Greg WhitakerNews Editor

‘Uninhabitable’ house sendsstudents to breaking point

Over 40 violations of Unipol guidelines•A group of University of Leeds studentshave revealed to The Gryphon how theybelieve their Headingley house still isn’tmeeting health and safety requirementsdespite over four months of complaintsand investigations.The students allege that the house,which is located on Headingley Avenueand managed by Oasis Properties, was ina “substandard and uninhabitable” statewhen they arrived, and despite numerouscomplaints continues to “violate severalhealth and safety regulations.”Grievances which were highlightedduring a recent Unipol investigationincluded the lack of a working fire alarmsystem and an out-of-date emergency

phone number, as well as the presence ofvermin inside the inner-walls as a resultof improper waste disposal during theproperty’s summer refurbishment,.Dampand mould were found in seven out ofeleven bedrooms, as well as a dangerousand concealed man-hole cover in thekitchen. Finally, an inadequate heatingsystem which was only designed to copewith a five bedroom house, along withover 40 other Unipol violations.One of the tenants, a second yearEnglish student said, “A lot of things werebroken when we moved in, such as themicrowave, the washing-machine andthe dryer, and when we tried to complainwe had to talk through Oasis and notthe actual owner of the house. It wasridiculous.”While another, a second year Theatreand Performance student, added, “As

students we are being treated unfairlydue to the stereotypical attitude which isadopted by professional letting agencies.I knew the house wouldn’t be perfect, butthis house has been a nightmare.”Oasis properties, who manage theproperty, have said, ‘This house was acase whereby one of the tenants wantedto move out of the property. In additionthere was a roof leak that was repairedbut the leak needed to time to dry outinternally. The father of the tenant whowished to move out got Unipol to inspectwho did identify a number of issues thatwere immediately dealt with. Unipolcame to re-inspect and were satisfiedthat everything was carried out to theirstandard. Whilst we recognise that issuescan occur, we strive to rectify them to anamicable conclusion and we continue tolook to improve our level of service.’

Issue 10 06.02.15 thegryphon.co.uk

CommentYou can’t call your kidNutella. Can you?DebateBenedict Cumberbatch’spoor choice of language hasprovoked much response

p.8

p.11

p.14In The Middle chat with the rapidlyascending musician George The Poet p.4

FeaturesWe speak to Adam Smith,the founder of The RealJunk Food Project

We eggs-plore an unconventionalscientific breakthrough p.17

2

Bitter Lake is revered film makerAdam Curtis’ latest offering. Availableon BBC iPlayer, the 136 minute tour-de-force documentary explores oneoverwhelming narrative: can powerand truth be co-existent entities?

It seems somewhat odd to bewriting about such a topic in anEditorial, but this isn’t a standarddocumentary. Bitter Lake is acompelling dialogue that centresaround the decay of Afghanistanthrough the fiscally-fuelled intentionsof the USA and Saudi Arabia. AsFranklin D. Roosevelt and King AbdulAziz met over the Great Bitter Lake in1945, they decided on an agreementthat would change the shape ofmodern global history — the USwould provide Saudi Arabia withmilitary equipment and support inexchange for their oil supply.

The results of the agreementhave been catastrophic. As America’sdemands have dominated Western

discourse, the Saudi hegemony hascaused desecration in the East. Ina particularly chilling part of thefeature, an American soldier appearsto camera, grinning, teeth lit up in thedark.

‘Why are you so happy?’, asks oneserviceman to another, sharing a tentin the Helmand province.

‘We got told it was unwarranted,but we made 24 kills today. 24 kills.’

The men laugh.

‘I’m a natural born killer, you see. Anatural born killer.’

As these waves of bloodlustcongeal with the oil that determinesthe fates of those in Afghanistan andIraq, we have to question our positionas passive recipients in this exchange.As we are given the chance to make achange in our democratic system, weshould consider how the emancipation

of our own national political hierarchycan result in a new approach tointernational relations. To be armedis to be educated. Curtis’ work is aformative cornerstone in the start ofthat path to knowledge.

“

thegryphon.co.uk

Contents

Editor’s Letter

Jasmine AnderssonEditor-in-chief

06.02.15

Tweet of the Week

Editor-In-Chief ~ JasmineAndersson

Associate Editors ~ JamieTaylor, Ste Topping

News ~ Abla Klaa, CharlotteMason, Jake Hookem

Features ~ Ruby Lott-Lavinga, Brigitte Phillips

Comment & Debate~ Philipa Williams, EllaHealing

Science ~ Alice Hargreaves-Jones and Michael Owen

Sport ~ Adam LeRoux, PeterWhite, Alex Bowmer

Head of Photography ~Sam Broadley

Photographers ~ LucieEngland-Duce, AliceGreenfield, Will Stanley,Anne Wyman and SamLewis

Illustrator ~ Danny Wilson

Designers ~ Frazer Sparham,Ben Sandin and SophiaKossoski

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8-10

11-13

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16-17

19-24

News

Features

Comment

Debate

Science

Sport

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A bitter pill to swallow

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thegryphon.co.uk

News

Late winter sun hits Leeds

This week’s photograph of the week shows some detailed ironwork at Leeds Town Hall glowingin the winter sun. The image comes courtesy of Andy Manning.•

Too poorto party?

Leeds may be known for its greatnightlife, but students in the city haveless to spend on partying than friendsat other universities, according to a newstudy.

Research published this monthsuggests that Leeds students have anaverage disposable income of £37.25 perweek, almost ten pounds less than thenational average of £46.59.

Students in Brighton boast an average£63.50 per week, with the figure risingto £66.50 in Plymouth. Sheffield studentswere found to be the worst off, with£21.75 per week to spend on leisure.

The survey by Money Dashboardinvestigated the income of second andthird-year undergraduates in 17 UK cities.

Statistics also placed Leeds in thebottom five universities in the country forfinancial honesty with parents. More thanone in five students in Leeds are ‘never’or ‘rarely’ honest about money withtheir family, according to finance serviceMoney Dashboard.

Some have blamed high rent pricesand nightlife in Leeds for problemsmanaging living costs.

Broadcast Journalism student JackSlater told The Gryphon, ‘I find it difficultas the price of my accommodation isthousands more than my loan. If thestudent cost of living issue is to betackled, then proper rent controls mustbe established’.

Meteorology student Jack Denisonexplained,

‘Food is pretty cheap, but going outis where I end up spending the mostmoney as Leeds has got so much to offerin terms of nightlife .The statistics areodd because I would have thought Leedswould be cheaper, especially compared touniversities in the south’.

Elli Pugh

Student launches website tohelp people find experience

A website aiming to help get studentswork and experience in their local areahas been launched this weekend.

Mystudentventure.com helps smallfirms connect with students who possessthe skills they require.

Students sign up by listing theirdegree programme and skills. Then, asmall business or student start-up cansearch for them and be put in touch.

A key aim is to get students paid orunpaid work that utilises their specificdegree-based skills so that upongraduation they have valuable experiencefor their CV or may even be involved in anewly founded business.

The site was founded by third-yearEnergy Engineering student Tim Brazier,with the help of the University’s Sparkteam and a business scholarship. Sparkoffers funding and advice to successfulapplicants with a solid business idea, aswell as rent free office space for up to ayear in the innovation centre. Scholarshipsare available to students aiming to create

an enterprise after an application process.Explaining his inspiration, Mr Brazier

said,‘I came up with the idea after having

previous business and finding I struggledto find people to take the idea forwardwith. After speaking to other studentstart-ups I found that they wanted otherstudents to join their teams too.’

Describing the gap in the market he isaiming to exploit he said,

‘A lot of recruitment companies andopportunities only focus on full timegraduate or internship roles with bigcompanies spread round the country.There is a massive market for studentsto work with local small businessesand start-ups. This not only gives thembetter work experience and helps buildtheir network within the city but canhelp them stand out if they do apply forgraduate positions in companies big orsmall after they finish. It also gives smallbusinesses and organisations a cheapand convenient way to find students forany number of specialised jobs or one offtasks.’

Jake HookemNews Editor

We asked students whether theywould use mystudentventure.com, andhere are some of the responses:

‘I think it sounds like a reallygood idea, I would probably useit if i were to start a business asit would make the whole thingless daunting dealing with otherstudents’Mollie, second-year Law

‘I don’t think I would personallyuse mystudentventure.com. Ifeel like businesses may abusethe students for labour withoutpaying a fair wage’Joe, second-year History andFrench

‘Anything that can help smallbusinesses get off the ground,and students gain experience, isa good idea in my eyes’Bobby, third year Politics

”“Have yoursay...

© anxietypanichealth.com

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thegryphon.co.uk

News

Final-year Economics students at theUniversity of Sheffield have started anonline petition demanding the institutioninvestigates an exam which they claimwas ‘impossible’. They argue that thepaper contained questions on topicsthey’d never been taught. A reported 90per cent of the students have expressedtheir anger at the University’s failure totake action.

Emily Willson

The University of Sussex has been orderedto pay thousands in compensation to threestudents who were unfairly suspended forparticipating in a protest. The Universityhad already spent over £100,000 in legalfees to ban the students from campus,but must now must pay each of themat least £2,000 to apologise for ‘distressand inconvenience’ caused.

Emily Willson

A body recovered from the River Wearin Durham last Friday has now beenconfirmed as that of Euan Coulthard.The 19-year-old was reported missingon Thursday 15th January after hedisappeared following a night out. Policestate there are currently no suspiciouscircumstances surrounding his death.

Emily Willson

Students petition against‘impossible’ exam

Protesters get compensationafter being unfairly excluded

4 Durham

Missing student’s body found1

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CampusWatch

Two St Andrews students have beenfined after they held signs in the towncentre reading ‘F**k the poor’. Policewere called to the busy high street whenshoppers complained about the ‘offensive’message. It is believed the pair wereechoing an experiment in London whichaimed to challenge the stigma of poverty.

Charlotte Mason

3 St Andrews

Students fined for ‘F**k thepoor’ signs

2 Sussex1 Sheffield

4

An idea put forward to the BetterUnion Forum on Monday to increasepublicity for The Gryphon editor hasgone to referendum.

The idea proposed by The Gryphon’sAssociate Editor, Ste Topping, called forthe Editorial candidate ‘to be given thesame amount of coverage as the otherlead LUU candidates’ during electionsthis March.

The measure was prompted by lastyear’s elections when, for the first timein the position’s campaign existence,candidates were excluded frompromotional material and placed on aseparate ballot during the elections.

The Gryphon was not consulted whenthis decision was made.

The lack of publicity is believed tohave affected the overall votes that ledto this year’s Editor achieving only 892votes, compared to the 3,562 that votedin 2013.

Arguments for this motion highlightedthe significance of the publicity inallowing students to hold this newspaper’sEditor to account.

The arguments against the ideadrifted to focus on whether the Editorialrole holds as much power as other LUUcandidates to be elected.

Associate Editor Ste Topping argued,‘Executive members are Union Trustees,which means that they possess a share inthe Union and can be held accountable totheir students.

The Editor cannot merit such aposition when part of their role is to holdthe Union to account.’

The idea has now gone to referendumfollowing an equal vote from oppositesides.

An idea put forward by LUU Equalityand Diversity Officer, Gemma Turner,proposing to change the name of the roleto ‘Equality, Diversity and Inclusion’, hasalso gone to referendum.

In the proposal, Gemma argues thatthe term should be included because it‘highlights unity among our studentbody.’

Abla KlaaNews Editor

Editorvote mayget equalcoverageto exec

Security on alert afterSentinel Towers trespassers

University security staff are tryingto identify two men who were reportedacting suspiciously at Sentinel Towershalls of residence on Wednesday night.

A student raised the alarm to a sub-warden after the pair entered the commonroom at around 8.30pm, although theintruders left by an unknown route beforesecurity arrived.

The first-year International Businessstudent who reported the incident toldThe Gryphon,

‘I only realised when I saw their facesthat they definitely weren’t students.They were just hanging around in thecorner and they looked like they weren’tsupposed to be there’.

Residential staff are now reviewingCCTV images to try and identify themen. He added,

‘It looked like they had an orange key

ring, not the blue fob that we have’.Commenting on the incident, a

University spokesperson said,‘We can confirm that security attended

Sentinel Towers after receiving a call froma sub-warden who became suspicious oftwo men she found in the common room.Although security attended within fiveminutes, the men had left the premises byan unknown route before they arrived. Itis unclear how the men gained access toSentinel Towers, but students are advisedto check they are not followed into theirresidences by unknown people’.

It is not believed that the men triedto enter accommodation blocks or thatanything was stolen.

The incident brings the numberof reports of suspicious persons on auniversity residence to three within thelast nine days.

Students concerned about suspiciousactivity at a Hall of Residence should callSecurity immediately on 0113 343 5495 or0113 343 2222.

Suhail Dhanji

© mystudenthalls

5

thegryphon.co.uk

News

Leedsgrant forexcitingmedicalresearch

Leeds University will take part intwo pioneering medical research projectsaiming to improve the treatment ofBreast Cancer and Lupus.

Professor David Buckley, a memberof Leeds’ Faculty of Medicine and Health,has developed a method which tracksthe effectiveness of chemotherapy on atumour. This groundbreaking discoverywill aid the treatment of cancer as itshould allow for more treatment to beadapted quicker and more effectively ifchemotherapy is proving ineffective.

Many breast cancer sufferers receivechemotherapy before surgery to reducethe size of tumours, but the approach isnot always effective. The Breast CancerCampaign have given a £200,000 grantto the University which will go towardsa trial of the method on 40 sufferers,who will be assessed using MRI scannersmonitoring the blood flow to tumours.

Breast Cancer currently affects 4,000women a year in Yorkshire, with 1,000 ofthose cases proving fatal.

The Lupus project involves aconsortium of Universities and medicalinstitutions seeking to reverse the ‘trialand error’ approach to treatment ofSystemic Lupus Erythematosus, morecommonly known as Lupus.

Leeds will receive part of a £5.1mgrant part funded by the MedicalResearch Council. Lupus causes theimmune system to attack healthy cells,organs and tissues and causes severeinflammation. The cause of the diseaseand its symptoms are poorly understoodand therefore treatment can be ineffective,and fewer than 50 per cent of sufferersrespond to treatment.

The research conducted at Leeds willinvolve the School of Medicine and theNational Institute for Health ResearchLeeds Musculoskeletal BiomedicalResearch Unit.

Dr Vital, who is leading the Leedsproject said,

‘Often doctors and patients have totry many treatments before finding onethat works. We want to be able to choosethe right treatment for each patient firsttime’.

Hugh Baillie-Lane

Union warns house-huntersto be vigilant over landlords

The Union has warned househunters to be vigilant before signing fora property after a letting agency whichcaused ‘confusion’ was taken to a Unipoltribunal.

It was found that Sugarhouse refusedto provide tenants with a copy of theirguarantor form and failed to allow themthe standard 24-hour period beforesigning.

Students also claimed they wereunaware that Aston Properties, whomanaged their house, was not a memberof the Unipol Code, although the propertywas advertised by Unipol-accreditedSugarhouse.

Community Officer George Bradleysaid: ‘Due to some silly errors thatSugarhouse made in their draft contract,they ended up at a tribunal which is quiteserious. I strongly advise any students tobe wary of the nitty-gritty details of theircontracts, as this is where you might getcaught out’.

Unipol encourages students to checktheir landlord is in the Code before

signing for a property and to ask whetherthe house is managed by a Code landlord.

Director of Sugarhouse PropertiesRichard Napier explained, ‘(The issue)was soon rectified and all documentswere sent out. All of our documentsare widely and readily available prior toany agreements being signed. We strivevery hard to provide a very high level ofservice and to be at the top of the market

Charlotte MasonNews Editor

Leeds in the red for freespeech failings, study shows

Jamie TaylorNews Associate

in terms of customer service’.Unipol decided to take no further

action against Sugarhouse Properties,which remains a golden-owner memberof the Code.

The Student Advice Centre runs a freecontract-checking service in the Unionbuilding.

© Sam Broadley

The University of Leeds is 'a hostileenvironment for free speech', accordingto a new study into censorship oncampuses across the UK.

The first ever Free Speech UniversityRankings, published by online magazineSpiked, suggest that four out of five UKuniversities are restricting or activelycensoring free speech and expressionbeyond their legal obligations.

Professor Dennis Hayes, head ofthe centre for educational research atDerby University, oversaw the researchalongside Dr Joanna Williams of KentUniversity.

They assessed Universityadministrations and students’ union’spolicies and actions and each body wasranked accordingly to produce an overallassessment.

The policies of both the Universityof Leeds and Leeds University Unioncontribute to Leeds’ classification.

Two university policies are brandedas having ‘chilled free speech through

intervention.’The university's ‘Policy on Dignity

and Mutual Respect’ bans ‘unwelcomeverbal conduct’ on campus whichincludes remarks relating to appearance,sexual advances and innuendo as wellas non-verbal gestures or display ofoffensive written or visual material.

The university’s 'Use of ComputerSystems Policy’ also prohibits themaking of ‘offensive or derogatoryremarks about staff, students or theuniversity on interactive lifestyle websitessuch as Facebook’ as well as the postingof 'offensive, obscene or derogatoryphotographs, images, commentaryor soundtracks on interactive lifestylewebsites such as Facebook and YouTube’.

A University of Leeds spokespersonexplained that the university’s legalduty to ensure freedom of speechis ‘an obligation that we take veryseriously.’ Their ‘Policy on the Freedomof Expression’ was agreed and continuesto implemented jointly alongside LeedsUniversity Union and dictates that theuniversity ‘tolerates a wide range ofviews, political as well as academic, evenwhen they are unpopular, controversial

or provocative’.According to Spiked however, ‘the

severity of LUU's policies' was what leadthe researchers to give Leeds the worstpossible rating.

LUU policy currently preventsindividuals deemed to be hate speakersor fascists from speaking on campus.The union also has a ban on advertisingfrom gambling and tobacco companies,strip clubs and fascist or racist groups.

These long standing restrictions sitalongside more recent and contentiousbans of the sale of The Sun, the playingof Robin Thicke song ‘Blurred Lines’ andthe sale of sexist greeting cards.

Union Affairs officer BradleyEscorcio said: ‘All Union policy hasbeen suggested and approved by Leedsstudents. Any student can submit anidea and if a student panel agrees withit, we’ll commit to looking into makingit a reality. We don’t tend to ‘ban’ things,instead we follow students’ lead and stopselling and promoting things that theyhave asked us to.’

6 News

thegryphon.co.uk

Thousands more high school graduateswill be forced to complete militaryservice in North Korea as the countryextends its compulsory subscription towomen. The measure will reportedlyaffect women aged between 17 and20, who will be obliged to serve untiltheir 23rd birthday. The news comes asthe secretive nation bids to strengthenits army, following a shortfall in troopnumbers after high infant mortality anda low birth rate during the 1990s famine.A state source said, ‘The preliminaryscreening and physicals related toenlistment, which begins in April, areall complete and duty sectors have beenorganised’. Men currently perform tenyears of compulsory service.

Emily Willson

Former UKIP MEP Amjad Bashir hasdefected to the Conservatives amidstallegations of ‘extremely serious’financial issues which are now underpolice investigation. He refutes the‘absurd’ allegations, which includeinterference with the candidateselection process and affiliation witha former UKIP spokesperson involvedin a kidnapping in Pakistan. Mr Bashirbranded Nigel Farage’s party as ‘prettyamateur’ and having ‘outlived itsusefulness’. The MEP for Yorkshireand the Humber had previously beena Conservative Party member beforejoining UKIP three years ago. DavidCameron said he was ‘absolutelydelighted’ that Bashir would be re-joining the Tories.

Emily Willson

of MI5 criticised the reform, addingthat ‘non-violent extremists’ should bechallenged and not censored. The HomeSecretary Theresa May has describedthe powers as ‘essential to keep up withthe very serious and rapidly changingthreats we face’. The Bill is currentlybeing debated in the House of Lords.

Hugh Baillie-Lane

North Korea introducesmandatory militaryservice for women

Yorkshire and HumberUKIP MEP defects toConservativesThe Digest

At least 32 people have been killedand 15 injured after a TransAsia planecrashed into a river near Taipei, thecapital of Taiwan.There were 58 passengers in total on theaircraft, which was left partly submergedin the Keelung River.The turbo-propelled plane had just setoff from Taipei airport and was headingto the Kinmen islands, just off the coast

of South East China.Video footage filmed on a dashboardcamera shows the plane hitting a taxiand clipping a bridge before impactingthe river.The search for 11 missing passengerscontinues.

Jake Hookem

At least 23 killed in Taiwanplane crash

Image: Tvbs Taiwan/AFP/Getty Images

More than 500 professors have saidthey are ‘deeply concerned’ aboutgovernment proposals which would seeuniversities given a legal duty to preventradicalism on campus. Academics arguethat the Counter-Terrorism and SecurityBill, which would require the speechesof university guest speakers to be vettedin advance, is ‘a threat to freedom ofspeech’. Last month, the former head

Latest UK government anti-terror plans hit universities

Tribute to ‘freedom-fighter’ former Leedsstudent Christina AnnesleyChristina Annesley, who was apolitical activist and Leeds graduate,has died aged 23 in Thailand. Shehad been travelling on the island ofKoh Tao as part of a four-month tripbefore planning to start a Masters inSeptember.Christina was born in New Zealand andgrew up in Orpington in Kent, whereshe attended Darrick Wood SecondarySchool. She graduated from theUniversity in 2013 with a 2:1 in Historyand had recently begun working forfinancial news firm Dow Jones when shedied.During her time at Leeds, Christina,or ‘Chrissie’ to friends, was an activelibertarian campaigner. She foundedthe Leeds branch of Liberty League in2011 to ‘promote values of freedom andindividual liberty’ on campus, serving aschairman for several months.She also stood as Councillor forHeadingley whilst still a student, comingfourth in the local elections in May 2011.Christina was elected chair of LeedsConservative Futures in the same month.In 2012, Christina defected to UKIP,

arguing ‘there is no place for alibertarian in the Conservative partyanymore’. She became vice-chairman ofthe party’s youth wing, Yorkshire YoungIndependence.She left UKIP after her boyfriendchairman Olly Neville was sacked forhis support of gay marriage, which theparty opposed.Friends have paid tribute to Christina’s‘riotous sense of humour and herinfectious mischief’.Political blogger Guido Fawkes told TheGryphon, ‘Christina was a regular on theyoung right-wing scene in Westminster,often found in the Red Lion pub, Players’bar or hosting boozy parties on boats onthe Thames. A young Tory at Leeds, shecaused a stir when she quit the partyto join UKIP, before her ever-principledstance saw her leave her new party tobecome a libertarian martyr. Chrissiewas vocal online and was well knownfor her good-humoured, freedom-lovingpresence on Twitter. My thoughts arewith her family and many, many friends’.In tribute to her daughter, Christina’smother Margaret said, ‘From a young

age, she was one of the most intelligentgirls I’ve known. She had straight A’sin school and loved to party. She wasso kind, so witty with a dry sense ofhumour’.Camden Conservative deputy chairmanOliver Cooper tweeted, ‘Devastated bythe sudden and untimely death of friendand freedom-fighter Christina Annesley.I didn’t know anyone that didn’t adoreher. RIP’.

An aspiring journalist, Christina waswriting a fantasy novel in her sparetime. She was a prolific tweeter whosefriends talk of her love of reading, traveland gin.A passionate libertarian, Christina’spolitical activism touched many peoplewho will remember her remarkableachievements during an extraordinary,short life.

7

thegryphon.co.uk

News

Do you support the lecturers’marking boycott?I think it’s quite a difficult one. AlthoughI don’t know the details of what’s beenhappening, the truth about pensionschemes is that they’re having tochange. They were designed for an erawhen we retired at fifty-five or sixtyand lived for another ten years or so. It’sgoing to be much more difficult to workwhen you might live another thirty yearsafter retirement. People are living longerand that’s a good thing, but that meansyou’re either going to have to contributemore money while you’re workingor retire later. Public sector pensionschemes right across the board have hadto change to reflect that and the statepension age is rising because we’re livinglonger. Whilst I sympathise with peoplewho are facing changes which couldreally affect them, it’s difficult whenyou’re impacting really adversely onstudents’ opportunities. Everybody hasthe right to take industrial action but itdepends how long it would last. What Iwould say is that I hope very much thata solution can be found to it.

What do you think the Governmentcan do to make education moreaccessible and affordable?I’m very proud of the investment ineducation we made when we were ingovernment. With all the changes instudent support over the years, thenumber of young people participating inhigher education has continued to rise.I think that’s because people recognisethe benefit of having a higher education.It’s really important that everybodyunderstands how it works. You talkabout £9,000 fees and people think, ‘I’mnever going to be able to afford that’,but actually, loans cover it and the feesdon’t have to be paid back until you’reearning. If you think of the future ofthe British economy, we’ve got great

Charlotte MasonNews Editor

strengths, but the evidence is clear –you’ve got to have the right skills to besuccessful in the global economy. Highereducation is a very important part ofthat.

What are you doing to helpgraduates get a job?We need to ask if we’re getting peoplewith the right skills. It’s a combinationof national government empoweringlocal communities so they can developtheir own economies and improve

infrastructure to make it easier for Britishand oversees businesses to invest inLeeds. We want to tell foreign investors,‘Hey, Leeds has a lot of well-qualifiedpeople and a lot of potential’. As an MPhere, I’ve lobbied for the completion ofthe inner ring-road to open up economicopportunity to the M1. We’re committedto local authorities having their own‘jobs guarantee’, which a Labourgovernment would bring in to securework for young people who’ve beenunemployed for a year. However, it’simportant to establish a strong economy.We need to get public finances sorted,make sure we’re an attractive place forinvestment and get cities outside ofLondon to be more successful in thelong term. There’s no simple answer. It’sa long, hard slog.

Do you think students in Leeds arepart of the community?Very much so. Students are hugely

important contributors to our economy.I understand there can be issuessometimes with rubbish and collectionand I think it’s really important we letstudents know how the system works.But students are an important part ofthe community, even if they are onlyhere for three years. The city’s verywelcoming to students who quite rightly,like to enjoy the city. I’ve met quite a lotof people who came here to study anddecided to stay.

With the General Election comingup, there’s a lot in the media aboutrevolutionary politics. How are yougoing to keep Labour supporters?When I watched the interview withJeremy Paxman and Russell Brand, Ijust thought, ‘Come on!’ Look at thestruggle there has been for democracyin this country. I think it’s important todistinguish between desire to changethe world, which is great, and cynicism,which doesn’t motivate anyone to doanything. But I understand why there isdisillusionment. It’s partly down to theimpact of the global economic crash,which has led to a lot of uncertainty.A generation of parents are wonderingwhat life will be like for their childrenin terms of job opportunities andbeing able to afford somewhere tolive. Post-war Britain was all onwardsand upwards, but now we’ve got toa point where we’re really not sure.That is where politics has a particularresponsibility to provide better security.I think in our democracy, we havethe potential to make change but itrequires everybody to participate. Ifpeople don’t participate and othersdo, they may have a greater influenceover what happens. That’s why I’d tellpeople to use their vote. Whatever you’repassionate about, go and fight for it.

You recently paid tribute to your latefather Tony Benn. Who are the left-wing idols we can look to nowadays?I think all generations throughout historyhave said, ‘They don’t make them

like they used to’, but each generationwill be influenced by its own leaders.If you’re looking for figures from themodern age, I’d say Gordon Brown. He’sabsolutely passionate about internationaldevelopment. History will recall whathe did during the world economiccrash to capitalise the banks and thathe had a major influence on the wayhe responded to the crisis. I also haveenormous admiration for Ed Miliband.I supported him from the start becauseI think he cares passionately about thefuture of the country. He is preparedto do things people have advisedhim that he shouldn’t do. Taking onRupert Murdoch, that was courage. Theprevailing wisdom in British politics was,‘You do not challenge Murdoch becauseyou need his support to be elected’. Thatis the truth. Ed Miliband broke with thatprevailing consensus. That is a leader ofcourage. Each generation will look backon great leaders that it’s encouragedby. My dad said the thing he wantedto do was encourage us. He certainlyencouraged me. If we all encourageeach other, we have a better chance ofdealing with the problems of the world.

Hilary Benn MP

Labour MP for Leeds Central

Shadow Secretary of Statefor Communities and Local

Government

Majority at 2010 Election: 28.5%

First Elected: 1999 (By-election)

Leeds Central Labour MP Hilary Benntalks fees, students and Ed Miliband

thegryphon.co.uk

Ruby Lott-LavignaFeatures Editor

‘I’m here to interview someone called Joshua?’ I say,as I stare up into a converted ambulance in the middleof Trinity shopping centre. ‘Yeah, he’s not here today,but I’m the founder if you’d like to talk to me?’ Well, Ithink to myself, that worked out well. It appears thatthe slightly disorganised nature of the The Real JunkFood Project, a café-cum-alternative-economic-system,has worked in my journalistic favour. Tucked in thefar right corner of the Trinity Kitchen, in a convertedambulance van with fairy lights, the cafe creates andcooks meals from food that would have ordinarily goneto waste. An organisation, with the ambition to changethe way we think about food.

The pop-up stall in Trinity is just a transient leg ofthe project, though it functions in the same way as thepermanent cafe in Armley, where - under a ‘pay as youfeel’ banner - anyone can come in and eat for as muchas they can afford. They’ve fed thousands of people,ranging from middle-class-students-with-a-social-conscience to the homeless and those struggling withsubstance abuse. Adam Smith, the highly experiencedchef turned food revolutionist, has led – with help fromvolunteers and the community – a change in the wayfood waste is dealt with. This ain’t no Jamie Oliver TMpseudo social-good bullshit, this is the real deal.

In fact, I made the mistake of mentioning JamieOliver, after the Brighton branch of The Real Junk FoodProject appeared on Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday NightFeast a few weeks ago. I don’t think Adam likes himmuch. ‘He’s an arsehole. He sent me a birthday present,a signed book of his. I got someone to take a picture ofme going into a charity shop with it. He’s an arsehole…The guy is a fucking multi-millionaire. I’m sick ofgoing to Australia and people saying to me ‘you’re justlike Jamie Oliver.’ I’m not like Jamie Oliver whatsoever.He could do so much more. Look what we’ve donewith nothing. Do you know how much we’ve beenpaid? Nothing. We’ve never taken a wage. Nobody hasever taken any money out of this, and look at howmuch we’ve achieved. Eighty-three cafes around theworld right now.’ I figured maybe the show has beengood for publicity though - a lot of people do watchit. ‘We got nothing from it. I got three emails. WhenThe Independent did the article about us we had ahundred thousand hits, from all over the world. We gotabsolutely nothing [from the television show]. I’m notjust saying that because I can’t stand the guy. We gotnothing.’

If his name rings a bell, then it’s probably becauseyou’re thinking of the Scottish enlightenment figureand pioneer of economic thought, Adam Smith.Interesting, then, that this Adam Smith is trying toshift not only the way we think about food, but alsothe way we think about money. Customers are left tovalue their own food, and if you don’t have money togive, food can be ‘purchased’ through volunteering oralternate skills. ‘You don’t have to pay with money.At the café, people volunteer and make paymentsby washing up or, [for example] we’ve got graphicdesign students from Leeds Uni at the moment doing

Features8

Food waste: well past its sell by dateThe Real Junk Food Project, an organisation that turns food destined for the bins into cookedmeals, is ready for a world take over. Features Editor Ruby Lott-Lavigna talks to founderAdam Smith about feeding the world, supermarkets, and why he hates Jamie Oliver.

a lot of graphic design.’ I told him how I thought itreally psyched people out. Once from returning witha random selections of items from the van (Rachel’syogurt x3, tofu, semolina, peaches) my flatmate just

couldn’t comprehend how I could value those itemsmyself. ‘People have said to us all the time “what isthe average donation?” and there isn’t an averagedonation. It’s pay as you feel. If I tell you how muchevery donation to the café was, that doesn’t tell youanything. That doesn’t prove the value of the food. Inthe café sometimes we have caviar, or salmon, or jointsof gammon. We tell people to go away, eat the food,

and then come back afterwards and tell us what youwant to pay for it.’

‘The very first day [in Trinity] we did jacket potato,cheese and beans, and people would ask for it, and

we’d say it’s pay as you feel and they’d go ‘what doesthat mean?’ And they’d get out like a £10 or £20 andjust walk away and I’d say, no no no, I don’t want youto just give me money because you feel embarrassed ortight for not leaving enough, I want you to understandwhy we’re here to give you this food, and understandthe value of it at the same time.’

Looking around at the other stalls in Trinity, you

“

Supermarkets] are fucking horrible people. Can’t stand‘em. They’ve sworn at me, spat at me, thrown food awayin front of me ...they’ve said they want nothing to do with

The Real Junk Food Project““[

“S

“Lucie England-Duce ©

thegryphon.co.uk

Features 9

start to understand what he means. The ambulance issat next to a Jerk Chicken Food Stall selling £7 burgers,and £9 meals. Normally, I’d not think twice about that.A little pricy, but not absurd. Yet when you think aboutthe meals TRJFP can create from discarded food, youstart to readjust the ways you understand costings.

I wondered if the place in Trinity Kitchen feltdifferent to the café in Armley. ‘It’s harder here than

at the café. Once you step over the threshold of thecafé, you are instantly part of that concept, so youhave a bit of an understanding of what you’re aboutto be involved in.’ Trinity, however, has given them

access to a much larger number of people. ‘We gotabout eight week’s takings in eight days. We got rid ofa lot of food which is really good. It works, in a lot ofrespects. It’s exposed us to a completely different kindof demographic. It does a lot of good things being here.It’s just not me this place. But I can’t take anythingaway from Trinity, they’ve been incredibly supportive.’

It’s a common misconception that TRJFP dealswith supermarkets. In fact, that’s pretty optimistic.Supermarkets can be very touchy about admitting howmuch food they throw away, and are consequentlyvery reluctant to become involved in projects that shedlight on their problem. For example, in 2013, Tescoreported that it had almost 30,000 tonnes of foodwaste in the first 6 months. TRJFP, as a result, dealwith ‘food banks, allotments, cafes, restaurants, eventsand promotions’ instead of supermarkets. ‘We don’t doanything with supermarkets. Unless we go through thebins, we don’t have anything to do with them. They’refucking horrible people. Can’t stand ‘em. They’ve swornat me, spat at me, thrown food away in front of me.We’ve had head office meetings at Tesco about us andthey’ve said they want nothing to do with The RealJunk Food Project. They’re a pain in the arse; they dragtheir knuckles. They’re just fucking useless. So we don’tdeal with them.’

Regardless of some of the struggles TRJFP hasfaced, the organisation has big dreams. I ask Adamwhere he wants to go with this. ‘Feed the world. That’swhat we set it up to do. I have a model that’s notonly sustainable but also financially sustainable that

w

““[Jamie Oliver’s] anarsehole. He sent me a

birthday present, a signedbook of his. I got someone

to take a picture of megoing into a charity shop

with it

we can just give to people for free.’ As part of theircommitment to reducing food waste in as many placesaTyFgwSsmddtwdS

commitment to reducing food waste in as many placesas possible, they’ve convinced all the vans inTrinity Kitchen to go pay asyou feel on Saturday 7thFebruary, in order togenerate ‘zero foodwaste from the source.’So if your thing issocial good, savingmoney, and food (thedream), then get yourselfdown to Trinity Kitchenthis Saturday. Just aword of advice though:do not compare AdamSmith to Jamie Oliver.

Lucie England-Duce ©

thegryphon.co.uk

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Comment

“”Commenn

“tt

“Is it that nutty to call a child Nutella?

No More Page 3Phillipa Will

”liamss

”argues how No

More Page 3 is hii”nn”dering feminismrather than hh”elpp”ing it“

NutellaTim van Gardingen discusseswhether calling a child Nutella is thatbad at all

Libby LaneEleanor Dippp

“er on how the

consecration oo“f a female bishop ii“s astep in the righh“tt“direction

There are plenty of names youcould describe as being sweet,but Nutella takes that all

to a new level. For better or for worse,however, the baby name inspired by anutty household chocolate spread hasbeen banned by a court in France.

The court decided that such a namewould risk ridicule in the future andhence it was wrong to name the child‘Nutella’. “It is contrary to the child’sinterest to have a name that can onlylead to teasing or disparaging thoughts,”ruled the judge, but is Nutella such a badname after all?

It is only right to think about theconsequences of a name, as most peoplekeep their first name for their whole life. ”

Green PartyEmily Roach loo

“oks at how ree

”cent

support for the Green Party stt”ill woo”n’tswing the nexx“tt“election

Tim van GardingenChinese and Germantim.vangardingen@gmaill.com

italiangoodnews.com

TomA name oncebanned by

the Portuguesegovernment

It cannot be denied howmean school children can

be... but such a name is morelikely to cause confu ion

rather than outrage””u

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If your name happens to be somethinglike John or Sarah, chances are youwon’t get the same raised eyebrows thatif you were called ‘@’ – a name rejectedin China.

I don’t feel, however, that ‘Nutella’would be as bad as the court thinks.It cannot be denied how mean schoolchildren can be against certain names,but before school age such a name ismore likely to cause confusion ratherthan outrage. In a school environment,you don’t really need a name likeNutella to be teased. A school kid canalways find something to laugh at.

Something new and strange isn’tnecessarily a bad thing anyway. Popularnames change over time, and before weknow it maybe every other new familywill want to name their baby Nutella.

Nutella isn’t exactly even the mostridiculous name when compared tosome names that have been approved.Take for example little baby Metallicafrom Sweden. Even with Sweden’srelatively high amount of love for heavyhitting riffs, Metallica was apparently at

first refused a passport.Also from Sweden,

is the rather impressive‘Brfxxccxxmnpccccl l lmmnprxvcl-mnckssqlbb11116’, which is of coursepronounced ‘Albin’. This name was

decided on by parents angry at legalrestrictions on names. Their protestdidn’t pay off however, and littleBrfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116 couldn’t keep the name.

I’m sure most would argue that whena name reaches that level of apparentstrangeness, it shouldn’t be allowed,but in the end such names would mostlikely be modified for everyday use.Nutella would be Ella to her friends

and Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmncks-sqlbb11116 would just use Albinfor convenience, just like an Anastaciamight call herself Anna, or I would callmyself Tim rather than Timothy.

There are then again names thatdespite all my protestations seem tohave no hope. In New Zealand, both‘Talulah does the hula from Hawaii’ and‘Number 16 bus shelter’ were banned.Part of the name choosing process hasalways been about attaching some sortmeaning to it: many Christians may benamed after an apostle, Chinese names

usually have some beautiful meaningdue to Chinese characters all havingan associated meaning, and somefamilies like to use the same nameover many generations. When yourname conjures up an image of waitingnext to a road hoping your commuting

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Nutella isn’t exactly eventhe most ridiculous namewhen compared to somenames that have been

approved. ””o

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“t“h“e“ vehicle of choice won’t skip to bus stop17, that name quite frankly isn’t goodfor anyone, especially Number 16 busshelter themselves.

Then there are the names whichreally push the boundaries. The lastthing a parent should bestow on theiroffspring is a name which insults fromday one. Lenin and Stalin have forexample both been approved in Indiain the past. Of course, one could evenargue if those names actually shouldbe controversial, but for the sake of thisarticle, we will say that they can beinsulting names.

In the light of some of the otherexcitingly different names dotted aboutthe world, Nutella doesn’t really look sobad. Perhaps it is a little silly, but if youjust accept it as a name, and forget itis also a delicious morning treat, youmight just see that it’s really quite abeautiful name, which exists beyondour own limitational definition.

12

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The upcoming general electionhas opened up opportunitiesfor smaller parties to emerge,

allowing groups like the Green Party toenhance its political voice, which peopleare gradually beginning to listen to. Thisis, of course, in retaliation to the growthof extremists such as UKIP and themundane voice of the three traditionalparties. Reports have suggested that thesurge in popularity has placed the Greensabove both the Liberal Democrats andUKIP. Undoubtedly, this is fuelled by thelack of trust the electorate have in currentparliamentary members.

Most of us will have beenaware of the upsurge inthe feminist movement

lately, led by celebrities such as EmmaWatson supporting her ‘this is what afeminist looks like’ slogan. However, theChurch of England’s historical momentlast Monday, consecrating the first everfemale bishop, has sparked an increasedawareness of the prejudice still held byreligious bodies and individuals towardswomen.

In an ideal world, religion andfeminism should be mutually inclusive.Yet religion can directly limit theprogress of the feminist movementand the progression of public opinion.No members of the Catholic Churchattended the service in York onMonday amid fears that their presencewould suggest support for Mrs Lane’sordination. Although the CatholicChurch made it clear that attendance

The Green Party has been slowlygrowing in popularity over the last decade.Their presence and hard work has onlyjust started to pay off in the last fiveyears. Alongside this, It is clear that UKIPhave heralded a big leap in party supportbecause of their established image andoutlandish approach. However, the GreenParty have used time to their advantageto advocate policies that will appeal to

Green success doesn’t mean muchthe left and challenge liberal views. Theirapproach cannot be compared to thestrict, radical manifesto of UKIP, but theyhave worked hard to persuade people that,from drug policy to climate change, theycan fix the mess that the UK is in. Sinceits formation as the PEOPLE party in 1972,

the Greens have only had limited success.What has changed this year? In sum,people are bored of the same old jargonthat the traditional parties recycle yearafter year with no real results. Will changereally happen this year? The fundamentalquestion remains as to whether this rise inpopularity will really make an impact inthe general election, or if the excitementwill manifest itself as a gain of limitedseats, and their presence established assomething as an oddity.

This leads onto the question of howmany seats the Green Party may gain.Today, one Green Party member standsin Parliament, offering some definitereassurance that some success could begained this year. However, the limited

presence the Green Party has in Britishpolitics shows that change is slow to comeabout. As change is a progressive task, thesuccess of the Green Party is questionable.Despite encouraging reports outlining thatthey have more members than UKIP andtheLib Dems, this really means very little inthe long run. Furthermore, David Cameronhas pushed for the televised debatesto include the Green Party as he statedthat he will not ‘take part in TV debatesahead of the general election unless theGreen Party is included’. However, thismove needs to be taken with a pinch of

Eleanor DipperEnglish and Historyhy14emp@leeds.ac.uk

Libby puts Church on a new Lanewould not be seen in this way, the factthis fear exists at all is revealing of theprejudice still held against women insectors of the Christian faith.

Change is always difficult, especiallyin religious spheres. Much as the Biblehas been newly interpreted in the past,so it can be today, as both religion andthe world develop. The ordination offemale priests may not be in the Bible,but nor is the use of recreational drugs.Times have changed and the Bible inmany respects is no longer relevantto modern life. Almost all couples

live together before marriage todaydespite it being strictly against biblicalteachings, and this is seen by mostto be acceptable. Even the Church ofEngland does not condemn it. If this isthe case then, although not in the Bible,the ordination of women can be seen inthe same way.

Quite correctly, the movement

striving toward equality for womenwithin the Church has become a hugetopic of debate. Many have lauded thismove as a step in the right direction.That said, Libby Lane is not the firstever female bishop - there are morethan 30 Anglican bishops worldwide.Although her consecration is a hugestep in the process of equality, theChurch of England is by no meansa forerunner of this movement. 30worldwide is by no means a largenumber, showing that even today,women do not have the same chancesas men. There are 7,798 full time priestsin the Church of England, only 1,781 ofwhom are women. This huge disparityin numbers is revealing that whilstprogress is being made, the destinationis still a long way off.

Those within the Church ofEngland who oppose the ordination,and subsequent further equalisationof women, forget that the Queen isthe ‘Supreme Governor’ of the church,and is not the first to be so. Elizabeth Iwas supreme governor during her reignfrom 1558-1603. She made it clear that

As change is a progressivetask, the success ofthe Green Party is

questionable

Emily RoachPoliticsemilyroach20@hotmail.co.uk

Although her consecration isa step in the right direction,the Church is by no means

the forerunner of thismovement ””

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43,829The number of GreenParty members as of

January 2015

women could lead and almost 500 yearshave passed since. This being the case,it is absurd that so many will oppose afemale bishop, when their entire Churchis led by a woman.

This proves the point that there isno reason why women should not beequal to men in the religious world.Whereas Catholicism preaches equalitybut refuses to give women the privilegeof positions within the church, atleast the Church of England is slowlyworking towards this aim. Religion andfeminism should be mutually inclusive -but they aren’t.

The Archbishop of York has saidthat ‘in a few years time when morewomen will be bishops, I predict we shallbe wondering how we ever managedwithout them’. It must be said, there ishope that one day these two movementswill work in harmony, and women willbe completely equal not just in thechurch but in every aspect of life. Fornow, the consecration of Libby Lane isanother step in the right direction.

salt. Cameron’s advocacy of the GreenParty suggests that he is keen to allowsmaller parties to challenge the heavyweights in politics. It is, of course, goodthat the inclusion of the Green Party hasbeen recognised, yet their impact withinParliament will not be evident this year.They still need to establish themselves asa real threat that may tilt the balance ofpower in Parliament and not simply as analternative.

More recently Natalie Bennett, theleader of the Green Party, has shownthat her gradual success in leading the

””i

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“t“They have worked hard topersuade people that theycan fix the mess the UK is

in ””e

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Party has failed to duplicate itself in herinterview conduct. The policies she hasput in place in her manifesto have had

They need to establishthemselves as a real threatthat may tilt the balance

of power ””a

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“s“a devastating reaction, serving simply tosolidify the image that the Green Party arenot a direct or real threat to the currentstructure of the main political parties. Hernew policies include a very left insight intotheir political programme, challenging thework of UKIP, but her clear stumbling overnumbers and a lack of confidence expelsthe idea that the Green Party can be athreat in the general election this year.

The Green Party may have advancedfrom its humble beginnings. Yet thelikelihood of an extraordinary successis nearly impossible - it is unlikely, evenunspeakable, that the Greens will be athreat to the three traditional parties andUKIP. Only time will tell if the Green Partyreally can achieve anything in the longrun.

13

thegryphon.co.uk

Comment

17 November1970

Page 3 featurefirst published

No More Page 3: a hindrance or a help?

Iam the first to jump on thefeminist bandwagon wheneverpossible, but when a few weeks

ago the Sun supposedly ‘banned’ Page 3for just a few days, I wasn’t celebratinga victory over the patriarchy with therest of the sisterhood; in fact, I was a bitdubious.

The ‘No More Page 3’ campaignhas been a bit of a hypocritical messfrom the start. There are a plethora ofreasons as to why creating such a furoreto get some tits out of a newspaper isfarcical; not least because, especially aspart of a movement that prides itselfon it being ‘inclusive’, the campaign isalienating models that have chosen thisline of work - some of whom may evenfind it liberating. Middle-class feminism,

however, can’t seem to see past thefact that there are women who wantto, and enjoy, baring their bodies formoney. Sex work isn’t a newfangledthing in all of its many, many forms;but No More Page 3 seems to screamthat sex workers are an obstacle to thatcoveted gender equality, the Holy Grailthat all feminists seek. In attemptingto stop men ogling pictures of young,busty girls, all that is being done issimply taking away the liberty of thosewomen to do what they want with theirbodies. Trying to free women from theconstraints of the patriarchy is onlyputting them under the constraintsof something else - and sadly thatsomething is feminism itself.

It has become fashionable to be on

board with anti-slut shaming, which,obviously, is great - women’s actions,mode of dress or attitude towards sexshould never lead to them being brandeda ‘slut’. Of course though, this meansthat instead of telling women not to gettheir breasts out at all, modern feminismsimply dictates when and where it isappropriate to bear all. We’re allowed toin the name of ‘normalising the nipple’;we’re allowed to if it means giving a big‘fuck you’ to the patriarchy. But whackyour boobs out and expect to make acareer out of it? Don’t be ridiculous.

Not only that, but the fact thatthe Sun is the centre of this debate isincredibly grating. ‘We can’t possiblyhave that sort of thing in a nationalnewspaper!’ the masses bewail. Thehorror of being exposed to suchvulgarity as (gasp) human nudity pales

in comparison to the fact that the Sun isnot only not worth the paper it’s printedon, but exposes us to far worse than abit of nipple on a daily basis. Not justmisogyny, but xenophobia, homophobia,

Phillipa WilliamsEnglish and Historyphillipawilliams1@gmail.comm

.. the Sun is not only notworth the paper it’s printedon, but exposes us to far

worse than a bit of nipple ona daily basis

””p

”p

”l

”e

”““.

“.

“t

“h

“e

“o“r“t“h“

.. the Sun is not only notworth the paper it’s printedon, but exposes us to far

worse than a bit of nipple ona daily basis““

.

“.

“t

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“e

“o“r“t“h“ ””i

”p

”p

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”transphobia, racism, ableism, as wellas making up lies about those onstate welfare and with mental healthissues. Has the Hillsborough scandalbeen forgotten about now? There area multitude of reasons as to why theSun is a disgusting, crass, oppressivepublication with no credibility, but bytargeting the naked ladies who choose tobe there, the campaign is implying that

the bare female form is the problem.Modern feminism has taken a turn

that I’m not sure I like. I dislike howit’s becoming something in whicha list of criteria have to be fulfilled,otherwise you risk being thrownout of the feminist club, and left tobrave the patriarchy alone. It’s anincredibly fluid and subjective thing,and that is the beauty of it. Feminismmeans dramatically different thingsfor everybody that identifies with thecause and just because these ideasmay not necessarily always match updoesn’t then make it open to attackand belittlement. For these models, andother sex workers, their interpretationof feminism might be the liberation oftaking off their clothes for all to see andit’s not for anybody else to tell them tostop.

The Guardian

The story of sexism on Page 3

16 January2015

22 January2015

Page 3returns and

the campaignresumes

The Sunsupposedlycarries final

Page 3 feature

August2012

No More Page3 campaign islaunched byLucy-Anne

Holmes

June1999

Official Page3 website

launched byThe Sun

14

thegryphon.co.uk

Debate

”“

Benedict Cumberbatch put his foot in hismouth last week and utter chaos ensued.Cumberbatch, a successful and respectedactor, used the word ‘coloured’ ratherthan ‘black’. News of the unfortunategaffe was reported on all platforms;some enlisting the tiresome ‘-gate’ forludicrous measure.Cumberbatch swiftly released a sincereapology for the deep offence caused andsubsequently launched a fresh roundof press to salve the internet’s fury.Should Cumberbatch have apologisedfor offence caused? Yes. The term‘coloured’ is outdated and along withthe likes of ‘half-caste’ simply seemsincongruous with today’s society. Wasthe outrage fitting for the crime? No.While it’s ironic that Cumberbatch useda colonialist term when highlighting thedisparity in roles for black British actorsand actresses in the U.K, and while it is

While it is clear from the context ofBenedict Cumberbatch’s interview onthe Travis Smiley show that his racialslip up was not intentionally malicious,the backlash from his use of the term‘coloured’ is still a necessary reaction.The comment caused clear discontent.As a public figure, Cumberbatch is ina position of power; with just undertwenty-five thousand followers onTwitter, what he says and how he saysit are of great significance. People areinfluenced by him and therefore thenature of his job requires him to be verycareful with his words.Even though he was speaking in defenseof British black actors regarding thelimited opportunities they receive inthe film industry, his offhand comment

always pertinent to pay close attentionto detail, excessively doing so canserve as an obstacle in allowing us toengage with the main issue. Antiquatedterminology aside, Cumberbatch hasmade a valid and crucial point that hasseemingly been overlooked.The majority of Britain’s leading blackactors have indeed received theirstarring roles across the Atlantic. DavidOyewolo was limited to minor roleson British television before joiningblockbusters that include Lincoln andThe Butler. Oyewolo is now the star ofAva DuVernay’s Oscar nominated Selma.Chiwetel Ejiofor, although a vaguelyfamiliar face, only met internationalacclaim in 2013 when he starred asSolomon Northup in Twelve Years ASlave. Ejiofor is now filming four filmsdue for release this year. Idris Elba, abeloved figure on British television, is

should be recognised for what it is. Asan educated man of thirty-eight, thissort of ‘slip up’ cannot be justified byunawareness or the classic cliché ofage-old ignorance. Having starred inthe historical drama film Twelve Yearsa Slave, Cumberbatch should be evenmore sensitive as to what terms areappropriate to say, especially in thecontext of an interview in which he isarguing for the progression of blackactors.Although some may view the backlashtowards Cumberbatch as nothing buta quibble over semantics, this attentionto detail is significant in a modernmulticultural society. Knowing whatis offensive and acceptable is theduty of every person when describing

widely known for BBC One’s Luther buthas been impressing American audiencessince 2002 with his role in HBO’sThe Wire. Elba’s participation in hugeHollywood productions such as Takers,Prometheus and Thor will have certainlyinfluenced his attainment of the covetedlead role in the biopic Mandela: LongWalk to Freedom.David Harewood frequently addressesthe bleak opportunities for blackBritish actors on their home turf andmaintains that even after his success inthe critically acclaimed Homeland hestruggles with substantial work in theU.K.The danger with simply shouting downthose who speak up is that we restrictthe discourse that is necessary to changethe circumstances concerning race andits relationship with opportunity andsuccess. Cumberbatch is an actor whose

words, as this last week has certainlyproved, are relayed to a wide audience.His public lambasting over the poorchoice of wording that formed a truestatement of good intention will onlyserve as a deterrent against othersspeaking out. Black actors and actresseshave long stressed the disadvantagesthey face in the entertainment industry.While always ensuring that theirexperiences are shared, the addition ofthe voices of their white counterpartscalling for change can only be a goodthing. If all are championing the idealof diversification, whether on screen orbehind the scenes, then the outcome issomething unified, resounding and farharder to disregard. In light of this years’Oscar nominations, it is more necessarythan ever.

NO Olivia Nwabali

somebody’s race, gender, religion orsexuality. It is only by this kind of closeconsideration that we can ensure therespect of others, and should not bea matter taken lightly or dismissed as‘political correctness gone mad’.Even though many have come forward indefense of Cumberbatch, such as blackactor David Oyelowo, and Guardianjournalist Hugh Muir who stated:“Benedict Cumberbatch didn’t cause meto press my outrage button”, the factremains that although some were notoffended, others have been and thereforereserve the right to air their feelings andopinions.Though not a direct racial slur theterm ‘coloured’ has carried perjorativemeanings for years and its usage should

therefore be refrained from, when itclearly still causes upset in the generalpublic. Backlash does not occur withoutcause and although Cumberbatchhas publicly apologised for his use of‘outmoded terminology’, offence hasbeen taken.However, given the circumstancesof the event and the sincerity ofCumberbatch’s apology, it is evidentthat the Sherlock actor made a genuinemistake when speaking with goodintentions. Instead of focusing solely onCumberbatch, his error should perhapsserve as an example of society’s needas a whole to become more attentivetowards the feelings of others, in orderto promote political correctness.

YES Sarah McCoazurt

Is the backlash against BenedictCumberbatch justified?

The Big Debate

II“think as far as coloured actors go it gets reallllydii“ff“ff“icc“uu“lt in the UK, and a lot of my friends have haaad

more opportunities here (in the US) than in the UUUKand that’s something that needs to chaa

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15Advertisement

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Science16

Technology and Terrorism: Is our cyberworld safe from prying eyes?

Holly Edwards

Computers and the internet havebecome so ingrained in our lives thatmany of us have become ambivalent tothe security threats that surround thistechnology. To many, security is thatannoying pop-up that appears at thebottom of your screen, reminding youthat you haven’t renewed your anti-virussoftware. But would people be so quickto cancel this message if instead it said‘cyber-terrorism is here and here to stay’?Although the individual can avoid thisquestion, for governments and largecorporations, it is not so easy to ignore.

The highly publicized attack on SonyPictures is the most recent reminder ofthis. On 24 November 2014 personalinformation emails between employees,executive salary figures and copies ofpreviously unreleased films were stolen.The hackers demanded the cancellationof the release of The Interview, a filmstarring James Franco and Seth Roganplotting to kill the North Korean leaderKim Jong-un. The US claim that theseattacks came from North Korea, themysterious, shielded dictatorship thatonly makes its intentions known behinda keyboard.

Whilst early cyber-crime did involvebreaches of security for individuals andgovernments, the attacks could be seenmore as experiments by curious hackers.This did not lessen their effect though.ILOVEYOU, a computer worm in 2000,attacked tens of millions of Windowscomputers while masquerading as a loveletter.

However, it was not until the late2000s that cyber-crime really started tobe more recognisable as cyber-terrorism.One of the most worrying developmentswas the creation of the world’s firstdigital weapon, Stuxnet. Whereasprevious cyber-crimes relied on hijacking

target computers or stealing information,Stuxnet could actually cause physicaldestruction to equipment that computerscontrolled. This could be anythingfrom machine factory assembly linesto amusement rides to centrifugesin nuclear facilities. Although thesecomputers are air-gapped - meaningthey do not have any connection to theinternet - hackers spread the infectionthrough USB flash drives in outsidecompanies, which are connected to thetarget computers. So far the attacksseem to be focussed on Iranian nuclearfacilities, with reports of one fifth oftheir centrifuges being destroyed in thismanner.

It is not only direct cyber-attacks that are a concern. Terroristorganisations may be able to gain accessto maps, schematics and various othersources of data that help in gatheringinformation on potential targets. It isa platform for fundraising, whetherthrough legal or illegal means, and canbe a key tool in the communication andnetworking between terrorist groups andindividuals. It has also been recognisedas a tool for recruiting terrorists.

It is not all bad news. Terroristgroups being so visible on the internetcan allow for more effective monitoringby governments. Different schemes areseen across different countries whichscreen and censor sensitive informationon websites, forums and blogs. In theUK the Government has implementedthe Prevent Strategy, which aims tochallenge extremist ideas and terroristactivities. Of course this is not afoolproof system and it also brings upwider issues with privacy and freedomof speech.

Whilst efforts clearly need to bemade to suppress terrorist activity,this should not mean taking away therights of anyone to have their own

ideals. Recent controversy surroundingGreen Party leader Natalie Bennett- who stated that it should not be acrime to simply belong to a terrorist

organisation, as long as no there is noaiding or abetting of criminal acts bythe individual - highlights the issueof governments interfering with the

Flickr ©

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Science 17

University of Michigan ©

rights of individuals to free speech.The internet should be a place for freespeech as long as it is not causing harmto people; taking that away is only likelyto lead to more anger and more acts ofterrorism.

A way that the internet is being

used effectively in the fight againstterrorism is through research, which usessocial media as a base for information.Researchers from Kings College London,led by Peter Neumann, used socialmedia to understand the motivations forforeign fighters travelling to Syria andIraq. It is thought that in total 20,700people have gone to these countries asforeign fighters, with one fifth comingfrom Western countries. Governmentsare concerned that these fighters may

return and execute terrorist activitieson home soil. But through trackingand engaging with foreign fighters,the researchers at Kings College havebeen able to determine the motivationsfor such trips. It was found that theWest being at war with Islam was not

a strong reason for foreign fighters togo to Syria and Iraq, although there isevidence that this could be changing.

The research has also providedevidence that the significance of theinternet and social media in recruitingpeople to become foreign fighters hasbeen overstated. It was found that themost influential accounts on Twitterwere in fact from so called ‘cheerleaders’who are not based in Syria and Iraqand are not associated with ISIS. It was

actually found that foreign fighters tendto arrive in clusters from the same areasand face-to-face recruitment seems tohave the biggest impact.

There is no clear-cut answer towhether computer technology is helpingor hindering terrorists, but the evidenceseems to point towards the former. Thisdoes not mean that the internet shouldbecome a place of fear. It has createda world that is much more open, withinformation allowing us to expand ourminds, connect with people in previously

unimaginable ways and make ourlives just that little bit easier, as wellas allowing us to waste time on CandyCrush and Sporcle.

The nature of terrorism is changingand we should be aware of that andtake action to minimise its impact. Wemust also be cautious of overstatingrisks and overlooking the benefits of thetechnologically advanced world we livein. To put it simply, it might be a goodidea to renew that anti-virus software.

Unboiling an egg? You must be yolkingSam McMaster

Alice Hargreaves Jones

There was a lot of hype aboutunboiling eggs last week. Yes, scientistshave indeed discovered how to unboil anegg and it definitely more useful thanjust being a party trick. This feat wouldsurely net the team who discovered itan Ig Nobel Prize, if it weren’t for thefact that this new technique could allowaccelerated progress in cancer research.

Eggs constitute about 90% waterand 10% protein. Amino acids that formthe proteins bond together and capturewater, giving raw eggs their gloopyappearance.

When an egg is cooked, the proteinmolecules unravel themselves, link upand get tangled like unspooled fishingline, turning solid as the water is forcedout. In order to ‘uncook’ the egg, youneed to detach the protein moleculesfrom each other and if possible refoldthem to their original shape.

Hervé This, French chemist andmolecular gastronomy giant (inspirationto Heston Blumenthal himself) was thefirst to discover a method of unboilingan egg. This guy is the closest thing wehave to a mad scientist, a quick Googlesearch is strongly advised. He found thatby adding a product like sodium borohy-dride to a cooked egg, the egg becomesliquid within three hours as the proteins

become detached. For those who want totry it at home, vitamin C also does thetrick. This method changes the bondingpatterns of the proteins and they don’tfunction or fold as they did before.

This is, however, quite different to themethod recently discovered by a groupof technical eggsperts at the Universityof California, Irvine, the University ofWestern Australia, and Flinders Univer-sity.

They boiled an egg at 90°C for 20minutes to make sure the proteins weretangled beyond recognition. Followingthis, urea (a main component of urine)was added to the cooked albumen in thehope of restoring lysozyme, a key proteinin the albumen. As the urea begun tobreak the proteins apart, the mixturewas spun at high speed in a vortexfluid device. This device (essentially avery expensive and very fancy blender)imparts a shear stress, which furtheruntangles the amino acids.

It was found that when the lyso-zyme proteins where spun in this way,they stretched to the point where theysnapped back into their original form,restoring 85% of their original activitythrough mechanical stress.

The finished result unfortunatelydoesn’t much resemble the original eggat all. ‘It’s extremely unimpressive,’ sayschemist Greg Weiss at the University ofCalifornia, Irvine. Like, ‘here’s the tube

with some liquid on the bottom.’But Weiss and his team weren’t

doing this just for fun. They wanted tounboil an egg to solve a larger questionin science: How do you quickly refold anunfolded protein? Their study appearedin January in the journal ChemBioChem.

UCI have filed a patent for this tech-nique that could allow cancer research tobe carried out more easily and cheaply.Gummy proteins formed when preparingbatches of proteins, such as antibodies

that detect cancer, can be cleaned easilyfrom test tubes with this new technique,making lab work easier everywhere. Thiswill allow the cancer detecting antibod-ies to be formed using yeast or E.colibacteria instead of the current expensivemethod which uses hamster ovary cells(the proteins in these cells are less likelyto misfold). Industrial cheese makerscould benefit from cost savings too asthey work with bacteria and proteins -meaning cheaper cheese for the masses.

Sam Broadley ©

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“[The internet] has created a world thatis much more open, with information

allowing us to expand our minds, connectwith people and waste time on Sporcle

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Sport18

2015: What not to miss

Tennis - Alex Bowmer

It seems unlikely that the drama of 2014 will bereplicated this season, but one positive for British tennisfans is the return to form of Andy Murray. Despiteultimately capitulating in the Australian Open finalagainst Djokovic, he reached the final of a Major forthe first time since ending his Wimbledon hoodoo inJuly 2013. Great Britain’s Davis Cup team also have atie against the United States to look forward to, andthey can feel optimistic about their chances, as theybeat the Red, White and Blue 3-1 last year on the clayat Petco Park, San Diego.

On the women’s side, Heather Watson is very muchflying the flag for Britain. She began the year witha bang at the Hobart International, defeating SloaneStephens and Roberta Vinci along the way, as sheromped to the title. At 22, she still has plenty of timeon her side. Watson was part of a Fed Cup team thatlost to Turkey in a recent Fed

Boxing - Peter White

2015 promises to be another stellar year for Britishboxing with a plethora of mouth-watering match-upsscheduled for the months ahead. Carl Froch vacatedhis IBF super-middleweight belt as recently as Tuesdayand negotiations are already taking place for JamesDeGale to fight Andre Dirrell for the title in April.

Tyson Fury is scheduled to fight Christian Hammerin London later this month and could have a crack atWladimir Klitschko’s WBO crown before the end ofthe year if he is victorious, while Anthony Joshua isset to fight in April after being forced to pull out of hisJanuary bout with Kevin Johnson because of a backinjury.

Elsewhere, Bolton fighter Amir Khan is hopefulof a blockbuster battle with Philippine great MannyPacquiao sometime in 2015, yet the likelihood of that

fixture may depend on whether Pacquiao

esnpers

ite

Formula 1 - Tom Moore

Unusually in Formula One, the 2014 season wasdominated more by events off the track than on it. Thebrutal way in which Mercedes dominated the seasonwas perhaps overshadowed by the merry-go-roundof ‘who’s in charge of Ferrari?’ and the loss of bothMarussia and Caterham from the 2015 grid.

For 2015, on track, Formula One is likely to bejust as chaotic as it was off it last season. After eightyears, Honda returns to the sport, re-launching oneof the most successful partnerships in the modernera with McLaren. Renault and Ferrari too have madeconsiderable progress, with all manufacturers expectingan increase in performance accounting to wholeseconds rather than tenths. For 2015 then, the gridshould be closer than ever.

The off-season has seen some big moves tooamongst the drivers, as Fernando Alonso joins Buttonat McLaren, whilst Vettel takes his place at Ferrari.Further down the field, rookie’s Max Verstappen andFelipe Nasr will look to shake up the midfield having

’s

yCup qualifier. However,they can still progress tothe tournament proper ifthey beat Ukraine.Despite thelack of GrandSlam-winningpotential, thereis still muchto get excitedabout.

y p qmanages to arrange a fight with five-

weight world championFloyd Mayweather. Thetwo all-time greats wereseen exchanging detailsat a basketball game in

January and a match-upbetween the fighte

would certainlywhet the appetiof the boxingworld.

Felipe Nasr will look to shake up the midfield havingbeen signed to Toro Rosso and Sauber respectively.With such a contrast between the driving styles of F1’old guard, and the hungry rookies desperate to taketheir first scalp; an exciting season awaits.

thegryphon.co.uk

19Sport

Shaun Murphy wrapped up his firstMMMasttters tttiiitttllle bbby ttthhhrashhhiiing worllldddnumber one Neil Robertson 10-2 atAlexandra Palace

Gary Anderson won his first PDC Worldtitle with a 7-6 victory over 16-timeswwwooorrrlllddd ccchhhaaammmpppiiiooonnn PPPhhhiiilll TTTaaayyylllooorrr

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FA Cup fourthround as Bradford

stunned Chelseaand Middlesbrough

beat Premier Leaguechampions Manchester City

While youwere away...

Golf - Adam LeRoux

e a cracking year for golf, with Rory McIlroylot of contenders for his number one crown.l have his eyes set on yet more Majors this yearpen and The PGA Championship in 2014.be hoping to continue his success, former worldods will be trying to make his way back into theTiger manages an injury free season there is nobe back challenging with golf’s elite.

g further than ever before golf is becoming morehe time, rather than a spoiled good walk asit. The inclusion of the sport in the Rio Olympics

ust how popular it is becoming, and the all-newgs coming into play this year there is all the

p y in the 2015 season.

Cricket - Euan Cunningham

2015 promises to be an action-packed, tense, edge-of-the-seat and hopefully memorable yearfor cricket fans.

Having already played their part in an entertaining ODI tri-series between themselves, India andAustralia, England are now just a week away from one of cricket’sbiggest tournaments: the ODI World Cup. Held in ANew Zealand this year, the competition gives the TLions a chance to see how far their limited-overs sidprogressed since Alastair Cook was relieved of his dcaptain around three months ago.

Realistically, England are not expected to win thCup, or get to the final, but improved performancesvital in getting a slightly-disillusioned public back o

In the summer comes the main event - the Asheusual, the five Test series will grasp the attention ofnation, and although England probably go into theslight underdogs, as we’ve learned many times overyears when it comes to England v Australia, anythican happen.

Football - Nancy Gillen

2015 is set to be an intriguing and thrilling year for football fans. Despiteno senior men’s football tournament taking place, England fans still have theWomen’s World Cup and the U21 Euros to enjoy. The England women’s teamtravel to Canada having won all 10 of their qualifying games and only conceonce. Though not favourites to win the competition, new coach Mark Sampshas injected creativity and dynamism into the team, and it is expected thatthe Three Lions will give a good showing.

The story is similar for the U21 Euros. The English enjoyed an unbeatenqualifying campaign, and the potential inclusion of senior team playerssuch as Alex Oxlade Chamberlain and Raheem Sterling gives much hopefor victory. Aside from these international tournaments, expect thrillingclimaxes to domestic competitions, including the Premier League and the FACup, with the latter already offering up an extraordinary number of upsetsand giant-killings. The Champions League Final will be a highlight of thefootballing calender as always, with Europe’s finest battling it out in Berlin.

Rugby Union - Clare O’Leary

World Cup will undoubtedly be one of the jewels in theKicking off in September, it is hoped that the mediag captain Chris Robshaw’s team will be more positive011.orld Cup controversies on the pitch (swapping balls duringthe pitch (banter, boozing and bungee jumping) will

ve way to skillful play, focus and direction in 2015. Thisoped for but expected - and with good reason. With

ed players set to make their England World Cup debuts,e motoring force of 21 year-old fly-half George Ford,alongside more experienced heads under the praised

p coach Stuart Lancaster, could this be the recipe forWorld Cup success?

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Sport20

There are few arenas morespectacular or intimidating than Cardiff’sMillennium Stadium on a wintery Fridaynight, but such a colosseum of noise,passion and hostility is what awaits aninjury-stricken England in the 2015 SixNations opener.

Stuart Lancaster’s men return to thescene of their grand slam humiliationin 2013 with no fewer than 11 potentialstarters out injured. They are fully awarethat victory is more an expectation thanan ambition, especially if they wish tomaintain aspirations of a home WorldCup victory in only eight months’ time.

England came through a toughautumn to finish convincingly againstSamoa and Australia and should beginthis tournament in high spirits knowingthat a depleted squad competedvaliantly against the world’s best. Wales,meanwhile, will undoubtedly haverenewed belief having finally ended their22 match wait for a win against thesouthern hemisphere big three.

Many will argue over Adam Jones’omission, but tight-head prop aside,Wales potentially field their strongestline up for years; a privilege not

extended to Stuart Lancaster, who willhave to hope George Ford and companycan replicate the power and precision ofthe Australia match back in November.With this in mind, anything but a Welshvictory, at home, on Friday, seems notimpossible, but at least improbable.

Defending champions Ireland begintheir defence with a tough looking visitto Rome, the first time they do so in the

recent era without talisman and all-timeleading Six Nations try scorer, BrianO’Driscoll. The visitors will also have tocope without fly half Jonny Sexton andprop Cian Healy, both were instrumentalin autumn victories over South Africaand Australia.

The consistently strong Italian pack,heroically lead by skipper Sergio Parisse,will have to be as resolute as ever to

compete well in this opener, but withoutthe creative magic of Sexton and BOD,the Italians may fancy their chances ofkeeping Ireland quiet in Rome.

Vern Cotter’s new expansivebrand of rugby seems to have caughton and brought renewed optimismand adventure to what not long agoappeared a lackluster era of Scottishrugby. Their trip to Paris on Saturday isabout as unpredictable as it’s possible toimagine. Given the resources and playersat the disposal of Philippe Saint Andre,his ability to consistently create cocktailsof underperforming, out of position orunheard of team sheets is genuinelyremarkable.

Abject, spineless, ruthless anddazzling are all reasonable adjectives todescribe what we can expect from theFrench against Scotland, and as impoliteas it would be to discount Scotland’scontribution, the result will probablybe determined by which adjective bestencompasses France’s performance.

The next two months of rugbywill give a fascinating indication ofwhat to expect in the world cup aswell as bringing the usual drama andexhilaration the Six Nations alwaysdelivers.

Stage set for Six Nations spectacleChris Chadburn

Rugby Union

Telegraph ©

Super League sparks back into lifeSuper League is back for a new

season that promises to be morecompetitive than ever. Changes to thestructure of the top two divisions by theRugby Football League will see teamsfight for a place in the Super Leagueand avoid relegation.

The new 12-team top-tier will

p g

Charlotte StonesRugby League

finals, followed by the final.The new season kicked off last

night, as Widnes Vikings hosted WiganWarriors, who were beaten by St Helensin last year’s dramatic Super LeagueGrand Final. Wigan prop Ben Flowerwill miss the first 10 league games aspart of his six-month ban for punchingSt Helens’ Lance Hohaia in the openingminutes of the game. The Saintsultimately won that match and will be

iumph underin.

hird last season,will have their

p spot this timewer gamesam and underr League rules,come even

winning the title.eford Tigersir best evern last year,hing fourth

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p ayers Jamie

Ellis and Daryl Clark to the Giants andWarrington Wolves respectively, Caswill need to work hard to replicate lastseason’s achievements.

Castleford’s loss of Man of SteelDaryl Clark will give Warrington amuch-needed confidence boost for theseason ahead, and the Wolves’ all-international front-row should ensureimproved results after a disappointingseason last year.

Leeds Rhinos failed toreGfileafoCthasethease

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bottom half of the table must get off toa strong start to the season to avoid thetrapdoor. Catalans Dragons were tippedto be relegation favourites at the startof last season after a series of losses,and with just 23 games this season, asopposed to the previous format of 27, theDragons have less room for error.

Both Hull Kingston Rovers andneighbours Hull FC will hope for abetter season than last year, and thelast season’s poor performances have

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next year. The

remainingfourteams will thenface the four leadingChampionship teams in theplay-offs to decide who will bepromoted to the Super League,and who will be relegated. Thewinner of the overall title willbe decided by a round-robinformat involving the SuperEights, before the top fourteams progress to the semi-

looking for yet another trinew captain Jon Wilki

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thegryphon.co.uk

21Sport

Last weekend saw Leeds UltimateFrisbee Women’s first team battle itout to take fourth place at Women’sIndoor Nationals. With BUCS pointsbeing awarded for the first time at thistournament, everything was to play for.

In Saturday’s pool games the womenfought hard, comfortably winning theirfirst three games against Aberdeen,Portsmouth and Cardiff. Their finalpool game against UCL was one of theteam’s first tests. In an intense gamethe team fought back from four pointsdown to equalise by the buzzer, leadingto a sudden-death point. Claire Taylorshowed her skill with the disc in apitch-length throw to Amelia Kennethin order to score the winning point. Thismeant that Leeds had topped their poolafter day one; an unsurprising resultgiven that back in November the teamwere regional winners for the third yearrunning.

The team had a tough start onSunday as they faced Birmingham at9am. Birmingham’s men’s team wonthe Nationals earlier this year, and theirwomen’s team qualified first in theirregion - so a close game was in store.

Despite a number of Leeds ultimateplayers turning up to support the teamon the side-line, Birmingham managedto go up by a break to win 6-4. Despitethis knock in confidence, the womendemonstrated their determination andskill by winning their next two games,10-3 against Oxford and 6-5 againstNewcastle.

These wins took them to the semi-final against Loughborough. Havingalready beaten Loughborough twicethis season at regional level, the sideknew they would come out fighting.The offensive and defensive quality ofboth teams was shown by the constanttrading of points until the buzzer whenthe score was 6-6, leading to anothersudden death point. Loughborough,who went on the win the tournament,managed to squeeze the disc past thestrong Uni defence to score the winningpoint.

Leeds’ final game of the tournamentwas a rematch with Edinburghfor third and fourth place. Despitethe disappointment at losing toLoughborough, the girl’s eyes were ontheir last chance for medals. Once againthey found themselves very evenlymatched and the game was decidedby another tense sudden-death point,

Uni prove a fourth to be reckoned withwhich Edinburgh took to claim thirdplace.

Despite aiming higher, the teamcan be extremely proud of their fourthplace finish, which demonstrates theirindividual talent as well as excellentteam chemistry. Captain and Great

Britain under-23 player Alice Beechingreflected on the weekend, ‘everymember of the team brought a newlevel of intensity to their game, showingtheir skill and determination, which willsurely lead to podium finishes later inthe season.’

Sarah NormanUltimate Frisbee

© Nick Moss

Leeds went into BUCS cross countryin high spirits following their convincingVarsity victory against Beckett lasttime out. Strong performances fromSusan Partridge and Joe Steward proveddecisive as they claimed the first pointof the 2015 Varsity series.

Brighton took centre stage in hostingBUCS cross country 2015 as conditionswere hilly, windy and cold, but Leedsmen’s A, women’s A and men’s B teamdid extremely well.

The men’s A race was first to kickoff. Gordon Benson was the first Leedsstudent home, in a fantastic 12th place.Next up was Ben Marriott who pacedhis race to perfection to come throughthe field very strongly to finish in 36th.Third was Richard Powell, who afterfinishing third in the North of Englandchampionships recently was clearlyrunning with confidence coming homein 44th position. Following were PatrickVis (55th), Linton Taylor (94th) and JoshWoodcock-Shaw (102nd) which sawthe men’s A team finish 5th overall. Agreat achievement, and with nobodyleaving next year a medal is a distinctpossibility.

Next was the women’s race. Fresher

Carnegie crush CelticsGeorgia Malir had a fantastic run, andfinished in 17th position, a stunningachievement for a first year student.Triathlete Zara Knappy was next infor Leeds, finishing strong in 69th withEmma Beckwith close behind in 79th.The trio placed the women’s team in avery respectable position of 12th. Otherstand out performances were Sophie Lee(117th) Beth Garland (142nd) and ZoeHewitson (177th).

During the men’s B race, PhilSesemann gave a great account ofhimself placing himself in the top five,but tired towards the end of the race,finishing 10th. Considering his long terminjury, this was a good result. An injury-free year for Phil and a top 20 finish inthe A race beckons next year. FresherNathan Marsh had an unbelievable raceto finish 12th, showing potential to be inLeeds A team in future years. Unsungrun of the weekend was by Joe Kilgourfinishing in 32nd, a much improving Joecan cause the selectors for the A team areal headache for next year. Tom Eamesfinished off the B team in 45th position.The B team finished in sixth overall,the highest Leeds has finished for eightyears. An overall fantastic performancefrom Leeds rounded off the crosscountry season.

Richard PowellCross Country

The annual American FootballVarsity game between Leeds UniversityCeltics and Leeds Becket Carnegie wasclose to not being played this weekendas Weetwood sports facility wanted toprotect the pitch. Thankfully anothervenue was found to host the game, andthe match went ahead at West ParkLeeds Rugby Club.

Carnegie won the coin toss andelected to receive the kick off. Onthe first play of their first possession,however, the Carnegie running backfumbled the football and it was recoveredby the Celtics’ defence, putting theoffense into the game with good fieldposition. After getting a first down, theCeltics were unable to muster anythingmore and were forced to punt the ball.

Neither offense got near theiropponent’s end-zone for much of thefirst half. Carnegie were undone by theirown over aggressiveness, having severalbig plays called back for penalties. TheCeltics’ defence looked as strong as ithad done all season, safeties Mike Bridleand Ben Smith each securing turnoverswith a fumble recovery and interceptionrespectively. The first points of the

game came towards the end of the firstquarter, with the Celtics’ offense backedup towards their own goal line, Carnegiegot into the backfield and brought downthe ball carrier in the end zone for asafety, making it 2-0 to Carnegie. Twomore touchdowns followed towards theend of the second quarter to make thescore 16-0 at half time.

In the second half the Celtics’ defencesuffered from injuries to defensive endLewis Broadhurst, linebacker TobyRichardson and safety Ben Smith, andthe solid defence from the first half wasno more. Carnegie were able to run theball more effectively, and racked upseveral more touchdowns. The storyof the Celtics’ offence was the same asit has been all season, able to pick upfirst downs from running back OscarTaherbeigi and nice option running andshort passes from quarter back AdamSmith, but unable to keep a drive goinginto the end zone.

The afternoon ended with the finalscore 55-0 to Carnegie. Carnegie stayundefeated for the season, with a finalday showdown against the HallamWarriors for the division title. The Celticson the other hand are left hunting fortheir first win of the season, which theywill hope to achieve this Sunday away toYork Centurions.

Nick KnightAmerican Football

Leeds Uni 0 - 55 Leeds Beckett

Leeds go the distance

thegryphon.co.uk

Spport22

On an icy Wednesday afternoon atWeetwood, the Leeds hockey 4s lined upto face the Leeds 5s in what could onlybe described as an internal grudge matchwith tension between the two sidesevident even before the match had gotunderway. The 4s sat comfortably in 3rdplace in the Northern 4B division, whilethe 5s were placed bottom with just onepoint, and fighting for survival.

This wasn’t reflected in the openingstages though, as the 5s looked to provea point to their higher ranked opposition,and the underdogs could have countedthemselves unlucky not to take the lead

following a flurry of attacks within theopening 10 minutes.

Before long, more 5th team pressureresulted in the game’s first short corner.As the ball was swept into the box itfell perfectly to an attacker five yardsout who stroked home comfortably, onlyfor the goal to be disallowed. This scarewoke the 4th team up and in a rareattack Anna Knight took a quick free-hit, powered into the box, and tucked thechance away to give the favourites anundeserved lead in the 15th minute.

After a calm spell of the match it wasagain time for the 5th team to crank upthe pressure. Shot after shot pepperedthe 4th team’s goal but there was noluck. However, after a period of sustainedpressure, Hannah Cowie stepped up in

the right place at the righttime to tap home from acouple of yards out and getthat all important equaliser.

The opening stages of thesecond half looked relativelyeven, but frantic, with acouple of good moves comingfrom both teams. CaitlinTiemessen saw an openingfrom range and powered a

shot across goal and into the bottomcorner giving the 5s a vital goal to takethe score to 2-1.

The match began to take acompetitive turn with some aggressivechallenges leaving a handful of playerson the deck. This got the 4th team firedup as they searched for the equalisinggoal to save their blushes. Attack afterattack came at the 5th team defence butthey held strong and stopped everythingthat came at them. In the final stages,

a 4th team shot came flying off the lefthand post but this was unfortunatelythe closest they could come to finding asecond goal.

Understandably, there were plenty ofhappy faces in the 5th team camp at thefinal whistle, but the 4s will want to putthis result behind them when they takeon Newcastle away next week as theyhunt for possible promotion from thedivision.

Underdogs come back to cause upsetDaniel Nixon

Women's HockeyLeeds Uni 4s 1-2 Leeds Uni 5s

The Leeds Uni men’s 2s endured atorrid second half against Northumbriaon Wednesday as they suffered a heavydefeat in a game that was a lot closerthan the score line suggests.

The home side were in a confidentmood prior to kick-off after October’sreverse fixture had produced a 4-4thriller and a similar encounter lookedon the cards from the first whistle.

The game began at blistering paceand a number of bruising tackles were

exchanged as both teams looked to gainthe ascendency. Northumbria enjoyedlots of possession but it was Leeds whocarved out the first real opening withTom Grieg firing just over from closerange.

The opportunity seemingly broughtthe Gryphons to life and the game’sfirst short corner was soon followed bythe game’s first goal as Grieg made nomistake with his second chance of thematch after eight minutes.

Leeds continued to press after thegoal and came close to doubling theirlead, yet they were quickly remindedof the threat that their opponents

possessed and some solid, last-ditchdefending from Alec Jackson wasrequired to keep Northumbria at bay.However, the away side were awarded asoft penalty flick which was successfullyconverted to even up the game, beforethey scored their second goal in quicksuccession following a well-worked shortcorner.

Despite the blow, the Gryphons werenot ready to lie down and the gameremained a feisty affair which soonsaw the first green card being awarded.Gareth Wright was pulling the strings inthe middle of the park as the home sidelooked for an equaliser but Northumbriaproved to be more clinical as theyextended their lead to 3-1 against therun of play just seconds before half-time.

Leeds came out fighting after thebreak and the game was certainlyanyone’s for the taking.Robbie Hollis was dependablein goal when he was calledupon to avert danger in theshooting circle, while at theother end the Gryphons hadplenty of possession but justcouldn’t get the breakthroughthey needed to reduce thedeficit. It was starting to feellike it just wasn’t going to

Feisty encounter ends in thrashingPeter WhiteMen's Hockey

Leeds Uni 2s 1-7 Northumbria 1s

be Leeds’ day and this was epitomisedwhen Northumbria undeservedlyextended their advantage 10 minutesfrom time following a short corner.

The away side were soon awardedtheir second penalty flick of the dayfollowing sloppy play at the back andNorthumbria’s fifth goal proved to bethe catalyst for a crazy last few minutesin which the away side snatched a sixthand then a seventh.

Two Leeds players were awardedyellow cards in the second period asfrustration began to boil over and itwas clearly a disappointing result forthe home side who had fancied theirchances before kick-off. Despite the six-goal deficit, the victory could certainlyhave been Leeds’ on another day andthey will be looking to put the defeatbehind them as they now focus on nextweek’s clash away against York 1s.

Leeds

8

5

5

3

Stats

Shots on Target

Shots off Target

Long Corners

Short Corners

Northumbria

13

3

4

6

Leeds 4s4

5

3

2

Stats

Shots on Target

Shots off Target

Long Corners

Short Corners

Leeds 5s12

8

2

3Daniel Nixon ©

Peter White ©

thegryphon.co.uk

Spport 23

Leeds put clear water betweenthemselves and St. Andrews with aconsummate display on Wednesdayafternoon. Owing to a mix-up incommunication, the women’s teamthought they were playing, leading to ahasty switchover. However, this seemedto have no effect on the men’s side, whoquickly got into their stride with twogoals in the opening few minutes.

Leeds’ ability to keep possessionmeant they expanded little energycompared to their opponents, and evenwhen they lost the ball, the Gryphonswere able to get back in numbers andnullify any threat that the Scottish outfitposed. A long-range piledriver from No.6George Wibberley was arguably thepick of the bunch in the first quarter, asthe team continued to put away theirchances with ruthless efficiency.

Ed Scott, goalkeeper for Team GB atthe 2012 London Olympics, marshalledthe backline superbly for the home side,and his breathtaking passing helpedopen up the St. Andrews defence timeand time again, with the ball oftenlanding perfectly into the path of theoffensive players who finished withaplomb.

Leeds were in an understandably

buoyant mood and picked up wherethey left off in the second quarter, withJarrah AlKandari proving particularlypotent in front of goal. Even inside theirown 5m line, they were happy to playthe ball around, and despite the scoreline,they were unrelenting in their pressingas St. Andrews found it very difficultto gain a foothold in the match. Even

gh, ay andd not

d offcoredent of

his team-mates.Throughout the encounter, Danny

Casey was a vocal presence in the Leedsrearguard, and he gave a rousing speechjust before the third-quarter kick-off,urging his team-mates not to slack offand keep pressing for more goals. Thescore quickly shot up from 12-1 to 16-1,but after that point St. Andrews gaineda bit of momentum and put away a few

chances of their own.Despite the match being over

as a contest, Leeds were lookingto dramatically improve their goaldifference, and, against the whippingboys of the Premier North division, theyhad the perfect chance to do just that. Aslick move at the end of the period sawScott lob a perfectly-weighted pass intothe path of Ben Kelleher. He in turn fedCasey, who made no mistake from closerange.

The last portion of the match was St.Andrews’ most successful, as they startedto move the ball around with muchmore freedom. However, every time thevisitors had a spell of dominance, Leedsresponded in kind, more clinical finishingfrom the home team’s forward linesaw them stretch their lead. AlKandariwas especially successful in puttingpressure on a beleaguered St. Andrews,as he consistently managed to nip theball away from an opponent, with theoutcome often being a goal to Leeds.

The match got a bit disjointedtowards the end, with a few instances ofgrappling, but the outcome was neverin doubt and the players can be rightlyproud of a top-drawer performance. Theboys now turn their attention to a play-off clash with a team from the PremierSouth division. After a display like that,Leeds will be a team that nobody wantsto face.

Alex BowmerMen's Water Polo

Leeds Uni 1s 31-7 St Andrews 1s

Free-scoring Leeds make asplash to sink St Andrews

for

dari

gwhen they did manage to get througcombination of their own profligacyScott’s heroics meant that they couldclose the gap on their opponents.

The second quarter was roundedby a superb shot from Scott, who scfrom his own half, to the astonishme

Top goalscorer f

Leeds:

Jarrah AlKand

Lucie England-Duce ©

Due to the weather conditions, many of

the playing surfaces at Weetwood were

deemed unplayable and the matches

were subsequently postponed.

Badminton 1s (M) 7-1 Leeds Beckett 2s

Badminton 3s (M) 4-4 Bradford 1s

Badminton 1s (W) 2-6 Birmingham 1s

Badminton 2s (W) 7-1 Manchester Met 1s

Basketball 1s (M) 55-75 Teesside 1s

Basketball 2s (M) 59-73 York St. John 1s

Fencing (M) 135-79 Manchester 2s

Fencing (W) 135-67 Keele 1s

Football 2s (M) 1-1 Leeds Beckett 2s

Hockey 1s (M) 2-6 Durham 1s

Hockey 2s (M) 1-7 Northumbria 1s

Hockey 1s (W) 0-2 Durham 1s

Hockey 2s (W) 3-1 Newcastle 2s

Hockey 4s (W) 1-2 Hockey 5s (W)

Hockey 6s (W) 1-5 Leeds Beckett 3s

Hockey 8s (W) 0-8 Sheffield 5s

Netball 1s 40-50 Manchester 1s

Netball 2s 52-21 Newcastle 3s

Netball 3s 42-37 Durham 2s

Netball 4s 39-26 Leeds Beckett 4s

Netball 5s 24-28 Northumbria 4s

Netball 6s 32-21 Sunderland 2s

Squash 2s (M) 3-0 Northumbria 2s

Tennis 1s (M) 4-8 Durham 3s

Tennis 3s (M) 0-12 Durham 4s

Tennis 1s (W) 0-12 Newcastle 1s

Tennis 2s (W) 10-2 York 1s

Water polo (M) 31-7 St Andrews 1s

Issue 10 06.02.15 thegryphon.co.uk

After such an action packed 2014 what will thenext year have in store for sports fans p. 18-19

Who came out on top in the big Leeds4s vs Leeds 5s hockey derby? p. 22

Can a depleted England side get a goodstart in this year’s Six Nations? p. 20

Leeds making waves in the pool withdominant victory over St Andrews. p. 23

As the final whistle blew at TheGryphon Centre, yet another victory wasassured for the dominant Leeds 2s asthey continue their terrific season in theNorthern 3B division. A 52-21 victoryagainst Newcastle 3s, their sixth win outof seven matches, saw the Gryphonsmaintain their place at the top of theleague as the season draws ever closerto its climax.

Newcastle came to town withcontrasting fortunes, as they currentlyprop up the division, three points behindfellow Gryphons, Leeds 3s. The visitorsexpected a tough game after beingturned over 41-24 in the reverse fixtureback in October, and after tastingdefeat in the league for the first timeaway at York last week, Leeds weredetermined to give them exactly that.

With neither side able to get arhythm going early on, the matchstarted sloppily, as the scoreboard washardly tested in the first five minuteswith three points apiece. The game wascrying out for an injection of pace andcreativity, a bit of flare.

Step forward Sarah Haynes, theginger haired maestro playing at goalattack. From the first whistle to the lastHaynes was a constant buzz of energy,hovering around court like a wasp insearch of food. The Newcastle defencewould have preferred a wasp comparedto the relentless attitude of Haynes, asshe set up goal shooter Clare Steelefor numerous opportunities whilst alsoburying some herself. From 3-3 thegame had soon turned in Leeds favouras they closed the first quarter leading8-3.

Steele herself was putting on ashowcase in the goal shooter role, onone occasion receiving a ball overheadwhilst on the run seamlessly, making itlook as if she was plucking apples from

a tree. In one rapid movement she hadthen landed, pivoted and scored, with allthe grace of a ballerina on stage. WhilstSteele was pirouetting with aplomb,Newcastle’s attack was all the moredirect, with goal shooter and goal attackforceful in their attempts to score.Although opportunities were few andfar between for the visitors, their goalshooter was in impeccable form onceshe got a chance at goal, which madethe contest a lot tighter than it shouldhave been at halftime at 20-11.

For all their efforts in the first half,Newcastle soon became unravelled asthe match progressed, as Leeds’ fitnessshone through. The opposing centre wasunable to keep up with the movementof Emily Morrice which gave theGryphons extra numbers in attack, andwith Steele and Haynes on form, theywere always going to make Newcastlepay the price.

With the goals flowing at one endGeorgia Blessed and Ellie Ward wereputting in a resilient effort at the other,

Leeds get back to winning waysAdam LeRoux

NetballLeeds Uni 2s 52-21 Newcastle 3s

with Blessed especially standing out.Not only was she intercepting passesand gathering rebounds, she was quickto start the counter, and utilise thewhole of the two thirds of court allowedto goal defence, as she was all too keento offer an extra player in attack on theedge of Leeds’ attacking third.

As Newcastle ground to a halt inthe fourth quarter Leeds continued tosurge forward, with centre passes beingturned straight into goals with ease,meaning Clare Steele was having a fieldday. The visitors were relieved to hearthe final whistle when it came, andthe final score of 52-21 was more thanjustified for a strong looking Uni side.

Next week sees Leeds make the tripup north to Durham, who sat in secondin the table until a shock defeat at thehands of Leeds 3s. A win there couldsee them all but seal promotion, andon the back of this performance, theydeserve it.

•Solid all round performance keeps promotion dreams alive•Uni keep place at top of the league after comfortable win

Sam Broadley ©