be over but there’s plenty still going on. Danny Rust and his team have all the latest news from Team Medway...
Team Medway ended the year in style with a big night for all of the sports teams at the annual awards dinner last month, which saw netball take home four prizes.
It was a welcome change from last year when the club failed to win a single award, with Netball 1sts crowned Team of the Year for being the only team in Medway to win their league.
Brogan Sargent, who captained the girls to vic-tory, also received Captain of the Year for her out-standing achievements.
Netball was also named Club of the Year and had another winner in the Sports Personality of the Year, Holly Gerrard.
The awards were held again at the home of Gil-lingham F.C – Priestfield Stadium – after the suc-cess of last year’s event.
Sargent said: “It has been an absolute pleas-
ure to captain the 1st team to success this year with not only winning the league and being named best team, the netball club scooped the award for best club.
“It was one very successful, perhaps the most successful, night in the club’s history!”
Elsewhere, the Team Med-way tennis club was crowned the Most Improved Club of the Year whilst Vinesh Kurup
won the award for Outstanding Contribution to sport at Medway for his role in football and futsal.
Rugby were also big winners with Marcus Wright picking up the Outstanding Achievement award and Jack Buxton winning an award for a ‘Lifetime Achievement’ to Team Medway.
Julia Longhurst, Student Activities Administra-tor at GK Unions, said: “The Team Medway Sports Awards has become the highlight of the sporting calendar and this year’s was the biggest yet.”
themedwire.co.uk 19
Medway’s Stefania Sidoli
Sports Awards success
Varsity ends in a draw...again!
Oxford and Cambridge could soon be having some competition in the rowing stakes after a weekend which saw Medway achieve record-break-ing results.
Universities at Medway Rowing Club (UMRC) saw its first ever crew qualify for a major final at BUCS regatta in Nottingham with surprise package MInt2x storming through the semis.
They finished fifth in the B final and 11th overall out of 60 entries, becom-ing Medway’s highest ever finishers.
UMRC also saw success with WIn-t1x, MIntLwt1xand MInt2 all winning their E finals.
Unfortunately UMRC didn’t see all of their teams make their finals with MC1x falling short of a semi final position by an agonisingly close 0.6 seconds.Huw Jones, outgoing president of UMRC, said: “We finished above the University of Kent Canter-bury campus in every possible event. We probably should have organised a Varsity fixture.”
Medway Tattoo and Piercing Studios
Professional tattoo and body piercing by award winning artists at three locations across Medway.
Modern, hygienic studios with hospital grade santisation. Custom cover ups a speciality. Laser removal available. Quality and hygiene guaranteed.
Thousands of designs, large range of jewellery. Appointment and walk-ins available.
Medway and Gravesham Council registered.
Free advice available, just call or walk in!
Medway Tattoo and Piercing Centre392 High Street, Rochester,Kent, ME1 1DJ01634 828866
Riverside Tattoo and Piercing Centre17 High Street, Gravesend,Kent, DA11 0BA01474 329000
Tattoo Medway74 High Street, Gillingham,Kent, ME7 1AY01634 577966
Your Move
Student Accommodation, Medway
Houses and rooms to let in Gillingham now and for
2014/15.Large selection of student properties available at great prices so look no
01634 852345
www.your-move.co.uk
