the national student - may 2008

8/14/2019 The National Student - May 2008

1/20

Shocked drinkers saw their union

president head butt a fellow student.Hundreds were packed into University of

Central Lancashire campus bar Source when soz-

zled Students Union president Chris Lowdenlashed out.

Stocky Lowden was knocking back pints of

Guinness before Joe Calzaghes boxing match

against Bernard Hopkins on April 19.

The rugby player then started his own heavy

weight bout after head butting a reveller who

pushed in at the bar.

The scuffle involving around ten people had to

be broken up by bouncers and bar staff. Lowden

was then thrown out - of his own Students Union.

Now outraged students have slammed

UCLANs decision to suspend him for just two

days.

Law student Corbin Luby said: I think its

appalling. He should have been suspended for a

lot longer. It should have been months rather

than days.

Its disgusting and the police shouldhave been

told because its an assault.

It is the latest example of alcohol fuelled vio-

lence at the university. In the first semester 10

males were suspended in similar circumstances.

Eyewitness Mike Grady, who was a few feet

from the brawl, was shocked when he found out it

was his president fighting. It was a pretty

night with the boxing on, he said.

Somebody barged in, pushed to the fronqueue then somebody tapped him on the sh

and nutted him.

The guy didnt really stumble much then

was a big scuffle. It was quite eventful b

nothing like that happens and I had neve

any fighting in there.

Lowden worked from home during his s

sion from 5pm on Monday April 21 to 3

Wednesday April 23. He has been banne

Students Union bar Source and nightc

Degrees until the end of the year. He also re

a final warning from university bosses, m

he could be expelled if he steps out of line

Final year broadcast journalism student

Laycock thinks the punishment is not

enough. He said: Maybe the boxing on t

spurred him on and he had a rush of blood

head. But for him to head butt somebody i

ly wrong.

Hes supposed to be in a position of respo

ity and power setting an example. He shoul

found a peaceful resolution.

Lowden said he will continue working

president until June 31.

THE NATIONAL

STUDENT

stom essays 3 / Water rampage 4 / Reclaim the Uni 5 / Fizzy pop record 10 / Sport

CLAN SU president kicks off pub brawl after head butting student in union b

by Ricki Dewsbury

THE

NATIONALSTUDENT

The independent national paper for higher education students in the UK May

DRUNKNUTTER

inside this

monthsmagazine

Cinematic summertreats previewed

It wasnt until the final

weeks of the Christmas

semester in Rebeccas

second year that things

began to go wrong.

Brain Surgery and Studies

page 15

king booze and

uises with Be Your

wn Pet front-woman

Jemina Pearl

Golden

Joystick

Awards2008LAUNCH!

2008Our pick of this summers music events

Interview

Cult indie rocker

Darren Hayman


2/20

The National Student, M

UK NEW

National Student is the

endent, monthly newspaper

gher education students in

K.

hed by

der Newspapers,

gh Street, Lincoln, LN5 8AH

008 All content is the

right of Defender

papers unless otherwised.

National Student

mes all contributions.

National Student works

y with student

cations to bring UK

nts news and views.

re happy to accept news,

ments, features and

ws on any subject.

ct us at:

National Student

gh Street

ln

8AH

ail:

[email protected]

phone:

521 521

onal-student.co.uk

Wantedemail:

@national-student.co.uk

A STUDENT stripogram has

escaped being banged-up after judges

ruled his weapon is not offensive.

In May last year The National

Student reported on Stuart

Kennedys run-in with police. Known

as Sergeant Eros, the dirty dancers

policeman act attracted the attention

of Grampian Police in Aberdeen who

charged him with impersonating a

police officer and carrying an offen-

sive weapon.

But a sheriff seems to have no

problem with Eros truncheon as the

charges of carrying an offensive

weapon in a public place without a

reasonable excuse were recently

thrown out.

The Crown appealed, but judges at

the Justiciary Appeal Court in

Edinburgh backed the sheriff in a

move that Kennedy described as

excellent.

On hearing the news Kennedy

said, It was a silly prosecution in the

first place. The points the prosecu-tion were making were silly. Its a

work uniform.

I am glad thats the end of this

case, it was wasting court time let

alone appeal time, the money could

be spent in better ways. I still cannot

believe it ever got to this stage, he

added.

Eros was questioned and later

charged by Grampian Police after a

performance at a bar last year. Thecharge of impersonating a police offi-

cer was later dropped by prosecutors.

Sheriff Kenneth Stewart said:

There is no evidence at all which

even hints at the suggestion that he

had any intention of causing harm or

injury to other persons.

Advocate depute Brian

McConnachie QC, for the Crown, had

argued that if Sheriff Stewarts rul-

ing went unchallenged it could createa legal loophole for carrying

weapons.

McConnachie said that criminals

should not be allowed to flout the

offensive weapon law by claiming

they were on the way to a fancy dress

party, and that there was an impor-

tant principle at stake.

We could have ninjas carrying

nunchaku sticks or going as a ned

carrying a flick knife, he said.Neither Kennedy or his lega

resentatives were present a

hearing, and immediately app

that they were not informed

hearing and given the opportun

express their opinions. A new

was to be set for the hearin

judge Lord Johnston said ther

no need as Kennedy had alread

the case.

Eros performing services for the community

Cops weapon not offensiveStudent stripper found not guilty of carrying an offensive weap


3/20

K NEWSonal Student, May 2008

Undressed fosuccess

FOUR MANCHESTER

Metropolitan students are hoping

to be an Undressed success with

their new venture.

Fashion buying students

Charlotte Kearney, Matthew

Moxham, Anna Temple and Sarah

Martin have set up their own

underwear company.

Undressed was formed in

September last year as part of an

assignment for their course and

began full trading in January.

They produce slogan printed

vest and knickers sets for women

emblazoned with strong empower-ing messages such as Venus

favours the bold; History is her

story too and Being a lady is an

attitude.

Matthew Moxham, spokesperson

for Undressed said; We wanted to

do something unique and make a

difference with our project.

Weve designed something that

we know appeals to girls with

strong opinions - whether worn as

underwear or outerwear, everyone

should get Undressed and raise

money for a worthy cause.

The students have pledged to

donate 10% of all the profit made

to Refuge, the charity for female

victims of domestic violence.

Nobody should have to live withviolence yet one woman in four will

experience domestic violence at

some point in her life. Refuge sup-

ports women and their children

every day, to keep them safe and

help them regain control of

lives, explained Moxham.

Managing director Cha

Kearney (pictured above) is h

to make it a double success b

ting up a successful busines

being crowned Miss Manch

2008 next month. The 21-yea

who is sponsored by her com

is up against 39 other wom

the final this month.

The students have embark

a massive publicity pus

announce the range. Ke

stepped in to model the ran

the brands first photo-shoot by Manchester based stylist

stars Sian Lloyd Jones and fa

photographer, Tony Ward.

Other promotional act

have included models wa

around central Manchest

nothing but their underwear

ing out lollipops, kisses and

to encourage the citys men to

their girlfriends to Undr

goodies for Valentines Day,

search for Manchesters

Carrie Bradshaw.

Moxham added, All in all,

a fantastic experience, the p

of developing and deliverin

Undressed brand has given

us involved an invaluable in

into the world of businessthrown up some interesting

lenges and given each of us

tastic set of skills to take

potential employer upon gr

tion.

AR the biggest academic issue

moment is the purchase of

m essays by students. Manyse students are looking for an

ide to scholastic excellence.

anies providing bespoke

s to students have been uni-

ly condemned by lecturers,

nt groups and the majority of

nts for profiting from aiding

r below-par students to cheat.

many students, in particular

n students, are parting with

cash regularly on such essays

ng this market into a multi-

n pound industry.

being contacted by popular

m-essay site UKEssays.com

a story regarding disparities

iversity marking systems,

National Student took the

tunity to pose some difficultons regarding their services

he morals involved.

ce the beginning of 2008 the

any have seen a 300% rise in

ess and UKEssays founder

ay Littlewood claims the mar-

now worth an estimated

million. UKEssays refute the

tion that they are profiting

helping students cheat on

ments. Company spokesman

Hallam said, The allegation

we profit from dishonest stu-

is something that we firmly

in opposition to, and such an

ation is purely based on spec-

n.

ardless, vast profits are

made by UKEssays,

wood was a new entry in the

The Sunday Times Rich

being placed at 71 on the

g Persons Rich List with a

h of 7million.

company, and those provid-

imilar services, claim that

offer a legitimate research

o students with Littlewood

ly stating to University of

ngham magazine Impact that

re no different to journals or

e. Hallam said,

ssays.com is simply a search

e for academia, we find and

n all of the appropriate

es, and put them into a model

r format. This serves twoses; firstly, the student can

w they should respond to the

on, and secondly they can

ake the references that have

used and explore them them-

.

y deny that even with their

es being used in this legiti-

manner they are still allow-

udents to skip the majority of

rocess on which their final

will be based, basically doing

search stage for them.

t at all, because a student

still perform their own

ch. Our essays act as a start-

int for students to begin their

own research, by giving them a list

of sources and references we are

probably increasing the amount ofresearch they have to do! But

because we give them sources they

might not have otherwise seen,

they are able to produce a much

more specific and balanced piece of

work, stated Hallam.

In complete contradiction to this

claim on their website there is a

quote from Barclay Littlewood

boasting, Want to get a better

degree and do less work? We have

helped thousands do it and we can

help you do it too!

This quote is a perfect example

of the contradictory nature of the

custom-essay industry. The justifi-

cations from UKEssays show that

whilst they go to great lengths to

deny that their essays are, whether

intended to be or not, largely hand-

ed in by customers as their own

work they fully understand that

this is the case and operate a on-

your-head-be-it policy that places

the blame on everyone but them-

selves.

While we must accept that a

minority of our customers use our

service dishonestly, these are the

very few that slip through our vet-

ting process. If at any point during

the enquiry or sales process, we

believe that the customer is plan-

ning to use the work dishonestly

we inform them that the sale can-

not continue and we ban them from

all future transactions with thecompany. This is something that

we enforce ourselves and we have

no obligation to do so. We also have

a fair use policy on the website

that highlights the proper use of

our service, it also includes com-

prehensive examples of what con-

stitutes plagiarism, something that

universities seem to lack support

with, said Hallam.

On questioning their vetting

processes UKEssays admitted it is

difficult to spot those wanting to

cheat with their services and could

offer little assurance that they can

in any way prevent their essays

from being used to cheat.

The question is why would hard-

up students spend hundreds of

pounds on obtaining a simpleresearch-tool when these are so

readily available for free and why

would anyone choose to pay extra

for a guaranteed 2:1 or first class

essay if they still had to produce

the work themselves. The evidence

suggests that money spent and the

quality guarantees offered are only

worthwhile if a student intends to

hand the work in themselves.

But even this doesnt guarantee

success: universities are taking a

strictly hard-line with this kind of

cheating and academics claim

that essays from custom-essay

sites are usually substandard

(often using chunks of others work)

and easily detectable with anti-pla-

giarism software. There is also evi-

dence that many essays are writ-

ten by unqualified undergraduates.

Despite the allegations and

issues surrounding their services

UKEssays are keen to become an

accepted part of academic life,

blaming the universities for being

unreceptive and preventing their

students from using a legitimate

academic service.

Weve repeatedly called for

talks with universities, but every

time we have been ignored. We

have never said that we are unwill-

ing to work with universities, a fact

that many people overlook. We

believe that the core reason for this

is that universities make hugeprofits from the current system

and if it were to change, those prof-

its would fall and students would

begin to actually learn something

important from their university

education, not just how to write an

essay, explained Hallam.

The industrys justifications

aside, most students agree that the

use of custom-essay sites to cheat

is morally reprehensible and

should not be encouraged at all. In

the end the massive cost and huge

risks of using a site like UKEssays

is simply not worth it.

by Mary Stott

News analysis

Custom essays:or cheats or not for cheatscustom essay company answers our questions on their controversial services

ational-student.co.ukMore news and features at

UK Essays offer custom-written essays to students

STUDENTS AT Manchester had

their dissertation deadline and

word count changed just days

before the work was due in.

Third-year Religion and

Theology students were sent a sin-

gle-line email informing them the

deadline would be one day earlier

due to a typo on the course page.

On enquiring whether the rest ofthe information provided was accu-

rate the astonished students were

informed that their footnotes were

now to be included in the final

word-count, leaving them with just

under three days to ma

changes.

Personally, I ignored [th

word count], said Jennie

who had to cut a massive

words from her dissertation

It was just too late to cha

it would absolutely have a

the quality of my dissertatio

Adding to the confusionday of the new hand-in a

note was sent to students

that those handing their wor

the original hand-in date wo

receive a late penalty.

Manchester dissertation deba


4/20


UK NEW

AN INCREASING number of students are lodg-

ing complaints against their universities. A

report released by the Office of the Independent

Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIAHE)

revealed that the number of complaints had risen

25%, an increase for the third consecutive year.

According to the OIAHE, almost two-thirds of

the received complaints were regarding academic

results, while disciplinary matters and plagia-

rism accounted for the remaining majority. One

of the reasons for the friction between students

and their universities is the desire for value for

money, at a time when students fees are set to

increase.

The OIAHE was set up in 2004 to review stu-

dent complaints from the 146 universities in

England and Wales. The independent adjudicator

Ruth Deech, called on universities to cater better

for the changing make-up of the student popula-tion.

Today there are more graduates and ol

dents, more foreign students, more with

ties and an increasing number from no

tional backgrounds. This year alone, 64%

complainants were mature students over

more than a third were postgraduat

largest groups of complainants were med

dents.

However, Deech supported the need for

institutions to uphold high standard

marking students work claiming it w

unrealistic to reduce conflict over grades

The adjudicator recommended that a

173,000 be paid as compensation to t

plainants. Last year, just 26% of complain

upheld or deemed eligible for consid

Despite this figure being a 7% increase

most student complaints are not serious

for OIAHE to take further action.by Tom

Student complaints rise for third consecutive y

Social networking sites have come under fire

after thousands of students joined in a Leeds

city centre water-fight which damaged the citys

newest park and may result in charges for thestudent organisers.

What was meant to be a bit of bank holiday

fun turned into a riotous and expensive civil

problem.

The revelry, which lasted almost an hour,

resulted in fountains being drained and a prize-

winning park dedicated to Nelson Mandela

trashed.

West Yorkshire police have been sent CCTV

images of the watery-rampage which spread

around the streets near Millennium Square

where motorists stuck in traffic jams were also

targeted. Further evidence was provided by the

organisers themselves after they posted images

and video of the event on Youtube and

Facebook. The two sites have been accused of

generating interest in the event of uns

able levels, with more potential future

fighters being created with each viewin

Organisers have apologised for the thoof pounds worth of damage caused b

gathering.

Councillor John Procter, the citys ex

member for leisure, said: We welcome

having fun in Leeds and there are oppor

in all our many parks for that to happ

this just shows total disregard for othe

parks staff were distraught when they

ered the wreckage.

The students who ran a smaller fig

year, had attempted to limit potential p

by posting instructions on the internet b

balloons and warning, No attacking civ

its not nice... its fairly easy to tel

involved... theyll be the ones with wate

by Sophie M

Leeds water rampag

Social networks under fire as bank holiday fun gets out of co

Youtube footage shows the park over-run with students as police look on

FIVE STUDENTShave been evicted from their

home in Oxford without warning because the

landlord failed to keep up with his mortgage

repayments.

The third-year students returned home one

evening to find that their door had been kicked in

and the locks had been changed. A note had been

left on the door telling the students to contact

Allen Harris Estate Agents.

On contacting the estate agents the next day

the tenants claim they were treated badly. Claire

Chambers, one of the students, said When we

spoke to an estate agent, he just laughed and told

us that we had to move out by five.The students rented their house from a land-

lord, but their only means of contact was through

a letting agency, which was apparently unaware

that there were tenants occupying the accommo-

dation.

The students were told that if they d

move all their possessions out of the hous

they would not be able to access their belon

This has caused massive disruption th

dents final exams. Tegan Gill said, It ha

such a stressful week and has disrupted ou

sion. It also means that we have nowhere

over the summer.

Jonathon Bruce, PR manager for Allen

described the situation as the fault of th

lord for failing to inform the students t

was unable to pay his mortgage.

He said that the landlord had not in

anyone that there were tenants occupyiproperty and that Allen Harris had been

purely on the orders of Halifax, with wh

landlord had his mortgage.

Halifax said that repossession of a prop

a last resort.

Finalists evicted without warnin


5/20

onal Student, May 2008

K NEWS

DENTS IN Manchester made

voices heard last month when

otest over standards brought

hour traffic to a stand-still.Tuesday April 22 over 200 stu-

from newly-formed pressure

p Reclaim the Uni marched

nd the University of

chester campus, breaking

ugh several lines of police before

ng a sit-in in the universitys

ur Lewis building.

eaking to The National Student

el Lee from Reclaim the Uni

ined why the students were

sting, The protest was under-

n to highlight the many inter-

d problems we have at the

ersity of Manchester, due to the

asing commercialisation of edu-

n by the management of the

ersity. People took part for

y different reasons, but commonngst them were concerns over

ct hour cuts, resource short-

especially in IT and library

ces, staff cuts (famously lectur-

Terry Eagleton and Sheila

botham, but especially adminis-

ve and other non-academic

, the increasing arms length

oach to education (increasing

e learning at the expense of one

ne teaching) and the lack of

untability of the administration

udents in its spending or deci-

. This all ties into what is seen

business approach to education,

the campaign also seeks to

ess the increasing push for

er top up fees, and wishes to seend to tuition fees.

The protest, the largest on the

campus for years, is thought to be

the culmination of students growing

sense of frustration about standardsat the university.

Suzanna Bret a second year Social

Anthropology student said, I think

the Universitys preoccupation with

research and raising money is at the

expense of the quality of our educa-

tion.The main issue I have personal-

ly is the cuts in contact hours, but

lots of other people here today have

many other varying reasons for

protesting.

Hopefully with the turnout today

the University will realise just how

many people are bothered about

these things, she added.

During a three-hour occupation of

the Arthur Lewis Building, seen by

many students as a symbol of the

universitys attitude towards its stu-dents, the protestors produced a list

of demands entitled the Arthur

Lewis Declaration which were

intended to be presented to universi-

ty management the following day.

When a small group of the cam-

paigners went to hand the demands

to the vice chancellor they were told

he was unavailable.

Local police intervened to try and

halt the protest and student protes-

tors have criticised their handling of

the event. Daniel Lee said, The

police complained that they werent

properly informed of routes of the

march, and they had to increase

numbers for the safety of the

protest, but the only dangersincurred were at the hands of the

police. Quite a few people were

knocked around (and a cyclist

knocked off), and they tried to hem

300 or so people into a street with

nowhere to go, it was ludicrous.

Whilst inside the building, where

they then had no right to be, they

caused more disruption by seeming-

ly consciously setting off the fire

alarm on a fire door, causing much

chaos. A much more level-headedapproach would have been better, as

they should be on side with us.

A Facebook group for Reclaim the

Uni now has over 700 members and

carries the groups demands which

include better communication

between the vice chancellor and the

student body.

In response to the protest vice

chancellor Prof. Alan Gilbert,

blamed government funding for a

decrease in standards.

As I have made clear over recent

months, this downward trend in

teaching hours has occurred over

the past 20 years in almost all

British universities.

Decades of diminishing per capi-

ta investment in undergraduatelearning is having the slow,

inevitable consequences for the

quality of student learning that

were bound to develop in a system

that has gone on doing the best it

can, by more or less traditional

means, while class sizes burgeon

and student/staff ratios deteriorate.

Prof. Gilbert vowed to `re-person-

alise learning stating that The uni-

versity has recently undertaken a

root-and-branch review of under-

graduate education and is now pro-

ceeding to make quite radicalchanges.

We are determined to re-person-

alise the student learning experi-

ence, and provide all students with

the kind of one-to-one learning that

has become increasingly notable by

its absence. We are committed to

making optimal use of the potential

of highly interactive on-line learning

environments and to providing all

students with world-class class-

rooms and laboratories, he added.

Of the success of the protest Lee

said, This is just the first step in a

long line of steps. This is, regret-

tably, a long term process, however

the day achieved much. Firstly, it

showed that there are common prob-

lems with students and staff acrossthe university that need to be

addressed. We also showed that we

are a force that must be listened to.

Weve done this, and we can

again, and do other things, unt

demands are met.

The collectivity of many stu

from across the campus and d

ent political persuasions co

together was hugely impor

Whilst inside the occupied bui

a list of demands to the unive

were formulated democrati

and these are in the process of bpresented to the university, sp

cally VC/President Alan Gi

with the demand of a quick resp

and commitments.

Lee also encouraged other

dents with grievances to take

kind of direct action, There w

other people like you who fee

same way. Find them, spea

them, plan something, and

noticed and get things so

Whether its effecting you direc

standing up for someone else

more people that are involv

these kind of direct actions, th

ger the effect. This shows that

are many people who will join y

these things, and for ourse

there were many that couldnt it, or even more that had yet to

about it.

by Sophie Malice handling of the protest has been criticised

Over 200 students marched for Reclaim The Uni

the Uninchester campaigners stop traffic and invade uni building during standards prot

ATIRICAL musical about

ss Diana was banned from

g to the public last month

fear of causing offence.

University of Brighton ruled

upert Dannreuthers contro-

musical, which was created

s degree course, should be

to select guests only at a uni-

y owned theatre-bar.icity for Diana The Musical

a line drawing of a skeletal

ss wearing a tiara.

nreuther said, Its about the

cle of show business more

than anything.

I kind of hoped it would provoke

some discussion as it is trying to

make a point about the spectacle of

celebrities. It is not criticising her

as a person. It is criticising her

being made into a fairy tale.

The Theatre and Visual Art stu-

dent added, I do not wish to be

unfair to Dianas memory, merely tomake a piece of theatre.

In a statement, the university

said: We fully support freedom of

expression but we also recognise

sensitivities regarding possible

offence.

Margaret Funnell, from

Brightons Diana Circle, said: I

think this is a distasteful, disgust-

ing thing really, and to joke about

the accident happening in the tun-

nel - I dont know what the worlds

coming to.

On the website for his musical

Dannreuther has received manymessages of support for his per-

formance with members of the pub-

lic urging him to look for another

venue and post a video of the pro-

duction on the internet.

ublic ban for Diana musical

The musicals website featuring a cartoon depiction of the princes


6/20

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ng Entrepreneur?

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he Technology Venture Conference

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ambridge University Technology and

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rs Garret Camp (co-founder & chief product

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Well look forward to meeting you there for what will

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For more information visit

enterprisecambridge.com orcutec.org


7/20


K NEWS

NDREDS OF Chinese stu-

s gathered in Manchester

London to protest against

they see as media distor-

in the reporting of Free

t protests during the

mpic Torch relay and Lhasa

ey claim the reporting is

ed towards the Free Tibet

ement and the Tibetan gov-

ment in exile.

Manchester more than

0 people, including students

professionals, wearing I

China t-shirts gathered

de BBC Manchester, with

nd 300 protesting outside

Houses of Parliament in

don.

correspondence to The

onal Student prior to the

est, organiser Tian YangThe protest will focus on

uncing a number of UK

nstream media organisa-

s for one-sided reporting

manipulation of the truth.

eel this action is necessary

fear a certain section of the

a is trying to silence the

of the Chinese community;

e are also concerns over the

ntial rise in racial hostility

as a result of these misleading

reports. The protest would also

aim to undo any media distor-

tion through the showcasing of

evidence and talking with mem-

bers of the public during the

event.

The Manchester protest start-

ed at 11am with silent demon-

strations and was followed by

the organisers reading an open

letter to BBC Director-General

Mark Thompson condemning

the BBC for double-standards

in their reporting and claiming

that they had failed to provide

credible and independent cover-

age of the events.

The protestors later paraded

towards Albert Square outside

of Manchester City Council,where they promoted Beijing

Olympics 2008 to by-passers.

During the protest Yang said,

The way they frame the story is

biased. There is only one side of

the story and thats from the

Tibetan Government-in-exile.

We fear that the media silencing

the voice of Chinese people

would constitute to increased

racial prejudice and hostility.

We will try our best to elimi-

nate any racial prejudice and

welcome everybody to celebrate

the Beijing Olympics with us,

he said.

In a response from the BBC,

the corporation said, Despite

restrictions placed on journal-

ists, our coverage of Tibet has

been extensive, fair and bal-

anced. The same is true of our

reporting of the Olympic torch

relay and the protests that have

accompanied it.

In the west the Free Tibet

Campaign which supports the

right of Tibetans to determine

their own future and calls for an

end to Chinas occupation o

country is popular and

many high-profile suppor

Between 1996 and 2001 ra

the Beastie Boys orga

worldwide rock concerts to

light the cause attractin

names including U2, the

Fighters and Radiohead.

students protesd i s t o r t i o n

Protesters in Manchester

by Carl Freeman


8/20

UK NEWSThe National Student, May 2008

national-student.co.uk

ENTS FROM the University of St Andrews have

ed the closure of one of the universitys budget halls

dence.

May 2 around 150 students joined the demonstration

t the closure and demolition of Fife Park.

ite a replacement hall being planned, protesters

he Lower Rents NOW! campaign are unhappy with

nouncement that rents in the new block will be dou-

t of Fife Park rising from 52 to between 110 and

er week. Campaigners claim this will dramatically

e the price of private accommodation and have a

ve effect on social diversity at St Andrews which

y has a reputation for exclusivity and elitism.

protest was sparked when a petition on the closure

by 1,000 students was presented to the university by

dents association and rejected.

action appeared to get the attention of the universi-

inistration. In addressing the assembled students

sity Rector, Sir Simon Pepper OBE, said Your views

ng heard.

Lower Rents NOW! campaign has received over-

ing support from the students association. Former

epresentative for University Accommodation James

d, who recently resigned said, I think this movement

own its strength by being able to mobilise students in

drews without the vast institutional resources or

g that we might have hoped for.

y Fulton, Representative for Postgraduate

modation, The universitys decision to demolish Fife

will undoubtedly increase the cost of private accom-

on in a town that already has the third-highest cost

g for students in the UK. This will decrease social

ty and make it even harder for students to studyalready is.

paigners claim that the University of St. Andrews

stration has become increasingly hostile to both its

rs and its students in recent years. They cite a com-

rom Deputy Principal Keith Brown at an SRC meet-

March 25, in response to how he intended to increase

t involvement in university decisions, where he said,

niversity is not accountable to its students - and nor

it be.

group are now calling for further action to put pres-

n the university over the closure.

by Mary Stott

ower rents now

FORD university graduate has revealed how gradu-

n earn up to 30,000 a year writing essays for cus-say sites.

writer who wishes to remain anonymous said he was

sioned by a firm that sells essays by Oxford gradu-

the internet.

graduate said he gets paid about 500 for an under-

te essay.

do a 2,000-word essay in about two or three hours,

.

nt have a problem with it - its not selling drugs, just

our brain. I went to private school so I see it as recu-

g some of those costs.

spent a lot of money on my education. Its only fair

if I can make a little bit directly off it.

ents at Oxford University are forbidden from buying

-essays or for working for companies which supply

controversial custom-essay business is an increas-

rofitable one. Barclay Littlewood, founder and owner

emic Answers, which owns many academic servicescluding UKEssays.com recently entered the young

s section of The Sunday Times Rich List with a

of 7million.

ads earn 30K a yearom custom essays


9/20


10/20

The National Student, May

WORLD NEW

THIS IS the kind of science experi-

ment that everyone can get excited

about.

Belgian students have set a new

world record for the most Mentos

fountains by firing 1,360 simultane-

ous Coke geysers.

After they each dropped a tube of

the mints into a bottle of Diet Coke,

Ladeuzeplein square in Leuven was

washed with soda, with some car-

bonated streams shooting up to 29

feet high.

Internet footage of the attempt

has attracted over 10 million view-

ers.

The previous record was set in theUS, when 973 Cola bottles were

launched simultaneously.

This craze has been a dream come

true for the makers of Mentos with

them recording a 20% increase in

sales of Mentos Mints last year.

Although there is no exact scientif-

ic explanation for the phenomenon,

scientists agree that the reaction is

physical, not chemical.

The most popular cause is believed

to be the thousands of tiny pores on

each Mentos Mint, which act like

nucleation sites allowing carbon

dioxide bubbles to form in the drink.

The bubbles form all over the

sweets and when it sinks to the

tom it causes the carbon dioxi

whoosh out of the bottle.

An urban myth claims that ea

Mentos directly after drinking

can result in death, although to

no fatalities have been reported

RVARD professor has explained the key to long-standing

ess in a relationship: get married and dont have kids.

el Gilbert, professor of psychology at Harvard University,

that studies across America and Europe show that happi-

pikes during the early years of marriage, dropping dramat-

after having children with couples only recovering former

en their offspring have left home.

old a Happiness and its Causes conference in Sydney that

s desire to get a return on the time and money they have

ed in their children is part of the reason they persuade

elves that their offspring are enhancing their lives.

Gilbert said: Figures show that married people are in

every way happier than unmarried people - whether they

ngle, divorced, cohabiting.

rried people live longer, married people earn more money

pita, married people have more sex and enjoy it more.

he added that happiness levels plummet after having chil-

ldren do seem to increase happiness [while] youre expect-

m, but as soon as you have them, trouble sets in, he told

nference.

ple are extremely happy before they have children and

heir happiness goes down, and it takes another big hit

kids reach adolescence. When does it come back to its orig-

aseline? Oh, about the time the children grow up and go

eated studies have shown that the period immediately sur-

ng childbirth can be the most stressful that couples expe-

rican psychologists have also found that couples with chil-

re less satisfied with their marriage than those without.

ch in the Netherlands in the 1990s showed that couples

ad two children were less happy than those with none.

ey to happiness?

ont have children

A CHINESE driver got the shock

of his life when the car he was driv-

ing was blown onto the roof of a

building during a fierce storm.

His car landed on a house roof

during heavy storms in Lu Feng.

The driver said he had just

turned a corner when it suddenly

felt as if his car was flying through

the air.Before I realised what was hap-

pening, my car had landed on the

roof, he told the China News

Network.

Police said the bizarre accident

was down to the lie of the la

well as the wind.

The road is actually a bit

than the house roof, a

spokesman said.

Local meteorologists sa

city had suffered an unu

fierce windstorm, with gusts

ing up to 31.5 metres per se

Many motorists said theirscreens were blown in - not

ing objects but by the force

wind alone.

One garage said it had fit

new windscreens in a single

Storm blows car onto ro

A TURKISH television show was called off after a

group of students who were barred from the audi-

ence held a protest.

The programme called Siyaset Meydani (The

Political Arena) was due to hold a debate on fertility

and birth rates whilst being filmed at Harran

University.

The Turkish military stepped up security meas-

ures around the university campus before the film-

ing and students were not allowed in as spectators.

A group of 300 students began a demonstration

against this decision, chanting slogans and calling

for the host of the show, Ali Kirca, to leave the cam-

pus.

In response Kirca said his programme wouldnt be

able to host the students as the hall where the

recording would take place was not large enough.

We are supposed to discuss fertility in the region

with our guests. Thats why we wished to talk to

locals, he stated.

Students continued their protest. If you werentplanning on listening to the young people, then why

did you choose to hold your show here? asked one of

the students.

Kirca then announced the shows cancellation due

to the student protest and left the campus.

TV show cancelled

after student protest


11/20

MERICAN student accused of threat-

to blow up a professor, placing a hand

de on the desk and forcing a class to be

led has now been indicted on charges

d pornography possession.

vie David Hensley, who graduated

McLennan Community College in 2003

an associates degree in criminal jus-as been jailed with $20,000 bail since

mber, when he was arrested on terroris-

eat charges.

he time of his arrest, Hensley was tak-

minal justice classes through another

sity at McLennan Community College.

sleys trial on the terroristic threat

s was postponed because of the new

ment.

ording to records filed in the case, the

was found after a campus police inves-

r obtained a search warrant for

eys computer while investigating com-

s against Hensley.

east two female students reported that

ey was stalking and harassing them,

ing leaving intimidating notes on their

ccording to courthouse records.

month later, a professor and two stu-reported that Hensley told a student

e was going to blow up the lecturers

th her inside. He reportedly told the

student not to be afraid if she saw a

de on her desk because it would be a

said he told her that he has real

des and guns at home. Other records

in the case indicate that Hensley

edly told fellow students that all of the

rs deserve to be shot. Hensley also

reportedly shoved an instructor against a

wall in 2003 and threatened to kill him,

although the professor declined to file

charges, said campus police chief Larry

Radke.

In the next few weeks the college will start

a system in which students are notified

through e-mails, text messages or phone

messages if there is a security concern on

campus, said school spokeswoman Lisa

Wilhelmi.

eath threat student now

aces child porn charges

Hensley threatened a fellow student claiming

he would put a grenade on her desk


12/20

FEATURThe National Student, M

This month Jacqui Smith announced

that in a Labour policy u-turn she is

going to reclassify cannabis from a

C drug back up to a class B, meaning

her measures against users and suppli-

e home secretary said she wanted to

se Tony Blairs 2004 downgrading of

drug because of uncertainty over its

ct on mental health, amidst fears that

s original reclassification has led to a

l acceptance of the drug which hased higher usage numbers amongst

g people, putting more at risk from

al health problems.

the surface then this appears to be a

ble political decision and Smiths sug-

ons that she is not willing to risk the

h of young people, are commendable.

wever, the recent decision has seen the

rnment completely ignore the findings

recommendations of the Advisory

cil on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD),

missioned by Gordon Brown to look into

inks between cannabis use and mental

ss. This group of experts decided by 20

to three to recommend that cannabis

in a class C drug. Its nine-month

w concluded that while more potent,

egrown strains of herbal cannabis, such

unk, now dominate the British market,vidence of a substantial link with men-

lness remains weak.

pporting this statement from ACMD a

nt report on mental health links with

abis stated that to prevent one case of

ophrenia in men aged 20 to 24 about

men would have to be prevented from

smoking cannabis. Whilst there is no

ing that the use of cannabis, and other

-altering drugs, can in some cases exac-

e or cause mental problems, the find-

and research of experts constantly find

statistically the chances are low - even

w as one in 5,000.

could be easily suggested that this move

a Labour government in electorial

air following their drubbing at the

nt local elections is a reactionary pop-change in policy and an attempt to

back voters.

elled by swathes of media-misinforma-

in certain areas of the press there is a

spread condemnation of the drug. Much

e public believe that use of the drug has

ased since 2004 and is responsible for

y problems in society including mental

h issues, violence, crime and a general

ase in societal standards.

terms of press scaremongering

abis is an easy target. Unlike alcohol, to

h of society it is a largely unknown

tity, the drug of shadowy figures in the

ness - so it is easy to believe the press

ulation regarding it.

reality things are a little different: as

ained before on the question does

abis cause mental illness the answer isont really know, but the evidence sug-

it does in a minority of cases - not the

sal problem the government, and the

, want us to be afraid of.

ould cannabis be proven to be linked to

ese things then I for one would support

legislation but the fact of the matter is

statistical evidence either doesnt sup-

the press claims or there is very little or

ata to support it at all.

big question regarding the reclassifica-

is will it deter people from using the

and will it solve any of the supposed

problems caused by its use?

In practice Smith confirmed that the

police approach to those under 18 found in

possession of small amounts would remain

unchanged and that the police will continue

to have the discretion to issue warnings to

most adults found with small amounts of

dope.

Sir Michael Rawlins, ACMD chairman,

has also claimed that the move will make no

difference to the level of cannabis use. He

may have a point considering most users

wont care about it becoming a little more

illegal especially when much of the policing

of such crimes will go unchanged.Interestingly enough figures suggest that

since the reclassification of cannabis in 2004

the drug has seen a 28% decrease in its

usage by 16-24 year olds.

In decreasing the notoriety of the drug it

seems that most young people appear to

have largely lost interest it in. Following

this evidence it could be claimed that

Smiths move could actually be the cause of

an increase in cannabis use amongst young

people as she increases the drugs notoriety

and cool factor, making it more appealing

in certain quarters. This point alone sug-

gests that Smiths decision may have l ittle to

do with combating the problems of cannabis

use.

Taking a long-hard look at the facts and

evidence it becomes clear that Labours

recent reclassification of cannabis is not

built on knowledge, research and expert

findings but on little more than speculation,

hear-say and press-fuelled public fear. As

someone who isnt a cannabis user, this leg-

islation affects me very little, but I still

believe that our government should act on

fact not fiction - it is not their job to give into

public pressure if the views of the public are

wrong.In this case they claim they are acting in

the public interest but yet cannot prove this

claim, making it look like they are doing lit-

tle more than acting in the best interest of

winning more votes.

As Labour MP Chris Mullin, who dis-

agrees with the reclassification, said: The

government should follow the advice of the

experts rather than that of the tabloids.Comment by Chris Marks

Have your say on this and other issues at:

national-student.co.uk/forum

The government should follow thadvice of the experts rather thanthat of the tabloids.

Comment

FEATURE WRITERS WANTEDEmail - [email protected]


13/20

EATUREonal Student, May 2008

On August 13, 1969 the sim-

mering religious tensions

between the Catholic

nalist and the predominantly

estant unionist communities

oded, and rioting broke out

s the country. Some of the

violent exchanges took place

he interface areas of westast where the communities

side by side, particularly on

ow infamous Falls, a national-

ominated area, and the union-

hankill estate. Within this cli-

of fear and hostility individu-

n either side of the religious

e joined militant organisations

attempt to defend their com-

ities from attack - The

bles had begun.

lliam Smith, a founding mem-

f the Red Hand Commandos, a

p affiliated with the Loyalist

er Volunteer Force (UVF),

t 5 years in prison for attempt-

murder. He explains that he

me a member because of his

inging: Many of us were bornit and when I was 18 in 1969

Shankill, the street I grew up

tarted to fight with the Falls. It

this violence that motivated

o become a founding member of

Red Hand Commandos. We did-

ake a decision to join on a par-

ar day; back then we saw our-

s as reacting to the IRA. It

ed the right thing to do at that

the conflict gathered momen-

the ranks of Loyalist and

ublican organisations swelled

ore and more young men and

en from both communities

me actively involved in conflict.

chael Culbert served a 16-yearn sentence from 1978 until

1993 for killing British soldiers.

He highlights that while his

nationalist upbringing played a

major part in his decision to join, it

was the events of Bloody Sunday

that proved to be the final catalystfor him becoming an IRA soldier: I

joined the Republican movement in

the early months of 1972 when I

was 23; a decision driven by a basic

sense of Irish nationalism - but the

events of Bloody Sunday were some

of the main reasons for my mem-

bership. We were involved in a war

against the British army and the

forces that supported them. That is

what we did and no apology.

Similarly, William describes how

both personal and community

tragedy saw many young Loyalists

volunteer for active service:

Personal encounters with death

stimulated some people to join

paramilitaries while others did so

because of events like BloodyFriday. Roughly six months after

Bloody Sunday on July 21 1972, the

IRA planted 22 bombs across

Belfast, killing two British Soldiers,

seven civilians and seriously injur-

ing 130 others, a day which became

known as Bloody Friday.

Within the 28 year period of the

troubles 3,289 people were mur-

dered, representing 0.3% of the

population, and 40,000 people were

injured. There were 35,000 record-

ed shootings, roughly 15,000 bomb

explosions, and it would be utterly

impossible to even guess how many

bullets were fired - the shocking

numerical summaries of a quag-

mire conflict that destroyed the

lives of thousands of people.

However, if they are extrapolated

to reflect the population of

Britain in the same period

then over 110,000 people

would have been killed and

1.4 million injured, a figure

equivalent to half of all the

British deaths during the

Second World War.

It was within this context

that the Agreement was rati-

fied. The culmination of thou-

sands of hours of debate and

concession, it contained pro-

posals dealing with a range of

complex issues, including the

decommissioning of paramili-

tary weapons, the earlyrelease of paramilitary pris-

oners, the future of policing

and criminal justice, and the

relationship Northern

Ireland was to have with the

Republic of Ireland and the rest of

the United Kingdom. A copy of the

Agreement was posted to every

household in Northern Ireland and

the Irish Republic, and referen-

dums the following May gave sub-

stantial support by voting 74% and

94% respectively for ratification.Regardless of its complex success

and failures, it has been responsi-

ble for the most prolonged period of

relative peace since the current

manifestation of the Ireland conflict

began in 1969.

To date 450 prisoners have been

released under the terms of the

Agreement and, as with any con-

flict, the disarmament and reinte-

gration of former prisoners is essen-

tial if the conflict is to be effectively

resolved. No amnesty for their

crimes has been given, a con-

tentious issue even today, and some

ex-prisoners have drifted toward

criminality. The Police Service of

Northern Ireland (PSNI) estimates

that the money made by paramili-tary organisations through illegal

activity is in the millions.

Despite the problems that have

come with reintegration and the

decommissioning of paramilitary

weapons, many former political

prisoners have crossed the religious

gulf to work with their former ene-

mies. Coiste na n-Iarchim, workingto reintegrate IRA ex-prisoners,

and Epic, a parallel organisation on

the Unionist side, are among sever-

al schemes that regularly organise

cross-community events and work

to integrate youths from both sides

by focusing on the common ground

that unites them. Each organisa-

tion receives a range of funding

from the European Union and the

British or Irish government.

Michael explains that many for-

mer prisoners have swapped active

conflict for cross-community

activism: There are a lot of group-

ings involved in the peace-making

and building process. Political ex-

prisoners tend to be heavily

involved in these activities. Themain reason why it is political ex-

prisoners is that we were in prison

because we cared about own com-

munities and we were political

activists. We are continuing that

role in a new way and try to make

sure that no more people lose their

lives.

Within this new climate of peace,

foreign investment has greatly

increased, rising by 300% in the

last year and attracting nearly one

billion dollars. Unemployment is at

an all time low.

Within this storm of change stub-

born politicians have been uproot-

ed, army barracks have been dis-

mantled and property prices have

been thrown sky high as the coun-

try has been transformed frombeing the owner of the worlds most

bombed hotel to being the UKs

most popular stag weekend desti-

nation. However, this storm has

been unable to topple Northern

Irelands three divisive pillars;

polarisation, distrust and sectari-

anism.

According to the Sutton Index a

further 121 people have been killed

since the ratification of the

Agreement, and paramilitarism

remains a powerful provincial force.

Numerous riots and acts of violence

have taken place but, in compara-

tive terms, Northern Ireland has

improved dramatically. What has

superseded the troubles is a mirror

of the drug and gang violence thatexists within the rest of the UK,

though William explains that vio-

lence in Northern Ireland will

always have a sectarian undertone.

The youth of today, he says

a ready-made enemy becau

The Troubles, but much of it

gang culture and is different

violence of that time.

Like any scar, the troubles

latest chapter in an 800 year

flict - will never disappear Northern Ireland, but if left to

then over time its effects wil

until it becomes a distressing

ory rather than a defining ch

teristic.

Paramilitarism will inevi

play a part in this healing pr

and its hold within elements o

communities will remain a nor

the foreseeable future. Yet the

of organisations such as Coist

Epic can at least turn some o

energy into a positive elemen

secure peace.

William, a leading figure i

Loyalist attempts to secure

and ratify the Agreement, is

tiously optimistic about the fuWe have a good opportuni

become one of the best countr

Europe but the government

not leave the working class p

from these communities behi

the ghettos. Belfast has the o

tunity to be great but only if e

one shares in the prosperity, o

wise it is difficult to say what m

happen.

Michael too is aware of the

potential for hope to turn to

sion and vice versa: I feel str

that the peace is stable, thoug

not satisfactory from a Repub

perspective.

Much depends on Unionist

Republicans working togethe

that is best for Northern Irelafirmly advocate supporting

peace process, you have to tr

best option and make it work

that is people not dying.

This month marks the tenth anniversary of the ratification of the

od Friday Agreement, the catalyst behind Belfasts recent econom-

ic and social transformation from bomb town to boom town.

At the heart of this conflict were the individuals who took up armsd became members of the dense patchwork of paramilitarism that

me to define and dominate what is known as The Troubles.

The National Studentmet with two former paramilitary prisoners to dis-

ss their reasons for volunteering, what they think of the current peace

eement and to learn how they have traded conflict for compromise.

Much depends on unionists and

republicans working together and

that is best for Northern Ireland.

by Franck Martin

Conflict and compromise

Fin President Gerry Adams


14/20


15/20

EATUREonal Student, May 2008

VING THREE years away

e comforts of home, juggling

nd numbing tasks of clean-

d shopping, and laundry is a

itself, something most uni-

students will testify to. But

ng all that with a rare ill-

is unthinkable to most.

a Daniels started at the

sity of Lincoln three years

tudying Criminology and

logy, literally months after

brain surgery.

before Christmas the year

I found a rash that didnt

ear under the tumbler test.

ctor diagnosed it as a fungaln, but a week later I was

blurred vision, sensitivity to

nd intense headaches that

screaming in pain. At this

ebecca was taken to hospital

she was diagnosed with

gitis C. I was told that if I

to survive this I had to fight

self, because although the

could give me medication to

e the pain there was nothing

uld cure me.

r the symptoms didnt disap-

fter two weeks I was diag-

with Benign Intracranial

ension. BIH as it is abbrevi-

isplays symptoms so similar

ingitis that it was impossible

w when one started and thended. It was literally like

y I woke up and I had gone

eing told I had Meningitis to

this new, daunting illness.

is the build up of high pres-

ithin the fluid around the

t can be treated by medica-

in more extreme cases sur-

he condition occurs in one in

0 people, and is usually

by obesity, or from a hor-

imbalance caused by taking

certain medications. Although

Meningitis can cause this the

chances of this occurring are even

more remote. When I was first

diagnosed they tried to solve the

problem with medication, and con-

tinued to up the strength of the

drugs until it was clear it wasnt

working. At this point they told me

that surgery was my only option if I

wanted to have any kind of normal

life at all. At that point I was spend-

ing one to two weeks a month in

hospital, and although the brain

surgery wasnt guaranteed to work,

for me it was the only option. I was

determined to continue with my A-Levels and come to university.

After investigatory surgery and a

battery of tests I finally went in for

surgery on July 4 2005. I was hav-

ing a shunt fitted that would drain

some of the fluid from my brain,

thus relieving the pressure. I cant

describe how I felt before surgery; I

was so scared, especially after hav-

ing to sign forms that stated I knew

what could go wrong, and that I

could be left with all kinds of dis-

abilities afterwards. I woke up after

the surgery in the Intensive Care

Unit, while people asked me what

seemed like stupid questions like

Whats your name? Who is the

prime minister?, while people

shone lights in my eyes. It seemedespecially insensitive since my con-

dition means I am extremely sensi-

tive to lights. Eventually I was

moved back to a ward, and was

finally allowed to leave on July 7. I

had the surgery at Addenbrookes

Hospital in Cambridge, and because

of the bombings in London they

needed the beds, so I was dis-

charged under the conditions that a

district nurse would visit me every-

day.

Two months later Rebecca was

moving to Lincoln to start universi-

ty.

It was daunting because if I got

ill again my parents were so far

away. Also I was worried that peo-

ple would think I was disabled or

treat me differently because of my

condition. But I had to tell at least

one of my flatmates about it just in

case. I was also worried because its

hard to explain what it feels like for

me. The best way I can describe it is

if you imagine your head feels asthough its been crushed by a vice, a

headache unlike anything youve

ever felt before, where every part of

your head hurts and the pressure is

unbearable, and its a pain no-one

can see. The world becomes soft

focus, where things come in twos,

and you cant tell how deep a step is,

bright light is a pain you cant

stand. Things sway around you, you

feel seasick - yet youre standing

still. Youre so totally exhausted

that your body doesnt want to move

and all you want to do is sleep, yet

an incessant roaring in your ears

keeps you awake. Its strange

because it is something you have

absolutely no control over, in a way

you know when your brain is mal-

functioning, and you know you have

absolutely no say in what it makes

your body do. I dont think anyone

who hasnt suffered from this can

ever really understand.

Everything was fine to begin

with, being away from home took

some getting used to, but we wereall in the same situation.

Depression is common among BIH

sufferers, as it is with anyone who

suffers from a long term illness, but

I think my determination to keep

going helped me get past that. So I

went out with my friends and con-

tinued to have a normal life. The

only things that differed between

me and my flatmates was that I

generally had to and still have to do

more work.

Because of my condition I have

problems with concentration and

my short term memory, but this just

means I have to repeatedly read

things so that I learn them. Dealing

with my concentration span is

another problem, particularly in lec-tures, but I have learnt to just per-

severe and work through it

It wasnt until the final weeks of

the Christmas semester in

Rebeccas second year that things

began to go wrong. I still get

headaches even though I have the

shunt in place; they just arent quite

as bad. But they seemed to be get-

ting worse, lights were becoming

increasingly bright again, and I had

to hold on to things when I went up

or down stairs because my

awareness was being affecte

ill over Christmas again and

go into hospital. Because

severity of my headaches I

see my professor because th

worried there was a proble

my shunt. I had been to

shunts can last between 10

years, so it wasnt somethin

been prepared for. But unfor

ly, something was wrong so

have surgery again just 18

after my first one. The val

drains the fluid had malfunc

it was still draining fluid

nearly enough.My shunt was replaced

sited, it wasnt quite as scar

first time because I knew w

expect, but it was just as p

This time though, I was out

pital and back at university

two weeks.

I had to work extra hard t

up the work I missed while

ered from surgery, and in t

had to apply for mitigating

stances for one of my

Thankfully, I managed to pa

a 2:1 which I was pleased wit

Im in my final year, I still

work just as hard. Some day

der if its all worth the effort

choosing to come to univers

the best decision. But then I ber the time I spent in hospi

know I made the right decis

had not come to university

not have met so many peopl

now know will be friends

Hopefully all this effort will

and I will get the first I am

for, and be able to go out i

world and help people. I kn

at some point in the future

have to have surgery aga

hopefully that is a long way

was told that if I wanted to survive this I had to fight for myse

cause although the doctors could give me medication to allevia

e pain there was nothing that would cure me

WHAT you looking at? A-swilling brutes reproach to an

anted gaze.

haut-couture the response may

ore refined but the reason the

: nobody likes being stared at.

a lesson learned by the Italian

jailed recently for staring at a

an on a train. Hes spending 10

in prison and is being fined 50

s after a 55-year-old woman sit-

opposite him complained of sex-

arassment.

it political correctness gone

or a shining example of human

s and sexual equality?

aring intensely can create fears

olence. English law deals with

nder the Protection fromssment Act 1997.

nature a silverback gorilla

rush at you and start beating

hest if you have encroached on

erritory, says counsellor and

psychotherapist Jim Bamber, fromGrastang.

Mr Bambers analogy of English

law with a gorillas primal instincts

is understandable. The intimidated

Italian woman contacted police

rather than beat her chest.

I guess some people have fear.

We are basically animals and if

somebody stares at us then that is

threatening, he adds.

English law has no legal provi-

sions dealing with sexual harass-

ment, but the European community

says it includes any non-verbal

conduct of a sexual nature with the

purpose or effect of violating the

dignity of a person when creating an

intimidating, hostile, degrading,humiliating or offensive environ-

ment. So sonny-jims staring was in

the wrong.

The grey-area surrounding sexu-

al harassment is like the grey area

around staring - especially when itcomes to different cultures.

Whether riding a bus, or travelling

on the London Underground,

British people prefer averting eye

contact. Yet the Spanish and

French are comfortable holding a

slow gaze over fellow commuters.

In some ways I think my country

is more open minded, says Spanish

mature student Alex Garzon.

Staring is the normal thing to

do.

Youd think that being used to

Spanish starers he would be pre-

pared for Asia. Not so. When Alex

and his partner holidayed in China

they were shocked by gaping

natives.My girlfriend felt violated. She

could not even go to the supermar-

ket because she felt intimidated by

everybody looking at her with their

mouths open.

The Chinese have different cul-ture and politeness values so they

dont care if they upset you and they

just carry on staring.

According to Mr Bamber this type

of staring is natural. He said:

Staring is usually because some-

body is unusual either physically or

in the way that they dress, exam-

ples of which are people with

strange growths; the elephant man

syndrome, almost.

Then theres also a kind of star-

ing when people slow down on

motorways to look at a crash and

horrible things.

Elephant man syndrome? This is

a bit unfair on the innocent stare -

especially when a flirting gaze is thecupids arrow of many Saturday

night discos.

If you are gob-smacked by some-

body sexual attractive youre going

to stare at them what ever race,

gender or culture you are, aMr Bamber.

So staring can be offensive,

nal, incendiary and sexual - n

mention a sign of drug-c

insanity. Its all about the

place and time. As the Italian

found - its not with the wome

ting opposite you on a train.

I was in Italy a couple of

ago and people were ru

around pinching peoples bum

girlfriend was pinched on se

occasions.

I have been guilty on hundr

occasions of staring at bea

women but I have never

arrested.

I have been on the undergand nobody even makes eye co

Thats the complete opposite.

I had a person on the tube

their magazine and put it bet

us after saying hello, how are

What you lookin at? Ricki Dewsbury looks deeply into problems of staring

by Hannah Moore

Rebecca Daniels

BRAIN SURGERY AND STUDIES


16/20


17/20


AUSE

Across back into books tode (4)ap needs a rest, per-(10)

ve sign changes (6)ame to allow in the (8)

ome in race decided toup (4)oice to catch her com-y (10)

Plant Im turning tos (4)omewhat glamourising? (5)ansmit ray (4)ddly, he slept with cogolding on the line (7,3)anage company with4)

uel made from tin-age)ock up funny mime innt city? On the con- (6)eep an eye on thoseg a 26 with one self-inted policeman put-

pole first (10)ecord bill (4)

Down1 I am fabric, of no impor-tance (10)2 Raucous student leadersmissile (8)3 Weaken a castle,destroyed underneath river(2-8)4 Emperor initially seen tobe taken in by sailor (4)5 Be a universal lover! (4)6 Notice air coming (6)7 Move at a fairly fast pacein Metro/Tube (4)14 Soldiers run out in bestsurroundings (5)15 Members of a youthorganisation dig ugliermess on Saturday (4,6)16 Former snake-eatercooked incense (10)

19 Company initially misin-forms in being attractive (8)21 Cancer, perhaps, is rightto be included in theme (6)24 Haunters relative? (4)25 Plant is under tax collec-tors (4)26 Test rising weapon mass(4)

ossword by GraniteSPOT THE DIFFERENC

B E A C H Q W M A E R C N UN U F P O O L E R B T Y U

O P E B L A S D T F R G T

L Z S E I X C V R B N O K

M Q T W D K E R O T U Y A U

I O I T A S I V P R T A H

H T V I Y W G N R O O P C

S R A C D I N F I G U U H A

J O L K T M I K A L R Z X

S P S E R S P C V R I B N

H S M T A U M Q E W S E R

A S T S V I A N Y U T A N OD A I O E T C P A S S D U

E P F G L Y H S T H G I S

S A N D J G U I D E B O O

HolidayIce Cream

SunSea

SandBeach

TanPool

BikiniSwimsuitShades

HatTourists

TourAirport

PassportTicketsTravel

Sun CreamVisa

CurrencyAbroad

CampingHotel

FestivalsPostcardPhotos

FunGuide Book

Sights

WORD SEARCH

Award winning documentary In The Shadow Of The Moon te

the story of the Apollo mission astronauts...

But can you spot the ten differences in the images below?

Image taken from documentary In The Shadow Of The Moon - out on DVD and coming soon to Cha

Feebly crow-barring a theme into a word

search every month can be a thankless task...

so with a well-earned break just around the

corner our thoughts turn to summery holiday

type things... hey presto a theme is born!!

CAPTION CORNER


18/20


SPOR

RE ARE many educational

utions that provide excellent

ng opportunities for their stu-

but few can match the pack-

fered by the MCC Universitiescollective name for the six

rsity Centres of Cricketing

ence (UCCEs) in the UK.

oduced in October 2000 by the

nd and Wales Cricket Board

the UCCEs are comprised of

en academic institutions, who

o provide students with the

possible opportunity to fulfil

cricketing and academic

ial.

cessful graduates include

captain Mark Pettini and

nd spin sensation Monty

ar, ensuring MCC Lords and

rsities manager Fraser

rt is content with the

es progress so far.

ere have been quite a few

s who have come through the

m and were very keen for more

graduates to make the break-

gh into first-class cricket, he

also a very good opportunity

ung cricketers to get a degree

d them, which is very impor-

s a relatively low percentage

it into the first-class game.

UCCEs have been solely

d by the MCC since the begin-

f the 2005 season, and each

currently receives a basic

ement of 70,000 a year, with

ditional 100,000 available for

aintenance and upgrading of

ies.centres face each other in

ay and one-day matches in the

alf of the summer, while each

also gets the opportunity to

play three fixtures against first-

class counties, a privilege previouslyexclusive to students at the

Cambridge and Oxford Universities.

The ECB put the UCCEs into

the structure of first-class cricket,

which has certainly helped the play-

ers to develop their game, said

Stewart.

Cambridge and Oxford were

involved for many years, but the

UCCES have opened it up to a

much broader academic spectrum,

and provided more students with

the chance to pit their wits against

the professionals.

The most successful UCCE in

2007 was the Cardiff/Glamorgan

centre, who claimed the MCC

Universities Championship for the

first time, as well as the One-DayChallenge Trophy following a 14-

run Duckworth-Lewis victory over

Durham UCCE at Lords.

Coach Kevin Lyons is no stranger

to the professional game following a

successful career with Glamorgan,

and he feels the MCC Universities

offer a much-needed boost to the

prospects of home-grown young-

sters.

The MCC invests a lot of money

into this scheme, and it provides an

excellent opportunity for young

cricketers, said Lyons.

When I was at Glamorgan, the

likes of Steve Watkin took much

longer to make the breakthrough

into the county and national side, asthey werent able to work on their

game and play regular cricket in the

first half of the summer.

This scheme allows youngsters

to play frequent competitive cricket

from April to June, as well as the

opportunity to receive technical

coaching in the winter.

As a result, many of the playersfrom the scheme are regular county

players by the age of 21, and dont

find themselves stuck behind their

fellow pros in terms of fitness and

match practice.

They still have to work very hard

to make it in the game, but this

scheme ensures they are given the

best possible chance.

The Cardiff/Glamorgan centre

currently boasts four young bowlers

who are contracted to county sides.

Glamorgan captured the 19-year-

old trio of Will Owen, Chris Ashling

and Alex Jones, while 20-year-old

Tom Allin became Ashley Giles first

signing at Warwickshire, giving him

the opportunity to work with leg-

endary South African paceman

Allan Donald.

However, Stewart believes more

of the UCCE students deserve

recognition, and has called on the

county sides to provide further

opportunities for the MCCs young

students.

If theyre not good enough then

fair enough, but they have to be

given a chance, he argued. We

strongly believe there is untapped

talent within the scheme, and we

are desperate for this to be recog-

nised. We have introduced a scheme

this year with two counties, to allow

the best non-contracted players to

go out on loan from July to

September at the MCCs expense.It will effectively be like a sum-

mer contract for them, and will give

more of our players the chance to

prove themselves.

MCC universities aiming tnearth the Freddy of tomorrow

by Michael Devine

M

ay is a stressful time for

every student; with

exams, essay deadlinesdissertations looming large

its an equally busy time for

ear-old Loughborough Maths

Economic student Anne

er. Unlike her fellow academ-

hough, Anne is not fretting

t the result she wants in her

ee. She is flying out to

gne with her club side

ester to compete in the

pean Championships and

aring for the Beijing Olympics

the Great Britain team.

nne has deferred her exams

next year to allow her to pre-

for the Olympics, explaining

final selection for Beijing is

at the end of June so I didnt

to be worrying about examsclose to the selection. But

e has other things on her

as she attempts to help her

side go one better than last

year in the EuropeanChampionships by winning the

competition.

Annes progression to playing at

the elite level of European hockey

and competing for a place in the

Great Britain Olympic team is the

latest chapter in a passion-filled

career that began at the age of 9.

Anne joined national league divi-

sion two outfit Kettering Hockey

Club at the age of 13 and then

moved on to Premier League side

Leicester where she won the

league last year. Anne attributes

this success to her parents and,

most of all, her hockey fanatic

P.E. teacher, an England junior

team goalkeeping coach.

Having reached the high stan-dard she now enjoys, Anne admits

it is tough to balance a student life

with training and preparing for

hockey. She trains three days a

week with the GB squad at

Bisham Abbey and, with individ-

ual strength and speed workouts

as well as club training, she

undertakes a total of 11-12 ses-

sions a week. Anne admits that,

with it being an Olympic year, her

club have consequently missed

out; Ive managed to play in threegames and weve only done two

weeks of club training prior to this

tournament.

With such a heavy training

schedule it is vital, especially with

a degree as challenging as Maths

and Economics, that Anne has the

support of her lecturers and

tutors. Fortunately Annes tutors

have been really understanding. I

spoke to them about it and theyve

just let me suspend all my exams

and stuff until next year so theyvebeen really supportive over it all.

With her exams suspended

Anne is free to concentrate on

Beijing in August. She explains

that the teams preparation

the competition will include w

weather training, 10 days

training camp in Macaw and

chamber sessions during w

the climate can be controlled

small room containing tread

and exercise bikes.

With such a young team

ing to the Olympics (the av

age is 22), Anne is philosop

but optimistic about their ch

this summer; I think it willlearning curve but if we pl

our best we could sneak a m

Its a case of us playing to

potential every game. She is

well aware that Holland w

the team to beat in C

Theyre ranked number on

the world and theyre a very

cult team to overcome.

Beyond this summer, the

ous goal is the hugely ex

opportunity to play in the

Olympics in London in over

years. Anne states that the f

is bright for British hockey w

ever happens this summer;

thought of playing in an Olym

in your own country is ma

Obviously were going to Bwith aspirations there but al

four years time I think well

a good position to be challen

for the gold medal.

by George Kotschy

anter aiming formedal in Beijing

ur final Road to Beijinginterview George Kotschy

ght up with Anne Panter of the Great Britain

mens hockey team.

Panesar is a graduate of the MCC scheme

Panter watching on as a team mate strikes the ball


19/20


PORT

swimmersmonth to remember

E RE SP ON SI BL E f or

ng Loughborough the

e to accommodate Great

ns Olympic hopefuls for

ondon Games in 2012 mayave had an eye on a select

of swimmers from the

nds club plying their

over the last few weeks.

ghboroughs swimmers

n a stellar show in

the national student - may 2008

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