the medwire february 2015 magazine

8/9/2019 The Medwire February 2015 Magazine

1/20

theMedwireFree

Should youlove or loathe

Valentine’sday?

Medway Spartans’inspiration

Election

coveragelaunch

February - March 2015

Meet ourphotography

competitionwinner

The Valentine’s Edition


2/20

177 awards of £10,000 each for eligible studentsprogressing to taught Master’s degree programmesin September 2015 – no need to repay!

Key information:

• The £10,000 bursary does not have to be repaid

• Bursaries are available for full or part-time study (over a maximum of two years)

• Students must register in September 2015 for a taught Master’s degree at Kent

• Full eligibility information is on Kent’s funding website www.kent.ac.uk/pg

Postgraduate Funding and Information Event

Monday 23 February, 5-7pm, Canterbury

The UK’s European universityAthens | Brussels | Canterbury | Medway | Paris | Rome | Tonbridge

Kent is a top 20 UK research-intensiveuniversity with a

global outlook.

Find out more www.kent.ac.uk/pg

£10,000 BURSARIESFOR TAUGHTMASTER’S DEGREES

Kent’s £8m Postgraduate Scholarship Fund includes a range of funding opportunitiesfor both taught and research programmes at all our campuses and European centres.

_ _ _ _ _ _


3/20

The Team Editor: Victoria Polley

Deputy: Michelle Gleaves

Deputy: Amy Nickalls

Campus News: Stine Wannebo

Local News: Katie Palmer

Lifestyle: Sarah Boast

Sport: Danny Rust

Comment: Ben Kosma

TV: Cecily Snowball

Reporters: Ali Iveson, GemmaJosa Huesca, Abigail Nutall,

Cecilie Rygh Trodal, RebeccaLawrence, Liv Eden, AdhamDevenny, Anita Nkatha, DuarteDias, Helen Grimes

What’s Inside?

4: Campus News6: What’s on?8: Valentine’s Day11: Election Coverage14: Lifestyle17: Medders’ profle18: Sport

We lcome to the firs t ed

i tion o f The

Med wire in 2015 and a be-

la ted Happ y Ne w Year to

you all! I hope you all had a

grea t Chris tmas break .

I think I probabl y sa y this

in e ver y maga zine, bu t the

team reall y ha ve work ed

super hard to pu t this edi-

tion toge ther and I ’m cer-

tain there is some thing for e v

er yone in this special Valen tin

e ’s mag.

Lo ve i t or loa the i t, Februar y

1 4 is almos t upon us so we

look a t ho w to

spend Valen tine ’s Da

y wha te ver your rela tionship

s ta tus (Page 8-9 ) and

ho w you can do Valen tine ’s Da y on a budge t in our Li fes

t yle sec tion (Page

1 4-15 ).

I t is also almos t time for the l

eadership elec tions for K en t,

Green wich and

Chris tchurch so in this issue,

we ’ ve launched our 2015 ele

c tion co verage

(Page 11 ) and gi ven you all t

he in forma tion you need to

ge t in vol ved and

vo te for the people you wan t

to represen t you. There is also

the usual cam-

pus and spor ts ne ws to k eep y

ou in the loop wi th wha t is go

ing on.

The obser van t readers amon

g you ma y also no tice tha t I ’m

no t alone in m y

edi tor pho to in this edi tion. A

m y (le f t ) and Michelle (righ t ) a

re m y depu t y

edi tors and the y gi ve up so m

uch o f their time to ensure e ve

r y thing goes

smoo thl y wi th running The M

ed wire. I would be los t wi thou

t them!

U n t i l n e x t t i m e,

V i c t o r i a

hemedwire.co.uk

Find us online Who are we?The Medwire Student Media LTD isrun as a community organisationseperate from both the Universityand Student Union. All the moneywe make from advertising is usedto produce free and independentstudent news and entertainment.No-one gets paid; we’re all vol-unteering students. Our aim is toreport events both on and off cam-pus accurately and contemporan-

rously uing online, print and flm.

Like us onFacebook!/themedwire

Follow us onTwitter@the_medwire

Email us [email protected]

3

Subscribe toThe MedwireStudent Media


4/20

Noticed the difference?

You might think that February is a bit late for fireworks but that is just

not true. The Medway campus is full of colourful and sparkling events

waiting to be explored, there are high-prized competitions to enter,

interesting people to meet and a range of action-filled activities to get

involved in. Stine Wannebo rounds up the latest news.

4 themedwire.co.uk C

a m

p u

s N

e w

sThe Medwire’s first photo compe-tition came to a close a few weeksago and the winner is the amazing-ly talented Franklin Fan.

His stunning picture taken outsidethe Pembroke Building is on the frontpage of the very magazine you arenow holding in your hand. The 20-year-old studies mechani-

cal engineering at the University ofGreenwich and did not start taking

photographs until last year when heconvinced his mum to buy him a cam-era.

Something that started out as a fas-cination of people getting payed forclicking a button has now developedinto a full-scale passion.

He is now spending as much timewith his DSL camera as possible,shooting everything from portraitsand weddings to nights out andevents.

“My first wedding job was foundwhilst playing the piano in the Pem-broke building.”

He explains: “Now I work as a night-club photographer because it’s a verylow risk job – unlike weddings, whichcan be a disaster if you get it wrong.”

“My future goal is to do well in uni-versity and photography at the sametime – one day I would like to do fash-ion and portrait photography.” The man on the photo is Frank-

lin’s friend and biggest fan, AlexDominguez, who was actually meant

to wear a penguin suit for thephoto shoot.

Chinese-born Fan Gogh, Franklin’sartist name, said he was very happy tohave won The Medwire’s competition– but Alex was happier.

“He is looking for a date for Val-entine’s Day,” Franklin laughs, “so thismost be a great way of finding one.”

When asked about his best tips forall the romantics on the MedwayCampus, he says: “Maybe you can re-mind all the lovebirds in Medway tocheck if their love is allergic to flowersbefore buying them roses?”

See more of Fan Gogh’s work on hisFacebook page.

LEFT:

Fan Gogh aka Franklin

Fan won The Medwire

Photo Competition

2015

The University of Kent will offerpostgraduate bursaries worth£10,000 thanks to a £50 millionpublicly-funded programme. The Higher Education Funding Cen-

tre for England (HEFCE) Postgradu-ate Support Scheme (PSS) will comeinto force next academic year (fromSeptember 2015) and is designed toencourage more students from areasunder-represented in higher educa-tion to study for a Masters’. The University of Kent has been

given the 6th highest allocation offunding to pass on to students hop-ing to study a taught Master’s degree. These funds are only available to stu-

dents who have paid (or will re-pay)the higher rate of tuition fees, that is,those that registered in 2012. There will be 177 awards available

to Kent students wishing to continuetheir studies.

Birmingham, Kings College, UCL,Manchester and Sheffield are the onlyuniversities to be awarded more fund-ing than Kent.

Canterbury Christchurch studentswill have 35 places on the schemeavailable to them, while 26 Greenwichstudents will be able to benefit fromthe programme. The scheme will run for one year

before the current government plans

to fund postgraduate degrees with a£10,000 loan for applicants under 30.

Mary Hughes, Director of EnrolmentManagement Services at the Universi-ty of Kent said: “This one-off studentfunding opportunity is exceptionaland I would encourage anyone whois interested in pursuing a Master’sdegree to consider making an appli-cation for September 2015.

“We are still awaiting further infor-mation from HEFCE, but eligibilityand application details will be madeavailable on our web site as soon aswe have them. “

Funding for masters

Follow this story online

RIGHT: Franklin’s friend

Alex all set for a Valentine’s

Day date


5/20

What’s On?There is something for everyone inthe month ahead, whether you area sports fan at the core, one thatenjoys a spectacular performanceor someone who is ready for a newand exciting challenge.

Jog your memoryWednesday, February 4, 11am – 3pm This is the time of year when ourheads are filled up with academiccontent and acutely in need of abreak. Find your perfect respite atthe Refreshers’ Fayre in the Pilkingtonbuilding, where societies, volunteer-ing groups and sport teams all will allbe in attendance.

Rugby madnessFebruary 6 to March 21Six Nations is coming to Medway andall the screens in Coopers Sports Bar. The six week long cavalcade of the

world’s greatest rugby competitionis a splendid opportunity to singloud anthems, wear colourful shirtsand scream at inanimate objects – or just make fun of those who do. Theaction, fun, friendly rivalry and pintsawait!

No party like a pancake partyTuesday, February 7, 11am – 11pmHere is an excuse for a 12-hour pan-cake feast, if you have ever seen one! To say that Coopers is celebratingShrove Tuesday this year would bean understatement considering the

pancake specials they have planned.Discover exciting new ways of eatingpancakes, test the limits of your des-sert belly or just have a plain tradi-tional breakfast pancake with maplesyrup – the possibilities are endless.

Dancing the night awayFriday, March 13, 7.30pm – 1amDubbed the biggest event of theyear, the annual pharmacy ball re-turns to give every Medway studenta night they will never forget. Thisyear’s theme is Vintage Hollywoodand the three-course meal in no lessthan what you would expect for thebiggest celebrities in the business.

Greenwich vs. KentWednesday, March 25, 1pm – 8pmVarsity is finally here, the grandestsporting event in the calendar year!Watch the universities battle to winthe trophy and the most honoura-ble title in most athletes sportingcareers! This year, Team Medway hasdecided to introduce societies intothe festivities and bringing the cam-pus rivalry to new heights. This is notan event to miss and The Medwirewill of course keep you posted on

our website and through our socialmedia channels. Let the best univer-sity win!

Longer opening times at thefuture Medway hub will of-fer students a place to staywarm on campus – evenwhen everywhere else isclosed. The opening of the new stu-

dent hub is getting exceed-ingly closer and The Medwireis here to give you the latest

update on the redevelopmentof the C4 building.

Even though the building isnot due to open its doors foranother one and a half years,the planning process is in fullswing. The current first years should

be excited for the new vibrantspace, conveniently placed be-tween the sports hall and thelibrary.

There has been a long pro-cess of getting feedback fromthe student body, according tothe Greenwich and Kent Unionpresidents.

Kent Union president TammyNaidoo said: “It’s been reallygreat having the opportuni-ty to show students the siteof the Student Hub and artist

impressions of what the build-ing might look like so that wecan understand truly whatstudents thinks and what theywant from the building andhopefully giving them a senseof ownership.”

Want to have a look for your-self? There will be a stand atthe Refreshers’ Fayre wheredrawings, plans and photoswill be on display.

The Big Ideas competitionreturns this year, offeringKent students the possibilityof winning £1,000 and a tripto the US.

All you have to do is submityour business idea, and it canbe as novel, genius or grand asyou like.

Economy-student DishaBansal was last year’s winnerand represented the universityand the UK at the Virginia TechEntrepreneurship Challenge inthe US. The 21-year-old won with her

big idea to use a biometric mo-bile point of sale technologyto prevent a 19 per cent lossto the microfinance industryin India.

She said: “The Big Idea’s Com-petition is a platform that vali-dates your idea and gives you

the necessary encouragementand start-up capital to moveforward and make your dreamcome true.

“The experience was reallysomething else.

“I would say if you’re in twominds about entering thecompetition, you should defi-nitely go for it!” There is also an additional

award added to this year’s list,namely a $15,000 Advanced

Manufacturing Award lookingto find the most outstandingtangible or intangible productthe student body has to offer.

Want to win? Get in touchwith the University of Kent’sStudent Enterprise to learnmore about the competitionsand how to take part.

ABOVE: Disha Bansal receives her certificate

themedwire.co.uk 5

Share your Big Idea

LEFT:

The new C4

student hub

is set to open

in September

2015 and the

planning pro-

cess is already

in full swing

Thedream

of astudenthub isnear


6/20

What’s on?

themedwire.co.uk6

What’s on?Looking for ways to share the love or treat yourself over the next cou-ple of months? We have put together a list of some great places to

take your Valentine, and we have also given you a heads up on someof the best places to eat.

It’s romantic, it’s beautiful, and if you brush up on your histo-ry, your knowledge of the castle will complete the package.Leeds castle has breathtaking views that are sure to impressany date or partner, and on Valentine’s Day they hold a spe-cial Valentine’s dinner. For £220 per couple you can have anintimate champagne drinks reception, followed by a guidedtour of the castle and a three-course candle-lit meal.

Take some time to spend on yourself or share the experiencewith a partner at Ramsgate spa. They do some great packagesand deals including a spa day for two with a 25 minute treat-ment and full use of the facilities. Spend a couple of hourswinding down, and if you can find a cheap deal, you’ll haveenough cash left over to grab something to eat at a fancy res-taurant.

For something sophisticated to treat a friend or partner with, visit one of these cafe and enjoy an afternoon tea with sandwiches, aselection of cakes and of course a lovely cuppa for £18. If you’re feeling ready to splash out you can upgrade to a champagne after-noon tea for £24 if you eat at the Nucleus Arts Centre. It’s the perfect way to get intimate and keep the conversation flowing.

If you fancy some serious fine dining to really impress someone special, Elizabeth’s Restaurant is putting on a spread for £45 per per-son. It’s a lot to spend but it definitely sounds worth it. You can check out the menu on their website. The meal is for February 13 and14 only, so make sure to set Valentine’s Day aside to enjoy a special meal.

There’s nothing like a bit of friendly competition to get everyone fired up over this romantic period. With adults prices from around £6

each, this is a really cheap and easy way to have fun and impress someone special. There is also a bar and restaurant at the HollywoodBowl in Lockmeadow, so treat yourself or a partner to a drink and something eat after a strenuous game.

Leeds Castle

Pamper spa day for two atRamsgate Leisure Centre

Hollywood Bowl, Maidstone

Elizabeth’s Resaurant, Rochester

Afternoon tea at Cafe Nucleus in Chatham, Maidstone or Rochester


7/20

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themedwire.co.uk

Our Valentine’s

Love it or loathe it?

It’s February, which means one ofmy favourite holidays is coming up -Pancake Day.

But before I get stuck into an evening of cel-ebrating sweet battery deliciousness, I haveto suffer through another annual pastime,Valentine’s Day.

Now I’m not bitter, it’s not that I’m againstthe idea of people spending the day withtheir significant others - it’s quite sweet real-ly. I just don’t like the fact that certain smugcouples seem to view this day as an excuse to

pity us poor single folk.I’ve never had a boyfriend, so Valentine’sDay has always gone the same way for me:enjoying a date with a large glass of Pinotand watching Bridget Jones’s Diary in thedark.

It’s something I quite enjoy, but I can un-derstand why it might seem just a *little* bitpathetic to my loved-up pals.

My single status seems to hit my mum

the hardest, I can hear the hope in the voicewhen she calls to ask my plans, only to becrushed when she finds out I’m sticking to mytraditional arrangement of wine and chickflicks with my other single friends.

She may be convinced that I’m a closetedlesbian who’s determined to spend my lifealone, but I’m pretty happy with my life.

On any other day I can announce that I’m

single and be greeted with a happy or non-chalant response. I just don’t understand whyI’m suddenly doused with pity when I makethe same statement on February 14.

I’m happily single, and I’m not ashamed ofit.

This Valentine’s Day I’ll be sticking to myusual routine and I invite anyone else in mysituation to join me.

You bring the films and I’ll get the wine.

8

This year, I won’t be waitingby the letterbox for a flood ofcards (they’re probably lostin the post anyway) or cele-brating with anyone special.But the lack of love in my lifewon’t bother me on Febru-ary 14 anymore than it doeson any other day of the year.

As commercial as it mayhave become, I like the factthere is a day to show ourloved ones how much theymean to us but it shouldn’t bethe ONLY day you tell them.

We may buy our mum cardsand flowers on Mothers’ Daybut it doesn’t mean we don’tlove them any less any otherday of the year, right?

I’ve previously enjoyed do-ing something for Valentine’sDay but I don’t think it calls for anything extravagant.

Time is more precious thananything money can buy.

Valentine’s Day is supposedto be about couples being allloved up and happy which isgreat.

But I really don’t need tosee the Michael Kors watchhe bought you or the Premierleague tickets you gave himplastered all over my Facebooknews feed. That’s not love,

that’s just boasting.

If you hate Valentine’s Daythen there is a strong chancethat you are also someonewho complains about Christ-mas stock being put out tooearly and Creme eggs beingon sale in January.

And if that is the case thenyou should really considercheering up (just slightly).

Yes, love shouldn’t just beshown on one day of the year

and yes, you shouldn’t haveto spend a lot of money. But just make sure that you tellyour loved ones how you feelthroughout the year and stopraining on other people’s paradewith your tears come February14.

There is a strong correla-tion between those who hateValentines and those that aresingle - so if you are going tolove it when you have someoneto spend it with, don’t wingeabout how commercial it is inthe mean time.

Think of Valentines as a dayto go above and beyond whatyou would usually do, not as away to say “everyday should beValentine’s day”.

If you’re happy in a relation-ship or happy as a singleton,spend V-day how you want. Justplease don’t tell me how much

you hate it unless I ask.

‘Don’t pity me this Valentines’

Rebecca Lawrence

‘Boasting about gifts isn’t

Victoria Polley

what love is

Michelle Gleaves

‘Don’t hate Valentines if you

love it whenyou’re taken’about’


9/20

Day round-up:

Single or taken?

themedwire.co.uk

Whilst many would assume that V-Day hits the singletonsthe hardest, let’s not forget that it’s not always rosy forcouples. There seems to be an unspoken competition inout-romancing your loved-up pals, which can often resultin a major headache and spending a serious amount ofmoney.

Rom coms have taught us that the appropriate response

to Valentine’s Day is whisking your significant other off toParis for the day, or taking a romantic ride in a hot air bal-loon. But let’s be honest, what student could possibly af-ford that?

There’s no need to go all out because of some made-upholiday. If you’re the kind of couple that prefers a cheapnight in with a takeaway than a lavish three course meal ata fancy restaurant, then there’s no point in opting for thelatter simply because that’s what is expected of you on theday.

In any case, restaurants tend to cram in more tables and

spend less time perfecting the food in order to keep upwith the demand on V-Day. We’d recommend celebratingthe holiday at home and enjoying a meal out pre or postFebruary 14 if you want to avoid the whole ‘feeding time at

the zoo’ scene.

For those of you in a LDR, Valentine’s Day is rather bit-ter-sweet. But whilst your SO might be studying halfwayacross the country whilst you’re living in Medway, thatdoesn’t mean you can’t spend the evening together – evenif it’s not face to face.

If you’re worrying about spending the night pining foreach other, then a simple Skype date could be the wayforward. Crack open a bottle of wine, treat yourself to aM&S ready meal and pretend you’re dining out together. Itmight not be as good as the real thing but at least you don’thave to wear any trousers on a Skype date!

Or it may seem incredibly corny, but why not channelyour inner Tolstoy and send a love letter?

Yes, you may be without your SO on V-Day but it wasn’ttoo long ago that wars and such separated thousands ofcouples. If they could make it through with handwrittennotes then so can you. Just make sure the content isn’t toosaucy, nothing could be more embarrassing than one of

your flatmates finding your pathetic attempts at writingerotic fiction.

9

ABOVE: Studentsat Medway may

feel even moreisolated because of

a lack of activities

ABOVE: SpendValentine’s

Day watching Jamie Dornan

getting hiskit off

© Calvin Klein

Valentine’s Day...... as a couple

... as long distance

... as a singletonWe’re not going to bore you with the typical advice ofembracing your single status and having fun with friends,as there’s really one thing worth doing for singletons thisV-Day.

Go and see Fifty Shades of Grey.Use the money you would have spent buying flowers,

gifts and cards and treat yourself to premium seats and avat of popcorn. It’s probably pretty clear why we’d recom-mend this flick for the girls – did someone say naked Jamie

Dornan?But before you guys write it off as yet another chick flick,

consider this. The cinema will be full of single women whohave just watched two hours worth of soft porn. It’s possi-ble that you could find your true love in the Chatham Ode-on – even if it is just for the night…

‘There seems to be an unspokencompetition in out-romancing’

‘At least you don’t have to wearany trousers on a Skype date’


10/20

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themedwire.co.uk 11

ElectionCoverage 2015

If you haven’t yet had enough of the countdown to the general election oryou just can’t wait to register your vote, then make sure you have yoursay in the up coming union elections. Amy Nickalls, Abigail Nutall and Gem-ma Josa Huescsa have all the information you need.

Student Union elections are just aroundthe corner but before they can happenwe need some candidates.

At Kent there are five full time roles avail-able; the Union President and the Vice-Pres-

idents for Activities, Education, Sports andWelfare.

All five positions are open to those whowill be finishing their course this year andwant to spend another year at universityworking to improve life for students.

The work experience is funded with anallowance of around £18,000 per position.

These five leaders are all members ofthe Union’s Board of Trustees, who are thegoverning body of the union and overseethe running of the union.

The Union President is the main ambas-sador of, and spokesperson for, the unionwithin the community. They work closely

with the University, Canterbury council,local MPs and external stakeholders toimprove the university expe-rience.

As part of their role withinthe University the Union Pres-ident is a member of three ofthe highest governing bodies;the University Council, Senateand Finance and ResourcesCommittee.

The role of the Vice-Presi-dent for Activities is designedto promote, defend and devel-op non-sporting extra-circular activities atthe university.

Part of this is supporting the volunteerson both campuses who run the union socie-ties, RaG and the student media groups.

The Vice-President for Activities is also theDirector of Canterbury Youth Student Me-

dia, a limited company who run the studentradio station CSR FM.

The Vice-President forEducation works closelywith the University to en-sure the academic interestsof the students are beingmet and is involved witheducational campaigning.As part of their work withthe university they sit onUniversity committees,Senate meetings and the

Learning and Teaching Board. This role also involves offering support to

the network of over 300 faculty, school andcourse reps.

Being the Vice-President for Sports

involves working with the university toincrease access and availability to sporting

facilities and opportunities and the volun-teers who run the union sports teams.

They also work with their equivalentat Canterbury Christchurch University toorganise annual sporting events.

The Vice-President for Welfare defendsthe rights of students and aims to improvetheir welfare. They work with universitydepartments and sit on university commit-tees to ensure students are getting the helpthey need.

As part of their position the Vice-Pres-ident for welfare supports the union’sStudent Committee welfare officers.

Nominations for all five roles are being

taken until noon on Tuesday, February 17.You can nominate yourself on the union’swebsite.

Who does what in Kent Union?

The 2014-2015 sabbatical team at the Times Higher Education Awards

How to get involvedin uni politicsIf you see yourself as the next DavidCameron, Caroline Lucas or Russell Brandthen the best place to start your career inpolitics is right here at university. But ifgoing up for election isn’t for you or youcan’t wait until the end of your time atuni to get involved then there area other

options. The best and easiest way is tovote in the upcoming elections, but hereare some other ways too:

ZonesIf there is something you want to change tomake your uni experience better, then youcan submit your suggestions to a zone fo-rum. Your ideas can help shape union policyand create campaigns. Itwill be discussed at therelevant zone meetingand if successful it willbe taken to the UnionCouncil. Your ideas can

be submitted to one offour zones – Your Union, Your Community,Your Education and Your Rights.Even if you don’t have any ideas then youcan still show up and vote.

College committeesIn Canterbury each halls of residents havetheir own college committee and in Med-way we have our very own. The studentcommittees are the voice of the studentsand take your ideas to the Kent Unioncouncil. To find out more about what theydo, read our interview with Medway Com-mittee President Clara Easthill on page 17.

Write for the Medwire!

No fully democratic society is completewithout an independent news sourcekeeping an eye on those in power. So if youwould rather write about those in powerthan be in power then come and join us.

Votingopens onMarch 5

in 2014 4,776people voted


12/20

12 themedwire.co.uk

Greenwich Elections

It may seem daunting as a Medway stu-dent running in the Greenwich or KentUnion elections. The majority of studentsvoting are in different parts of the coun-try and you may not know the campus aswell. But don’t let that put you off runningfor sab.

Jake Laws, a former social sciences studentat the Medway Campus, ran for VP activitieslast year in the Kent Union elections. Unfor-tunately, after a tough campaign he didn’tget elected, but he describes the exprienceas “great” and he met lots of amazing peoplewho he is still friends with now.

So maybe that is a great opportunity torepresent your Union and make friends atthe same time!

Jake adds that even though the experienceis incredible, results night was terrifying, heexplained “they do it in an X Factor style”. Somaybe a bit of tension and excitement atthe end of the electoral campaign could bea nice way to experience what would be astressful but fun election that you can easilytake part of.

Jake, as a student in the Medway campus,did an amazing job engaging with students

from the Canterbury campus. He said thatengaging with Canterbury students “be-comes easier as the week goes on. I strug-

gled to begin with, you really are almost anoutsider in the whole process.”

Canterbury is the main campus, but asMedway students you also deserve to haveyour thoughts and ideas represented in yourUnion. Jake found it hard at first, however, heassured “not one of the Canterbury candi-dates last year knew a thing about Medway.”As a Medway student it might be a great ideato vote for the candidate that can representyou in the best way possible. Give support toyour best candidate!

So if you are thinking about running eitherthis year, or in the future then Jake has somefinal advice for you: “I wouldn’t waste timespending the whole day outside Essentialsin Canterbury, and I would really focus onMedway. There are nearly 2,000 votes to behad here, use that as a base. I would say justenjoy the week though, it is good fun. Throwyourself into it, and no matter what happensyou’ll come away with a ton of experienceand loads of new friends!”

He added: “I don’t think Canterbury is any-thing to be afraid of.”

Our message to all of you is go for it! Youcould be one of the first students from the

Medway Campus to join a student union andmake a real difference to what is often seenas the forgotten campus.

If you want to run for a Greenwichrole, nominations close on Feb-ruary 6 so you’ll need to get yourskates on!

Voting opens on March 5, at 10am and willclose on March 10 at 5pm. Results will be an-

nounced the day after voting closes at BarLatitude on Greenwich main campus and willalso be released on the SU website.

The roles:Sabbatical officers are full time, paid rep-

resentatives who take a year off after or dur-ing their course. The four available sabbaticalroles are:

The President, who is the figurehead forthe organisation and the first point of con-tact for many external organisations. Theycoordinate the acitivities of the sabbaticalteam.

The Vice President of Campaigns andWelfare does what it says on the tin. They

campaign for change, communicates whatthe union us doing and encourages studentsto take part in all aspects of the SU.

The Vice President of Education leads onall issues relating to education of the studentbody.

The Vice President of Student Activitiesis in charge of providing and developing awide range of accessible activities, facilitiesand services for Greenwich students.

There are also six NUS roles availablewhereby delegates will be the bridge

btween the national union ofstudents and Greenwich uni-

versity. Three of the roles arereserved for female-identifyingcandidates.

There are also 11 part time of-ficer roles:- Avery Hill Campus Officer- Black Students’ Officer- Disabled Students’ Officer- Greenwich Campus Officer- International Students’ Officer- LGBT+ Students’ Officer-Mature Students’ Officer- Medway Campus Officer

-Postgraduate and Part-timeStudents’ Officer

-Volunteering Officer- Women Students’ Officer

Part-time officers help andsupport the work of the full-timeSabbatical officers. They are vol-untary positions that last for one

academic year – so you will have to still be astudent in 2015-16.

For more information about the rolesavailable and how to vote, head to suug.co.uk/elections/roles.

ABOVE: Officerss will help organise Freshers fayre

Medway needs YOU!

ABOVE: Ex- Kentstudent Jake,thinks you shouldfocus on gettingthose Medwayvotes

2,088voted lastyear


13/20


14/20

lifestyle

themedwire.co.uk14

Valenne’s Day is fast

approaching, and if

your’re looking for

ways to make this day

special, our lifestyle

editor Sarah Boast and

her team have sometop ps for you...

How to do Valenne’s Day right

By Adham Devenny

Last year Valentine’s Day cost me £30, which in-cluded two presents and a two-course home made

meal. At first I thought this was fine as I was newto the Valentines Day lark, until a friend of minecame in boasting about how the year before herboyfriend had spent £150 and was doing the samethis year. Is this really what our special someone

expects? My Valentine loved the day I gave herbecause I got her small things that meant a lotmore than the cost. So I'm out to prove that evenEbenezer Scrooge can be a Jacopo Casanova on

Valentine’s Day.

Of course the success of my ideas depends onthe taste of your Valentine, and for mine that was

theatre. Across the internet there are hundreds oflegitimate (and illegitimate) last minute theatreticket websites, the most useful that I have foundare timeout.com and lastminute.com. They offer

West End shows that can be as low as £5! Someeven include a meal. Don’t believe me? Well lastApril I used timeout.com to get myself front rowtickets to see The Phantom of the Opera at Her

Majesty’s Theatre. But do bear in mind that youhave to book weeks in advance.

If sweet and simple is your angle then my sugges-

tion is a photo album. Mind you this only works ifyou have known your Valentine a while and havethe photos to prove it. If so all you need to do isgo on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, print them

off, and then decorate the album. Congratulations,you are now in a deep meaningful relationship.And don’t worry, it there are still empty pages,label them; “This is for our future”. I would advise

that you include a bucket with this just in case.

Then again nothing pulls at the heart’s stringslike calories, more specifically, cake. And for this,Mary Berry is your fairy godmother. Brownies,Cupcakes, pies - she has the lot. And the best thing

is that even people as inept as the TOWIE cast canmake it look like an army of French chefs made it. The more care you take in decorating your mas-terpiece, the more expensive it looks, and your

Valentine will be none the wiser.


15/20

themedwire.co.uk15

Achieving your resoluons Anita Nkatha shares her top ways to keep your New Year’s resolutions.

Make realistic goals.

It’s all well and good to want to have a toned physique in time for summer, but let’s start smallyes? How about cutting down on junk food and replacing a Kit Kat for an apple? It adds to thebigger picture…after all it’s the little things that count.

Checkpoints.

At the Beginning of every month, write down what you’d like to achieve by the end of themonth/ week etc. Then at the end of each month, self-evaluate and see how far you’ve comeand how much further you need to go.

Post it.Use sticky notes and write down goals and/or motivational quotes and post them up any-

where and everywhere you’re likely to see them. It’s harder to ignore things you always see.

Be positive. It’s easy to fall off and lose sight of your goal, but your perspective matters. How aboutinstead of ‘I won’t ‘‘I can’t’ we replace it with ‘I can’ and ‘I will’? Maintaining a positive outlook

even when you don’t feel like it is super helpful.

Three ways to wear yellow This season it’s all about yellow, but yellow can be a tricky colour and diffi-

cult to pair with hair colour. So here’s Liv Eden to give you a helping hand…

Redheads be bold! Pair a bold

yellow knit with coloured ta-

pered trousers and a simple

court shoe.

Jumper £17.99, New look Trousers £19.50, M&SCourt Shoe £39, TopshopEarrings £12.50, Topshop

Brunettes go girly! Couple a cute-

sy shift dress with flat pumps and

a statement necklace to give that

instant wow factor!

Dress £40, ASOSPumps £8 (sale), TopshopNecklace £12.50, Miss Selfridge

Blondes go trendy! Chic it up by

putting a loose-style top with

blue jeans and a court shoe.

Top £6 (sale), New LookCourt Shoe £39, Miss Selfridge

Shoulder Bag £12.99, H&M Jeans£45, Topshop Watch £22, RiverIsland

Duarte Dias has some top songs

to share with someone special

during Valentine’s Day. Let the

corniness commence!

Number 4 is a classic one thateveryone knows. Can you feel the

love tonight by Sir Elton John. Abeautifully written song aboutmaking the most out of love. Ifyou pay attention to the lyrics you

might just learn a little about areciprocate relationship.

Number 3 has to be And I Love Herby The Beatles, which is a beauti-

ful song that is also great for slowdancing in couples There is some-

thing oddly romantic about stringsand Paul McCartney’s echoing

voice.

Number 2 is reserved for Bryan

Adams with Heaven, where he per-fectly describes the feeling of beingwith the only person you want tobe with at that moment. It is oneof those songs that you just do not

want to end because it creates theperfect moment.

Number 1 goes to Hallelujah, sung

by Rufus Wainwright. This song isa perfectly accurate descriptionof how love begins, develops andends. This exact opposite of a ra-tional choice leads you through the

song just like it does with love. It

conveys pure truth about love.

Top tunes


16/20

Your Move

[email protected] 852345

www.your-move.co.uk

Houses and rooms to let in Gillingham

for now and 2015/2016. Large selection of

student properties available at great prices


17/20

The Medders’

ProfleSo what does being Medway Student Com-mittee President actually mean?It’s an elected position. There’s a lot of collegesacross the Canterbury campus, and the Medwaycampus counts as a separate college. Being electedas Medway’s Student Committee President meansthat I have a seat – and a vote on Kent Union council.I also have a seat on the GK partnership board,which is great because I get to represent Kentstudents at a higher level. I also run campaigns and

events down here, obviously all with the help of therest of the committee. Basically, the position is torepresent Medway in Canterbury.

What has the Committee done this year?

We organized a couple of pub quizzes as well asa big music event, together with Medway’s musicsociety in Coopers. We also ran a survey to find outwhat Medway students want to have more of, andwhat the issues are.

Any upcoming plans?

This term we’re planning a big sports day, organised

by our Activities Officer. We’ll also be looking atrunning campaigns. The most important thing tome is to make sure students know what’s happeningaround campus. I just feel like people don’t reallyknow who to talk to about what, and when events orcampaigns are happening no one really knows whatit’s about – so I feel like that’s a big issue. I also thinkwe need to make sure people can get home safely,because walking home from the library or Coopersafter it gets dark really doesn’t feel great – so wewant to campaign for there to be later shuttle busespeople can use to get back to Liberty Quays.

(We also have a stall at Refreshers Fayre, if anyonewants to pop by!)

What’s the best thing about the Medwaycampus?

It’s a small campus – so it’s really easy to makefriends and meet new people! I really like that alot of students on this campus are really active ineverything, and there’s a lot of people who just getinvolved in everything, which is really great.

...and the worst?

It can be really frustrating when you try and put on

an event or run a campaign and no one comes/orgets involved. But again, I think a lot of that is downto people not knowing what’s happening.

What’s next up for you?

I’ve just nominated myself to run as sabb officer (vpwelfare) – so next up is election week!

themedwire.co.uk

Victoria Polley caught up with Clara Easthill, Medway’s

Student Committee President to find out more about her

role on the Medway campus and what her plans are for thefuture.

17

Above: Clara at the Winter Wonderland event organised bythe Medway Student Committee at Coopers.


18/20

By Danny Rust

It was only a year ago when the Uni-versities at Medway sports teamscame together as one to create TeamMedway. Since then, the sports clubshave gone from strength to strength.

Team Medway

Taekwondo and Thai boxing were just two new sports to be added tothe lengthy list of sports on offer tostudents in Medway and William Bru-fatto, a Team Medway executive, be-lieves that the new sports have had agreat impact.

“These sports are getting more stu-dents active and playing sports. It isalso increasing the variety of sportsoffered on campus, which gives thestudents a wider option when decid-ing which sport they would like to tryout. The sports range from basketballand rugby to individual sports such as

Thai boxing.”Brufatto also thinks that the crea-tion of Team Medway Executives hasbenefited Team Medway.

“The creation of Team Medway Ex-ecutives has given the opportunityto sports clubs to connect with eachother and act as one whole communi-ty, hence reinforcing the sports in theMedway area,” he says.

“Most of the sports are included inthe BUCS competitions, giving stu-dents the opportunity to play at acompetitive level and with other Uni-versities, which is a great motivationalbooster.”

Brufatto believes that the rebrand-ing of the sports teams on the Med-way Campus was much needed.

“The rebranding of the sportsteams has been one of the best thingsthat could have happened to the Uni-versities at Medway,” said Brufatto. “Itgives a new motivational push to allsports teams and gets all sports underthe united Team Medway banner.

“Even though it has been a veryslow process in terms of kit delivery,every team has successfully adoptedthe new brand on their kit. Further-more, the option of buying different

clothing items with the Team Medwayemblem has given the option for anystudent on campus to support thesports clubs and the Medway cam-pus.”

BasketballWhile Brufatto is just one of the Team Medway executives, he is alsothe captain of the men’s basketballfirst team. Unfortunately, his side didnot start the BUCS season as they hadhoped.

Brufatto added: “As every year,there are new players that join theteams and as it is a team sport, it takessome time before the players knoweach other on the court and out of thecourt. The first few games were toughin the sense that the players were justlearning about each other’s style and

game, which unfortunately gave ustwo defeats early in the season.”But results have improved and now

the basketball sides are back on track,with victories being picked up to-wards the end of last term.

Despite the slow start to the cam-paign, Brufatto is still confident thatthe first team can win promotion, andthat is still the team’s goal.

“We are ranked fourth in a verycompetitive league,” he says. “We areone loss behind the teams in first andsecond place and this team looks likeit has the right friendly but compet-itive environment to get the men’sbasketball first team into the leagueabove.”

Women’s basketball The Team Medway executive is also

pleased with the start the women’s

basketball side has made. Basketballwas not on offer to women at the Uni-versities at Medway, so this is anothernew team that has been created thisyear.

“The most important improvementis that we have actually made a wom-en’s team as there were not enoughfemale students interested in joiningthe basketball club last year,” says Bru-fatto.

“Even though we do not have acomplete roster in the women’s team,the current one is competitive andenthusiastic. During the first term we

had some injuries that did not allowus to get the maximum out of ourteam in the league, but we are opti-mistic for the second term.”

Like the men’s first team for basket-ball, Brufatto believes the women’steam should be pushing for promo-tion. “We have four home games leftand considering we have all of ourplayers available we have a goodchance of fighting for promotion.

“We have two veteran players [thirdyear students] that have the basket-ball mentality we were looking forand they have bonded with the restof the new members to create a great

environment.“The most important thing is that

they are enjoying basketball and thatis what it is all about.”

S p o

rt s

N e

w s

Christmas is over and it’s time for our sports teams on the Medway Campus to

get back in action. Danny Rust and his team of sports reporters have all the

latest news from Team Medway...

The only way is upfor Medway sport

18 themedwire.co.uk

Above: Team Medway basketball club and William Bruffato (front

row, second from the left)


19/20themedwire.co.uk

19

By Ali Iveson

The Spartans are leading the way for Team

Medway this year, having won all of their

games so far. The rugby team sit top of the league with

four wins from four and have already beatenthe sides they’ll be playing in their next four

fixtures. The men’s futsal team also sit top of the

league with four games played - havingwon three and lost one - but with other

teams having games in hand they could bepegged back.

It’s been a tougher start to the campaignfor Team Medway’s netball firsts, although avictory against Middlesex firsts last time out

means they’ve won two and lost two so far.

The second-string netball side have hada similarly mixed season thus far; winning

once, losing once and drawing with QueenMary fifths in their last match.

The last of Team Medway’s table-toppersare the men’s first XI football team, who beat

a Canterbury Christ Church outfit in Decem-

ber to maintain first place. The men’s second XI have nine points

from four games, leaving them second intheir division with a game in hand on the

leaders, while the women’s football sidehave endured a torrid season so far, losing

their first three games before a much-need-

ed 6-2 triumph last time out. Team Medway’s men’s indoor cricket team

are another still searching for their first win,with two defeats thus far, whilst it’s also

been a tough campaign for the basketball

sides. The men’s firsts have won two and lost

two, while the men’s second team have lostone and won one and the women’s side

have recorded two defeats from three.Finally, the men’s badminton team sit

third in their league with a win, a loss and a

draw from three games, although they wereknocked out of the cup at the first hurdle.

As well as aiming for success in the BUCSleagues, Team Medway will also be gearing

up for the third annual Varsity which takesplace against Greenwich at the end of

March.

Keep up to date with all the scoresand news from Team Medway atwww.themedwire.co.uk/sport

The Team MedwayBUCS round upTeam Medway are gearing up for the second half of the British Universities

and College Sport season, but here is how they got on in 2014...

By Gemma Josa Huesca

Medway Spartans are flying high in the BUCS

league this campaign and so is their fomer

coach and rugby royalty, Rachael Burford.Burford, 28, is an international rugby sev-

ens and rugby union player for England.She started as a centre in Medway RFC

when she was six, and played there for thefirst ten years of her career. This was the same

team where her mum, Renata, and her sister,Louise, played. Her passion for rugby comes

from her rugby family background, but even

when she started she spent some of her timein dance classes.

Rachael is an inspiration for many rugbyplayers. She was a member of the World Cup

winning England women’s rugby squad. Shewas also awarded the Rugby Players’ Associ-

ation England women’s player-of-the-year in2014. She has also previously coached Kent

Spartans, who are the university’s rugby rep-resentatives.

Jamie Dimelow is one of the Medway Spar-tans players. Burford, who was brought up in

Rochester, trained him and the other playersof the squad for a few sessions. Dimelow

explains: “It was good to have a coach that

plays at such a high standard.”Dimelow also said it would be good to be

as successful as she is.Following England’s World Cup win in

August, Burford and her team mates wereawarded Team of the Year at the BBC’S Sports

Personality of the Year ceremony in Decem-ber and Burford was runner up at Medway’s

Sports Awards in the same month.

In her latest interviews, Burford, who nowplays for Thurrock RFC in Essex, admitted

that the England squad carry high hopes forRio 2016 quailfication.

Meanwhile you can check outhow the Spartans are gettingon in BUCS below....

Rugby World Cup hero isSpartans’ inspiration


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the medwire february 2015 magazine

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