QMessenger06 Oct ‘09 • Issue 14 • FREE

EditorsEditor: Sam Cunninghameditor@qmessenger.co.ukNews: Sam Creightonnews@qmessenger.co.ukComment:Bradley Downingcomment@qmessenger.co.ukScience & Environment:Richard Dodwellscience@qmessenger.co.ukAnna Hiscocksenvironment@qmessenger.co.ukReviews:Gitika Bhardwaj & Rebecca Wynterreviews@qmessenger.co.ukFilm:Alex MacDonaldfilm@qmessenger.co.uk

FREE! Pick up your FREE copy of QMessenger from any of the QMSU outlets. These include QMotion and Drapersbar, Ground Coffee Shop, The Blom-eley Centre, and The Village Shop. You can also grab a copy from the library.

Continued page 5...

Sam Creighton

FILM:

Dorian Gray, Fish

Tank + more!

ENIVRONMENT:

QMUL welcome bees to The Hive

The NUS has issued urgent calls

for politicians to shore up the UK’s

higher education system after a

report has shown it plummeting

down the world rankings.

The research published by the Or-

ganisation for Economic Cooper-

ation and Development (OECD)

placed the UK 14th out of 27 in a

list of developed countries showing

the number of school leavers achiev-

ing a degree in 2007. This placed it

below countries such as Poland and

the Slovak Republic. Even more wor-

rying, the report released figures

showing the number of young peo-

ple in the UK who are enrolled in

neither education or employment is

four times that of France and twice

that of the US.

The 39% of UK school leavers

who went on to get a degree in 2007

is actually up 2% since the last OECD

report in 2000 where the UK came in

at joint third, but since then British

education has been outstripped. An-

alysts are warning England, Wales,

Scotland and Northern Ireland that it

is their lack of “dynamism” that has

seen them slip down the tables.

Continuing practices of sexual

discrimination are also highlighted.

While the average male graduate in a

western country can expect to earn

£113,000 more across their lifetime

than a non-graduate, their female

counterparts can only hope to earn

£81,000 more than someone leav-

ing education at 16. The findings

also report that the comparative in-

crease in income a UK graduate can

expect has been falling.

Wes Streeting, NUS President,

said of the findings “In spite of the

successful expansion of higher edu-

cation during the past decade, fur-

ther expansion is required for the

long-term social and economic good

SPORT:

Freshers Crew win

team of the month

GAMES:

Suduko and

crossword

Page 10 Page 9

Page 7Page 11

UK’s higher education system plummets in world rankings

Radical over-haul of HE funding systemNews: p3

2 News06/10/2009

Got a news story?news@qmessenger.co.uk

News in BriefCLUb - SoCIETy SCUFFLE

A small ruckus erupted in Drapers last

Thursday between some members of

the KEG society and the rugby team.

It allegedly kicked off when a small

number of rugby players decided to

hide the shirts of the KEG society af-

ter they disrobed during a society so-

cial event. Bystanders tried to quell the

altercation but it had escalated to such

an extent that several members of both

groups were ejected from the venue.

There are also reports that the dispute

spilled outside with a physical confron-

tation erupting between a rugby player,

who does not wish to be named, and a

member of the KEG society. The situa-

tion has since been calmly resolved.

NEW PRINCIPAL TAKES REIGNS

Last Thursday saw a changing of hands

of the reigns of our university with Pro-

fessor Simon Gaskell taking over as Prin-

cipal. Formerly Vice President for Re-

search at the University of Manchester

he is a leading mind in the field of mass

spectrometry for the biomedical scienc-

es. He is replacing Philip Ogden who

has been acting principal since Adri-

an Roberts stepped down from the po-

sition in 2008. Gaskell’s academic ca-

reer has seen him work at institutions

in both the US and UK and, according to

Sir Nicholas Montague, chairman-elect

of QM council, this experience will “en-

able him to build on the colleges suc-

cesses and strengthen our position as

one of the UK’s leading institutions”.

The change comes after the success of

QM in the RAE over the last two years

and Gaskell says he “feels both excit-

ed and privileged” to be joining such a

“prestigious” institution.

QMSU.oRG RELAUNCh

Queen Mary Students’ Union is finally

providing the cyberspace representa-

tion we’ve all been waiting for as this

week we celebrate the rejuvenation of

the ailing QMSU website. Previous in-

carnations of the university’s favourite

web space have been marred by un-

available slide-out menu bars, a sense-

less layout and an overwhelming lack

of useful information. Thankfully this

‘Milton Keynes’ of a web page and the

navigation problems therein has been

casually bulldozed aside to make way

for the virtual monument of warm neon

colours and seductive typeface we see

today. The new site boasts a host of

handy links including events and club

night information to much needed con-

tact details for all those clubs and soci-

eties you forgot to sign up to at Fresh-

er’s Fair. Log on and get yourself in the

know at: http://www.qmsu.org/

A scheme that rewards extra marks

to university students who regularly

attend classes is being introduced

across the country in a bid to im-

prove grades and to get students

back into lectures.

The idea, which has received

mixed reviews since it was rolled

out in 2007, has recently been

stepped up in what has been de-

scribed as a desperate attempt to

prevent students dropping out of

education.

Although low attendance in

lecture halls is no new phenome-

non, the recent concern has been

sparked by speculation that modern

school leavers who are under-qual-

ified and low-skilled are feeling the

pressure to make the grades in uni-

versity. By awarding marks based

purely on attendance in seminars

and lectures, academics hope it will

act as an incentive to students to

attend classes thereby improving

their overall learning experience.

However, the scheme has re-

ceived criticism with some argu-

ing that it is little more than a

safeguarding system for univer-

sity funding. Although it may act

to improve grades, it will also se-

cure funding by ensuring students

don’t drop out as a result of poor

grades. Other critics have argued

that by artificially improving stu-

dents’ degrees, the process will ef-

fectively undermine the ethic of

hard work and the true value of the

final grade.

One such critic of the scheme

is Professor Frank Furedi of Kent

University. He describes the poli-

cy as “bribery”. He explained in the

Times Higher Education supple-

ment: “The real problem with re-

warding time keeping is that it im-

plicitly devalues the work and effort

made by students who are genuine-

ly interested in regarding the semi-

nar room as a place of intellectual

engagement rather than as a drop-

in centre.”

At institutions including Glas-

gow University, Northampton Uni-

versity and the Heriot- Watt Univer-

sity in Edinburgh, ten percent of

final marks in selected courses are

based purely upon attendance. In

the English department of the Kent

University, students can a gain 5

percent mark-up simply for show-

ing up.

The strategy has been defend-

ed by some who insist the ‘marks

for attendance’ system will be ben-

eficial. A spokesperson for Glas-

gow University explained to the

Times Online the need for introduc-

ing the scheme, explaining its pur-

pose was “to encourage a culture

of attendance among new students

unaccustomed to the amount of re-

sponsibility for their studies that

university places on them”.

Head of the School of European

Culture and Languages at Kent Uni-

versity, Laurence Goldstein, said: “If

a bit of coercion awakens them to

the joys of learning, then it is prob-

ably justified.”

And just went you thought lec-

tures couldn’t get any better...

Nikki Lynch

Extra marks for turning up

And the award goes to...

Queen Mary has been nominated for

an outstanding five awards at this

year’s Times Higher Education Sup-

plement Awards.

Judges have shortlisted the uni-

versity for some of the toughest and

most prestigious categories, includ-

ing ‘University of the Year’.

The university jumped eight

places to be ranked 30 in The Sun-

day Times University league tables,

excelling in the area of graduate

prospects once completing a de-

gree.

Furthermore, Queen Mary is

now ranked in the top eight in sub-

jects such as English, beating off

stiff opposition from universities

such as Bristol and St. Andrews.

The university has been short-

listed in the category of ‘Most Im-

proved Student Experience’, based

on anonymous student feedback.

This is no doubt the return on the

heavy investment Queen Mary has

put into improving facilities for stu-

dents across the entire campus.

The university is also one of the

first to be nominated for the ‘Seren-

dipity Award’, sponsored by the Re-

search Council. Professor John Stark

from the School of Engineering and

Materials Science has been nominat-

ed for the award in recognition of

entrepreneurial spirit promoted in

the university.

In addition, Dr Paul Curzon

of the School of Electronic Engi-

neering and Computer Science has

been nominated for ‘Most Innova-

tive Teacher of the Year’. Dr Curzon

is currently part of a major new re-

search project called CHI+MED, with

the aim to improve the usability and

safety of interactive medical devic-

es.

Lastly, Dr Kairbaan Hodivala-Dil-

ke from the Institute of Cancer has

been nominated for ‘Research Proj-

ect of the Year’. Dr Hodivala-Dilke is

a leading researcher in angiogene-

sis, the process of how new blood

vessels form. All cancers rely on new

blood vessels to supply the tumour

cells, so discovering different ways

to block angiogenesis is the first

step on the road to developing new

cancer drugs.

The winners will be announced

at the awards evening on 15th Oc-

tober 2009.

Philip Keech

Queen Mary has made the shortlist for University of the Year in the Times Higher Education awards for 2009

3News06/10/2009

Got a news story?news@qmessenger.co.uk

The President

Well, term has started and the

campus is vibrant and exciting,

this is my personal favourite time

of year, and I’m always upset

as the year goes on, the weath-

er gets colder, people stop talk-

ing to each other as much and

it gets really quiet. So that be-

ing said it is one of my main pri-

orities to try and keep this love-

ly vibrant atmosphere for as long

as possible. I’m going to try and

have more outdoor events, in par-

ticular the music events on the

stage outside the curve which I

think gives our beautiful campus

such a buzz. I would urge you all

to keep that positive, friendly, vi-

brant and lovely atmosphere on

campus by sticking around after

lectures for a few hours before

rushing back home or to your

rooms, and just hang out for a bit

and meet new people, lets push

our shyness aside for a bit and

not be afraid to walk up to peo-

ple and introduce ourselves, what

has the world come to when we

are afraid of perfectly normal so-

cial engagements with people we

don’t know?

Perhaps subconsciously we

are all still programmed to ‘not

talk to strangers’, but around

campus we aren’t strangers! We

are colleagues and fellow stu-

dents of higher learning so let’s

re-programme our minds to be

more warm, friendly and inclusive

of one another. We have such an

amazing campus lets use it to the

max!

Lets also remember we have

students from over 100 countries

studying here at QM, imagine the

amount of knowledge that you

could acquire through just speak-

ing to a quarter of these students,

about culture and life style! What

an opportunity!

Back to our beautiful cam-

pus, though, my personal favou-

rite spots are the library square

and the space outside the curve,

there always the most lively plac-

es on campus, and if you want

a more scenic quieter chill out,

then use the space behind France

House (the green building), the

canal and park can sometimes be

really beautiful.

Nasir Tarmann

Uni funding cuts proposed

Earlier this month Peter Mandelson

proposed, on behalf of his Depart-

ment of Business, Innovation and

Skills, a radical overhaul of univer-

sity funding in all aspects of the

country’s university system as part

of the government’s current at-

tempt to cut public spending. In

this proposal Lord Mandelson aims

to remove funding for overlapping

courses and bureaucracy as well as

changing funding to focus on more

‘economically viable’ degree cours-

es through the Higher Education

Funding Council for England.

According to Lord Mandelson

this will be “a comprehensive review

of the role played by national lev-

el institutions – such as Hefce, the

Skills Funding Agency, the Research

Councils and Technology Strate-

gy Board – and their relationship

to central government will have

the aim of cutting out overlapping

bureaucracy and duplicated pro-

grammes.” As a result of this para-

digm shift in the fundamental mode

of distributing university funding

could potentially see the humani-

ties suffering due to universities be-

ing forced to focus more on the sci-

ences and technical courses as well

as creating an even more noticeable

gap between the stronger universi-

ties and those lower down on the

league tables which will be unable

to compete for funding.

This is a concern not only to

me as a humanities student but

also due to the fact that this could

create a university system where

universities and students them-

selves are deprived of choice as uni-

versities are forced to tailor them-

selves to a government image or

face losing funding threatening ac-

ademic freedom as David Willetts,

the shadow universities secretary,

pointed out. Although in this time

of economic hardship funding cuts

for universities are inevitable the

current proposals are a radical shift

from the labour government’s pre-

vious policy of equality in univer-

sities and would create a far more

elitist university system than al-

ready exists in England today.

Edward Martin

Universities may lose students to Scandinavia

At least 4,200 degree courses are

now taught only in English in Euro-

pean countries outside the UK and

Ireland, a study by the Academic

Co-operation Association found last

year. Almost all of these courses are

based in the Netherlands or Scandi-

navia.

Anders Flodström, the univer-

sity chancellor of Sweden, predicts

that all university-level education

will be delivered in English in Swe-

den within the next 10 to 15 years.

With Sweden offering free high-

er education to all, including interna-

tional students, the UK government

seem indifferent when it comes to

studying alongside our Viking coun-

terparts. A spokeswoman for the

Department of Business, Innovation

and Skills has said “We know that

more European countries are now

offering courses in the English lan-

guage, and we recognise the cultur-

al and economic benefits that study-

ing abroad can bring. Students who

study in other countries can gain an

important understanding of other

cultures and languages, as well as

gaining skills that make them an as-

set to the UK on their return”.

Others however, are more anx-

ious. The switch to English-taught

degrees in Scandinavia and the Neth-

erlands puts UK higher education

“on its metal”, says Dominic Scott,

chief executive of the UK Coun-

cil for International Student Affairs.

Now that more than 25 countries of-

fer degrees in English, Mr Scott feels

that “We can no longer see the fact

that our degrees are taught in Eng-

lish as our unique selling point.”

Even so, Scott says, Scandina-

vian and Dutch universities are cur-

rently only seen as the third layer

of competition, after universities in

countries where English is the native

language and those in China and In-

dia. We can be comforted by the fact

that “the UK is a long way ahead in

terms of our years of experience in

designing courses for a global stu-

dent community,” he says. “Just be-

cause these Scandinavian univer-

sities are switching to teaching in

English, it doesn’t mean that they

have the infrastructure to deal with

students from all over the world.”

Matthew Gordon

Lord Mandelson has proposed cutting government funding of education

4 News06/10/2009

Got a news story?news@qmessenger.co.uk

Well, it’s been a very busy time for Provide and its projects over

the last fortnight – with Freshers Fair and various information

sessions for charities and projects. Not to worry if you wanted

to come along and couldn’t make it, or you are now interested

in volunteering – its not too late! Check out www.providevolun-

teering.org for the ways in which you can get involved and reg-

ister as a volunteer.

We have some one-off volunteering coming up including:

Royal Parks Half Marathon- Sunday 11th October, 7.30am-1.30pm

Thousands of runners will be completing the 13.1 mile course

across 4 of London’s Royal parks. Provide volunteering will be

based on a water station at Hyde Park where we will be giving

out Lucozade and water to the runners and cheering them on!

If you would like to find out more or apply for this opportuni-

ty, please register as a volunteer on www.providevolunteering.

org, and search for ‘Royal Parks’ in the search box at the top

of the website.

Hope to see you there!

The CBI higher education taskforce

has struck a proposal about the fund-

ing of higher education. The controver-

sial suggestion, which involves increas-

ing tuition fees and taxes on student

loans as well as subsiding maintenance

grants altogether, has lifted the lid of a

Pandora’s Box, leaving various political

parties and The National Union of Stu-

dents fierily at each other’s throats.

For some in support of the CBI’s

claims, Britain’s tertiary education sec-

tor is a comical joke. With more and

more students applying for and gradu-

ating from, university then was the case

20 years ago; this is an issue of particu-

lar importance. As the current econom-

ic climate is head in deep in recession,

universities have been left bulging with

more students then ever before and

as a consequence of this, the funding

available per student is depleting. Not

least of all, thousands upon thousands

of students have been left stranded,

having been rejected from numerous

universities.

The Government itself has pushed

for the introduction of a plethora of job

seeker schemes, traineeships and in-

ternships to be available for the stu-

dents who have been left with no

university place, or on the contrary de-

cided that all of the current hassle,

what with proposed increases in tuition

fees and higher-taxed loans, really isn’t

worth it.

However what those of the sup-

porting public fail to realise is that this

could be a potentially dangerous situ-

ation; according to some analysts, ex-

pansion means progress and so the

Government’s successful attempts to

rocket the number of young people at-

tending university from the 14% that

it was some 15 years ago, to a figure

over 40% should be seen as nothing

less of a major accomplishment, espe-

cially as this indicates economic growth

and deals with raising the bar on ex-

pectations concerning the young popu-

lation. But the critics still circle hungrily

and believe that more is not necessar-

ily better.

As it is, we are in an era of no mon-

ey and all the major parties do agree

that spending should be cut, but sure-

ly is Higher education the prime area

for scrutiny? The rise in higher educa-

tion students has indeed reduced aver-

age expenditure per student and with

the serious gulf between state school

and private school education widening

(and therefore the ambitious students

of poorer backgrounds suffering) is this

really the best way forward?

Well for the moment the Govern-

ment feel that an increase in student

numbers is pivotal for economic de-

velopment but at the same time wish

to keep Britain’s highly-respected aca-

demic status in the world. It is certain-

ly a tricky one, and arguments for and

against pose interesting arguments,

but as a student I am obliged to con-

demning the figures proposed as the

“real” fees for university education, be-

ing something rivalling the amount

non-EU students pay, especially as I my-

self am from an under-privileged back-

ground and also face the lofty claims to

scrap Maintenance grants altogether.

It follows then, that the CBI is wrong to

recommend (as a buffer to the poten-

tial implications of scraping the Main-

tenance Grant system altogether) that

the level of family earnings at which

students qualify for full-maintenance

grants be reduced from £25, 000. This

would only fuel the earlier mentioned

gulf that separates students from poor-

er and wealthier backgrounds and will

do nothing noble for the aspiring and

talented students from such deprived

backgrounds prevalent across the

country.

But I’ll leave it up to you as it is in-

evitable that we will relate to the situ-

ation in very different ways no doubt.

But the question begs; is education a

right or a privilege? Have your say and

join the debate.

HE funding taskforceGitika bhardwaj

The debate on higher education funding rages on with the CBI HE Taskforce suggesting higher fees and taxes on loans

5News06/10/2009

Got a news story?news@qmessenger.co.uk

After three and a half months of do-

ing a tremendous amount of noth-

ing, and despite the jet lag, I am pret-

ty ready to return to the salt mines

and do some learning at UCSC. Oh,

wait...there’s a strike.

Earlier this week, on the first

day of teaching at the University of

California Santa Cruz, I woke up a

scab. I had apparently crossed the

picket line in my sleep. (Apologies

to my fellow comrade students and

teachers at UCSC!).

Despite moaning earlier this

week that the University of Califor-

nia is more bolshy than Bob Crow,

the git behind the tube strikes, I

found out that the lecturers are en-

tirely justifed in their actions.

I went down to check out the

picket line and to find out what all

the commotion was about.

With scores of Toyota Priuses

all parked up like an environmen-

tally wagon circle, I found various

union members and lecturers mak-

ing speeches using a microphone

attached to a generator powered by

some poor soul on a bicycle in the

baking afternoon sun. (This sort of

greeny thing has become the insti-

gator for the phrase ‘that’s so San-

ta Cruz’). Here I learnt the predica-

ment that the students and staff of

the University of California were in.

Essentially, the state is broke.

This deficit has fallen hard on the

university, and because the univer-

sity’s main income source is now

private, this means that it has fall-

en hard on the students. There were

several tuition fee hikes over the

summer and there are plans to raise

them to $20,000. Professor Mas-

soud, a lecturer in politics in Santa

Cruz, has warned that, “If the uni-

versity would want to return to the

standards of 2001, then they would

have to charge 27,000 per student.”

Though the UK government’s

Department of Innovation, Universi-

ties and Skills is in no great finan-

cial shape and we are constantly un-

der the shadow of potential tuition

fee hikes, from doubling it, mak-

ing each university charge what they

like or some sort of graduate tax.

We complain about our tuition fees,

but i guess the predicament that

Californian students puts it into per-

spective of how bad it really could

could be.

What’s going on in America?QM’s Nick Thomson reports from across the Atlantic

of the country. In light of this report,

the Government’s restriction on stu-

dent numbers looks even more

short-sighted. We understand the

pressures on public finances, but

the Government would do well to

seek savings in other areas of pub-

lic expenditure rather than rationing

educational opportunity.” He fears

that the governments current course

will “condemn an entire generation

of young people to long-term unem-

ployment”.

The criticism comes after a dif-

ficult summer for UK higher institu-

tions as the number of students ap-

plying for university rose by 60,000

but the government only provided

funding for an extra 13,000 places.

Andreas Schleicher, senior analyst at

the OECD’s education division, says

that this discrepancy highlights the

governments policy to slow univer-

sity growth, which weakens the UK’s

chances of recovering quickly from

the global recession.

The report also cites the UK’s

policy of charging foreign students

large tuition fees as a reason for its

poor showing in the rankings, say-

ing it is forcing international stu-

dents to apply elsewhere. Sally Hunt,

general secretaty of the Universi-

ty and College Unions says “These

figures make very disturbing read-

ing...we simply cannot afford to be

left behind when it comes to fund-

ing our universities, yet we are in-

vesting considerably less of our GDP

than competitor countries.”

David Lammy, the Higher Edu-

cation Minister, feels that the nega-

tive aspects of the report are being

over-exaggerated and is quick to re-

mind the public that over 2.8 mil-

lion students are enrolled in UK uni-

versities and that, after the US, they

attract more international students

that any other country.

...Continued from front page

Guardian reporter Patrick Collin-

son made an interesting point in

his column this month: Freshers

Week is an “exercise in consum-

erism”. QMessenger took note of

this and decided to investigate the

extent to which this holds true.

On the surface of things it ap-

pears that Mr Collinson could have

a credible point. Freshers Fair in

particular is notorious for attract-

ing swathes of random intuitions

that clear an area of the rainforest

the size of Wales just to produce

enough paper for their yearly “stuff

a student with fliers” campaigns.

In consideration of the fact that

the vast majority of these fliers go

straight from rainforest to distribu-

tor to bin without passing a hall of

residence door, one could be for-

given for having some misgivings.

But are these distributors of fliers

all that unreasonable? Maybe, but at

the end of the day most of them are

advertising either club nights or in-

surance which we all attend, enjoy

or purchase anyway so “meh” is this

reporters official position.

Mr Collinson goes on to at-

tack Nottingham Univeristy for en-

couraging students to suck their

parents savings dry to indulge in a

week of reckless hedonism. Since

Mr Collingwood went to press it ap-

pears to be the case that Notting-

ham have since altered the areas

of their website which lead this im-

pression thus implying it was not

quite the image they intended to

portray. In defence of Nottingham

their range of activities does appear

to make a good effort in represent-

ing a wide range of student tastes

outside of the corporate sponsored

club nights etc so perhaps the sto-

ry there is a little tamer than The

Guardian suggests.

While a week of drunken con-

sumerist hedonism is certainly an

option at QM with various club

nights organised it is certainly not

the sole path freshers can take

with other event such as comedy

nights being just as actively pro-

moted. Students at Aberdeen uni-

versity have taken things a step

further offering an “insight into Ab-

erdeen’s more subversive side, of-

fering new and existing student’s

an alternative to the same drab

commercialism of freshers’ weeks

past” organised unofficially by

those seeking to stand out from

the consumerist crowd or “Fresh-

ers franchise” as they refer to it.

In contrast, students at QM offer a

largely indifferent response to the

pressures of freshers consumer-

ism claiming “Yes it’s an elongat-

ed excuse to get drunk, Howev-

er, it’s a good social week, So does

break down boundaries for people

who have to live with each other for

years. So i think it’s a good idea.

Just maybe sometimes excessive”.

Perhaps an obvious point to make

is that freshers fair did indeed set

aside several stalls to outside com-

panies wanting to sell us pizza in-

surance and the like. Predictably, a

representative of the student union

argues that the money these organ-

isations pay does in fact go some

way to subsidising the costs of the

freshers fair event as a whole.

Overall, it appears that there

is no easy method of assessing

whether freshers week is consumer-

ist or merely pragmatic.

British HE plummeting in world rankings

Capitalists corrupt freshersJames McMillan

HE Minister David Lammy claims problems are not as bad as they seem

606/10/2009

Queen Mary’s fortnightly student newspaper.

QMessenger

7QMessenger06/10/2009

Queen Mary’s fortnightly student newspaper.

Freshers Fortnight in pictures...

8 Comment06/10/2009

Got a comment to make?comment@qmessenger.co.uk

Tom Maltby

Student CommentGot something to say? Email comment@qmessenger.co.uk

Returning from the Liberal Dem-

ocrats’ party conference in

Bournemouth, my flatmates com-

pelled me to watch an episode of

Mock the Week they had recorded.

OK, I said, plodding towards the TV

with a fixed grin and a feeling of res-

ignation.

Cards on the table. Not only do

I vote Liberal Democrat and hold an

appropriately yellow party card, but

I work for the (Lib Dem) Member of

Parliament for Richmond Park. So

when David Mitchell suggested that

the Lib Dems are “unpatriotic,” be-

cause the good ideas we put for-

ward have to be ignored by the two

“real” parties, he tarnished me with

the same brush. Ditto, when Rus-

sell Howard likened Vince Cable to

an impotent, voyeuristic grandfa-

ther, because he will never be able

to put his ideas into practice. As

light hearted as the jibes may be,

they are symptomatic of a deeper

accusation: that we are at best irrel-

evant and at worst a nuisance.

The Liberal Democrats opposed

the Iraq war, warned against the ir-

responsible lending that led to the

financial crisis, campaigned for the

environment long before doing so

became trendy, and have fought

tirelessly and consistently to pro-

tect civil liberties. Despite Mitchell’s

quip, our ideas often find their way

into Labour and Tory manifestos (al-

beit without being adequately imple-

mented).

Let’s review the field. We are

presented with a red team that,

whilst ostensibly left-wing, still pre-

sides over child poverty, public ser-

vices that don’t work well enough

for those who rely on them the most,

an authoritarian state and a for-

eign policy based on bilateral pos-

turing rather than international law.

They demand that students pay for

their education and then don’t cre-

ate enough places at university (and

that’s before we consider the recent

farce with student loans). Contrari-

wise, the blue team offers a callous

indifference to human suffering, re-

pugnant social policies and a dan-

gerous antipathy towards our conti-

nental neighbours. They would pay

heterosexuals to marry and think

the state should have stood idly by

when the economy

imploded and un-

employment skyrock-

eted.

I haven’t discussed

the confer-

ence itself;

there were

the many bril-

liant seminars

and a few inspir-

ing speeches. I could

even write about the spectacle of

Paddy Ashdown on stage in his shirt

sleeves, holding a pint of Guinness

and making fart noises into a micro-

phone. By doing so I would fail to

address the elephant in the room;

the assertion that we don’t matter.

Few are Liberal Democrats by

default. Many Tory and Labour sup-

porters blindly copy their parents’

political allegiance or indulge in faux

class war- fare. Being a

Lib Dem is first down to principles.

We take as given that civil liberties

are inalienable, climate change is

the biggest challenge faced by our

generation and international law is

a fact rather than an inconvenience.

We defend people’s right to lead

their personal lives free of state in-

terference and believe that equality

of opportunity must be absolute.

We should not settle for any

less. Britain deserves better than

red versus blue.

The Liberal Democrats Do MatterGeorge McFarlane

Global warming is increasingly seen

as the most serious issue facing hu-

manity. Yet with most of the power

in the hands of big governments and

corporations, how much of a differ-

ence can we really make?

In international politics, the lat-

est news has come from the UN sum-

mit in New York. This was called

to try to build momentum towards

achieving a new deal on cutting

emissions at the UN climate change

summit in Copenhagen in Decem-

ber. As UN secretary general, Ban

Ki-Moon has said, “China and the US

will be the two key countries.” Both

are jointly responsible for 40% of the

world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The two countries have shown pos-

itive signs, with Barack Obama in-

sisting that the US commits to a new

global treaty and Chinese President,

Hu Jintao declaring that his country

would generate 15% of its energy

needs from renewable sources with-

in a decade.

It is hard to imagine Obama

travelling to Denmark and signing a

comprehensive pact without ac-

tion having first been taken

in the Senate, which

is currently focused on

the President’s contro-

versial healthcare pro-

posals. China, more-

over, is urbanising

rapidly, with its CO2

emissions from fos-

sil fuels soaring by

129% between 1990

and 2005. The de-

sire of developing

countries to indus-

trialise has been

one of the largest

obstacles to reduc-

ing emissions. In

this light, Gordon

Brown has pro-

posed a $100bn-

a-year (£61bn)

payment by

2020 from in-

d u s t r i a l i z e d

to develop-

ing countries

to combat cli-

mate change

and it

seems that a substan- t i a l

amount of money will have to be in-

volved.

What can individuals do? Cli-

mate change has gained huge prom-

inence in the public consciousness,

yet there is still a

gulf between this and the actions of

political leaders. Even French Pres-

ident, Nicolas Sarkozy has declared

that we must “transcend the role

playing, the emp-

ty speeches,

and the pet-

ty diplomat-

ic games.”

There are obvious

ways in which we can make a differ-

ence such as recycling, taking pub-

lic transport, veganism, better insu-

lation of your home, and so on. It

is, however, important that such life-

style changes aren’t adopted merely

through routine. As a species, the

mechanical-social systems we have

put in place have dissociated

people from spiritual self-real-

ization, in conflict with truths

expostulated by serious-mind-

ed thinkers from the Buddha to

D.H. Lawrence: “my individual-

ism is really an illusion. I am part

of the great whole [cosmos], and

I can never escape. But I can deny

my connections, break them, and

become a fragment. Then I am

wretched.”

As the problems exacer-

bate, humanity’s response will be

shaped by the level of self-realiza-

tion amongst individuals. Society

will have to adapt, either within the

existing mechanical and materialis-

tic society, towards authoritarian-

ism and the submission of humans

to increasingly lifeless, if more eco-

friendly routines, or we will build a

more progressive one of fully con-

scious human beings, living harmo-

niously with the world around us.

Queen Mary Autonomous Group

and ‘Green Mary’ are organising an

environmental forum on campus

on 27th October with speakers from

groups such as CCC and UKYCC.

What Can Humans Do For the Environment?

906/10/2009

Got a story?science@qmessenger.co.ukScience & Environment

Did you know...

QM Environment

The Science Minister has offered

to begin investigations into cases

of scientists who believe they have

been misrepresented in the press.

The move came as Lord Drayson

aims to spur scientists towards

“greater public engagement.” He

further argued, to an audience at

the Royal Institution last week, that

science journalism has improved

significantly over the past 10 years

as specialist journalists were now

given the reins over science report-

ing. He commended the state of

modern media, which had moved

on from “scare stories” and now de-

served commendation for top-qual-

ity coverage of science issues. He

further went on to appeal to scien-

tists to contact him about cases re-

lated to misrepresentation.

However, Lord Drayson’s

claims were attacked by his oppo-

nent Dr Goldacre, who maintained

that scientists were in fact right to

be cautious of engaging with the

press. He encouraged scientists to

communicate with the wider world

through more direct mediums=2C

such as blogs.Speaking to the same

audience, Dr Goldacre said “the era

of scare stories and bad journalism

isn’t over” and that misrepresenta-

tive reporting of science “remains a

problem we need to talk about.”

Professor Andrew Lister, who is

Centre Lead for Medical Oncolo-

gy at Barts and The London Medi-

cal School, has been internationally

recognised with this year, Hamilton-

Fairley Award for a lifetime, achieve-

ments in clinical research and sci-

ence.

Professor Lister’s research has

contributed to a variety of medical

fields, namely improving the out-

come for patients with cancers of

the blood. The Centre for Medical

Oncology that he directs is one of

the country’s leading centres for re-

search into lymphoma and leukae-

mia. On receiving the award, Pro-

fessor Lister said, “I am delighted to

accept it on behalf of the team sup-

ported by Cancer Research UK in the

Medical Oncology Unit at Barts and

The London School of Medicine and

Dentistry. The award carries a spe-

cial significance for Professor List-

er and Gordon Hamilton-Fairley, as

both his mentor and role model.

Queen Mary, as a member of

the 1994 Group of research-focused

universities, has made a strategic

commitment to the highest quality

of research, but also to the best pos-

sible educational, cultural and social

experience for its students.

Leading expert Professor Jack Cuz-

ick, from the Wolfson Institute at

the Barts and The London Medical

School, has said that cervical cancer

could be eradicated within five de-

cades by screening and vaccination

programmes.

Calling on European govern-

ments to help eradicate this dis-

ease, Professor Cuzick claimed

that currently vaccines exist which

have the potential to protect wom-

en against two strains of the Hu-

man Papilloma Virus that causes

this type of cancer. These vaccines

alone had the potential to eradicate

a further three quarters of cancers.

However, new vaccines in de-

velopment will be effective against

all nine strains of the virus, which

raises the prospect of wiping out

the disease completely within five

decades. If they are successful

there should be no need to screen

women that have been vaccinated

at all. Professor Cuzick told a Euro-

pean cancer conference in Berlin,

“That’s the long term future: vac-

cination and no screening. After

about 50 years we could see cervi-

cal cancer disappearing.”

The news comes as the death

of a 14-year-old girl who died fol-

lowing a cervical cancer vaccine at

school is widely reported in the me-

dia. Natalie Mort on died in hospi-

tal on Monday 28th September after

receiving the jab at her school. Ac-

cording to experts, there have been

suspected reaction’s to Cervarix

from more than 1.4m doses. The

batch of the vaccine used has been

put into quarantine as a precaution-

ary measure.

Final year student Emma Hyner

said “I think that given the recent

worries it should be taken with cau-

tion but any developments that

help towards fighting cervical can-

cer should be at the forefront of

medical interest. If the current vac-

cine is ineffective or causes side ef-

fects then this new one may be ex-

tremely relevant.”

For the time being, accord-

ing to Professor Cuzick, vaccinated

women would still require screen-

ing for the rest of their lives as the

vaccine was not effective in wom-

en who had already been exposed

to the virus. He placed further em-

phasis on the importance of replac-

ing the traditional smear test which

looks for abnormal cervical cells

with automated screening for the

HPV.

nUK Scientists at the Met Office have

suggested that the global average

temperature could rise by 4C (7.2F)

as early as 2060. Good news for cur-

rent QM students who can look for-

ward to a sunny UK retirement. Bad

news for Penguins.

nNasa’s Messenger probe is about

to enter its third and last fly-by of

the planet Mercury. Passing just

228km from the surface the probe

will make use of the planet’s grav-

ity to decelerate enough to enter

into orbit in 2011. The time of the

closest approach will be 21.55 GMT

on Tuesday 29th September and as

the spacecraft and its antenna will

be turned away from the Earth dur-

ing the observations, the first data

is not expected to reach earth until

several hours later.

nResearchers at the University of

Oxford, in collaboration with teams

across the country including here in

London, have begun the first trial

of Britain’s two swine flu vaccines.

Both are expected to be licensed in

the next few weeks and QM students

could be looking forward to immuni-

zation within the year. (The new vac-

cine, however, is unlikely to success-

fully immunise individuals against

the popular Fresher’s or Man strains

of the virus)

“If the bee disappears from the sur-

face of the earth, man would have

no more than four years to live. No

more bees, no more pollination ….

No more men!” wether it is true that

Albert Einstein said this or not, it is

certainly a phrase known among the

scientists of today.

Bees are dying across the world

at an alarming rate, entire popula-

tions have simply vanished in a con-

dition known as colony collapse

disorder (CCD). Karen Mace, Head

Gardener at Queen Mary proposed

introducing a functioning Beehive

on campus and has the backing of

Hassan Falahat, Senior Project Man-

ager responsible for ‘the hive’ proj-

ect, John Elam, Environmental and

Energy Manager and Jake Scott, En-

vironmental Manager/Champion.

We now have a functioning hive on

campus and they are looking to in-

troduce more.

The population of honeybees in

the UK and throughout the world is

suffering a severe decline which is

turning into a crisis. A combination

of negative effects has contributed

to breaking a vital link in the ecosys-

tem that could threaten more than

just the production of honey.

The group study area known

as ‘The Hive’ in the catering build-

ing overlooks a small secluded gar-

den space deemed to be the perfect

setting to house a beehive. Students

would be able to look down onto the

real beehive and observe the com-

ings and goings of the bees busily

going about their business.

John Cowley, from the School

of Biological and Chemical Scienc-

es, has agreed to look after the hive.

He is an experienced beekeeper and

previously looked after two hives on

the roof of the biology building. Both

he and John Elam, as enthusiastic

beekeepers have surveyed the pro-

posed site and concluded it is safe.

There is a very low risk of people on

campus being in the flight path of

the bees and being stung.

This provides a great symbol to

QMUL’s commitment to being an en-

vironmentally friendly organisation

and directly contributes to our Envi-

ronmental Policy.

Scientists misrepresented in The Press?

Bart’s Professor wins Life-Time Achievement Award

Vaccine could wipe out cervical cancer within 50 years

QMUL welcome bees to The HiveAnna hiscocks

10 Reviews06/10/2009

Written a review?reviews@qmessenger.co.uk

VendomeA Night in the A-Listed Underworld

Now I’m not a person who knows a lot

about football, but I can recognise a ha-

ven of WAGs dreams when I enter one.

Vendome is one of London’s most up-

market clubs located next to the Ritz

and designed to entertain only the filthy

rich. On a mission to review and free-

load on behalf of the less affluent, I leapt

at the chance to sponge a night to rub

shoulders with the bold and the beau-

tiful.

The club is seriously sexy. A billion-

dollar-budget promiscuity-promoting

RnB music video is the granny’s nipples

to this place. Just stepping into the club

would sizzle the chastity belt off any

hardcore nun. A circular DJ booth rotates

in the middle of the dance floor, illumi-

nated by a ring of technicolor LED floor

lighting with enough dazzling sequenc-

es to stun an OCD lighting designer.

Two shiny-black, chrome-accessorised

bars glisten at opposite ends of the oval-

shaped club tended by tight-shirted men

and mysterious blondes. The walls are

camouflaged by mirrors etched with the

golden swirls of Vendome’s logo and

the reflection of the dance floor lights

sparkle on the glossy black ceiling. VIP

areas furnished with white leather so-

fas and glass tables snuggle in the out-

er edges of the oval. Private-hire booths

are tunnelled into the walls of the under-

ground chamber, coated with gleaming

white wallpaper and sectioned off with

glimmering glass doors. Although rel-

atively small in comparison to the oth-

er Mayfair clubs, Vendome’s interior de-

signer evidently paid attention to every

swanky square-millimetre. Even the mir-

rored steps leading down to the club are

accompanied by a snakeskin patterned

handrail.

It would be hypocritical of me if I

were to bang on about the ‘plastic’ ste-

reotype – who isn’t partial to a lick of fake

tan? I swear by my hair straighteners and

I enjoy the notion of dress to impress.

Whether you have curves that tessellate

Beyonce or legs slimmer than twiglets,

if you have the style and confidence to

flaunt then flaunt! However, be prepared

for the consequences. The Mayfair clubs

are ‘exclusive’ and designed to cater for

a narcissistic breed - where a man’s ego

is as big as his wallet.

Would it be too discourteous of me

to presume that there is an unwritten

policy of ‘No Trolls Allowed’ on the Ven-

dome entry list? The girls inside were

not just plastic but genuinely beautiful

– their hair extensions, false eyelashes,

tan and nails may have been fake, but

their fakeries were mere accessories

to their text-book-perfection flawless-

ly sculptured frames. With mirrors for

walls – vanity would not allow a single

hair to fall out of place to ruin a perfect-

ed pose practised for potential lingering

paparazzi.

Being guest-listed has its advan-

tages as girls gained free entry before

11pm. I liked the idea of pretending to

be part of an A-lister venue, but my cyn-

ical realism knew I was just part of the

approved cattle being packed into the

club; bait dressed in tiny skirts and 6

inch heels.

Unless you have a rich daddy, com-

plete with a sky’s-the-limit credit card, its

best to befriend a promoter on the club-

bing circuit. If you are like me, an impov-

erished student wanting to experience a

night in the high-life, this is the way to

do it. Our promoter introduced himself

as a ‘Mr. ClubKing’ and insisted on wear-

ing dark shades all night - despite the

fact we were in a low-lit underground

club. He had a personalised, diamante

encrusted belt in the shape of the crown

jewels – which basically said ‘look at my

crown jewels’. But, pimped-accessories

aside, he was a nice guy who was good

at his networking job. I spent a total of

£3 all evening (which was just the taxi

fare home). With free entry, free table,

free ice buckets of 3ltr Belvedere Vodka

and mixers and two free bottles of Moet

& Chandon Champagne – it was a classy

contrast to the Sainsbury’s Basics wine

we’d glugged down in our university

halls a couple of hours beforehand.

Away from the VIP area it’s best to

order spirits or bottled beer. But if you

have money or the nerve/lack of self-re-

spect to flirt with a sugar daddy – the

cocktails are fabulous; the perfect pre-

meditated balance of flavour and alco-

hol to knock-out your taste-buds and

your overdraft.

Surrounded by the elite, it’s best

not to let on that you’re a freeloading

student, but (like a good con-artist) have

the nerve to act as stuck-up an aloof as

the rest of the self-labelled ‘exclusives’.

When approached by photographers

just drape yourself against your slinky

counterparts and pout convincingly.

When asked “who are you wearing?” re-

sist the urge to tell the truthful answer of

“Primark’s cheapest” and casually drop

some made up brand name, adding it’s

a limited edition only available in Dubai.

Nobody cares about the answer; it’s just

a polite opening for their own boast of

deluded self-worth.

If you’re willing to endure the hos-

tile atmosphere, and laugh at the DO-

judge-a-book-by-its-cover attitude, Ven-

dome is a fun night out – especially if

you’re a keen fan of the sport of peo-

ple-watching like me. No, I don’t mean

stalking, I mean observing the variety of

people displaying an array of exagger-

ated wealth. It’s fun to assume an elu-

sive identity for a night. The music is

also a stylish mix of upbeat house, un-

derground drum ‘n’ bass synched with

commercial chart toppers. The launch

party in 2008 was hosted by DJ Dimitri,

who also opened Madonna’s Paris Show,

and the club has continued to be a desti-

nation venue for DJ excellence.

Although I initially labelled the ven-

ue as ‘WAG heaven’, it became clear that

the people here were actually a level

above trying to bag themselves a sug-

ar-daddy or hook a quick fling to sell to

Heat. I bumped into politician’s daugh-

ters, investment bankers, diamond

flaunting gangsters, and England foot-

ballers.

Realising afterwards that I’d actu-

ally attended the End Of Season Play-

ers Party; I felt a bit stupid. The tall guy

my friend had danced with briefly, who

looked a bit like Peter Crouch – actual-

ly was Peter Crouch. Then again, this

is the same girl who did not recognise

Dale Winton when asking him where

the nearest loos were outside the Ritz;

exhaling a dainty puff of smoke, his I-

don’t-give-a-shit reply had been “A lady

never says loo, she says toilet.”

Rating 6/10

Rebecca Wynter

Club

Mew, No More Stories

This Danish group made a huge im-

pact on me when I picked up their

previous album on a whim two

years ago – ‘And The Glass Hand-

ed Kites’ was incredible, dark pop

fused with bombastic prog rock,

fronted by a girlishly voiced Dane.

What Mew do so well is write great,

unabashedly cheesy pop hooks,

then pin them up against high-

ly crafted, vast walls of guitar and

synth. Setting them apart is their

fantastic musicianship, with

songs encompassing all manner of

time signatures and unusual chords

in an incredibly playful manner.

Thankfully this never devolves into

self-indulgence as with the majority

of prog inspired acts.

There’s not a ton of new

ground covered by ‘No More Sto-

ries...’ comparedto previous efforts,

but the beautiful ‘Silas the Mag-

ic Car’ and ‘Cartoons and Macrame

Wounds’ with its immense swell of

vocal layers, recapture a freshness

and inspire confidence that Mew

still have much to offer, even

after this, their fifth album. In spite

of my unbridled enthusiasm, the

songs have an unabashedly cheesy,

80s feel to them that I could see be-

ing a put off for some. For those of

you not averse to enjoying heart-

on-sleeve records like The Cure’s

‘Pictures of You’ or Cyndi Lauper’s

‘Time After Time’, I wholeheartedly

suggest giving Mew a try.

Stylistically they’re out there

but underneath the veneer, a fa-

miliar style would love to give you

a great big aural hug. As for those

who dislike the aforementioned

classics, be thankful I’m not run-

ning Judgement Day.

Rating 7/10

Adrian banting

Michael Jackson, Invincible Album

‘Invincible’ is by no means Jack-

son’s greatest work, but for the

worst album of his career, my

lord is it good.

The late king of pop’s last

album was widely slated by crit-

ics, given an abysmal 2/5 stars

by the Guardian and criticised

as being too long. If you were to

ask this reviewer, he’d say that

such criticism is grossly mis-

guided. The immeasurable quali-

ty of ‘Thriller’, ‘Bad’ and his oth-

er earlier albums were as much

a curse as a blessing –creating

a huge air of expectation for ev-

erything he did. With ‘Invinci-

ble’, you should drop this expec-

tation and look at it as any other

album, NOT a Michael Jackson

album.

Throughout the album, Jack-

son’s eclectic style shines as

bright as ever before. We got

the vintage, rocking brilliance of

‘You Rock my World’, ‘Unbreak-

able’ and ‘Threatened’ to the red

hot mellow of ‘Break of Dawn’.

With the exception of may-

be ‘Privacy’, Jackson seems to

abandon the social conscience

of his music. We’re spared from

hearing such anti-society ear-

banging power ballads like

‘Scream’ (HIStory), ‘Leave Me

Alone’ (Bad) and ‘Tabloid Junk-

ie’ (HIStory). ‘Invincible’ is in-

stead a much lighter musical ex-

perience, with beautiful ballads

like ‘You Are My Life’, soft rock

tunes like ‘Whatever Happens’

and heart-warming compassion

pieces like ‘The Lost Children’.

The more up-beat tracks see

Jackson return to the style that

made him famous, ‘You Rock

my World’, ‘Invincible’ and ‘Un-

breakable’ are magnificently raw

rock tunes.

As a whole, ‘Invincible’ is

a triumphant album, selling

13 million copies and having a

stunning library of songs. Yes, it

doesn’t measure up to Jackson’s

past work but as a standalone

album, one can only sit back,

plug your ipod in and admire.

Was Michael Jackson Invinci-

ble? Without a doubt.

Rating 8/10

Music

Alexander Penn

11Film06/10/2009

Like films?film@qmessenger.co.uk

Sam Creighton

Night on Earth - dir. Jim Jarmusch

(USA, 1991) - screeining october

8th

Film Soc Screening

Fish Tank

Y’know, it’s pretty hard to find films

which are so universally awful in ev-

ery respect and yet can be guaran-

teed to receive acclaim, awards and

a seal of critical approval. Well, this

is one of those films. Fish Tank has

no original ideas, not an ounce of

creativity, but a deeply cynical atti-

tude that attempts to tick every fac-

tor that could caress the egos of hun-

dreds of pretentious, high-brow film

connoisseurs. The film is ostensibly

a social realist piece and somehow

manages to squeeze every single cli-

ché of the genre into the story – our

protagonist, Mia (Katie Jarvis), is a

15 year old Vicky Pollard clone living

on a council estate (of course) with

her single mum (of course) who’s an

alcoholic (of course), swears all the

time (of course) and simply doesn’t

understand her daughter, who is ba-

sically angry and unhappy all the

time, speaks with a staggeringly ex-

aggerated accent and never says

a single line in the film that is not

shouted. Everyone is working class,

speaks with a heavy accent, is com-

pletely simple minded, angry or ma-

nipulative and listens to nothing but

R&B and hip-hop. The council estate

is a dump and is never free from the

sound of crying babies, loud music,

shouting and other generally anti-

social behaviour. But then, onto the

scene comes Mia’s mum’s new boy-

friend! (Michael Fassbender) He’s

clean cut, speaks with a normal ac-

cent, listens to Bobby Womack (don’t

ask), is generally friendly and seems

poised to free Mia from her horrible,

horrible existence. What could go

wrong?! Guess...

Basically, it’s presenting a snap-

shot of life which it ascertains to be

the very bottom end of human so-

ciety and the people who inhabit it

as being either tragically sad or sim-

ply ignorant filth. It’s the kind of

film which allows pseudo-intellectu-

al snobs to go and ease their con-

sciences over the “suffering of the

poor folks” while simultaneously rid-

iculing and deriding them. It’s ex-

ploitation of the worst kind, but to

be honest, none of that would mat-

ter if the film worked on a technical

level. But it doesn’t – the dialogue

is so utterly banal and hackneyed

as to be unintentionally comical and

steals every cliché of the working

class social realist film (at one point,

apropos of nothing, Mia’s mother

tells her “you could have been an

abortion”) without a single witty,

thought-provoking or even memora-

ble line that could have taken more

than 5 seconds and a few episodes

of Eastenders to think of. The cam-

erawork is totally uninspired, stat-

ic and lifeless. The cinematography

tries to be “REAL” in that there’s no

effort put in whatsoever – dull, docu-

mentary-like colours that have been

used in a hundred Channel 4 dra-

mas. The acting is atrocious – like I

said, every character just shouts and

gets angry, nothing else. Allegedly,

Katie Jarvis had never acted before

this film and I can believe it. As far

as metaphors and the like go, there’s

one really cringe-inducing reoccur-

ring theme with a horse on a chain

which Katie Jarvis tries to break free

(JUST LIKE SHE IS, GET IT?!)

Perhaps the thing I hate

most about this film is that it is one

of that breed of reactionary, cynical

films that revels in nihilism and neg-

ativity simply because it know that

the faux-intellectuals of the world

will smother it in praise and adora-

tion for it. This is a film that was de-

signed to receive plaudits from film

festivals and has no personality,

no ingenuity or anything approach-

ing sincerity or real passion. In this

sense, it’s worse than the worst

brainless, manufactured Hollywood

crap, because they are at least occa-

sionally entertaining, whereas this is

simply boring, offensive, worthless,

exploitative gutter trash. Avoid,

please...

RATING *

I had very high expectations of this

film but it met them with ease. An-

gela Arnold is one of the most pro-

ficient directors currently working in

this country and she succeeds again

with this sad and poignant charac-

ter study of a child lost in the world.

Some of the symbolism is heavy

handed, but the acting is phenom-

enal, with Micheal Fassbender and

newcomer Katie Jarvis really standing

out and their relationship remaining

gripping to the very end. Jarvis’s vul-

nerability and violent over-compen-

sation comes across almost pain-

fully. The closing moments are very

well worked, made even more sad

because they are hopeful. A very re-

alistic account of the everyday hap-

penings of a particular sub-culture,

some might argue that not much

happens, but then, after all, life has

no plot.

James McMillan

The overarching reason d’etre for

this film seemed unclear to me;

was it a realist study of the miser-

ies of the nations depraved? Or was

it was deliberately trying to not to

make any points at all? Personally

I don’t know. As a story though, it

was diverting if a little predictable

and minimal on character develop-

ment. Although I did find myself

rooting for the fortunes of the films

protagonists I felt the consequenc-

es of their actions were relentlessly

anti-climactic. I feel this makes the

films “success” too hard to judge as

nothing seemed so terrible that it

couldn’t be resolved so I didn’t feel

particularly depressed by their griz-

zly lives, but neither did I feel terri-

bly optimistic that things would im-

prove. As the film is clearly not there

to entertain or excite or just look

beautiful I can only conclude it was

supposed to move me which frank-

ly it didn’t.

other views on Fish Tank

This quirky comedy from the

king of the American underground,

Jim Jarmusch, takes a sardonic look

at the human condition through the

lens of five taxi rides happening si-

multaneously in different corners

of the world. Tom Wait’s throbbing

score accompanies us as Jarmusch’s

unique brand of off-kilter humour

zips from L.A. to Helsinki via New

York, Paris and Rome. Probably Jar-

musch’s most immediately accessi-

ble film, it’s also his least seen. It’s

lyrical and loose writing lends itself

perfectly to the ad-libbing of the tal-

ented cast. Robert Benigni’s hyper-

active performance as a cabbie con-

fessing his teenage indiscretions to

his priestly fare is a particular high-

light.

you only Live once - dir. Fritz

Lang (USA, 1937) - screening octo-

ber 15th

So, some context: Fritz Lang ar-

rives in America in 1936, where he

directs two films later credited with

anticipating the themes and formal

techniques of Film Noir. In particu-

lar, the second of these – You Only

Live Once – can be seen as a forerun-

ner to the ‘young lovers on the run’

subgenre, which includes Gun Crazy

and Badlands.

The film follows Taylor (Hen-

ry Fonda; frustrated, vulnerable),

recently released from prison with

few prospects, comforted only by

his wife, Joan (Sylvia Sidney; appro-

priately delicate). What must have

seemed especially subversive in

1937 is the sympathy the film gen-

erates for its criminal protagonists;

the relentless hardships inflicted

– sometimes to the point of heavy-

handedness – drive them inevitably

to desperate ends.

Their story is realised through

many striking images – including

Taylor’s cell, where shadows cause

the bars to stretch far beyond his liv-

ing space – creating an oppressive

environment for their tragic tale to

unfold in.

Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde has always been known

for his boundless wit – to see the

beloved playwright’s only novel be

adapted to the screen should be a

pleasure right? Haha, Nope not by

a long shot! ‘Dorian Gray’ follows

the story of a young English bu-

reaucrat whose blind pursuit of he-

donism lands him into a world of

supernatural trouble.

Visually, the film was stunning

- the audience were frequently daz-

zled by a myriad of immaculate cin-

ematography showcasing the ar-

tificial mess that was 19th Century

London. That was the good thing,

now let’s get onto the bad. After the

first 25 minutes, the film ran out of

steam, it transformed into a lengthy,

predictable chore. Furthermore, the

film boasts some sort of philosophi-

cal edge that is bound to make the

ears of some budding pseudo-so-

phistos to flare up. Once you get

past the obvious moral, the film is

painfully shallow. At times, the film

slid over to something you’d find in

an old, perverted Italian film rather

than a British Costume Drama. But

anyway, ‘Dorian Gray’ was a bore-

fest – I thought of calling it Sweeney

Todd’s more mature older brother

but I really wouldn’t want to place it

in such a high-flying gene-pool...

RATING **

Alex MacDonald

Alexander Penn

Cult classic:

Reflections in a Golden Eye - dir.

John huston (USA, 1967)

This is a peculiar film if there ever

was one. Released in 1967, directed

by John Huston and starring Marlon

Brando and Elizabeth Taylor, it’s a

curiously overlooked film despite all

the heavyweight names involved in

it. The plot is kind of obscure – it re-

volves around the crumbling lives of

sexually and emotionally suppressed

army Major Weldon Penterton (Mar-

lon Brando) and his flighty wife Le-

onora (Elizabeth Taylor). Various bi-

zarre occurrences, mainly involving

the strange presence of a introvert-

ed voyeuristic private from the local

barracks, eventually lead to tragedy

and psychological breakdown. Cru-

cial to the perturbing, dream-like at-

mosphere of the film is the constant

sepia-toned cinematography – the

golden eye – that gives a constant

feeling of surreal intrigue. Also key

is the acting. This film obliterates

the view that Brando was only any

good in the 50’s and early 70’s – his

performance here is one of his best,

even if his accent is even weirder

than in the Godfather. Still, that’s

when he’s in his element – subvert-

ing a potentially camp character by

injecting it with pathos and vulnera-

bility and this is one of the best ex-

amples of this. His monologue about

soldier camaraderie towards the end

is one of his finest and most sensi-

tive deliveries. Also worth noting is

Brian Keith’s tragic and understat-

ed performance as a Lieutenant suf-

fering his with a mentally disturbed

wife. All-in-all a vastly underrated

film with an ensemble cast, that is

well worth seeking out.

Alex MacDonald

12 Games06/10/2009

Sports Club & Society listings...Stuck for something to do? Get involved!

Crossword No. 2

Medium Hard

Suduko No. 3 & 4Across

1. Winged child (6)

4. Vigorous attack (5)

8. Side (4)

9. Ball of hair (8)

10. Employment vacancy (7)

12. Accumulate (5)

13. Narcotic (4)

14. Research deeply (5)

17. Tumbles (5)

20. Edible fat (4)

22. Fastening device (5)

23. Pulpit (7)

24. 8th President of the U.S. (3,5)

25. Hybrid (4)

26. Wooded (5)

27. Animosity (6)

Down

1. London suburb (7)

2. Imperial dynasty of Russia (7)

3. At the rear of (6)

5. Crossbred dog (7)

6. Burdensome work (7)

7. Ran away (4)

11. South Wales peninsula (5)

15. Apprentice (7)

16. Marry (7)

18. Best (7)

19. Like summer (7)

21. Resident of a town (6)

22. Guinea pig (4)

Medium Hard

Last week’s solution (Crossword no.1)

Last week’s solutions (Sudukos no.1 & 2)

QMUL ACS RECRUITMENT AND

INTERNShIP EVENT

QMUL ACS are hosting a recruit-

ment and internship event on Tues-

day 13th October featuring various

schemes aimed at recruitment and

diversity (these are still to be con-

firmed). Invited groups include: Rare

Recruitment, SEO, Legal Lauch Pad,

Windsor Fellowship, Law Society, Tar-

get, Civil Service Fast Stream, Reach

uni of London, Diversity Group, Di-

versity Careers Show, Deviation Net-

work and Careers Group. This event

will feature presentations alongside

an area to network, collect informa-

tion and ask questions.

LINKS’ FIRST AID AWARENESS

CoURSE PART TWo

First Aid Awareness Course Part

Two: Monday 12th Oct, 16:30 in

Mile End.

Also, member revalidation night for

all current first aid level members-

this is a must to continue on in the

coming year!

LINKS is the student branch of St

John Ambulance. We can teach you

all sorts of first aid skills, and give

you the chance to go out and prac-

tise what you’ve learned at some of

London’s top events! We’re a fun-

loving, friendly bunch, so come

along and save some lives.

CAThoLIC SoC FIRST WEEKLy

MEETING oF ThE yEAR

Queen Mary Catholic Society is a so-

ciety dedicated towards devotions

Towards God, promote a greater un-

derstanding of our catholic faith, as

Well as fellowship amongst young

catholics. We meet weekly and our

first meeting will be on the 7th of

October, Wednesday at 2pm (half

an hour after mass) for a meet and

greet amongst fellow catholics. Ev-

eryone is welcome to come!

Please let us know at

Qmulcathsoc@gmail.com so that we

can bring food for you!

ENGINEERING SoC MEET AND

GREET

Why not come meet us all as well at

our ‘Meet N’Greet’ event where you

can get free food!

It will be in the Whitehead Aero Lab,

Engineering building on Wednes-

day 7th October, time TBA (email

qm.engsoc@gmail.com if you’re in-

terested).

And one more thing; follow us on

FACEBOOK! Search for ‘QM En-

gineering Soc’ and voila! Join the

group and follow our activities on-

line.

QM SToP ThE WAR SoCIETy

PUbLIC MEETING

Public Meeting- “Does Obabma’s 2

state solution for Israel/Palestine

put the Middle East on the roadmap

to peace?” Time: 7pm, date: Tues-

day 6th October, place: Skeel Lec-

ture Theatre, Peoples Palace, QMUL.

Speakers include: Dr Azzam Tami-

mi, Lowkey, Lindsey German, oth-

ers tbc.

Free entry, all welcome. Called by

Queen Mary Stop the War Society.

GEoG SoC PoKER NIGhT

The Geography Society is running a

poker night on 12th October at the

New Globe pub. Games start short-

ly after 7pm. Entry £4 for members

and £6 for everyone else.

13Sport06/10/2009

Interested in sport?sports@qmessenger.co.uk

Vratislav Domalip III

VP Activities Speaks...

VP Activities

Hey guys,

I hope you all enjoyed the epic

last couple of weeks and are

slowly recovering from all the

fun and frolics. I hope you’re

all settling into your lectures

but make sure your still having

some fun.

Wednesday and Thurs-

day saw the majority of stu-

dents descend on the Marquee

in Library Square and the Sports

Hall where we exhibited all our

sports clubs and societies. It

was a great two days that dis-

played the truly multi-cultural

university that we are. If there

was anything you were inter-

ested in, please make sure you

sign up! Being part of a club or

society will definitely improve

your time here as you will meet

so many new people and get in-

volved in loads of fun events

and activities. Our new website

www.qmsu.org now allows you

to easily pay your memberships

online; it’s really simple so when

you have some free time check

it out.

I also want to remind you of

the last Freshers’ event on the

8th October, the Freshers Ball.

It’s a great way to finish Fresh-

ers’ fortnight. Tickets are lim-

ited and are selling out fast so

make sure you get your hands

on them before they are all

gone.

Finally, are you interest-

ed in raising money for charity

at Queen Mary? If you are then

make sure you join RAG. To join,

send an e-mail to rag@qmsu.

org. RAG’s welcome meeting is

on Wednesday 7th October in

Ground (Costa Coffee) at 5pm-7-

pm. Come along for a free cof-

fee and a presentation from the

children’s charity, ‘Place2Be’.

For more information, join the

RAG Facebook group.

Remeber, if you have any

queries about clubs and societ-

ies then come and see me at the

Blomeley Centre or email me at

vpactivities@qmsu.org and I’ll

be able to help.

There are so many ways that I feel I

could argue the issue of Twenty20

cricket: it’s not really cricket, it’s

English baseball, it’s where Foot-

ball fans go to get drunk and shout

when the Football season’s over. But

instead I have chosen to go with the

lack of romance that the game of-

fers, that it requires speed but not

haste.

Its bigger, older, more estab-

lished and more dignified grandfa-

ther, Test Cricket, is now suffering

because of the shorter bang-bang

version of the game that we all, at

some level or other, know that we

love. The majestic cover drive that

has so often brought genuine happi-

ness to those who are lucky enough

to watch it has been lost to the big

slog over cow-corner. The end result

is often the same, but the manner

in which one gets to their destina-

tion is habitually the defining factor

to how one is received.

Take, for example, the artist

who has toiled away for decades as

he slowly begins to not only under-

stand but also define his trade. His

work becomes collectable, and then

everything that he has done before

increases in value because of what

he has been able to achieve; you can

see the progression of a man’s life

as his innings reaches its peak. But

then some trumped-up graffiti artist

comes along and achieves the same

fame and popularity from seemingly

nowhere, undermining the integrity

of the profession.

In an objective sense, perhaps

it is the graffiti artist who is some-

how more powerful. He has achieved

‘greatness’ without wasting time,

money, effort and resources to get

to where he always felt he had to be,

while the true craftsmen took seem-

ingly forever, in relation, to find his

place. But as I said before, the char-

acter of the man is revealed by the

determination and transformation

experienced during the journey of

his life.

Twenty20 Cricket doesn’t offer

that to anyone. You’re in, you’re out

and you’re fielding before the sun

has come up for the next day. You

play in floodlights because people

want you to work around them, else

they’ve no interest in your success.

You are, to them, a source of enter-

tainment and nothing more.

Test Cricket affords the man the

chance to show that he is as valu-

able as everyone else, that he goes

to work each day knowing that his

task is to be doing exactly that for

much of the next week, and in a Test

Series he’s got a contract to work

all summer. People take the day off

work to come to see him, in essence

he is THE attraction, whether batting

or bowling.

As WG Grace once said, people

didn’t come to see the umpire do-

ing his job but rather him doing his.

How many Twenty20 Cricket ‘stars’

can honestly have that much arro-

gance, while justified, without then

leaving a legacy of being a bit of a

twat?

My despise of Twenty20 Crick-

et isn’t simply that it’s all brash and

colourful, but rather than the irony

of the game is lost on its casual fan.

In many ways it brings all the best

bits of cricket together over a very

brief period. The best batsmen still

play proper shots, the best bowl-

ers still tease the batsmen and the

best fielders have just as much time

to get the catch or run the batsmen

out as they would do in Test Cricket,

but unfortunately people don’t real-

ly seem to understand that. Instead

it’s just an excuse to get drunk after

work with your friends in a live ven-

ue. It’s like a pub, except you’re a

little more exposed to the weather.

We live in a society where ev-

erything needs to be done yesterday

and tomorrow’s ideas have been de-

vised three weeks ago. Test Cricket

has always been played on its mer-

its, each ball and each shot deserves

the respect of the person who has

delivered the beautiful thing. But

Twenty20 shows a blatant disregard

for humankind, and what’s worse is

that it merely encourages people to

be worse in their personal and pro-

fessional lives.

In its simplicity is its most frus-

trating characteristic, in my opinion.

It perpetuates impatience. And de-

spite what the adverts say, that is

NOT a virtue.

Darren McGuinness

The problem with Twenty20Sport Ops: Got an opinion about sport? Email it to sports@qmessenger.co.uk

Freshers Crew win Team of the MonthSports Desk

The ‘Freshers Crew’, a group of

students who give up their time

to help new students move in to

halls of residence and provide a

helpful presence on campus dur-

ing Freshers Week, won ‘Team of

the Month’ in the Students’ Union

awards.

The monthly award, given out

at the sports and society night

‘Hail Mary’, usually goes to the

club or society who have been

most active or achieved the most

success over the previous month.

The win was particularly supris-

ing as the Freshers Crew are not

actually an affiliated club or so-

ciety, and the award has never

been given to a team who do not

fall under either of these catego-

ries.

Student Activities Sabbatical

Officer Vraj Domalip, who gave

out the award and is one of the

people who decide on who de-

serves the award, had this to say

about the winners: “At our first

Hail Mary of the year, the Team of

the Month was awarded to a very

deserving crew, for the first time

in history this prestigious award

has been awarded to a group that

isn’t either a sports club or so-

ciety. It was a collection of 100

student volunteers who helped

the thousands of Freshers move

into their new homes for the year.

They helped with everything from

carrying luggage up to rooms to

giving guided tours of campus

and made many scared and lone-

ly first years feel welcome. I hope

you will join me in congratulat-

ing the FRESHERS CREW for all

their fantastic work over Fresh-

ers week!”.

Over recent years, the Fresh-

ers Crew have grown substantial-

ly in their numbers and presence

on campus, doubling from 50

volunteers last year to over now

over 100. This award is recogni-

tion for their hard work over the

last few weeks.

The Students’ Union Freshers Crew became the first ever non sports club or society to win Team of the Month

14 Sport06/10/2009

Interested in sport?sports@qmessenger.co.uk

What do you think when you hear

the word Psychologist? People hav-

ing difficulties managing their lives

and needing help? Someone lying

down on a couch and talking about

his/her childhood whilst a “shrink”

listens thoughtfully and assess-

es the patient’s level of sanity and

solvency? These are amongst the

most common misconceptions that

people have about Psychologists,

which usually makes them reluctant

to seek advice or help from one.

You may have heard about

athletes and sports people using

Sport Psychologists to get the edge

over their opponents (including GB

and China teams, amongst others,

at the Beijing Olympics, and top

sports people, such as Tiger Woods

and Chris Hoy). In 2004, the British

Psychological Society (BPS) formed

the Division for Sport and Exer-

cise Psychology, as increasing num-

bers of athletes began to realise the

importance of the mental side of

sport, as opposed to just the physi-

cal.

So, what does a Sport Psychol-

ogist do? Well, this really depends

on the individual athletes, but the

main areas include: controlling anx-

iety; increasing motivation; increas-

ing concentration (skills from these

could also be used by students in

exam situations); increasing team

spirit and cohesion; increasing self-

confidence; preventing over-train-

ing and aiding the recovery from in-

juries.

So what can Sport Psycholo-

gy do for you? Here’s a technique

that you can use in situations where

you become nervous and feel out of

control (so this can be used in both

sports settings and in University be-

fore an important presentation or

exam):

C• lose your eyes (well, read the

other steps before closing your

eyes or this might not work!)

B• reathe in and out slowly and

deeply (through your nose, not

mouth) and concentrate on

each breath). Do this for about

30 seconds.

C• hoose an image that relax-

es you and that can move back

and forth (i.e., a wave, a buoy

bobbing in the ocean, or a cur-

tain blowing in the breeze,

girl on top etc.). Focus on

this image and make it as viv-

id as possible - include bright

colours, but keep the image

simple. Breathe in when the

image moves one way and

breathe out when the image

moves the other way.

F• inally, choose a word (such as

“relax” or “calm”) and repeat

this word (in your head) every

time you breathe out. This will

become over time your very

own mantra.

You should practice this technique

for approximately five minutes a

day (or longer if possible, or you’re

able(!)) and will be able to eventual-

ly use it for sport or University situ-

ations when you become nervous.

With practice you will be able to re-

lax yourself after just a few seconds

of using this exercise.

This technique can be tricky at

first, but with some perseverance

it can substantially decrease your

anxiety levels and lead to increases

in your performance levels. Just re-

member to keep the image strong

and if you become distracted and

your mind begins to wander, refo-

cus and start again.

Deanne Roberts is a recent Masters

graduate in Sports Psychology from

London Metropolitan University. She

is currently in the process of becom-

ing a fully-fledged Sports Psycholo-

gist, so if anyone or any Club feels

they would like her help then send

her an email to: dee11@hotmail.

co.uk

Few things mean as much to me as

Sport, so knowing that the many

Clubs that both Queen Mary and

Barts run are not only dedicated

to themselves but to the individ-

ual all the way to the institution

brings more than a tear to my eye;

it brings pride to my heart.

Whether you have signed up to

become another Great Griffin (Barts)

or wish to create a Leopards Legacy

(Queen Mary), nothing and no one

should stand in your way.

As the season fast approaches

and training steps up in preparation

for the first set of BUCS fixtures on

14th October, all teams are antici-

pating a big year for their Univer-

sities, culminating in the famous

Merger Cup.

For those who are new to the

game, the Merger Cup is THE an-

nual sporting event, much like the

Varsity competitions run between

local Universities across the coun-

try, where Barts and Queen Mary

pit their skills against one anoth-

er on the many hallowed turfs that,

for the season preceding the fix-

tures, they have lost blood, sweat

and tears fighting for that crucial

victory.

Last year Barts took back the

Cup after three years of Queen

Mary triumphs, although it must

be said that throughout the season

it looked as though the Leopards

would take the trophy based on

their performances in the numerous

competitions.

The Queen Mary Footballers

had arguably a better season last

year than in recent times, and the

Rugby boys missed out on promo-

tion by the smallest of margins (so

small that even Lucozade haven’t

produced anything that could have

given them that tiny edge that was

required). Both Men’s and Women’s

Basketball made it to the ULU Cup

finals, whilst the Squash Club and

Badminton Club both performed

brilliantly.

Barts had their fair share of

success, too, although the Hock-

ey Club for one had lost a lot of im-

portant members from the previous

season. When it came to the crunch,

though, clearly it was the sense of

comradery produced by the Medics

and Dentists that pushed them that

extra few yards and their win was

well earned.

Sports at both Universities is

more than a key part of the experi-

ence, but more a way of life. People

say that the friends you make dur-

ing your time studying will stay with

you, but the best way to build rela-

tionships is by standing toe-to-toe

with your sporting buddies, those

heroes and heroines that pull on

the same jersey as you and set out

to win, to succeed, to come home

victorious. Because without this

sense of pride, without this loyalty

to your team, then what’s the point?

Even in what some might con-

sider to be solo sports, such as

Fencing, Tennis, Squash, Badminton

and Swimming, where the winner

is much more clearly defined, they

will be able to tell you that it is the

support of their teammates, their

fellow Leopards and Griffins, that

spurs them on.

So I urge you now, especial-

ly you Freshers, if you haven’t yet

joined a team, do so. These are

the people who will stay with you

through thick and thin.

And if you really don’t think

it’s for you, why not come and sup-

port your friends and your Universi-

ty? Transport to games is available,

or they’re played locally anyway, so

there are no excuses for spending

your Wednesday afternoons not do-

ing Student Activities. After all, it’s

on your timetables.

Darren McGuinness

Make your mark at Queen Mary

Deanne Roberts

Sports psych not just for quacks

Queen Mary and Barts’ rugby clubs lock horns in last year’s Merger Cup as Barts went on to win the Cup

Don’t fall over the edge, get some help from a Sports Psychologist

15Sport06/10/2009

Interested in sport?sports@qmessenger.co.uk

McGuinness’ Moment

Darren McGuinness

Striking the balance

As so many people will have told you,

probably most notably those who

have cared and nurtured, reared and

paid for you for a significant portion

of your life, you’re here at University

to study and attain a degree.

In my opinion that’s only a fair

assessment, and by no means is your

subject of choice the be-all and end-

all of what’s important. You cannot

be expected to develop as a person

without trying something new, you

cannot expect to be wholly employ-

able without something else aside

from your degree on your CV. Which

is why some people play Sports.

Most who represent either their

respective Leopards or Griffins on

the fields of play here at Queen Mary

and Barts’ and the London colleges

do so because they want to. And not

just that they want to, but they feel

as though they would be letting not

only themselves but also their team-

mates down.

And nothing in this world is

more important than being commit-

ted to something.

Sure, there have been instanc-

es where this loyalty is perhaps tak-

en too far and the bigger picture is

lost; from my time at the Universi-

ty of Brighton I can cite a couple of

cases where people just started to

think that the lecturers were going

to encourage them to fail their final

year in order to win leagues and tro-

phies. That was not, and never will

be, the case.

We’re not an American-style

University where Sports means ev-

erything, but nor are we simply an

academic and research institute

where people play Sports to blow

off steam. There’s a balance to be

struck, and it is in finding where you

stand on the board that will deter-

mine who you are.

Many of us are able to easily be

a part of one AND the other, some

struggle to keep up with one and

others tend to go fully into the oth-

er. It is not for me to tell you what

to do; for someone who has chosen

his path already I cannot judge you

for choosing yours. But I would run

through a few things to consider:

The degree is going to cost

more than any amounts of subs or

training fees you pay.

The degree won’t be there when

you are having problems in your per-

sonal life.

Your teammates will have de-

grees of their own.

While that perhaps hasn’t made

this any clearer for you, be sure that

you manage to strike a balance, else

you could either go tumbling down

into a spiral of academic exclusion,

or you could end up socially retard-

ed.

Dom Bell stood unopposed as the

Sports Officer last year, but in truth

it probably wouldn’t have made

much of a difference; Sportsdesk

can reveal here and now that they

thought he would have been the

best candidate even if he hadn’t

gone for the position. Find out now

why QSports backs Bell’s bid for bril-

liance…

Why did you stand as Sports Offi-

cer last year?

To be honest it was all rather a

rushed decision. I got a phone call

the day of the deadline asking if I

would like to take the job. I remem-

ber I was in the library writing an es-

say at the time and as time passed I

thought less and less about my es-

say and more and more about this

job. I didn’t really get time to think

about the issues I wanted to resolve

in becoming Sports Officer. I simply

thought, yes, I’d be good at this.

What are you hoping to achieve in

your tenure?

I’m all about performance, but I

can’t realistically push it that hard at

QM. What I do want to do is help the

Clubs support themselves, i.e. make

them money, help them fundraise,

help them advertise and teach them

how to be self-sufficient. My expe-

rience with the Clubs is that they

rely too heavily on the SU and gov-

ernment grant etc. and when they

run out of money instead of doing

something about it they just give up

and whine. SU money is more of a

starter pack, so if you want a decent

Club you have to take the initiative.

Did you learn much from the pre-

vious Officer (Nick Cowell)?

I got some pointers from Nick but I

think I want to make this my own.

I don’t think the Sports teams have

really taken advantage of the fact

that they’ve got someone available

to help them with the functioning

of their Clubs. The Clubs for some

reason see the Sports Officer as a

completely separate entity filling his

time with stuff of more importance,

but really I’m waiting for them to

speak up.

As you’re also the President for

the Boat Club this year, will you

find it hard managing the two or

risk bias towards QMBC?

It might be hard to balance the two

but that’s how I roll. I like having

my time filled. I work better under

pressure. Bias? Would you believe

me even if I said no? The fact of the

matter is there isn’t really any bias

to give. In other words I don’t even

know, as Sports Officer, how I could

bias the Boat Club.

As it stands, who is the best Sports

Club on campus in your opinion?

This is a bit of a harsh question! God

I don’t know. Definitely in terms of

performance last year the Cheerlead-

ers were the best. We hope they can

carry on their good form. However,

right now it’s too soon to tell.

Where do you hope your role will

take you next year and beyond?

Would you want to stay at Uni-

versity as a Sabbatical Officer as

well?

I have mentioned before that hob-

bies can result in careers too. It does

open up new possibilities as to what

I may do with my life. I have thought

about using this as a springboard

for a sabbatical position next year

but it’s a decision by no means set

in stone.

Who is your favourite Sports Star

or Sports Team of all time? And

if you could play anything profes-

sionally, what would it be?

When I was a lot younger I always

wanted to be a swimmer. I mean

they’re just gods aren’t they? They

look amazing and in some respects

it takes more dedication to be a

swimmer than anything else because

you have to train for so much lon-

ger than you do in any other sport.

So of late I have been swept away

by Michael Phelps. I realise he’s had

a recent blip in form but what he

achieved at the last Olympics is truly

unsurpassable.

If that hasn’t been a ‘ringing’ en-

dorsement for Mr. Bell then Sports-

desk is out of ways to persuade you,

except by making sure you pay at-

tention to his column when it ap-

pears and by keeping up with the

progress that will inevitably be made

by the Sports Clubs at Queen Mary.

who appeared alongside 007 in ‘Die

Another Day’, runs our Club. We

meet every Wednesday in the Sports

Hall from 2-5pm. There is also an

extra training session on Saturdays

for those who wish to have extra les-

sons and training.

We are one of the most success-

ful Clubs at the University, the Wom-

en’s Team being the only one from

Queen Mary to qualify for the BUCS

Championships held in Sheffield in

March earlier this year.

We may train hard, but we also

play hard! There are lots of social

events organised every term, and

we can be found in the local Weth-

erspoon’s every Wednesday evening

after a hard day’s work.

If you want any further informa-

tion, please find our group on Fa-

cebook, email qmbl_fencingclub@

hotmail.com, or come along to the

Sports Hall at 2pm on a Wednesday .

Hope to see you there!

...Continued from back page

Fencing frolics

Dom Bell: Sports OfficerSports Desk

Dom Bell (left) winning the Boat Club’s first Regatta trophy for a decade

06th Oct ‘09 • Issue 14 • FREE

Sports Editor: Darren McGuinness sports@qmessenger.co.ukQSPORT

Continued page 15...

bringing you all the latest fixtures and results from the QM Sports teams

Sub Editor: Rebecca Ngakane

Blades out in East London

Queen Mary’s Fencing Club wel-

comes all keen sword-wielders, from

experienced competitor to ‘fresh-

er’. We offer all three weapons: Foil,

Épée and Sabre. For those of you

who are not familiar:

The Foil is descended from the

rapier; it is the lightest of the three

weapons. It is a stabbing sword and

the target is the chest and back.

Novices generally start on the foil,

and can progress to another weapon

later if they wish.

The Épée is a larger version of

the Foil with the target being the en-

tire body.

The Sabre, like its cousin the

military Sabre, is more of a slashing

weapon. This time the target is the

chest, arms and head.

Our coach, Jonathon Weekes,

Have you ever tried to Swash your Buckle?

Ever wanted to be the next Zorro?

One of last year’s most successful clubs tells you what they’re all about.

Frederica Sheehan-Greatorex