bathimpact issue 8 by bathimpact

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bathimpact The University of Bath Students’ Union Newspaper

Monday 14th February 2011

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Thomas Reis

Volume 12 Issue 8

Inside bathimpact

Desperation or innovation? Bath student James Elgeti came up with a very imaginative way to find a job by standing on the streets of London with a billboard advertising his potential. To read the full article turn to page 2 of News

Black Eyed Peas misery The 2011 Ski Trip to Les Arcs was a great success and saw over 400 students taking to the French slopes to celebrate exam freedom

University to charge students £100 for use of campus sports facilities Kylie Barton bathimpact Reporter

he University has announced that as of September this year students, who are at the moment enjoying free use of campus sports facilities that are said to be some of the best in the country, will now have to pay a charge of £100. This is on top of the £65 minimum that active sports club members are already expected to pay.“It is a fact that this will have a staggering impact on student’s wallets next year” the Bath Students’ Union President Daniel O’Toole warned in an email sent to the entire student body when he first received the news. The University finalised arrangements for the new sports membership fee for students this week in a statement on the University’s website. It is claimed that the money will be used to reinvest into the Sport Training Village (STV) and its services to focus on “prioritising facilities for student use”. Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the Uni-

versity Professor Kevin Edge stated that “The overwhelming feedback from our students in recent years has been a call for greater access to sports facilities, particularly at peak times.” Professor Edge assured that the action “reflects the University’s Sports Strategy which makes a commitment to enhancing the student experience through its sporting provision.” There is however, concern amongst the student body that in fact the introduction of an annual charge could actually prohibit access for many and therefore hinder a Bath student’s university experience. The University maintains that the extra investment will improve services through the introduction of a ringfenced period of two hours over weekday lunchtimes specifically for the fee paying students, who will also be prioritised when booking in advance - as will staff who will not be asked to pay the new charge. However in the surveys conducted by the Students’ Union 55% of students felt access in the

evenings would be preferential. The University claims that the fees will help fund “tailored sports activities” from which students will benefit. There will also be an option to ‘Pay and Play’ for specific activities such as use of the Olympic sized swimming pool that at the moment is free to all. Students paying over £7000 in tuition fees will be exempt from the new charge. So in

An open sports forum will be held in 4E3.38 at 12.15 on Friday 18th February effect this means that all international students and most post-graduate students will not have to contribute to the ‘enhanced’ sports facilities from which they will also benefit. The Students’ Union has been in consultation with the University over the past few months discussing the subject. After completing over 1000 surveys with students on two separate

occations, the Union recommended a charge of “no more than £25” as 48% of students signified in the survey, but as it turned out “the University believes that its students will be comfortable paying £100”. However as one student commented “It will definitely put people off”. Daniel O’Toole said, “The University reassured us that your feedback was taken seriously.” The SU President said that he “doesn’t know how the additional money will enhance the sports facilities for students”, and his sentiment is certainly backed up by students on campus who are concerned what the change will mean for them, as one student commented: “This will put people off due to their already mounting debts – we don’t need another one”. The Union’s main concerns are the impact the changes will have on students’ finances, participation, wellbeing and fitness, and the British University and College Sports (BUCS) rankings. The Union is organising... Continued on page 2

Nick Hill was mildly unhappy with the Black Eyed Peas’ half-time performance at the Superbowl. Was it not fergalicious? To read this rant and many more, flick to Page 6 of Comment

Animal attraction In Science this fortnight, we have a Valentine’s Day special. Contributor Robyn Brook has examined the wonderful world of romance in the bestial world. It’s a VERY interesting read! For this and other scientific masterpieces turn to page 14

Six Nations victory? In Sport this fortnight rugby enthusiast Jack Penrose comments on the 2011 Six Nations giving his predictions for the winners and losers.

For this and other Sports comment pieces flick to page 21

Monday 14th February

News bathimpact Editor-in-Chief Gina Reay editor@bathimpact.com Deputy Editor Hannah Raymont deputy@bathimpact.com Chief Sub-Editor Sam Foxman subeditor@bathimpact.com News Katie Rocker news@bathimpact.com Comment David James comment@bathimpact.com International Julia Lipowiecka international@bathimpact.com Science Sam Lewtas science@bathimpact.com Sport Joe Dibben sport@bathimpact.com

bite Editors Caroline Leach features@bathimpact.com Rowan Emslie ents@bathimpact.com Publicity Officer Julia Lipowiecka publicity@bathimpact.com IT Officer Jack Franklin it@bathimpact.com Secretary Nick Hill secretary@bathimpact.com Treasurer Rebecca Stagg treasurer@bathimpact.com Advertising Enquires Helen Freeman H.Freeman@bath.ac.uk 01225 386806

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Anger over sports fees

he University’s decision to introduce sports fees of £100 per year for use of any Sports Department facility is a short-sighted and poorly conceived attempt to take yet more money out of the pockets of students. The University have not given any details of how much they expect to raise through this, but our estimates – using data from the Sports Association – suggest that over the five year effective lifetime of this policy they will raise at most £600,000. This is the equivalent of two years of the Vice Chancellor’s salary. £100 takes a substantial bite out of students’ limited budgets; the contribution to the University’s finances is insignificant. This decision will have come as a shock to most students at Bath, who value their access to sports facilities. Behind the scenes, however, the University and its Sports Department have been looking to do this for some time. A

consultation earlier this year revealed that a mere eight per cent of students would be willing to pay more than £60 to use our own sports resources. The Students’ Union argued that no more than £25 should be charged. To ignore our view without further consultation or justification is a mark of how little the University cares about the Union’s input. We should be grateful to the Vice Chancellor for her mercy, as apparently ‘it could have been a lot worse’. Some consolation. The University has laid out some obscure suggestions as to what you might get for your money. This decision has been approved despite no evidence that there will be any improvement. Nothing that this statement offers is tangible and so it is right that students are demanding to know what benefits they will actually see. There are no guarantees that this money will do anything other than disappear into

Students take on endurance race

att Taylor and Toby May, two coach education and sport development students, have recently completed the ‘Tough Guy’ endurance challenge, so far raising £814. They decided to take part in the challenge to raise money for Matt’s mother’s favourite charity, the County Air Ambulance Trust, after she died of acute myeloid leukaemia at the start of 2010. The money raised is split between the participant’s chosen charity and Help for Heroes, which helps those wounded in conflict. Billed as “the World’s safest, most dangerous taste of mental and physical pain, fear and endurance”, it’s definitely not a challenge for the weak hearted. The eight mile course tests participants to their limits, with leaps through fire, swimming through icy water and a fire run. A 40ft crawl under barbed wire, and participants are nearing the end.

The claim of being the toughest course in the world initially seems like an exaggeration, but when you examine the numerous terrifying, huge and challenging obstacles, you can start to appreciate the huge effort it must have taken to tackle the course. Speaking to the Bath Chronicle, Matt said, “Mum wanted to raise money for the County Air Ambulance Trust because this charity doesn’t get any government funding and it can help anyone. You never know if you’re going to need this service yourself one day.” “I decided to take part [in the challenge] as I thought it would be a great test physically, but also would occupy my mind and help me through the difficult times.” Both boys completed the challenge, and are hoping to raise £1,250. To donate, go to http://www.justgiving. com/tayla-the-tank.

The opinions expressed in bathimpact are not necessarily those of the bathimpact editors nor of the University of Bath Students’ Union. Whilst every effort is made to ensure that the information contained in this publication is correct and accurate at the time of going to print, the publisher cannot accept any liability for information which is later altered or incorrect. bathimpact as a publication adheres to the Press Complaints Commission’s Code of Conduct. Please contact them for any information.

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Muddy, exhausted and successful after the eight mile course

the black hole of University bureaucracy or plug the hole in the Sports Department’s finances. We should all be proud of our University’s sporting achievements. Our athletes, our facilities and our student sporting community are a massive draw, but there can be no doubt that because of these fees participation in sport will fall. The ease with which people can try out new sports and discover new talents will have been wholly undermined. This is not only damaging to new students, casual sportspeople and the teams that our University’s reputation relies on, but it will also damage the Students’ Union financially. Fewer gym members, fewer club members and fewer facility users make the sum of money raised by the University pathetic and will cut deeply into an overstretched Sports Association. We have to rally behind the Students’ Union as they continue to challenge the University’s ludicrous plan. We should not give in just because the University say that the decision has already been taken. By attending the open forum on Friday 18th, in 4E3.38, the Union is giving us all a platform and an opportunity for us to share frustration and look to how best improve the sports package. It is vital that we work as one to strengthen our voice against an increasingly indifferent University. We all deserve better than this.

Continued from front page an open sports forum on Friday 18 February. Vice President Sport Andy Crawshaw said, “We need your feedback here, to build on what we already have and to help us work with the Sports Department to define what an enhanced sports package would be”. The atmosphere on campus has been somewhat pessimistic regarding the changes. One student who regularly uses the tennis and badminton facilities commented that “we’re broke, and this won’t help, it would be nice if we could have more real information on what the extra money is going to be spent on”. The consensus is that even if the facilities are improved, the cost will put students off so they won’t have a chance to benefit from them and so will take to alternative forms of exercise instead: “I wouldn’t re-join the gym, I’d just go for a run” said one student. The University’s line is that the fees will improve sports facilities and increase accessibility during peak times. It is only once the fees are in place that it will be possible to gage the knock-on effect the new system will have on the rate of participation. The students are already apprehensive and so the consequences of such change don’t look good. The University prides and promotes itself on its outstanding sports facilities, which now like so many other things may only be available to those with money in their pocket.

Sexual Violence Awareness week Annette Behrens bathimpact Reporter

he Gender Equality group is doing its first campaign this week, and it will focus on sexual violence. Sexual violence is a huge problem, both in Britain and in the rest of the world. Violence causes more death and disability worldwide amongst women aged 15-44 than war, cancer, malaria and traffic accidents. At least one out of every three women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime with the abuser usually someone known to her. We want to help make students at the University of Bath aware of this tragic pandemic that is affecting us all. We believe that this violence stems from the lesser worth placed on women in a man’s world, as well as the expected stereotypes prescribed to men as being dominating, controlling and stronger than women. Our week will consist of various events. Monday night we will go on a pub crawl called “Love is consent”, as it is happening on Valentine’s Day. Here in the UK, 54% of rapes against

women are committed by a former or current partner. We want to show people that violence or coercion is not in any way a part of love or liking. We’ll start out in Parade Bar at 7pm and then head to town with leaflets to spread around. Our aim is to make people aware of what rape is and what it isn’t, especially when alcohol is involved. At the same time, we want to socialise and celebrate. Tuesday is our regular meeting, and it will be about rape culture; the cultural framework within which sexual violence happens, what words are used to describe it, and how those words are used in everyday language. Our meetings are every Tuesday at 6.15pm in 1W 3.5. Thursday we will be on Parade inviting people to sign anti-violence pledges, fund-raising for White Ribbon Campaign and selling white ribbon cookies. There will also be a workshop at 12.15 in 8W 2.22 about sexual violence in Congo and the V-day Campaing. We hope you will all join in on one or more of our events to support antiviolence on our campus, in the UK and around the world.

Monday 14th February

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Innovative or Desperate? Student opinion

n a world where it is increasingly common for employers to look for people who “stand out from the crowd”, and in an economy which is increasingly austere on jobs, particularly for graduates – you really do need to be noticed if you want to stay off the dole. Enter University of Bath student, James Elgeti: A BBA student without much experience in maths or economics, but with a likeable personality, a strong desire to be involved in banking and an idea. On Thursday the 14th of January 2011, James took his idea to London’s financial district, home to the banks he wants to work for. James got up at 4.45 AM to get to

James earned nine interviews from just one day standing in Canary Wharf Bank for the peak time of people arriving at 7 AM. He resembled a ginger Barney Stinson with a resplendent suit, hundreds of business cards and a sandwich board that said: “I am: A 2011 Bath Business Graduate. You have: The Ability to Kick-Start my Career in Banking. Talk to me...” He stayed in Bank for a few hours, before moving on to Canary Wharf for the rest of the day, chatting to people and dispensing his business cards all day, even going for a couple

of interviews. By 7PM, the rain had stopped play, so he went home with a pocket full of new business cards and a phone ringing off the hook with plenty of job opportunities. When I asked James where the idea came from, he said: “I think I was daydreaming while filling out yet another application, and it just came to me. I pitched the idea to my girlfriend and her parents, and they said it was a great idea, so I went with it and started to develop it.” I then asked him why he did it. James responded with: “I wanted to stand out and be different in a good way. A man who interviewed me before Christmas said that the important thing in an interview is to ‘be remembered’. So I started to think about how I could reduce the application process to actually meeting with potential employers, without just being another piece of paper with good grades. I want to work in banking in a client facing role, so how is an online test going to pick out my strengths in that role? I needed to try something different, as I didn’t want to be cut out of an application process because my skills and strengths aren’t so obvious on a CV.” How successful was James? There is the obvious point that people will now know his name, so he certainly will ‘be remembered’ and has stood out from the crowd and differentiated himself from thousands of other applicants. In terms of facts and figures, he got rid of over 600 business cards (that’s 600

Bath student James Elgeti on Canary Wharf

more than I got rid of that day), he chatted to about 50 people, ranging from well-wishers to concrete offers of an interview, and received about 30 business cards from people urging him to get in touch. From this process, James earned nine interviews from just one day of standing in Canary Wharf. Some interviews were door-openers to more opportunities, some are for specific roles in a bank, and some are informal chats with senior bankers about how they can help him in his search to work in banking. Some of the more cynical of James’ friends around Bath have labelled the move “desperate and simplistic”, as can be seen by a Facebook mock-up titled “what your sandwich board should have said”. Others have pointed out that it is quite innovative and proactive, but James thinks that it has worked and was very effective: “I wanted to appeal to smaller firms and boutique banks, I’ve already applied to the big guns of the banking world, and have had a lot of successful applications and positive interviews, but this wasn’t out of desperation, it was a way of trying to find out more about applying to smaller boutique banks that I perhaps hadn’t even heard of.” In the end, James took a chance, which seems to have paid off, and he’s used a day far more productively for a job hunt than I did (staring at my CV, then watching Take Me Out). James is not the first person to do this – but he’s probably the first student to implement this strategy. Is this desperation or is it revolutionising job applications? You can call it what you like, but as James said, his innovative if simple idea was rewarded with some very positive job opportunities, which is more than I or anyone else got in one day, and perhaps a lot of people are reading about this thinking “I should have done that.” I think it boils down to the theory of Occam’s razor; often the simplest answer is the right one. Maybe all it took was for a student to use a simple sales tactic to raise his profile and maybe land him a job in banking. Who knows? One thing is certain; James has grabbed the bull by the horns and got some good leads on a career. While it may not be as original or as successful for you to copy his format, it certainly wouldn’t hurt if we all had a more proactive approach like James – good luck to him and to all other graduates as we start to plough through this increasingly tough job market. The lesson here is to ‘be remembered’ – James certainly will be.

Simon O’Kane: “I wonder how many banker-bashers he got...” Tom Evans: “Good for him, wish I’d thought of it first.” Sam Miller: “It’s a good idea, but I don’t know if they’d take him seriously. It’s a bit too much of a gimmick, really.” Hannah Raymont: “Can’t knock him for trying.” Rowan Emslie: “I don’t understand why there’s a disconnect between innovative and desperate, clearly you can be both...”

Darius G

Jack Penrose bathimpact Reporter

Referendum to take place on changes to sabb structure Sam Foxman Chief Sub-Editor subeditor@bathimpact.com

he Students’ Union have released more details about the referenda planned to take place over the next fortnight. The referendum on the structure of the sabbatical team and the other polls which will be conducted have now been published on the Students’ Union’s website at: www.bathstudent.com/referendum. On Monday 14 February at 12pm the Union is holding an open meeting in Elements in which the final questions to put to the voters will be decided and ‘yes’ and ‘no’ campaigns on each issue will be formed. In the same fashion on the following day, students will have the opportunity to hear arguments on both sides of the issues before voting opens. Voting will open at 9am on Thursday and will be open

for six days. Previously, the Union outlined plans for a five-person sabbatical team, ending the post of VP Communications. The roles of the five remaining sabbaticals have been restructured, in an attempt to better balance their respective workloads. New details include full role descriptions for these proposed roles. These changes may have a significant impact on the arrangement of student groups. It is proposed that student media become the responsibility of the President, while responsibility for volunteering will fall under the new role of VP Community & Diversity, a reworking of VP Welfare & Diversity. While the sabbatical structure referendum is being proposed by the Union’s Board of Trustees, other referenda have been prompted by suggestions from students.

Monday 14th February 2011

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Kidulthood: the loss of the teen Kylie Barton bathimpact Contributor

The teenager was a phenomenon that struck the globe in the seventies, hitting the previous generation full pelt with new ideals of sexual liberation and trend setting styles, from punks to Mods’ and Rockers, in more recent times ‘the Chav’ and urban look. But increasingly children are skipping this invigorating period altogether, where it was considered the norm for the younger generation experiment to find their own route into adulthood; ‘everyone makes mistakes’, now it seems such youths automatically subscribe to the mature values that saturate the world around them. Kids are becoming adults too quickly, and we as a society are subconsciously allowing, even encouraging this to happen. Welcome to Kidulthood. Boys and girls in 21st century Britain are sent a plethora of conflicting messages daily by parents, the media, and peers, but increasingly they are being subjected to the harsh realities of adulthood before they hit double figures. An astound-

ing example of this in action is the media hype surrounding beauty pageants held for under 10’s – naturally an American phenomenon. Children as young as 5 are being dressed up in heals and make up – a recent example of a contestant in The Times could pretty much pass as an 18 year old glamour model – and paraded in front of an audience to win monetary prizes for their ‘natural beauty’. Let’s hope Gary Glitter wasn’t part of the audience, or we could have another case akin to when a particularly traditionalist Judge voiced the controversial opinion that provocative behavior equates to asking/deserving to be sexually abused, what would he say about the parental responsibilities in this instance I wonder? In today’s media age, it is disturbing how with the apparent ‘fear’ of the escalated paedophilia population (which is in fact illusory, the number of such cases hasn’t significantly multiplied over the past 30 years as The Sun would have you believe), parents still feel the urge to dress up their little princesses as

Shrek: Too much adult humour unsuitable for the youth of today?

with chores – another example of childhood being snatched, and prematurely launching children into adulthood. This pattern of behaviour regarding parenting is learned, and with teenage pregnancies on the increase, there is a kind of generational default setting in – if mum could live this way so can I. It is argued that it is this mentality that has created the new ‘underclass’ in Britain – a million miles away from the children existing in the glamorous ‘Kidulthood’ of the American Beauty Pageant’. Nevertheless -children missing out on the merriment of the growing-up process. Boys and girls in the 21st century are also being restricted as to what they learn about the outside

though they were fully developed women. These parents - saying one thing and doing another – appear ignont to the fact there may be a link to new forms of abuse such as internet grooming etc. This is just a small section of the wider problem of capitalism and the materialistic values that run parallel to the ideology of the elite affecting children world over. Boys and girls are being subjected to sex, drugs, and rock and roll through TV programmes and films with double-entendres referential to adult humour – Shrek being the most notable example among others. I can only guesstimate that this is to make the cinematic experience of the parent more pleasurable, but society still believes in the innocence (or ignorance) of children, for their own piece of mind; ‘lets just avoid the ‘birds and bees’ conversation and stick another episode of The Simpson’s on – they’ll figure it out’. However this lapse attitude to parenting and the ignorance of mum and dad is what leads to cases like Alfie Patten, the 13 year old ‘dad’, who it actually turns out, was cheated on by his 15 year old girlfriend, and the real dad was in fact her age equivalent ‘fling’… ‘FEW!’ sighed the Nation (as if this was some kind of achievement). It is not just little girls who suffer from the pressure to ascribe themselves to such values; increasingly boys are adopting the Alpha-Male position within the home as well as in social circles. The number of one parent families tripled in the late seventies, leaving many boys without a strong role model. ‘Sibling parenting’ is becoming a common site throughout social housing schemes across the country, meaning the son of the household is sometimes responsible for several younger siblings whilst the mother is out at work or caught up

world. Boys only climb trees now through virtual reality and skate on the Wii, and although they are learning about the nastier elements of worldly living via media such as ‘Grant theft auto’, MTV, or ‘Call of Duty’(the fact that it is rated an 18 completely escaping the mothers rushing to the shops to buy the violent game for 10 year olds the globe over), they are missing out on the basic survival skills that only real play can bring – being submerged in an idealistic adulthood isn’t the same as living it out in reality – which is where the problems arise – separating that from fantasy. So it seems there is a conflict of ‘protectionism’ v ‘rebellion’ that

cepted within a sphere of the glamorous world of adulthood – skipping teenage-hood and swapping it for a new Kidulthood. Because adults are yearning for a mis-spent youth, the youth of today are mis-spending theirs… too much too young. Age segregation is needed, certain age groups need to enact certain roles, we need children to be children and adults to be adults – the alternative is anarchy. The difference is children cry when they fall over, adults cry when they fall down, if this desire for adult-youthfulness and Kidulthood continues there will be no generation gaps, and we will all tumble into the black hole of agelessness.

vehicle, ask yourself, what would Jason do? He’d have his key in his hand, ready for some extreme door unlocking. Or if you had to walk back home and had an MP3 player, what would Jason do? He’d put his headphones in his ears but not switch any music on – thus tricking everyone else into believing he’s oblivious to his surroundings. Nonetheless, as great as Bourne is, we must establish two fundamental rules. The first is courtesy of Zombieland: “When in doubt, know your way out”. It is fairly

self-explanatory and couples beautifully with the golden tenet of the Ninja Code Book: “Be aware your surroundings”. If you’re going somewhere new, check Google Maps previously to know alternative routes back; should you have a poor memory, scribble a basic map on a piece of paper. Furthermore, when at street-level, stay alert and watch your environment. Simple things like crossing onto the other side of the pavement can spare you a lot of trouble. Finally, we draw towards a conclusion by considering choke

points. Basically, a choke point is any place which clearly allows you to check if you’re being followed. For instance, turning off a main street bustling with people into an empty one would do the trick. However, whilst this might determine if you have a persecutor, it could potentially leave you stranded. For this reason it is important to understand choke points are a double edged weapon which, if used wisely, can certainly provide added protection. Remember: what would Jason Bourne do?

is confusing our kids and hurtling them past ‘teenage–ville’ and plunging them into the dark realities of the Adult-City, filled with sexual imagery, materialistic values, and an increasing lack of morality for the purposes of monetary gain. Age lines are being blurred, and it is a scale which is mobile in both directions; women want to look like young girls, and young girls want to look like women. It looks as if to be the age of the teenager is the ultimate life goal across all generations, and by showing our children this we are letting them miss the important process of growing up, and finding themselves all together. But children are getting smarter, and with this comes the urge to become ac-

More and more young girls are wearing make-up and heels

What would Jason Bourne do? Joe Costas Batlle bathimpact Contributor

Everyone in this country knows about health and safety. I mean, I’m sure even grey squirrels could provide some insight if you asked them. As trying to obtain information from a rodent isn’t easy, however, this article will attempt to shed some light on various simple safety techniques you might have been unaware of. As with any school of thought, the basic principle behind it can be summed up in one line. Or,

in my case, a question. I believe everyone should ask themselves when a dangerous situation looms over the horizon: what would Jason Bourne do? For the un-educated, Jason Bourne is a CIA super-agent who was incarnated by Matt Damon on the big screen. He can speak about 76 languages and turn a ball-point pen into a pretty lethal weapon. His most useful skill, however, was always being a step ahead of everyone else. Therefore, if you’re crossing a car-park at night to get to your

Monday 14th February 2011

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An evening with a banker How to win placements and graduate positions in the City

his Tuesday evening (15th February) at 18:15 in 8W 2.8, former investment banker Gwyn Day will be visiting the University of Bath and explaining to students just what it takes to gain employment in the Square Mile.

If you are currently applying to graduate schemes, or just wish to impress your employers next year on placement, this could be a great opportunity for you. The former Head Trader will help you to sharpen your CV, coach you on interview & assessment centre technique, and explain to you what life is really like on the trading floor.

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Gwyn is affiliated to the Bright Network, which itself is employed by major financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs, UBS and Barclays Capital to search out promising graduates for their employment (see www.brightnetwork.co.uk for further details); so this evening could be a promising start to your career and is not to be missed.

My half-time misery Nick Hill Secretary secretary@bathimpact.com

ast Monday (7th Feb), in a flurry of testosterone, my allmale house and I decided to watch the Super Bowl. Endlessly drawn out though it was, it was not nearly as irritating as the half time show, whichthis year was performed by the Black Eyed Peas. The tradition of having big, famous bands perform a set in half time is a recent one, only really going back to the early ‘90s, compared to 45 years of Super Bowls . However, in that time they have managed to book The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Prince and, last year, The Who. The bar has been set high and rightly so. With a ten second advert in the Super Bowl costing $1,000,000, we can safely say that money is no object. Yet this year we have The Black Eyed Peas, a band who are undoubtedly popular around the world and who have several albums under their belt, but are definitely not in the league of previous acts. Testament to this is that in a ten

minute set the band played one cover and one song which has Will.i.am as a featured artist amongst their own songs. They also had guest appearances from Slash and Usher, something which was generally deemed to be unnecessary for big names. A complicated stage was quickly

$1,000,000

Cost of a 10-second advert during the Superbowl

erected and surround by dancers covered in LEDs, who performed wonderfully throughout. Usher and Slash were both great. The songs themselves were great. In fact everything about it was great, except the Black Eyed Peas’ ability to perform their own songs live which, as anyone who watched this year’s X Factor will tell you, is poor. They also broke the tradition of letting fans flood the pitch to get close to the stage in order to allow space for their dancers. Maybe next year they could book a grown-up artist. Someone who needs no auto-tune. I hear Stevie Wonder is waiting in the wings.

NHS: the Tories great failing Forget Margaret Thatcher, the NHS is the real national treasure Simon O’Kane bathimpact Contributor

hose of you who know me will wonder why I have left it until now to stick my metaphorical pen into the Tory government. The reason is quite simple: they come out with a new injustice at least once a fortnight, so I deliberately refrained from doing so for fear of filling these pages with anti-Conservative rhetoric and making the paper look biased. I had to pick one issue, an issue more important than all others, and take a stand on it. There is one Tory policy that I cannot see any good coming out of, that will actually counteract some of the Government’s other objectives and will cause more grief and anger amongst the British people than any other - once they realize what has happened. I speak of the coming top-down reorganization of the NHS. Here is a one-paragraph summary of the proposed changes: All Primary Care Trusts and Strategic Health Authorities will be dismantled and forced to become independent, free-market Foundation Trusts. These will have to abide by

EU competition law, opening up all NHS healthcare to both internal and private competition. These Trusts can go bankrupt, be bought out by other Trusts or even private companies. The bulk of the NHS budget will be managed by GPs. The NHS will no longer be a monolithic service, but more a pot of Government money to be allocated to various organizations by the GP consortia. The Government believes the proposals are beneficial because they will eliminate the money spent on bureaucracy and put those on the front line in charge, bringing back common sense in place of diktats

from the desk-bound who have no concept of the realities or the service. They say that GPs, not bureaucrats, are best placed to decide what is right for their patients. They also insist that patient choice will be central to the new system. They are unequivocally right in one respect; doctors are the experts, so let’s ask them what they think. A poll for the Royal College of General Practitioners found that around 60% opposed to the plans, while a poll for the health professionals’ newsletter Pulse found two-thirds were against. The British Medical Association has been consistently

critical of the plans and even the Health Select Committee (made of MPs) blasted them in its report. RCGP chair Dr. Clare Gerada said of the poll: ‘These results show that a significant number of our members are keen to support GP-led commissioning; it is something the College, and GPs, have wanted for many years. However, our members are telling us that they are worried about the pace at which these reforms are being implemented, the danger of fragmentation of services, and the emphasis on competition.’ Foundation Trusts already exist and are regulated by the quango

Monitor. Under the new system, Monitor will change from being a regulator to an enforcer of free-market principles and competition law. Scope exists, for example, for GPs to be forced to refer patients to the cheapest hospital as opposed to the nearest; let us hope this is never allowed to happen. Even if it doesn’t, the fact there is even potential for the emphasis on free-market competition to clash with that of GP and patient choice is alarming. In fact, any arrangement between GPs and hospitals or medicine providers could in theory be ruled out as anticompetitive. These inherent contradictions in the plan should be highlighted, in the hope that the Government will backtrack and develop a serious and coherent plan for our most treasured public service. The rise in tuition fees has prompted a political polarization of the student body and young people in general unlike anything seen for decades. The momentum must not be lost now. Look at the wider issues and take a stake in our nation’s future, because we are the ones who will inherit it.

Monday 14th February 2011

bathimpact www.bathimpact.com

Mate, she’s on campus

The difficulty in not-so-long distance relationships Mona Leezer bathimpact Contributor Girls, when your boyfriend lives next door you can be pretty sure about what you’re going to get in your relationship. Lots and lots of contact. And boys, you know the biggest effect this will have on you is how much Fifa and COD you play. Still some might say that some games are more fun than others... It can also be simple for anyone with a proper long distance relationship. You have a great and valid excuse not to see constantly see each other and as a result can get

on with your normal daily life like anyone else. A regular call sure, but that’s not hard for anyone whether they’re in prime brokerage at Morgan Stanley or work on the local farm. The problem arises right in the middle. Picture this gents – you’re a second year living in town and you see a girl throwing you some naughty eyes across the bar in Second Bridge. Naturally you strut over and turn on the awful chat up lines. Surprisingly she laughs so you buy her a double vodka and find out she’s a fresher. The next two hours are spent crouched over and grinding on the wrong people in the R&B

AHA! A great example of boyfriend material at Bath, but could you put up with the awkward distances across town? room. But then you come to leave and the awkwardness starts. You

think you like her and you have her number, though you now can’t use

Comment

the excuse of walking her home to stay with her. A lot of the time, this ends badly. Suppose though you somehow resisted the temptation to bombard her with misspelt texts and facebook messages and she is actually keen to meet up with you again. This goes well and things snowball into a bona fide relationship. Then the dilemma: when should I see you? Each night there is the prospect of a thirty minute journey on the buses for whoever’s turn it is to play guest, the longest two miles ever! Forcing it isn’t good, but then there is the guilt of thinking you’re not doing enough. It’s hard, and I for one have decided it’s too hard. I’m sticking to simple relationships from now on. My sights are firmly set on next-door neighbours or those in Tanzania from now on. ‘The Chosen One’ only exists in Harry Potter anyway.

Lame, Arrogant and Drunk? LAD bathimpact Editor-in-Chief Gina Reay rounds up the qualities required of a True Lad No one can deny that British LAD culture is at an all-time high. Some clever technological minds have chosen to cash in on the new religion of LADishness, with the wonderfully popular website truelad.com. The site is similar to fmylife and textsfromlastnight, you enter a mini comment or story that you’ve experienced (one that exerts your high quality ladishness) and you are rated by the readers as being a trueLAD or a sh*tLAD. LADishness is not something you are taught at school. It is a quality you are born with. A truelad knows the qualities of ladishness, like an unwritten bible. Any men who write anti-LAD comments on the site are dismissed by the lads who read the site as sh*tLADS.

But what is a LAD? According to the site it is a “beer chugging, banter loving, footie watching, womanising man”, charming. After being curious about this new trend of LAD culture which fascinates my boyfriend and all his LADdish mates, I decided to put together the Ten Commandments of the world according to truelad.com. After reading the site for the last few days, apparently (!) these are all the attributes required of a trueLAD: 1. Being a girl automatically makes you a sh*tLAD. A true lad believes that feminism is a joke and that a woman’s true place is in the kitchen, making a sandwich. Andy Gray, for example, in the world according to truelad.com, would be a

Passing out after ten pints and some fancy french liquor? LAD

truelad (but a sh*tLAD for getting caught). 2. Hiding in your LAD friend’s wardrobe whilst he is having sex is both acceptable and hilarious behaviour. Extra lad points are awarded if you proceed to jump out of the wardrobe at the point of climax yelling a line from 300/Top Gun/The Godfather (or other laddish equivalent) 3. When reciting a story about a girlfriend/woman you’ve slept with/lapdancer/fat girl who tried her luck, a lad must always follow her name with a score out of ten. This score is for attractiveness and doability, a woman’s personality is not important. 4. Emotions are not acceptable unless they are feelings of admiration expressed towards a fellow LAD, DADLAD or GRANDLAD. 5. Stupidity is funny. A trueLAD believes that acting like a moron is hilarious. Sh*tLAD status is awarded to lads whose stupidity leads to the loss of a) a large sum of money or b) a car. TrueLAD status is awarded to stupidity that leads to the loss of a) self-respect of b) a girlfriend. 6. W*nking deems anyone a trueLAD. So does drinking, eating, farting and pooing in handbags. 7. STIs are not laddish. But sleeping with numerous whorey females without remembering names, phone numbers or time of day, is. 8. Threesomes are a regular occurrence in the life of a lad. So is having sex with your girlfriend’s mum, having sex with your lecturer, having sex with twin girls and having

Getting naked and pissing in the sea? TrueLAD sex with a cougar. Obviously, these comments on the website are completely true, a lad would never make up a sexual encounter to enhance his masculinity. Never. 9. A trueLAD spends his days watching sport, drinking beer and w*nking. It is not laddish to pass up any of these activities in favour of uni work, going on a date or spending time with the family. For a truelad, prospects are not important. Beer is. 10. When a truelad checks his wallet, he doesn’t see cash, he sees beer vouchers. So there you have it, the Ten LAD Commandments. Albeit presented in a rather tongue-in-cheek manner from the point of view of an outsid-

er. I can’t help interpreting though, that LAD culture is just a bunch of regulations to encourage men to act like pricks. I mean, we’ve all been watching Channel 4’s new show Tool Academy. A programme full of tw*ts acting like tw*ts under the warped belief that their behaviour is LADworthy. Personally, I think a man can express his masculinity much more assertively by being himself, being a nice guy with strong values. Not some brainless conformist who treats women like dirt and beer like gold. But what do I know? I’m just a woman. Strongly disagree with this article? Fancy writing a response? Email our Comment Editor at comment@bathimpact.com.

Monday 14th February 2011

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International

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The Middle East rises up in unrest

Foreign Correspondent Ivaylo Iaydjiev takes an in-depth look at the causes and consequences of the protests sweeping the region

e can, with a quick glance to any news channel, summarize the news from the last week as “There is something rotten in the state of Egypt, and that’s probably Hosni Mubarak”. In the land of pyramids, Cleopatra, and the Nile, a pharaoh is still in power – the 82-year old Mubarak, or the “raïs” (chef), has ruled the country since 1981 thanks to a combination of a permanent emergency law, censorship, propaganda, nepotism, secret police, and last but by no means least, by making himself an indispensable ally of the United States. After parliamentary elections, widely considered rigged in his party’s favor, and in advance of a presidential election in September 2011, however, a protest movement emerged on January 25 and gradually increased in strength and intensity, with Tahrir square in Cairo as its focal point. In this stand-off, different parties have played key roles. First of all, the protesters have defied curfews and have turned out in numbers to protest against Mubarak. He responded in Machiavellian fashion by plunging Egypt in a state of nature for a couple of days by withdrawing the police from the streets; effectively leading to looting and prison escapes. However, here the army decided to step in and ensure minimal stability, eventually declaring that they will not use force against the protesters, thus allaying fears of a repeat of the Tiananmen massacre of 1989. With the army as an essential pillar of his regime having declared neutrality, Mubarak was forced to make a move – and he dissolved his government while appointing for the first time a vice-president, a position widely regarded in Egypt as a stepping stone to the presidency. Nevertheless, this was perceived as too little too late, and the protesters turned out in force on 1 February in what was dubbed the ‘March of the Million’, which put pressure on Mubarak to come out and declare that neither he nor his son Gamal will be running in the September elections. This altered the question of whether the autocrat will part to when he will part. This plunged the protests into an endgame, which largely surpasses the individual question of Mubarak with two main dimensions. Firstly whether he will truly leave and whether his removal

will signal a change of regime or will it only be the chance for the next ‘pharaoh’ to ascend to the presidency. Secondly Mubarak has started to now present himself as a guaranteur for the stability of the country against chaos and at least implicitly against the threat of Islamic takeover through the ballot box, modeled on the Gaza

powers, authorizing censorship and detention without charge. With the additional possibility of a genuine desire for more freedom comes the hope that a democratic regime may deliver much needed reforms. These are tightly linked to the deeper socio-economic roots of the unrest. High unemployment of

Nevertheless, Tunisia’s case is different in two crucial ways. Firstly, the army was very much alienated from the ruling structures and thus it was never going to support the Tunisian president, Ben Ali. Secondly, the revolution in Tunisia was an uprising of the middle classes in a country with impressive growth rates and high

Anti-Mubarak protestors gather in Tahiri square scenario. Consequently, this split the protest movement and led to strong calls for protesters to return home and resume normal life now that they have achieved the main of their demands; when they refused, clashes emerged between pro- and anti-Mubarak forces, leaving a number of casualties. Regardless of how the endgame is going to play out, Mubarak’s political fate seems to have been sealed. What is more interesting is to understand the root causes which pushed millions of Egyptians on a bold march against a repressive regime. Mubarak’s personality is probably closely linked – having been a ruler for nearly 30 years, rumors that he was preparing to transfer power through sham elections to his son, Gamal, surely fuelled popular resentment. Moreover, there are other political causes for the unrest – including the perceived widespread corruption, especially in the police. The fact that the President has ruled for the whole of this period through the use of emergency

around 20%, particularly among young people, coupled with elevated poverty and inflation levels and recent peaks in food prices are all contributing factors. Extremely rapid population growth (from around 30 million people in the 1960s to 80 million today) and dramatic urbanization, with the population of Cairo being around 17 million alone, a 1/3 of which is under 14 with a median age of 24, creating a potentially explosive keg which force can control for only so long. Needless to say, such events in what is often referred to as ‘the capital of the Arab world’ will have wide-ranging repercussions throughout both the regionally and globally. It is impossible not to consider these events as part of a wave of similar unrest in other countries, most notably Tunisia, but also Algeria, Yemen, Jordan, Oman and even Kuwait. Undoubtedly the Tunisian “success story” had at least a psychological influence on the masses in Tahrir square.

education standards, thus creating a climate for a long-lasting secular democracy since Islamic parties are quite marginalized. Then again, there is also the difference of size – while the world could stand by and applaud the courage of the Tunisians, Egypt is a central piece in the Middle Eastern jigsaw and a long lasting American ally. Consequently, the Egyptian unrest has required a careful diplomatic balancing act by the United States, who have called for an orderly transition. The US’ influence on Egypt is considerable, not least because of its 2 billion-dollara-year aid package, even though more than 1.3 billion dollars are in the form of military aid and technology. What the US and the Israelis fear is a repeat of the 1979 events in Iran, which led to the establishment of a hostile theocratic regime, if the somewhat popular grassroots Muslim Brotherhood ascends to power through the ballot box. Other commentators, howev-

er, have evoked a different analogy, comparing the wider trend of unrest in the Middle East to the events which led to democratic change in Eastern Europe in 19891991. Personally, I find this analogy misleading – in the case of Eastern Europe, the central state of the Eastern bloc imploded, which left the states from the region with only one choice – American-style market and democratic change, even if they were already aspiring to it. In contrast there is no central control over the whole of the ‘Arab world’ and no clear path in front of countries where those in power are challenged. Finally, looking at the economic aspects of the unrest, the fear of a long standoff has first pushed petrol prices up over uncertainty about the Suez canal, a key transport hub, and has led to significant withdrawal of investment, coupled with a downgrade from credit agencies – a scenario which we already saw in the case of Tunisia. However, latest news suggests that economic life has finally resumed. What can we learn from these events? Firstly, they have demonstrated once again the precious role of new communication technologies, especially Twitter and Facebook, in coordinating protests and putting people in touch; nevertheless, while their role as facilitators is clear, it seems that they are not catalysts in themselves. Additionally, I believe the general trend in the Middle East has some important implications for the way we conceptualize international relations: the power of ideas, liberty and freedom in particular, as well as the power of symbols and examples, is greater than in any sort of abstract mechanical view of the world. We still seem unable, 20 years after the sudden fall of the wall and ten years after 9/11, to see and predict deep changes in the status quo and finally, incorporating better understanding of human and mass psychology would be particularly useful. In conclusion, we could observe that what is happening in Egypt is bigger than Mubarak and is an expression of deep underlying problems. However, the future of this country is in the hands of the Egyptian people and it is up to them to construct the society which they wish to live in.

Monday 14th February 2011

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International

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Take part in BathMUN 2011 Travel Bug - Leeds Philip Martin Thies bathimpact Contributor

n the 24th of October 1945, fifty-one countries met in San Francisco and committed to maintaining international peace and security, while promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights. Today this organisation has grown to 192 Member States and we call it the United Nations. It is peculiar how this organisation and its sub-agencies have been widely criticised by state and nonstate actors alike, while at the same time the UN was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on several

states come to a conclusion if success is constantly threatened by veto? During the period of the Cold War, the UN could not prevent conflicts in Vietnam or Afghanistan. And after the Berlin Wall collapsed the UN was overwhelmed by regional conflicts and civil wars, and therefore failed to prevent genocides in Rwanda and Srebrenica. On the other hand the UN and its sub-organisations have been an agent of human rights world wide and their programmes to fight poverty and disease have proved indispensable to the Third World. Furthermore it can be argued that the UN prevented any major

MUN delegates work hard and party hard occasions. In 2007 for example, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) received the Nobel Peace Prize together with former Vice President of the United States Al Gore, for their combined efforts in creating awareness about man-made climate change. For many the United Nations is a complex institution led by bureaucrats. A toothless tiger which is effectively controlled by the five Veto-powers in the Security Council. How on earth can a group of

conflict between the two superpowers during the Cold War and has become a necessary instrument to legitimise military action on a global scale. Can you really criticise an institution that has won 8 Nobel Peace Prizes (plus two won by individuals working for the UN)? Every year, thousands of high school and university students aim to answer exactly these questions and want to understand the UN processes. They do this by attending one of the many Model

United Nations (MUN) conferences world wide. MUN is a simulation of the real United Nations and enables students to make international policies, representing the views of a country on the international stage. Model United Nations improves your public speaking abilities, negotiation skills and networking abilities. So everything today’s employers are looking for in a graduate. Have you ever wondered why politicians take so awfully long to come to an agreement (or in the case of a global response to Climate Change still haven’t done so)? At the Model United Nations conference you will see that it requires a lot of diplomacy in order to assert your views. Solutions can only be achieved by compromise, which is immensely hard to come by. You will learn to use your mediation skills to assert the views of the specific country you are representing, and bring about a resolution that is approved by all members of the committee. Have you ever sought a way to improve your public speaking abilities in order to achieve better marks at presentations? Then Model United Nations is the right thing for you. No matter what course you study, whether you are an engineer, a student of biology or business, Model United Nations offers a platform to any student who is interested in international politics. The debating skills you will gain will be applicable to your degree and the confidence you will develop when speaking in front of a large group of people is sure to come in handy during assessed presentations or even job interviews. From the 4th to the 6th of March, Bath University’s Model United Nations society (BUMUN) will be holding its own second annual conference and will give you the opportunity to do better than the real UN. Whether you are an experienced delegate or want to try out something new, MUN improves your public speaking ability and boosts your knowledge of world affairs, while discussing and (partying!) with students from other UK Universities and from abroad. So sign up for the Bath University Model United Nations conference on www.bathstudent.com/socs/societies/bumun/ before the 20th of February, and secure yourself a place for one of the most memorable experiences you will ever have!

Chris Wotton Foreign Correspondent

When a city has Lonely Planet describing it as strutting ‘across England’s urban stage like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever, it has got to make it on to your ‘to visit’ list. Four hours by train from Bath, it makes for the perfect place to strike north for an overnight city break.

Take the 7.59am train from Bath Spa and, changing at Bristol Temple Meads, you’ll be into Leeds by midday – so drop your bags at the Discovery Inn (rooms from £40 per night; 0113 242 2555; www.comfortinnleeds.co.uk) and head to the Red Hot World Buffet and Bar (0113 244 0400; www.redhot-worldbuffet.com). Tuck into an unbelievably wide menu, including everything from sushi through tacos to freshly made pasta and noodles! The buffet lunch menu starts from just £7.99. Next, shop till you drop at the Victoria Quarter Shopping Arcade (0113 245 5333; www.v-q.co.uk) - known as the premium shopping centre in the north of England, it brings together brands such as Ted Baker, Vivienne Westwood, Karen Millen, French Connection, Diesel, Space NK, Hobbs, All Saints and Jigsaw, as well as being home to the first Harvey Nichols store outside London. For something a little more culturally enlightening, squeeze in a visit to the ruined but stunning Kirkstall Abbey (free admission; 0113 263 7861; www.leeds.gov.uk/kirkstallabbey), a relic from medieval times. Across the road, the Abbey House Museum (£3.50; 0113 230 5492; www.leeds.gov.uk/abbeyhouse) packs in a recreation of Victorian-time Leeds; under candlelight, explore shops and houses reconstructed with an impressive eye for the finer details. The City Art Gallery (free admission; 0113 247 8248; www.leeds.gov.uk/artgallery), meanwhile, has collections including Turner and Leeds’ pride Henry Moore. Come evening, make for the Arts Café Bar and Restaurant (2 courses for £12.50, 3 for £15.00; 0113 243 8243; www.artscafebar.com) for in-house exhibitions to match your chickpea, spinach and aubergine passanda. Or try Norman for a top-notch range of cocktails alongside a distinctly Japanese-inspired menu that features noodles famous throughout Leeds, as well as Norman Fried Chicken (NFC) Japanese chicken karaage – unmissable.

Head to the City Art Gallery for some abstract nudity a la Moore

Monday 14th February 2011

bathimpact

International

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An elusive peace: Israel-Palestine

Eva Perrett reports on the realities of living under occupation and the possibility of a lasting peace in Jerusalem

erusalem, the golden city and land of worship for three of the world’s greatest religions. Place of holiness, peace… wait, did I just say peace? Although the Hebrew name quite literally translates into “abode of peace”, in reality the streets of Jerusalem are far from a tranquil place. Defined as the capital by both the state of Israel and the Palestinian National Authority, the city has been under Israeli control since the annexation of East Jerusalem in 1967. Numerous UN Security Council Resolutions have since rejected this and the international community considers East Jerusalem as Palestinian Territory held under Israeli military occupation. Appalling as this may be, Jerusalem has seen many a violent conquest by various peoples in its time. According to the religious writer Karen Armstrong, the key to ruling the city for the longest period possible lies in tolerance to devotees of other faiths. Currently, other religions are

granted access to their holy sites under Israeli control. The truth though, as the charity Sharing Jerusalem explains, is that “there are severe limitations placed on Palestinian Muslims and Christians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip from accessing holy sites, even during

holy days such as Easter and Ramadan.” But what does living under an occupation actually feel like? Living under occupation is always difficult, even when disregarding the limitations to religious practices. Leila, a Palestinian Christian with residency in Jerusalem,

Banksy art features on the West Bank Wall

gives a first-hand account of how restricted everyday life can be: “On some days, curfews would suddenly be imposed, meaning that we could not leave school until the night-time.” The difficulties faced by Palestinians extend past simple limitations on a normal life to the degradation of subjection. “One day, the military tanks chased us all the way to the school. There was nothing we could do about it”, Leila adds. Such humiliation and feeling of powerlessness againt the dominant occupier is not uncommon. However, the Palestinian people remain intent on self-determination. The importance of independence to the Palestinian people is demonstrated in the public’s political way of thinking. Leila points out “we are not Lebanese or Jordanian and most definitely not Israeli- we are Palestinian!” In spite of these strong feelings the Palestinian people are still grappling with setting up a representative and non-corrupt government- the second Intifada

in 2000-2005 was aimed initially at the seriously corrupt Palestinian leadership, and even now the Palestinian Authority is often regarded as a “joke” . This has a profound influence on the peace talks between Israel and Palestine, which have been complicated and drawn-out to say the least. The major concessions offered by the Palestinian negotiators, uncovered in the Palestinian papers recently leaked to the Guardian and Al Jazeera, would most likely not have been supported by the public. Nonetheless, the senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat stressed that “the Palestinians know they will have a country with limitations”. Compromise and a lasting agreement between the two sides continues to remain elsuive. Despite all the differences within the Palestinian side and difficulties surrounding the recently stalled peace talks, one thing remains clear: The talks are the only plausible way to once again make Jerusalem the “abode of peace”.

Monday 14th February 2011

bathimpact

Activities special

to their local communities as part of their plans for the ‘Big Society’. The Volunteer Centre has teamed up with a variety of local organisations, other departments and student led groups to deliver a range opportunities so that you can get a taste of the benefits of volunteering both at home and overseas........

Fancy a night under the stars? hy not sleep on Parade

The Paris Hitch

he annual Paris Hitch is here! For those of you who don’t know, the Paris Hitch is a sponsored charity hitchhike to Paris, and will be running from Bath on Friday 8th April. It’s a race carried out in teams of two - including at least one guy – and the faster you get there the more time you get to spend in Paris, as well as winning the prize. It’s a chance to go to Paris for next to nothing. The plan is that teams leave on Friday morning, hitching to the Eiffel Tower in Paris and arriving on Friday evening. This leaves you to enjoy Paris that night and all of Saturday until the coach picks us up on Saturday evening.

And the employers say...

to raise money for Julian House, a charity which helps homeless people in and around Bath. This is a brilliant event to do with your friends - the more of you, the warmer you’ll be!! Free Dominos Pizza and Soup.... and lots of entertainment! For more information contact Volunteer Support Worker Samantha Walker-Sowden (S.Walker-Sowden@bath.ac.uk).

Julian House ulian House is the leading provider of services to single homeless men and women in Bath & North East Somerset. Although Julian House is not a large organisation the challenge that it faces it is significant. Simply providing a bed is the relatively

easy part of its work. Much more difficult is the task of identifying why the people who use its services are in this situation and then finding the right solutions to the wider problems that they face. Julian House also runs the homeless shelter on Manvers Street in Bath. During Student Volunteering Week 2011 they are offering six students the opportunity to experience life behind the scenes

of their charity. Each student will have the privilege of working a ‘shift’ either 10am - 1.30pm or 1.30pm - 5pm on one day of the week in the shop on Walcott Street. Students will learn about how the charity works through the benefits of the shop as well as how the shop works as a business. For more information and to sign up please contact: Karen Thompson on K.L.Thompson@bath.ac.uk

“

In today’s competitive employment market it is not enough to simply have a 2.1 degree and hope for the best. At Santander it is those students with extra skills and behaviours that will jump to the top of the queue in our recruitment process.We are proud to support The Bath Award as the skills required to merit such award match those sought after by most employers, including

Santander, to succeed in the current business environment Bath Award students proudly posing with their certificates... this could be you!

The Bath Award... Why should I?

he Bath Award recognises the achievements and accredits the skills of University of Bath students engaged in all types of extra-curricular activities.

The aim of the Award is to enable students to articulate and critically reflect on their skills development in preparation for employment. It operates alongside the degree programme and aims to capture the benefits gained from all aspects of university life that will be invaluable in the future. The Bath Award is open to both undergraduates and postgraduates, and enrolment is FREE!

“

It is another feather in my cap and will have a significant impact on my career

Bath Award students

The Development and Achievement Awards – Celebrate your Success!

he Development and Achievement Awards are taking place on Thursday 2nd June 2011! Presentations will be made to the Student Employee of The Year, the SORTED Student Trainers, and students who pass The Bath Award during 2010/11 will be presented with The Bath Award certifaicate. The Awards ceremony will

be attended by the Pro-Vice Chancellor (Learning and Teaching), university staff, and a variety of employers. Students will have the opportunity to network with employers and enjoy some drinks and light refreshments. Invitations will out later in the

be sent Semester.

RAG Hitchers prepare... visit Sam in the Volunteer Centre to sign up (1 east level 3 corridor). It’s a first-come-first-served event so sign up quick… time is running out!

Come on, train-up and stand-out! Boris But Contributor

RAG on a collection

Sirius Woods Project

SCA in Romania Raise Money for Orphanages in Romania and help students to get there! 10.30-5 there will be the best student Bag Packing Party in Sainsbury’s Superstore, Green Park Station. All students taking part will receive a

certificate for their contribution to Student Volunteer Week as well as a chance to meet new people and develop their communication skills. To sign up or request more information please contact Ann

his conservation site at Rush Hill is part of the Woodland Trust’s Trafalgar Woods project. This will see 33 new woods created to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, each of the ships in Admiral Nelson’s

Conservation

victorious fleet and the thousands of British seamen who fought with him. If you have a passion for the environment or just fancy a change of activity at the weekend then the Sirius Woods Conservation Project is for you. It’s great fun and offers

the opportunity of regular volunteering! Why not try it out on Saturday 26th February 2-4pm?

Please contact Alex (smam21@ bath.ac.uk) for more information.

As human capital is becoming the most important assets of today’s world, we need not only graduates, but quality graduates. This is the reason why the University provides eminent training to students – to equip them with the skills needed to become quality graduates. Subsequently, we need to ensure training is well provided. The Training and Enterprise Exec is therefore in place. The Training and Enterprise Exec is a subgroup under the Student Union, including representatives from BANTER, SORTED, SIFE and Bath Award, and students elected by members to sit

on. T&E Exec is responsible for overseeing the 4 training bodies and serves as a platform where meetings are held regularly. During meetings, we review how the services are delivered and put together different ideas to see how they can be better delivered. Producing excellent training is not the only task ahead, we also have to let students know what types of training are available to them so that they can benefit from our work. As the Chair of T&E Exec, I hope this year we will continue the good quality training on one hand, and develop new marketing strategies to widely advertise T&E related activities on the other. To fulfill these missions,

I have been working very closely with members of the Exec to find every possible way to improve and let students know what we are doing. We have been discussing to set up more taster sessions for students who are new to T&E. A facebook page has also been set up for us to update what is new in T&E area and that everyone can also leave comments so that we can further improve! You can get involved at any time with T&E. Just join a course with SORTED, or get involved in a BANTER competition to gain experience of how it is like to run your own business. University is much more than a degree!

”

Luis Juste, Director of Santander Universities UK

National Student T ” Volunteer Week. National Student Employability Bag-packing Week Party!

If you’re interested in taking part in this exciting, once-in-a-lifetime event then visit www.bathrag.com/ parishitch or email hitch@bathrag. com, come to an interest meeting and

Activities Special

www.bathimpact.com www.bathimpact.com

What is Student Volunteering Week? 011 is a high profile year for volunteering - with not only the European Year of Volunteering taking place, but also the recruitment drive and training for thousands of volunteers for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Alongside this, the government is encouraging people to contribute

Monday 14th February 2011

bathimpact

Boris But who believes in the importance of training

Monday 14th February 2011

bathimpact

Activities special

Fancy a night under the stars? hy not sleep on Parade

The Paris Hitch

And the employers say...

“

Santander, to succeed in the current business environment Bath Award students proudly posing with their certificates... this could be you!

The Bath Award... Why should I?

he Bath Award recognises the achievements and accredits the skills of University of Bath students engaged in all types of extra-curricular activities.

“

It is another feather in my cap and will have a significant impact on my career

Bath Award students

The Development and Achievement Awards – Celebrate your Success!

be sent Semester.

RAG Hitchers prepare... visit Sam in the Volunteer Centre to sign up (1 east level 3 corridor). It’s a first-come-first-served event so sign up quick… time is running out!

Come on, train-up and stand-out! Boris But Contributor

RAG on a collection

Sirius Woods Project

certificate for their contribution to Student Volunteer Week as well as a chance to meet new people and develop their communication skills. To sign up or request more information please contact Ann

Conservation

the opportunity of regular volunteering! Why not try it out on Saturday 26th February 2-4pm?

Please contact Alex (smam21@ bath.ac.uk) for more information.

”

Luis Juste, Director of Santander Universities UK

National Student T ” Volunteer Week. National Student Employability Bag-packing Week Party!

If you’re interested in taking part in this exciting, once-in-a-lifetime event then visit www.bathrag.com/ parishitch or email hitch@bathrag. com, come to an interest meeting and

Activities Special

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Monday 14th February 2011

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Boris But who believes in the importance of training

Monday 14th February 2011

bathimpact

Science

www.bathimpact.com

Do it like they do on the discovery channel Contributor Robyn Brook tells us a bit about the bestial world

hink your relationship is complicated? That’s nothing compared to sex in the animal kingdom. Animal sex is at least as strange and varied as human sex. It’s a world where sperm chooses the mate, the weather determines gender. Homosexuality is common. Monogamy is rare. And the animal kingdom is full of swingers. Sperm prefer attractive females Females are known to be picky when it comes to men, but in the battle of the sexes males may get the last say after all. Males can adjust the speed of their sperm depending on female attractiveness by varying the amount of seminal fluid involved in the copulation. A study on red guinea-fowl, where desirable females are easy to identify, showed that males throughout promiscuous species have higher chances of fertilization

when the female is attractive. Dying for sex Most male wasp spiders get one shot at love since they’re eaten by the female as a post-sex snack. Even lucky guys that escape this sexual cannibalism probably only mate once more before their days are over. So they take the opportunity to break off a genital inside the female to ensure she doesn’t get impregnated by future suitors. Therefore scoring a virgin female evolutionarily trumps having sex with a plumper partner that could produce more eggs and offspring. Lying goes a long way When the female topi antelope gets ready to leave a male's territory, he snorts deceptively as a false alarm call while looking intently at an imaginary predator in the distance. Rather than risking any dan-

These hot chicks don’t mind being in front of a camera

ger ahead, the female typically lingers a while longer, giving the male more chances at sex. In 10 % of visits with false snorts, the male succeeded in mating only after he had begun snorting. Blame it on the weather When it rains in Kruger National Park, South Africa, Buffalo mothers give birth to more sons. Male buffalos can distort the genetic material in their sperm so they father only sons. These genes are ‘turned on’ when there's plenty of grass to chow down on, as happens during the rainy season. To balance the proportion of male to female offspring males with these sex-distorting genes are usually less fertile than other males. Who needs men? There are at least 70 vertebrate species, including komodo dragons, snakes and sharks that can reproduce without any males. An unfertilized egg develops to maturity without any sperm and both sex chromosomes are delivered from the mother. The first virgin birth in sharks was discovered when a hammerhead gave birth to a pup despite no contact with any male sharks for at least 3 years. Another virgin pregnancy was found in an Atlantic blacktip shark where there were no males present in the tank for eight years. Monogamy is for beavers It may be a treasured value in many human cultures (sometimes), but monogamy is incredibly rare in the animal kingdom. Of the roughly 5,000 species of mammals on Planet Earth, only 3-5 % form lifelong pair bonds. This select group includes

beavers, otters, wolves, some bats and foxes. Even creatures that do mate for life occasionally have flings on the side and some, like the wolf, waste little time finding a new mate if their old one dies or can no longer sexually perform.

clearly not true. Unfortunately, the next argument will be “it's primitive and animalistic." There is one thing for certain; sex and coupling up in our world do not necessarily have anything to do with reproduction.

Homosexuality is common

Penguins Two male chinstrap penguins at New York's Central Park Zoo were a couple for 6 years, during which they nurtured a fertilized egg together, given to them by a zookeeper, and raised the young chick that hatched. In another zoo in Germany, a homosexual penguin couple successfully hatched an egg, which was rejected by its biological parents, and are now rearing the chick, named Nade, as their own. There are other reports of pairs of male penguins trying to hatch offspring from stones.

The animal kingdom tolerates all kinds of lifestyles. About 1,500 animal species are known to practice same-sex coupling, such as bears, gorillas, whales, walruses, giraffes, swans, flamingos, antelopes, owls and salmon, signalling that sexual preference is biologically predetermined. Since homosexuality is natural in the animal kingdom, and evolution hasn't eliminated the trait from the gene pool despite the lack of reproduction, being gay may serve its own evolutionary purpose. It could strengthen bonds or be practice for heterosexual sex - for example, bottlenose dolphins often mount each other, which benefits them later on when mounting a same-sex partner. One thing that does seem to be exclusive to humans is homophobia. The funny thing is that people may argue homosexuality is unnatural, that non-humans don't engage in homosexual behavior, but that's

Bottlenose Dolphins Homosexual activity occurs with about the same frequency as heterosexual amongst these marine mammals. Male bottlenose dolphins are generally bisexual, but they go through periods of being exclusively homosexual. Bonobos and Macaques Considered the closest living relative to humans, bonobos are not shy about homosexual behaviours. Nearly all of these peaceloving apes are bisexual and often resolve conflict by the "make love, not war" principle. About two thirds of the homosexual activities are amongst females. Female macaques form intense bonds with each other and are serially monogamous.

HIV like virus infected mice get the all-clear Sam Lewtas Science Editor science@bathimpact.com

HIV is no joke, with no cure and approximately 33 million suffers worldwide. Devastatingly, the majority of cases are in sub-saharan Africa, where poverty is rife and many people have no access to essential life-extending antivirals. It is a huge crisis and any advances have been too slow to curb the disease’s exponential growth, insidious onset, method of transition and large number of sufferers (86,500 in the UK in 2009, a quarter of whom were totally unaware). This may be one of the most terrifying health conditions of our

time but researchers in Melbourne have had a revolutionary breakthrough. Mice infected with lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCMV), a virus which results in a HIV-like effect on the immune system, were treated and found to make a full recovery. The discovery comes from a growing area of medicine known as biologics, which utilises the body’s own proteins, or very similar analogues, to ‘hijack’ our own mechanisms and help the body fight infection. This work revolves around the gene SOCS3, which suppresses the immune system and stops T-cells attacking our own tissues once we’ve cleared an infection. For these mice with LCMV,

and quite possibly HIV in humans, it’s simply turned off too soon, and the immune response is too weak to deal with the overwhelming viral load that is present in the body. The mice were injected with human immune factor, interleukin 7, which helps the development of immune cells and also suppresses SOCS3. Similar to HIV, LCMV in mice is incurable by conventional drugs. However, after 30 days the treated mice had made remarkable recoveries, and by day 60 they were clear of the virus. If the same holds true for us humans - which isn’t always the case - then it will still be a good few years before we see a cure on the shelves. Yet this discovery is prom-

ising and it is entirely possible we may, in the not so distant future, see HIV go the same way as small-

pox - relegating one more deadly and persistent disease to the history books.

This mouse says he’s relieved and is recovering well

Monday 14th February 2011

bathimpact

Science

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Pedalling to the skies It’s all in the brain Daniel Feld is following in ET’s footsteps and may soon be taking his rather unusual bike for a ride

BUMPF need your help!

BUMPF Project Team Members stand amongst the aircraft wings; (left to right) Jonny Payman, Xingping Li, Daniel Feld and Alan Sutherland

n ambitious team of engineering students have set about attempting to follow in the footsteps of Leonardo Da Vinci and build the ultimate in sustainability; an aircraft powered solely by pedal power. With a half built aircraft under way, the project team, code named BUMPF (Bath University Man Powered Flight), are planning an inaugural flight by the end of the semester. Set up to prove that with a bit of ingenuity & creative thinking, low cost, fuel efficient flight really is on the horizons. The aircraft is a hybrid of carbon fibre and other materials more likely to be found in a garden shed than in an aircraft hangar. The wing, an epic 20 metres long, supported by an aluminium strut, is built from plywood, polystyrene foam and heavy duty cling-film. Needless to say, such a back to basics aircraft has encountered some challenges along the way, but BUMPF are determined to show that you don’t need big money to enjoy flying. Whilst you may think that an aircraft with a wingspan of two double decker buses needs a mammoth powerhouse, their cyclist weighs only 50kg; no more than half a horse power is needed to stay airborne. Although the team aim to keep the aircraft in the air for just a couple of minutes for their first flight, the eventual aim is to compete for the Kremer Prize, a fund worth £100,000 awarded to the first team to fly their aircraft for an hour.

The aircraft itself has been optimised for flight for a speed of 8.5m/s, which will require the pilot to generate 400W to power the aircraft and allow it to take advantage of the drag reducing ground effect. With such an emphasis on drag reduction and optimisation, the wing profile has been designed to prolong laminar (smooth) flow across the aerofoil, which reduces induced drag caused by rotating eddies. The aluminium main wing support has been specially chosen to create a wing tip deflection of two metres during flight to aid stability and negate the need for ailerons (which causes extra drag). Further, the angle and position of the main wing is even adjustable to ensure longitudinal stability in flight. Projects like this are infrequent at best, with two flights standing out; that of the Gossamer Alba-

The team are looking for any students who may be interested in helping them get off the ground. Whether you are a computer scientist, marketing expert or anything in between, there are a whole host of projects that need to be completed. If you have anything to contribute to BUMPF, from web design to help engage sponsors, to managing the logistics of first flight, get in touch by emailing them at: humanpoweredaircraft@ bath.ac.uk tross, which flew across the English Channel, and Daedalus, built by MIT, which recreated Icarus’ mythical flight from Crete. However, whilst these got airborne on hundreds of thousands of dollars of funding and many years of development, BUMPF, kindly sponsored by the Bath University Alumni Fund, aim to get theirs in the air for less than £2,000, potentially the cheapest human aircraft to ever get in the air. And if you’re wondering, like many other sceptics, whether this thing will fly, the team have subscribed to the words of Van Gogh who remarked “What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?”

chemistry Harriet Bridgwater bathimpact contributor

or the majority of us students, even those who are happily coupled up, the idea of ‘settling down’ with one person is far from our thoughts. Although the idea of spending your whole life married to one person does not prevail in Western culture as much as in the past, many of us will still encounter a long-term relationship at some point in our lives, but are we biologically designed for these relationships? Does ‘love’ last? The sceptics out there (including me) tend to believe that in long-term relationships, passionate love fizzles out into companionate love. Research involving hundreds of American couples, in relationships of different durations, concluded that that ‘passionate’ love declines over time – this is nothing surprising. These apparent ‘changes’ in love have been linked to hormone levels in the brain. The infatuation, passionate stage of love, is accompanied by high levels of dopamine, a precursor of adrenaline. This increases our energy and focuses our attention when our partner is around. It’s then thought that the transition from romantic love to companionate love is accompanied by increased levels of oxytocin. This is the hormone behind bonding and maternal behaviour - it’s released when you hug someone!

Cooking up some hot loving

These changes however, may not occur in all relationships: some people claim that they still experience the same feelings toward their partner as in the early days of the relationship. Studies of electrical brain activity are starting to support these claims. American psychologists compared the brain activation of couples who had recently fallen ‘madly’ in love with those of couples in long-term marriages, who scored highly for ‘romantic’ love in questionnaires. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans were used to assess neuronal activity while the participants viewed images of their partners. There was similar electrical activation in areas associated with reward and motivation for those in both short and long-term relationships. The researchers argued that romantic love was different to the passionate love experienced in new relationships, which is often accompanied by obsessive and anxious feelings. But importantly, this later romantic love still carried the same feelings of intensity and sexual chemistry, and appeared to persist in some longterm couples. So perhaps there’s hope for the romantics out there. Any longterm relationship requires effort but it appears that for some couples the ‘happy ever after’ fairytale does exist. And if you want to increase your chances of staying with your partner, give lots of hugs!

Monday 14th February 2011

bathimpact

Media U n i versity

www.bathimpact.com

URB BLURB

University of Bath Students’ Union

Bath

Students’

14 4 9 A M

U n i on

STUDENT

1449am URB introduce their brand new panel show DistURBing the Peace....

m edia D

of Bath Students’ Union

tv Zap C W

istURBing The Peace is the brand new comedy panel show from URB. Including a veritable smorgasbord of highly questionable - both morally and intellectually - student panellists, DistURBing The Peace promises laughs aplenty, with the potential for wild tangents and unnecessary, yet hilarious, deviations. Presenting your panellists: Jack Wallace: Think Have I Got News For You, without the intellect. Sam ‘Foxy’ Foxman: Think Mock the Week, if Frankie Boyle was still there and packing more vitriol than ever before. Jamie O’Sullivan: Think Never

Mind the Buzzcocks, if it wasn’t cool, or sexy Gina Reay: Think QI, if Alan Davies was fit and had boobs. And your eloquent host: Benjamin Fyson, handed the highly unenviable task of trying to govern this chaos. If he can control this lot, he should receive a Cabinet role, on top of his existing knighthood and doctorate in being quintessentially British. If you were in Elements on Thursday 10th Febraury, you would have caught the live recording of the first episode, but if you missed it, it will be on air very soon, so stay tuned to 1449AM URB (or www.1449urb.co.uk).

ac.uk. backieverybody! u s Teelcome lev sion Ctv is returning from a fantastic ski trip with some amazing footage. We are currently in the process of editing it, so be patient, it will be worth the wait! As well as this, we are also editing Come Dine with Ctv footage but with hours and hours of material we could really use your help. If you’re interested please contact me, Station Manager Thomas Reis, at ctv-manager@bath.

Furthermore, we have applied a new format to our news which is out NOW and available on our youtube channel su9ctv - don’t forget to check it out, it’s worth a watch! We’re also in the pipeline of producing some very short comedy sketches, once again if you’re interested in getting involved, please get in touch. We have lots of ideas but we could really use your help!

DistURBing the Peace ft. bathimpact panellists

Media collaborate for comedy panel show Last Thursday 1449am URB recorded the first episode of their comedy panel show DistURBing the Peace featuring bathimpact’s Gina and Foxy

Monday 14th February 2011

bathimpact

Sabbs Corner

www.bathimpact.com

National Student Survey

Life as a Sabbatical Officer

With election season nearly upon us, you maybe thinking that next year it could be you. Ann (VP Activities & Development) tells us what she has got out of the year so far...

Calling all final years! he New Year sees the return of the National Student Survey (NSS) to most Higher and Further education institutions across the UK. Entering its seventh year, the NSS is your opportunity to voice your opinions on what you liked about your time at Bath, as well as things that you felt could have been improved. Student feedback is used to compile year on year comparative data that is published nationally so that

prospective students and their advisors can use the results to help make informed choices of where and what to study. The data is really useful to the university and to the students’ union so that we can facilitate best practice and enhance the student learning experience. You and your answers remain anonymous at all times and your contact details are only used for the purpose of the survey.

Attention idiots!

Stop being idiots!

ow listen, we don’t like getting our angry on, but it has been brought to our attention that it is likely that some students need a bit of a talking to and a proverbial smack across their hinds. The Bath Golf Course located behind some of the campus residences was subject to considerable vandalism and theft recently. Flags went missing, cups and signs stolen, lanterns were smashed and other property damaged beyond repair. The course manager witnessed the culprits heading off towards the university. We have a very close (and fragile) relationship with the golf course. Many students play there and we get good deals with them through the Sports Association. It is in neither the club’s nor our own interests for this relationship to break down. Quite simply this childish behaviour is only shooting yourself in the foot, because

the times where it is obvious that students were responsible we cough up for the damage out of good will, and that is money that we could spend on you, on other student activities to improve your student experience. So if it is you, for Pete’s sake (sorry Pete), STOP BEING THAT IDIOT WHO RUINS IT FOR EVERYONE ELSE! You are not cool; you are not clever; and the last time I checked you are not a kid anymore…you are just an idiot! We know we are sounding like your parents right now, but if want to act like a child, we’ll talk to you like a one. Of course, there is a small chance that it wasn’t students, in which case sorry for the rant, and the Bath Golf Club has asked that we work together to keep an eye out and catch the culprits. Please report anything you may have seen to the Students’ Union and we’ll pass it on. Thanks!

National Census 2011

here is a national census coming up later this year, and we have been asked to pass on a few messages to you all, so it would really help everyone if you can spread the word on this. Basically, you will hear a lot more about this in the national media, but for now, here are the key points that apply to you: 1) It is a legal requirement that you take part in the census if you are eligible. EVERY student who has been or will be in the UK for more than 6 months is eligible. 2) You will be fined £1000 if you don’t do it!

3) Most students will live in Bath, so make sure you complete the survey from the perspective as a Bath resident, and make sure your family don’t fill it out for you back at your non-term time address. 4) It is your responsibility to get the forms completed, nobody else’s! 5) There will be help and advice sent out to people living in university accommodation as there are certain things you must do differently, so keep you eyes open. Move information will be available from the BathStudent homepage in the News section.

Do you think being a Sabb this year has helped your personal development? This year has been amazing!!! And it’s gone so quick as well. It has been so much fun, I am so glad that I ran. In terms of “personal development,” I have definitely noticed myself become a lot more confident this year, I have more conviction in my decisions and it what I say, and those are things that will hopefully help me become a teacher. The skills you will pick up will always be useful to you, wherever you end up in life.

I panic when I don’t get stuff done. What is the work load like? I am a bit like that at times, but you have such a great team of people around you. Not just the other Sabbs, but the full time staff are always there to help. And of course, there are always tons of student volunteers, for example, a lot of my work can be done collaboratively with the committee execs. I wouldn’t get worried about the work load, there is always more to be done than be realistically be achieved one year, so you just have to prioritise what’s important.

What was campaigning like? You looked like you enjoyed it last year? Campaigning was awesome! Even if I hadn’t won, sure I’d of been upset, but it would still of been one of the best experiences of my life and I would still have enjoyed it. You meet so many people and the opportunity to get out there and talk to students and get them all excited about the election was one of the most fun things I have done.

I don’t know much about the nitty gritty stuff in the union. I am a member of some societies and stuff, but that is about it. Won’t I need more experience? Simple answer…. no! I was fairly involved, but you don’t have to be. I have learned loads about the Union that I had no idea about before I ran, both stuff that’s in my area and stuff that’s not. The stuff you don’t know you pick up along the way, and the experience you do have you can bring to the table. At the end of the day, sometimes someone with little experience is perfect for the job because they are a fresh pair of eyes. Sometimes being too close to the problem can prevent you seeing the obvious solution, it is often those less involved that can offer a fresh pair of eyes and spot the obvious solution to an ongoing issue.

Monday 14th February 2011

bathimpact

Activities | Societies

Soc will be heading to Nympsfield Abbey and BANG! to Downside Abbey.

ornin’ Semester 2! It’s week two of the new semester and still the perfect time to join one of the 85 societies on offer through the Activities Office in the Students Union. There is something for everyone, from Curry Appreciation to Cheerleading, Faith Societies, Cultural Societies, Societies related to your degree subject and Societies related to the Arts. Some Societies have reduced membership for this week only so make sure you join up while you can! Check out all of the Society pages on bathstudent to find out more about them.

cot (it’s not New York but hey…). Members will have the opportunity to visit Air Products, a large successful company that produce a range of atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, performance materials, and equipment and services. CESA students will have the chance to tour the Air Products site and learn about working as a chemical engineer in industry. In the same week, CESA will be welcoming Richard Boocock, Vice President, Information Technology and Chief Information Officer at Air Products, to share his experiences as an engineer and give advice on personal career development. Hope it goes well CESAs!” Hopefully the Catholic and Anglican Societies will both have a fantastic time when they embark on their retreats 25th – 27th February. Cath

Super Societies Simon, your Societies publicity officer, says: “Welcome back to the Socs area of bathimpact! I hope your exams have gone well and that you get the results you want. There’s lots going on and coming up for the societies, so here goes... After their fantastic achievements at the Winter Wonderland Competition, the Cheerleaders are once again off to compete at the Western Classics on the 26th February. Best of luck guys, I’m sure (as a diminutive and very attractive Geordie lass often says) you’ll “Smash it!” as you did at Winter Wonderland. CESA, the Chem. Engineering Society, have an exciting trip to Did-

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In the Arts… In the Arts Arena the Choral and Orchestral Society have their annual Recital coming up. This promises to be a spectacular evening featuring many performances with wine and cheese. Upchuck is Gravity Vomit’s annual Juggling Convention in the Founders Hall and brings people from all over the country together to learn more circus skills and tricks. There will be workshops running throughout the day before the evening show in University Hall. Buy your tickets now from ICIA and check out the articles below. BUST (Bath University Student Theatre) are performing Pygmalion 24th – 26th February at the Mission Theatre near the old bus station in Bath. Pygmalion is a five-act play written in 1912 by the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. It is essentially the ‘Play’ of the Musical My Fair Lady. Henry Higgins, a Professor of phonetics, makes a bet that he can transform a poor Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, to pass for a duchess at an ambassador's garden party. He starts by teaching her to speak in the correct manner.

Explain your Society

J-Soc

by Aurel Diamond (Society Chair)

Jewish Sabbath meal: Free food and wine?! bathimpact are so there! Anyone can take part in our exciting and diverse group: we are a cultural, social and educational society, so you don’t need to be Jewish to join. The staple events of the Society are definitely the amazing Friday night dinnerswe meet almost every week to light candles, eat food and drink wine for Shabbat (Sabbath) meals. The meals are always a bargain (sometimes free) and very lighthearted, so are a great way to meet new people and learn about another culture. We also have parties for some of the main Jewish festivals. In December, we celebrated the 8-day long Festival of Lights (Channukah) by lighting candles, eating doughnuts and gambling with dreidls. Next semester, we are looking forward to celebrating Purim in March, Passover in April and, of course, more classic Friday night feasts. Other events will include film viewings (like The Prince of Egypt!) and interesting guest speakers. Membership is free this year- so why not go to bathstudent.com now and sign up today?

cadbury’s fingers buy One geT One

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frij Milkshake Stateside Stonebaked cheese & Tomato/ pepperoni pizza

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Monday 14th February 2011

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Activities | Arts

www.bathimpact.com

You got The Craving? Get ready to get your balls out and by Rowan Emslie

he last BUST production was an exploration of the problems that artsy types face from the money-minded producers, advertisers and culture grandees that exert control over creative industries. Set in Hollywood, it charted the gradual erosion of a writer’s artistic vision as his screenplay is morphed from a sensitive, romantic coming of age tale to a fatuous, schlock zombie film peopled by hot bimbos speaking almost entirely in clichés. This production made efforts to remind the audience of its satirical content, employing abstract dramatic techniques such as cross-cutting and fourth wall breaking soliloquies to ensure that we wouldn’t be swept up in the plot and miss the point entirely. There were small touches that really made this kind of approach work; the bit-part character who was the female star’s assistant had a very obvious limp put on purely for her benefit (a pastiche of an Igor character) that indicated just how false the whole Hollywood world was. When allied with a commanding performance from David Jordan as an unbelievably smarmy director and a real atmosphere of lying, backstabbing and profit driven decision making was well established. The entire thing was underpinned by a good sprinkling of humour that further allowed the production to really mock the crassness of the hero’s butchered film. The December show from BUST aims to give large roles to newcomers and, on this showing, the future of the society is looking good. There were some very encouraging male actors getting their first taste of University acting – there is often a massive female over-representation – who should go on to become stalwarts of the society. BUST’s remarkable ability to produce, year on year, a good crop of actresses continued, very notably most of the biggest laughs came from the good timing and accents of some of the ensemble players – the bright-eyed young actress of Laura Tunilsse and the outrageously accented, strong willed Ukrainian mother character of Julia Kopycinska were particularly promising in this respect. All in all it was an enjoyable evening that drew laughs from the audience while doing well to highlight just why so many films and plays go so wrong.

Belt your heart out with Ch&OS! When? Saturday 19th February 2011 Where? University Hall, 7.30pm What do I wear? Black Tie Love to get dressed up in Black Tie on a Saturday night and spend the evening at a sophisticated music concert with cheese and wine refreshment? Well then, ChaOS’s Recital is the perfect night… The most talented musicians on campus showcase their favourite pieces in this elegant setting. Instruments to include violins, flutes, an oboe, a saxophone quartet and a harp!

chunder everywharr: it’s Upchuck time! Faye McCroy and Scott Burfriend of circus skills society Gravity Vomit can help introduce you to a unique skill with which you can truly impress.

After its great success last year, Gravity Vomit is back with Bath UpChuck 2011! Bath Upchuck is a juggling convention held at the University of Bath, run by Gravity Vomit! During the day there will be a main juggling session, with workshops and games in the founders hall and in the evening there will be a show with acts from all over the UK performing in the University Hall. With over 400 juggling enthusiasts expected to attend, this is an event not to be missed. When is it? Saturday 26th February Where is it? Day convention: Founders Hall 10.30 – 19.30 Evening performance: University Hall 19:30

What’s a Juggling Convention? A convention is when loads of people with the same hobby come together and share their passion with others. In this case Juggling and other circus skills. Whether you are a complete beginner or expert in any circus discipline we would love to see you there! There will be lots of workshops, tasters, games and loads of practice space. What workshops will be running? Student volunteers and professional jugglers alike will be there throughout the day to run workshops in loads of different circus skills. We have workshops lined up for learning the basics in 3 ball juggling, poi, diabolo and more, as well as some more advanced workshops like double staff, club passing and social siteswaps. We even have a chance for you to try out fan manipulation! What are juggling games? Juggling games can be anything at all – from 5 ball endurance to long distance club passing, 3 coin juggling to 1 legged gladiators. These are loads of fun, and are entertaining to watch. Anyone can take part in the games, with prizes for the winners. Do I need my own juggling equipment? No! Unless you want to. Gravity Vomit will bring all our club kit along for everyone to borrow. Lovely Jugglies will have a stall set up for you to buy any juggling toys you desire. Bath UpChuck began in 2009, supported by funding from University of Bath Alumni Fund, RELAYS and ICIA. With over 300 people attending, it was a huge success, and has been growing every year. Gravity Vomit hopes to continue running the convention in future years, with profits being used to help fund the following year’s convention – Bath UpChuck 2012 is expected to be entirely self-funded. Tickets cost £4 day, £4 evening, £7 combined and will be on sale on Parade or from the ICIA box office. They will also be available on the door. Visit bathupchuck.co.uk for more detailed information.

A day in the life of... a juggler By Ieuan Evans

For more information contact Claudia on cp297@bath.ac.uk or visit the ChaOS website.

Activities Calendar

learnt to juggle 3 balls when I was about 15, but never really took it further until I joined Gravity Vomit and now it's turned into a bit of an obsession. Two years later and I'm now working on 7 ball juggling and occasionally performing in shows. I went to my first convention in Bristol a few months after starting uni and I got taught things I'd have originally thought I'd have no hope for. I now go to conventions whenever I can and each time it's usually the same story. The bigger

events such as the British Juggling Convention, which lasts about a week, are a lot of fun. There will be a 24 hour sports hall to practice, open stages every night ‘til the early hours of the morning, workshops run by some of the best jugglers in a world class evening show. I've probably made just as many friends at these events around the country as I have since I came to uni. The open stages (called renegades) tend to have the most bizarre performances you will ever

see. Anyone can get up and perform, from the security guard who just learned how to juggle, the professionals who want to practice their new act, to general silliness and drunkenness. Some of the things I've seen include a man putting down a pop-up tent with his feet, then turning it into a Chinese dragon, a drunk man failing to balance a teaspoon on his chin, two amazing jugglers passing 10 rings over a chess game and a couple of hundred jugglers cheering at the stuff I was doing!

new

extended

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Monday 14th February 2011

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Sport

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Comments (continued) Continued from page 22

the participation of such clubs is key to attracting world class players. Add to this the budgetary issues, whereby many smaller clubs simply cannot compete with their richer counterparts when it comes to bidding for talent. We seem to be moving towards a two-tier Premier League, one where the top six are a class apart (Liverpool will surely rejoin the top five before too long) and then a bottom 14 who fight for Europe, as well as to avoid relegation. It’s tight and it’s nerve wracking, but it’s very entertaining nonetheless.

The art of bankruptcy Ioannis Costas bathimpact Reporter

ow do you flush a lifetime’s earnings of £186 million down the toilet? I’m not entirely sure, but what I do know is that you have to be a genius to pull it off. C’mon, there’s no way a couple of punches here and there over a twenty year career turned Mike Tyson into a moron who could achieve such a feat. He was a moron to start with. The hits simply ‘moronised’ him even more. It certainly is hard to understand how some ex-professional athletes manage to squander fortunes that would quite literally blow our minds. Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan’s trusted esquire, soon realized that a trip de Burger King (that is, a walk to the front door and back) was all he could afford after he wasted his £74 million savings. With that kind of cash, a year’s tuition for 24,000

students could be paid. Woops, sorry, got my Cameron-maths wrong. I meant to say tuition for 8,000 students could be afforded. Ultimately, what it comes down to is world-class poor decision making. Examples of this are listening to dodgy financial advisors who suggest investing £1.5 million into their build-an-igloo-for-baby-koalas business program or thinking that having an obscene number of cars is a good idea. Ex-baseballer Jack Clark really went to town on that last one. Not only did he have 18 cars, he owed money for 17 of them. With probably no extra cash left for petrol, he boasted 18 reasons to stay at home. Of course, in every sport-related bankruptcy conversation one name keeps popping up. As all British football enthusiast know, George Best saw Jack Clark’s spendthrift attitude towards cars (for a moment let’s overlook the fact that Best’s career ended ten years before Clark was declared bankrupt) and decided to follow suite, also putting women and ridiculous amounts of alcohol in the mixer. However, before you think that there are surely no more ways of losing so much money, desist! As I said, these people are true geniuses .Enter one-and-a-half-eared ex-boxer Evander Holyfield (worth £155 million) and his brilliant scheme: child breeding. He obviously failed to figure out that once you father somebody, you’ve committed to a kid for life. No discounts applicable. Even if you have another ten. So what’s the moral of the story? How do you avoid making the same mistakes as these individuals? Well, quite honestly, all you have to do is think. And not have 11 children.

Nominations are now open for Blues Awards Joe Dibben bathimpact Sports Editor

omination forms for the University of Bath Blues Awards are now available from the Sports Association website. The prestigious awards ceremony will be taking place at the Assembly Rooms on Wednesday 11th May. Nominations are currently being accepted for Colours, Half Blues, Full Blues and Special Awards.

Criteria information and entry forms can be found at www.bathstudent.com/sport/events/ bluesawards. The closing date for applications is Sunday 6th March. So, if you think you deserve to recognised for your sporting achievements, or you know of someone who does, put forward your nomination before it’s too late! Please ask Sadie Thwaites of the Activities Office for any more information (S.Thwaites@bath.ac.uk, 01225 383263).

FIXTURES- (9/2/2011): Group A- Natural Sciences v Physics, BUMS v Chemical Engineering, MoLES v Management, Architecture v Economics. Group B- Team Maths v Mechanical Engineering, Biology v Computer Sciences. (16/2/2011): Group A- Physics v Architecture, Economics v Natural Sciences, MoLES v BUMS, Management v Sports Science. Group B- Computer Sciences v Electrical Engineering, Pharmacy v Biology. Group A

W D

GF GA

Pts

MoLES

Management

Chem. Eng

Economics

BUMS

Sports Science

Architecture

Nat. Sciences

Physics

Group B

W D

Pts

Team Maths

Coach Ed.

Mech. Eng

Biology

Chemistry

Pharmacy

Comp. Sci

IDFC ready to recommence Joe Dibben bathimpact Sports Editor

fter a hiatus over the Christmas and exam period, the Inter-Departmental Football Championship (IDFC) is ready to roar back into action in the next few weeks. February 9th will see Group A’s top two teams go head-to-head, asMoLES take on Management. In Group B, leaders Team Maths will face third-placed Mechanical Engineering. The week after sees MoLES go against BUMS in Group A, while Computer Science or Electrical Engineering will get a win when they face off against each other in Group B. Want to get involved in refereeing in the IDFC for £17.50 per game? Contact Patrick Balling (pb318@ bath.ac.uk). To get your report featured in bathimpact, please get in touch with Joe Dibben (jcd22@bath. ac.uk).

Home Fixtures- Support our teams! FIXTURES (9/2/2011): Badminton: Mens 3rds v Bath Spa University 1sts. Football: Mens 3rds v University of Southampton 1sts. Hockey: Mens 3rds v University of Southampton 1sts, Womens 1sts v Brunel University 1sts, Womens 2nds v Cardiff University 2nds, Womens 4ths v University of Exeter 4ths, Womens 5ths v Bath Spa University 1sts. Lacrosse: Womens 2nds v Cardiff University 1sts. Netball: 5ths v UWE 3rds. Rugby: Mens 2nds v University of Exeter 2nds, Mens 4ths v University of Winchester 1sts. Squash: Mens 2nds v University of Plymouth 1sts. Table Tennis: Mens 2nds v University of Southampton 1sts. Tennis: Mens 2nds v University of Warwick 2nds, Womens 2nds v University College London 1sts. (16/2/2011): Badminton: Mens 1sts v University of Hertfordshire 1sts, Mens 3rds v University of Bristol 2nds, Womens 1sts v University College London 1sts, Womens 2nds v University of Bedfordshire 1sts. Football: Mens 2nds v University of Bath 3rds, Mens 4ths v University of Bristol 2nds. Golf: 1sts v Aberystwyth University 1sts. Hockey: Mens 2nds v University of Bristol 3rds, Mens 4ths v Swansea University 1sts, Womens 2nds v Cardiff University 3rds, Womens 3rds v Royal Agricultural College 1sts, Womens 4ths v UWE 2nds, Womens 5ths v University of Winchester 2nds. Lacrosse: Mens 1sts v College of St Mark & St John 1sts. Netball: 4ths v University of Exeter 5ths, 5ths v University of Bristol 3rds. Rugby: Mens 1sts v University of Exeter 1sts, UWIC v Mens 2nds, Womens 1sts v University College London 1sts. Table Tennis: Mens 1sts v University of Sheffield 1sts. Tennis: Mens 1sts v University of Durham 1sts, Womens 1sts v University of Bristol 1sts. Mike Tyson: great boxer, not so good with money though.

To get your team’s match report in impactsport, please get in touch with the Sports Editor (jcd22@bath.ac.uk).

Monday 14th February 2011

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Comments

Six nations preview Jack Penrose bathimpact Reporter

he greatest rugby tournament in the world will have just kicked off by the time this gets to press. That’s right, the Six Nations is back! I don’t know at the time of writing this what the scores were for the games of England v Wales, Italy v Ireland and France v Scotland. But here’s my prediction for the competition. This is the first year where I don’t think there will be a grand slam (an undefeated winner). I think each team is too good to guarantee a win against, and that each team is also fallible. A grand slam requires consistency, strategy, depth and – most importantly – luck. I don’t think any team has all that of that in the tank for the 2011 competition. I’m going to predict that it will be a victory for the French this year. Despite their inconsistency of results (such as winning a Grand Slam, then losing 5916 to Australia), they’ve got too much firepower and depth throughout their squad. Each team has a difficult away tie or two, and France have England and Ireland both away on consecutive weekends. The French always seem to have trouble with travelling, and with the English, so I don’t think they can win both ties. Therefore I think France will just triumph with four wins overall, probably losing to England at Twickenham. As for the rest, I think England will come second, but will probably lose to the Irish away, somewhere they have struggled in the past. Additionally, with the Irish, Welsh and English all

suffering from a set of hefty injuries, I would say they are a bit weaker than France. The Welsh and Irish will fight it out for third and fourth place, with Scotland in fifth and Italy earning the Wooden Spoon in sixth. However, you never know what is going to happen in this tournament, I will stick to my guns and say that it will be: 1. France, 2. England, 3. Wales, 4. Ireland, 5. Scotland and 6. Italy. It will be very close this year, and that’s why I’m not backing anyone for the Grand Slam. The great thing about the Six Nations is its unpredictability, so that means that my predictions could all be way off. I think by the time you read this, England will have celebrated a historic win in Cardiff, Ireland will have seen off a strong Italian side in Rome, and France will have been too much for the Scots in Paris. But then again, I’ve got a slice of humble pie in the fridge if that’s not the case. Above all, sit back and enjoy the great rugby on offer in the coming weeks.

Shoddy and stale as well as sexist Joe Dibben bathimpact Sports Editor

hile I was in Germany last summer, I found myself in a bar one evening watching coverage of the Chile versus Spain match in the group stage of the World Cup. Spain had just secured the victory they needed to progress into the second round, and as far as they’re concerned, the rest is history. As I was sipping away at my beer

As for Keys and Gray, I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that it’s good riddance.

Is the Premier League dull? James Pomeroy bathimpact Reporter

Keys and Gray both lost their jobs after two decades with Sky. though, I noticed a familiar face in the studio doing some post match punditry- it was none other than Swiss referee Urs Meier, who infamously disallowed Sol Campbell’s goal during extra-time in England’s Euro 2004 quarterfinal against Portugal. England were knocked out, and the tabloids pointed the finger at Meier - the subsequent death threats he received forced him to quit the game. Similar brash and illjudged criticism from the media in this country was a key factor in the decision of Scottish referees to go on strike in November. He was accompanied to his left by the German women’s national team captain Birgit Prinz. Could you imagine that happening in this country! A referee and the women’s national team captain doing the punditry on a key (men’s) World Cup match. Now I’m not saying that they were necessarily the best pundits in the world, nor I am saying that the German broadcasting of football matches is the shining beacon that we should all follow. But the recent incident involving Sky Sports’ Andy Gray and Richard Keys brings up some key issues, that for me, go beyond just sexism. Gray’s and Keys’ comments towards lineswoman Sian Massey were immature, ignorant and above all,

The outcome of the Six Nations Championship will be very difficult indeed to predict this year.

unacceptable. But I’m afraid we’ve come to expect this sort of substandard drivel from football pundits on British television. Roy Keane spoke very succinctly in an article in the Independent three years ago about what he thought of Sky Sports’ coverage in particular. He especially lamented the fact that viewers were being ‘brainwashed’ by the short-termism propagated by pundits, saying that he ‘wouldn’t listen to these people in the pub, and yet they’re on television constantly.’ He went on to point out the embarrassing lack of insight they provide saying that his advice to anyone is ‘don’t listen to any of the experts.’ The fiery Irishman is spot on too. TV football coverage is full of these dinosaurs - the likes of Shearer, Souness, Hansen, Redknapp and others are well past their sell-by date. Alan Shearer, an ‘expert’ for BBC, was covering the match between Slovenia and Algeria in the World Cup, two of the teams in England’s group. When Gary Lineker asked Shearer about what he knew about the Slovenians, his response was ‘well, not an awful lot really.’ Not an awful lot really? Are you joking? Yes, I know that Slovenia doesn’t have the most illustrious footballing history. But we were talking here about a team that England were playing in their next game. Paying my TV licence fee, I expect much better from these so-called experts - I don’t care if England are playing Swaziland, Slovenia or Spain. It is a lack of respect on behalf of our pundits to not even bother researching our opponents. Such a belittling attitude is typical of the same old guard that Keys and Gray are a part of. And don’t get me started on Mark Lawrenson’s ‘sense of humour’. The worrying thing is that before we were able to record live television, we were forced to listen to such tripe. People wanting to know more about football used to actually have no choice but to listen to such flailing analysis; thank goodness for the fast forward button on my remote control these days. My advice to anyone learning about the tactics of the game is to look elsewhere: www.zonalmarking.net is particularly good, or maybe even take a coaching course organised by your local FA.

he Premier League has gained a sort of reputation for being dull, with the same four teams always finishing in the top four, and so often newly promoted teams heading straight back down. This season is different however. We have a situation where until two weeks ago we had a five-horse title race (and may still have if United slip up) while the bottom 13 clubs are all within ten points of each other. At the same time, Liverpool are in mid-table and all three newly-promoted teams are standing clear of the drop, with Newcastle as high as eighth. Why? Suddenly, we have a closing of the class gap, and when Newcastle and West Brom can win at the Emirates, and Wolves beat Chelsea, you know the season is going to be special. Man City’s extravagant spending and Tottenham’s gradual growth and Champions League presence have them sitting near the top of the table

Ian Holloway’s Blackpool have surprised many this season. these days, while the bottom 13 really are in a scrap to stay up. A lack of spending power from such clubs in the bottom half of the table - when was the last time Blackburn or West Ham signed a top drawer player for example - has enabled the newly promoted teams to gain a foothold in the top flight. Blackpool’s free flowing, open game has shocked many, as has West Brom’s neat passing football. At the same time, incumbent Premier League teams find it hard to move to the next level without the allure of European competition.Only the top five and Liverpool are left in European competitions, in which... Continued on page 21

Monday 14th February

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Take to the skies this semester

UoB Gliding Club’s Colin Field explains to impactsport how we could be flying in no time at all this semester- and for lot less money than we might think

UoB Gliding Club’s Tim Sauvalle in mid-flight over Somerset

Team Bath stay unbeaten (continued) Continued from page 24 these two playoff contenders. Bath captain and two-goal hero David Jennings was mindful of the importance of avoiding defeat: “We came so, so close to winning at the death, but we are glad to have not handed Chippenham the initiative by losing to them. There are still a lot of games to go this season, and a point here could still prove valuable.”

3-3 (32’), Perrott 3-4 (33’), Jennings 4-4 (36’). Team Bath followed up this draw against Chippenham with a thrilling 4-3 win over Loughborough University Futsal Club on Sunday 6th February, goals coming courtesy of Ian Parkes, Marc Canham, Sion Kitson and Rob Yilmaz. The win puts Bath in third spot, two points behind second-placed Chippenham and four behind Team United Birmingham, both of whom have played a game more.

Team Bath: Dix (gk), Ingram, Jennings (capt), Kitson, Scheben, Canham, Eagles, Gardiner, Bourdin, Dorin, Lima (gk). Coach- Sion Kitson Chippenham: Lyons (gk), Banks, Nash, Stephens, Perrott, Ballinger (capt), Baker. Coach- Chris Ballinger. Goals: Jennings 1-0 (11’), Kitson 2-0 (16’), Stephens 2-1 (19’), Perrott 2-2 (25’), Canham 3-2 (31’), Perrott

FA FUTSAL LEAGUE MIDLANDS DIVISION P

W D

GF GA

Pts

Team United Birmingham 6

Chippenham

TEAM BATH

Loughborough University

Hereford

Cardiff Cymru

Team Newbury

Remaining Team Bath fixtures: 13/02- Hereford v TEAM BATH, 06/03- TEAM BATH v Loughborough University, 13/03- TEAM BATH v Hereford, 27/03- TEAM BATH v Team United Birmingham, 03/04- Chippenham v TEAM BATH, 08/05- TEAM BATH v Team Newbury, 15/05Cardiff Cymru v TEAM BATH

hhh, spring…. Isn’t it everyone’s favourite time of year? Exams are over (for a few months at least), the weather is getting warmer all the time and we can start to forget about the harsher parts of winter. For glider pilots, however, it is eagerly awaited as the start of a whole new season as the air warms up enough for thermals to develop, once again allowing us to soar high on these currents of rising air. Many people think that gliders are only capable of short flights, floating slowly down to earth after the initial winch or aero-tow launch. While this is sometimes the case in winter, the prime mission in gliding is using rising air currents to push the glider upwards, gaining energy to allow long flights or large distances to be covered. On sunny days, our flights are limited only by our ability to find lift, which is why we must fly regularly to keep in practice. If the thought of learning to fly an aircraft appeals to you, try something new this semester and join the Gliding Club. Whether you want to just give it a go, or aspire to be a competition racing pilot, we can teach you from the very basics onwards and we are one of the cheapest Uni Gliding Clubs in the country too. We run trips to the airfield every weekend the weather allows and you will receive free instruction in two-seat gliders. From the 6th to 14th August, Bath Uni is hosting the National InterUni’s Competition nearby- this week is a great chance fly lots and meet many other Uni pilots from all over the country with BBQs and plenty of social events. This competition is aimed at progressing your training, for which you earn points for your University, and we often send pilots on their first solo flight! Then there is the exciting cross-country competition which Bath University have a very good record of winning. So, if you fancy taking to the skies this semester, check out bathstudent. com/sport/clubs/gliding for more

information and join up! We took some of the Sabbs gliding earlier in the year, and this is what they had to say about it… Daniel O’Toole (SU President): “It was an exhilarating and very much an empowering experience. Within aminute of being in the air, Colin put me in control of the glider. I loved the hands-on, learn-bydoing, in at the deep-end-style that the morning was carried out in. What an absolutely fantastic experience. It is one that I will neverforget; one that I recommend every student at Bath takes advantage of; one that makes me proud, to be President of the Students’ Union which, along with committed student volunteers, makes these types of activities possible. Ann Howell (VP Activities and Development): “Gliding is such excellent value for money - after joining the Sports Association and then the Gliding Club the costs are just £6.90 for a winch launch and the first 30 minutes of any flight are free! As a beginner you won’t be up for much longer than 30 minutes because the concentration and knowledge required to keep the glider to a suitable altitude is huge! I would recommend Gliding to anyone - it is a fantastic opportunity to really try something different and push you to various limits. It is lots of fun and gives a real sense of achievement as well as requiring tactical thinking and knowledge of the wind and clouds! Andy Crawshaw (VP Sport): “My experience with the UoB Gliding club was a brilliant one. Having flown before it was good to get back up in the air, the one major difference this time was that I didn’t have an engine! The peace and the views you get when you are flying above the ground is incredible and an experience I would strongly recommend to anyone. Though it can be a long day, you get more than your money’s worth, and then a nice relax at the club bar afterwards.”

SU President Daniel O’ Toole is a big fan of gliding.

England Saxons train at Bath England Rugby’s Saxons Elite Player squad trained at the University of Bath recently prior to their 45-17 win over Italy ‘A’ at Worcester. The side, which includes Bath Rugby’s Nick Abendanon, Lee Mears and Duncan Bell, will be taking part in the Churchill Cup in Canada later this year. The Saxons are the latest in a long line of prominent rugby sides to have used the excellent facilities here at Bath, following a visit from the All Blacks in November prior to their test match win over Wales in Cardiff.

Netballers make impressive start Team Bath’s netballers have made an impressive start to the Fiat Superleague, with three wins out of three at Team Northumbria (59-26) and at home against Celtic Dragons (50-40) and Loughborough Lightning (52-38). The reigning champions are looking for their fifth Superleague crown this season, and have gam The girls are in action on February 12th away to Mavericks, before travelling to Leeds Carnegie for a televised clash on February 21st.

So far, so good for Team Bath in netball’s Fiat Superleague.

Barrow competes in Worlds Bath student Jamie Barrow is currently competing in the World University Winter Games in Erzurum, Turkey. The second year Sports Performance student is taking part in the snowboard cross competition, and was confident of his chances: “I should get into the final 32, I’d be really disappointed if I didn’t.” “A good result for me would be to get into the last-16, and once you’re there, you can’t really predict what’s going to happen. If I can get through that, hopefully there’s a chance I could get a medal.”

impactsport

Can Martin Johnson’s England win the Six Nations this year? Comments, p22 Monday 14th February 2011

Inside impactsport Glide away this semester Colin Field from the University of Bath Gliding Club tells impactsport how easy it is to get in the air this semester., for a lot less money than you might expect Team Bath (yellow) line up just before their 4-4 draw against Chippenham. Sion Kitson’s side remain a good bet for a playoff place.

Team Bath stay unbeaten »»Team Bath Futsal 4-4 Chippenham Futsal Joe Dibben bathimpact Sports Editor

eam Bath and Chippenham shared the spoils in an enthralling 4-4 draw in FA Futsal League Midlands clash at the Founders Hall. The point means that Team Bath stay fourth, but preserve their unbeaten start to the season. Bath coach Sion Kitson had to do without the suspended Ian Parkes and absent Rob Yilmaz, but welcomed experienced former England futsal international Marc Canham into the side. The opening exchanges were certainly cagey between the two local rivals, who have both started their campaigns strongly. Chippenham were having more of the ball though, and

on six minutes, Bath keeper Brendan Dix was alert enough to smother Mike Perrott’s effort. Bath soon started to settle into the game though afterwards, and were doing well to soak up Chippenham pressure while providing a palpable threat on the break- one such counter attack resulted in captain David Jennings coming close on ten minutes, but his strike from a tight angle came back off the post. But Bath’s top scorer wasn’t to be denied, and from another break just a minute later, he provided the vital touch from Mark Ingram’s cross to the back post to guide the home side into a 1-0 lead. Chippenham continued to look dangerous though, and almost responded on 13 minutes, but Dix was able to block Luke Ballinger’s free kick - the England captain was returning

Jennings (l.) and Scheben (r.) look to defend for Team Bath.

to league action after having inspired England to a 3-2 over Estonia during the Euro 2012 qualifiers in Macedonia during the preceding week. But Chippenham were finding it difficult to defend against Bath’s swift counter attacking, and on 16 minutes, Bath doubled their lead from such an opportunity. After breaking from his own half, Canham was aware enough to spot the onrushing Kitson to his left, who swept the ball past Chippenham keeper Jamie Lyons to give Bath a 2-0 lead. Dix continued to be the busier of the two keepers though, and expertly managed to thwart both Ballinger and Danny Baker’s attempts on goal on 18 minutes. Chippenham were able to finally get on the scoresheet just a minute later, as a smart move from a corner resulted in Robert Stephens scoring from close range- 2-1 was the scoreline at the break. Chippenham continued to be on top in the second half, and duly got their equaliser on 25 minutes as Perrott poked the ball from close range past Dix. The away side were on top now, and Dix had to again be sharp to deny George Nash and Perrott once again. Bath remained the more composed side in the final third of the court, and Canham cut inside from the left to rifle his side back into the lead on 31 minutes, grabbing a goal in his Bath debut. But within two minutes, Chippenham had turned the match on its head, as Mike Perrott scored twice on 32 and 33 minutes respectively to give his side a 4-3 lead with just seven minutes

remaining. This was a game that Bath just couldn’t afford to lose though, and the home side had no other choice but to press hard to find the goal that would get them back into contention- Jennings had an effort tipped over the bar by Lyons, before a possible handball inside the box from Ballinger was waved away by referee Mike Hall on 34 minutes. Bath were to finally make their pressure count on 36 minutes- Ingram’s pinpoint pass finding Jennings, who slotted the ball through the legs of Lyons to put Bath back on level terms at 4-4, much to the relief of the home crowd assembled in the Founders Hall. The game was there for Bath to win in the last few minutes, as Kitson was twice denied by Lyons in quick succession, although Ballinger once again tested Dix at his near post from a counter attack. With just 40 seconds left though, Dix was almost caught out - after having a strike from a long way out, Chippenham keeper Lyons tried an audacious drop kick which dropped just millimetres over the Bath crossbar. It was the home side who were to have the final opportunity though. Following somewhat of a goalmouth scramble, the ball dropped to Grahame Gardiner with just two seconds remaining, the Bath hitman seeing his effort agonisingly bounce back off the inside of the post. In truth, it was a game that either side could have quite easily won, and a draw was a fair result between... Continued on page 23

See page 23 to find out how you can join

Blues nominations open Nomination forms for the Blues Awards are now available from the Sports Association website. This year’s prestigious award ceremony will take place in the Assembly Rooms on Wednesday 11th May. Put someone forward for an award today! See page 21 to find out how you can put forward a nomination

Your sports comments Check out the latest news and views- topics this week include the Six Nations Championship and the state of television football punditry. Go to pages 21 and 22 and see what you think

impactsport needs you! Do you want to write a match report for your team? Do you have something to say about sport at our university? Interested in sports journalism, design or photography? Or even just passionate about sport in general? Get in touch! impactsport wants to hear from people like you! Contact the bathimpact Sports Editor (jcd22@ bath.ac.uk) to find out more details about how you can get yourself involved and get your team, your views, your designs or your photography seen.

New YearNew World Monday 14th February 2011

Is the Big Society all smoke and mirrors?

Monday 14th February 2011

EDITORIAL

Editor Gina Reay editor@bathimpact.com Deputy Editor Hannah Raymont deputy@bathimpact.com

bite Editors Caroline Leach features@bathimpact.com Rowan Emslie ents@bathimpact.com Publicity Officer Julia Lipowiecka publicity@bathimpact.com Chief Sub-Editor Sam Foxman subeditor@bathimpact.com Advertising Enquires Helen Freeman H.Freeman@bath.ac.uk 01225 386806

bathimpact Students’ Union University of Bath Bath BA2 7AY 01225 38 6151 Printed by Harmsworth Press Ltd.

Welcome to the fourth issue of bite. Our theme this fortnight is ‘New Year, New World’. Using this slightly poncey title we’ve attempted to explore all that 2011 promises to bring us, both positive and negative. Our lead article this issue takes a closer look at the Coalition plans for a Big Society and the implications they have for Britain as a whole. As well as his Big Society plans, David Cameron and his Etonian buddies are also taking over your wardrobe, find out how and why on page 8. We’ve also got some personal recommendations for 2011; from relationship advice to an invitation to try a new hobby. We’ve also got our usual street style, puzzles and Made in Bath for your viewing pleasure. This fortnight we hear from a recently graduated former Economics and International Development student. If you like what you see or fancy writing for us yourself then please get in touch; either by using the email addresses on the left or by coming along to one of our contributors’ meetings which take place fortnightly. Search for bathimpact on Facebook or Twitter for more information.

Contents Features The Big Society. One big con? Pages 2 & 3 Surf’s up. Page 4 A gentle nudge, or the Big Society bruising your ribs? Page 4 Made in Bath. Page 5 Never have I ever.... made a relationship resolution. Page 5

The Guide Upcoming gigs, comedy, films and exhibitions near you.Page 7

Fashion Bath Style - Our photographer documents Parade’s style mavericks. Pages 8 & 9 The gentrification of our high street. Page 8

Theatre Avenue Q’s charms and the evils of the Bad Idea Toffs. Page 10 & 11

Film

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The Big Society. One big con?

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Written by Sian Barnett Social Action, Public Service Reform and Community Empowerment – Are Cameron’s three pillars of The Big Society set to crumble before they’ve even been raised?

t’s something that was addressed when he ran for leadership of the Conservative Party. Then again when he was elected. Throughout all his years as leader of The Opposition; during his election campaign and when standing on the steps of Downing Street, keys to number 10 in hand. David Cameron’s proverbial baby. The Big Society of Britain. In a speech on the 19th July 2010 at Liverpool Hope University, David Cameron reignited the fire of the Big Society in Great Britain. But what does this actually mean? What is The Big Society? Is it just Cameron’s ideological alibi for the Government to reduce state funding? Call it Liberalism, call it Empowerment, call it Freedom, call it Responsibility, even call it a Culture Change – you can call it anything you like. But what Cameron doesn’t seem to realise is that, as Shakespeare wrote “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet” - that which we call the Coalition (‘passing the buck’) would smell irresponsible. The core standpoints of the Big Society are Social Action, Public Service Reform and Community Empowerment. Apart from being titles which sound like they’re from a diary of political philosophy – what do they mean? Can Cameron really, truly be trying to engage the man on the street when he is still using the language of the man in the Ivory Tower? Explanation needed please, Dave. Pillar 1: Social Action – this pillar of the Big Society is that which Cameron hopes to affect the daily decisions of the citizens of the UK. This isn’t about our life choices, this isn’t even about us. Social Action is about you and me putting time and effort into the causes around us. Be that supporting your local businesses, volunteering at the charity shop in the high street or even just giving some of your hard-earned, heavily-taxed cash to the man rattling a charity tin outside the bank. It’s about philanthropy, benevolence and not only considering yourself in your daily routine. A charmed idea, I’m sure we’d all agree. But is it realistic? Is it measurable? Studies have shown that there is a direct negative correlation between a stable economic climate and levels of charity donations. As the economy plunders, we become selfish. A shame, as one would hope that as the country finds itself with a deficit as big as Boris Johnson is blonde, we’d pull together. Such is the wish of our Prime Minister – hence the first pillar being one of selflessness. A frustratingly simple concept. Why are we already not more generous with the resources at our disposal? With unemployment levels reaching the highest in decades though, we may just see Social Action taking off. Even if this take off is just as a result of boredom rather than dear Dave’s dream of an altruistic nation. Pillar 2: Public Service Reform - the second pillar from our Prime Minister promises a removal of red tape and centralised bureaucracy from our public services, which he openly admits “waste money and undermine morale”. This reformation underpins the process of giving professionals more freedom, opening up public services to charities, and encouraging innovation and diversity in social enterprises and private companies. Cameron wants there to be more flexibility, responsiveness, and elasticity to the currently constrictive, restrictive public services. He is committed to a divergence from formalities in hospitals, schools and local councils; pronouncing his assurance that local people will know and understand the way their services should and could be best provided.

Student rivals doc reveals that ‘both sides have dickheads’. Page 12

Music The soundtrack of your future, from your TV Page 13

Literature Old Habits, old medium, old news? Page 14

Puzzles The initiative has been Cameron’s baby since before the 2010 election.

Monday 14th February 2011

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www.bathimpact.com Pilot projects in four areas (Liverpool, Eden Valley, Windsor and Sutton) will be taking place to demonstrate how re-engineering services from their roots can “turn government completely on its head”. Yet is seems that in reality, ‘delegation’ is the name of the game. Cameron sees the clout in disseminating dictation from Downing Street to ensure the creation of “something that doesn’t just pour money down the throat of wasteful, topdown government schemes”. His aim is to flatten our governmental hierarchy and enable local governments, authorities and officials to take more responsibility for their communities - he stresses the importance of removing our culture of ‘micro-management’ and encouraging local innovation and indeed support of the first pillar of Social Action. This should allow for more advanced approaches to some tough policy challenges to emerge. “Should” being the operative word however. Enter stage left, Pillar 3. Pillar 3: Community Empowerment – or “oomph” as he once put it. This pillar is quite simply that of the population of the UK having the energy and spirit to support the new proposed structure. Without Community Empowerment, the rolling back of the state will result in, well, nothing. Nada. Zilch. It is with this third pillar that Cameron hopes society will “spring up” and support his plans and indeed, each other. Cynicism aside, I doubt anyone in this country could disagree with the morality behind Cameron’s grand plan. Having a society feeling liberated and powerful enough to generate their own solutions and their own communities can only be a good thing. Is this an extension of (pioneer of political economics) Adam Smith’s ‘invisible hand’, working in even further ways? Rolling back state control and leaving markets to their own devices (for the most part) is what most Western economies are founded upon. It has come to be our model of ‘how an economy should be run’. But what about our societies, is it a suitable rule of thumb for them too? It seems the anti-socialist, anti-communist fear of state intervention is trickling across from George Osborne’s Little Book of Big Rules to Theresa May’s. So, alongside his three upholding pillars of The Big Society, Cameron has provided us with three techniques to enable them to be erected. Decentralisation. Transparency. Finance Provision. Decentralisation does exactly what it says on the tin – without shifting the focus from central to local governments, the supportive infrastructure for the three pillars will be marginalised. We cannot be reductionist about this though – it is not just about a spotlight moving from Whitehall to the town hall. This is also about providing individuals, groups, entire neighbourhoods of pro-active, innovative types with new legislative support they need to initiate new ideas and schemes in their communities. Transparency too is self explanatory. This is the Coalition’s way of building trust with the public. By agreeing to demands such as releasing data of where crimes have taken place on the streets of the UK, Cameron is trying to foster good relationships with the people of Britain. The idea is that this will encourage us to get involved in The Big Society in general. It is also about transparency between us as ‘the men on the street’. This requires us to take action ourselves with community initiatives; Neighbourhood Watch, youth clubs and alike. Cameron, it seems, does recognise how dated this genre of community action is – hence putting the power in our hands to see what would actually work for us.

Initiatives like Neighbourhood Watch are an example of putting power in the hands of the community

Can we really all be persuaded to give more in a time of recession?

Ed Miliband is (predictably) not backing the plans

The slogan for the campaign Finance Provision. The deal breaker. This is threefold. The first part is about changing the nature of how the Government funds public service providers. Charities in particular will have their government funding changed. They will be rewarded on results, rather than given the funds upfront. Adding a competitive element to the public sector, many agree, is long overdue. There is, after all, a reason why this country is in a deficit yet the corporations based here are largely not. Secondly, this finance must bridge the gap and stop the exclusion of smaller organisations because of high start up costs. So, if the Big Society infrastructure can connect private capital investment to social projects – it’s on to a winner. Thirdly, and perhaps most Public Relations friendly, is the Big Society Bank. This is a specially designated fund for all things Big Society, the main purpose being to fund organic, new initiatives from and for communities all over the nation. The FT has reported however, that the Big Society Bank will only be able to launch with initial reserves of £60 million. Given that the Congestion Charge alone brings in revenues of £250 million a year, the Big Society Bank is more of the piggy variety than anything else. Cameron and his team are marketing the Big Society as “the biggest, most dramatic redistribution of power from elites in Whitehall to the man and woman on the street”. This has obviously provided a fine chance for a rebuttal from The Red Team. Ed Miliband stated that Cameron was “cynically attempting to dignify its cuts agenda, by dressing up the withdrawal of support with the language of reinvigorating civic society”. Granted, no kind words can be expected to be heard from Ed Miliband about the Tory flagship election policy here, but the Leader of the Opposition has sugared no pills with his views. “Make no mistake, under the Tories the voluntary sector’s role will be shrunk, not expanded.” Mr Miliband could be correct here. The Coalition cannot expect the country to take this apparent new found freedom and do all which Cameron wishes with it, just because he wishes so. Does a laissez-faire approach ‘work’ when it comes to the subjectivity of human nature? Our new cabinet can facilitate all the altruism and innovation they want, but as we see when it comes to voting turnout, the British public vote with their feet. This does not bode well for Cameron’s Grand Plan seeing that 34.9% of the UK chose not to walk anywhere near a polling station for the 2010 General Election. This does however, lead to an unexpected congratulation to Cameron for at least one of his synonyms for the Big Society - “Culture Change”. Not that this ideology is particularly innovative in standpoint, perhaps proving the futility of Cameron’s big push. Perhaps he knows that despite being in a job, he is in fact redundant. Perchance he is on to something more astute than we are first led to believe. Our PM does, at least, know that he cannot please all of the people all of the time. So, by giving us the free reign to do as we please, we cannot complain to him. Though admittedly, a Culture Change is an intangible concept with no perceivable metric to gauge success by. “This process is all about learning,” he says “we haven’t got all the answers, let’s work them out together”. So, it seems, all the good intentions in the world aside, he can continue to veil the Big Society as Liberalism, Empowerment and Freedom but what he cannot shroud is his veil of B-S enveloping the B.S.

Monday 14th February 2011

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Looking for a new hobby? Written by Eva Perrett

Alisa Itskova

Francis Thompson

ou may see them around campus, in your lectures or queuing in Fresh. They look almost the same as any other student after inter-semester break. A bit more relaxed perhaps and with the odd flip flop still stuck on freezing feet. This week, an army of tanned surfers descended on campus straight from the sun, sea and surf of Morocco. But do not be deceived, not all of them are quicksilver-wearing, big wave surfing pros. In fact, quite a lot joined the Surf Club to learn something they’ve always wanted to try. Konstantinos Voulpiotis explains that he was lured into the club by the cheap trips aimed at both beginners and advanced surfers and “never since regretted it”. Cheekily catching green waves with the intermediates after just a week of lessons he does seem to be having the time of his life. Maciek Konopa, also a beginner when he joined, agrees that “the feeling on a wave is just amazing”. But let’s not get carried away with all the “surf’s up” talk here. Although the club’s trips offer amazing deals for Pro members to surf new breaks and beginners to improve, another pull-factor is the club’s social aspect. New member Clemency Huggins enthuses “the surf club is one of the most sociable clubs I know”. Kerry Day agrees, adding that along with a talent for partying the club offers a very chilled out, accepting and inclusive atmosphere. Chris Keely points out that, without heavy training sessions, the club offers the perfect balance for sport freaks and slower movers alike - although after two minutes of paddling for waves you will surely vow to join the gym. To join this diverse and relaxed group go to Bathstudent.com or the “Bath Uni surf club 10/11” group on Facebook.

A nudge here and there, or just Big Society bruising your ribs? D

rs Cass Sunstein and Robert Thaler’s timely tome, Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth and happiness, became the political must-read upon its release back in 2008. The two University of Chicago professors proposed an alternative to outright prohibition of those nasty, naughty vices of ours through their own oxymoronic brand of libertarian paternalism. Libertarian paternalism, according to Sunstein and Thaler, are two ‘reviled’ political terms, an unlikely combination of which likely conjures up in the minds of many a murky montage of rabid Republican ‘racist’ Tea-Partiers (a group often associated with ‘libertarian’ values but who are clearly just a deranged minority) gurning menacingly into a camera lens, then fading to time-worn images of cartoonish propaganda posters depicting ruthless authoritarian governments literally holding a boot to the neck of their peoples, denying basic freedoms and keeping a close watch over their every move. We could even go as far as to say that our every move is already being watched, as the UK recently topped a poll for the country with the most CCTV cameras (bravo Britons!). Now, in light of the recent events unfolding in Egypt and Tunisia, in no way can we say that the UK is authoritarian in comparison, but with their preference for Big Society over Big-eyed Big Government, will our very own Coalition cut the cameras? Of course not; our sullen faces, symptomatic of the

Written by Hannah Raymont

current economic climate, will come in quite handy for their Happiness Index, I’m sure. So, to strike a balance between these two extremes, libertarianism and paternalism (often roughly equated, as rather crudely here, with authoritarianism), Nudge champions a society wherein people are essentially free to make choices but are guided towards a preferable option perceived to be ultimately more beneficial to the individual. Supermarkets and even school cafeterias use visual tricks to attract the eye to a more expensive (next time you go to Sainsbury’s, check which products are at eye level) or healthier food product, so why not the government? Can the government become ‘choice architects’ and essentially nudge us towards a healthier, happier way of life? The British Medical Journal for one seriously doubts that nudging will have little to no effect on improving health problems in this country. However, Thaler has been a key influence upon Osbourne and Cameron, with the new,blue and rather dubiously named Behaviour Insight Unit set up to be in charge of the collective ribpoking. Now in opposition, the Labour Party has been commonly associated with a so-called nannying culture wherein heavy legislation (namely the 3000+ new criminal offences created during 9 years in office) and of being at least partially guilty of haphazardly throwing indis-

criminate amounts of money at any societal problems resulting from say, alcohol and drug abuse. Cameron & co.’s ‘nudging’ where people are equipped with selective information to help them make a choice ultimately only helps them select the government’s preferred choice for the individual, but still, as Thaler and Sunstein would argue, this ‘nudging’ results in the best outcome for both parties. Nevertheless, whether it is nannying or nudging, the idea that government should have such an insatiable interest in our everyday activities is on the whole rather patronising and perverse. Although you can see merit in some of Thaler’s and Sunstein’s arguments, they lean more to paternalism than to an embracing of absolute freedom. Yes, humans make mistakes and make the wrong decisions on occasion, but the vast majority of us learn from these mistakes. A recent example of nudging encouraged by the Coalition is a suggestion to place labelled warnings on wine bottles, as has already been the case with tobacco products for several years. However, instead of getting to the point with a simple ‘Smoking kills,’ they make you just feel extraordinarily alcoholic with lines such as ‘the ordinary British adult consumes one glass of wine per day.’ Of course, an alcoholic is typically alienated enough to be unmoved by such finger wagging and tsk-tsking. Nannying and nudging: like our political parties, there’s barely a fag paper between them.

Monday 14th February 2011

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Made in Bath: getting a job after graduation Written by Sîan Barnett

Name: Helena Zuppinger Year of Graduation: 2010 Subject: Economics and International Development Favourite memory from your student days at Bath: It is so hard to say as I have so many great memories. One of the best things about Bath was always knowing someone wherever you were be it on campus, in town… you would always bump into someone you knew. Proudest achievement since graduating from Bath: Getting a job in the real world. Favourite place/thing to do in Bath: Procrastinating in parade on the big comfy sofas with everyone, eating a nice bit of carrot cake! Your time at Bath in 3 words: Wouldn’t change anything.

During your time studying at Bath whereabouts did you live – on and off campus? Brendon Court, Oldfield Park and Widcombe. What extra-curricular activities were you involved with and what did you gain from them? I spent a fair amount of time playing lacrosse. It’s proved to be a great way to meet other people, not just outside of your course and where you lived but different years too. I made some of my closest friends through it and had some great socials. It also kept me vaguely fit in the process! What was your first job after you graduated and how did you find it? I am currently on the Finance Graduate scheme at GlaxoSmithKline. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do so I decided that getting another qualification (accountancy) whilst gaining experience in a company with lots of opportunities would not be a bad thing! I went to a ‘GSK revealed’ event which basically took you through the different grad schemes they had on offer and meant that I didn’t have to complete the online application but instead just submit a CV and covering letter and then the normal telephone interview and assessment centre. I would definitely recommend going to any of these sorts of events. What advice would you give to someone wanting to go into a finance/accounting – based career? Look out for opportunities to find out more about graduate schemes/jobs and try and get some experience – even if it is

not directly relevant it all looks good. Don’t be put off applying for a job in an area you have little experience in, like the pharmaceutical industry – I knew very little about it but knew it had a lot of opportunities and was able to say how I could apply my previous experience in other areas to it. Remember you always have something to offer and be confident you deserve it just as much as anyone else. What does it mean to you to be a Bath graduate? I am very happy to say I have graduated from the University of Bath, when you speak to people outside of it you realise just how reputable it is amongst employers, largely a result of the placement scheme – wherever you go you will find Bath graduates, both on my placement and my job now I have met numerous Bath alumni. It gives you confidence that it was the right choice to have made. Why do you think it’s important to stay in touch with your university and be part of the Alumni Committee? University is a big part of anyone’s life and it is important not to forget the help you had on the way to getting where you are today. I think the Alumni committee remind you of that when you begin to forget. The Alumni team do a lot for the University in terms of raising money and providing help for students. Whilst I don’t think I need the University’s help to keep in contact with the friends I made here, it’s good to know what is going on at the University and see how it is changing.

Never have I ever… made a relationship resolution Written by bite’s sex & relationship columnist

o picture this, you’re at a New Years’ Eve Party. It is five minutes to midnight. Couples are pouring champagne, watching the clock, admiring Jools Holland in all his glory and cuddling in the New Year with sickeningly blissful excitement. Whilst all this is going on, you and your boyfriend are in the hostess’ downstairs bathroom, having a drunken, dramatic and lengthy argument. This is how me and my other half welcomed in 2011. Charming. In a way, moments like this can be a good thing, if you LEARN from them. My fella and I woke up on January 1 and admitted that something had to change, we had reached relationship rock bottom (OK, maybe I can be a bit dramatic). We had spent the last month of 2010 bickering. Tiny little spiffs would soon blow up into day-long rows. Bickering became fighting. Tiredness turned into mood swings. Our relationship had taken a turn for the worse and New Years’ Eve would be our turning point. So we decided to change and that’s exactly what we’ve done. Making a relationship resolution has actually saved us and, surprisingly, has transported us back to the honeymoon period we enjoyed back in early 2009. Instead of grinding each other down and bringing out the worst in the person we claim to love the most, we now enjoy each other. We spend our days together laughing and kissing, rather than huffing, frowning and kicking off. We spend our nights together entwined in bed, holding hands, discovering each others bodies, instead of curling up on opposite sides after spending two hours fighting over what to watch on TV or

who we’d been messaging on Facebook. It wasn’t as easy as it sounded though. I can be one of the most passionate and opinionated women on planet earth (much to my partner’s admiration AND annoyance). To save my relationship, I had to master the art of walking away, admitting defeat and leading my man to believe that he was right. One of the hardest lessons I’ve learnt in a long time. The personal development has been absolutely terrific though. I regret how much time my lover and I have wasted having completely unnecessary fights. How many nights have I gone to sleep vowing to ignore him for the next few days? How many times have I sent cold, heartless texts to my lover with the pure intention of stirring up a reaction? The media are always speculating that our world could end in 2012. If this could hypothetically be true, I don’t want to waste a second spending my time full of contempt and frustration. In a mature and intelligent relationship, one should realise that this kind of behaviour is counterproductive and actually incredibly damaging to a relationship. 2011 is turning into the best year yet for my romance; even the sex is improving as we connect more psychologically! If you and your other half are experiencing a rough patch, please just know that it does not make you the weaker person if you take a step back from your relationship and say ‘actually, things need to change’. Be the bigger person and analyse the cracks in your relationship, rather than just painting over them. Appreciate the time you have with your lover, don’t wish it away.

Focus on compromise not conflict this Valentine’s Day Photo by Sam Short

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The Guide

Monday 14th February 2011

Mogwai are way super awesome. They make The Guide want to start a fanperson cheerleader group that dances their praises at all opportunities.

Music

Theatre/Comedy

Exhibitions/Film

Imelda May – Colston Hall, Bristol – 17th February This Irish Meteor Award-winning vocalist is bringing her unusual combination of rock, jazz and burlesque to the West Country this month. She’s moved on far since her humble beginnings advertising fish fingers and is now touring to promote her new album Mayhem; a collection of songs showing a modern fusion of classical styles. Her music defies classification, and as they couldn’t put her in a box they’ve put her on a stage, where she will be performing songs on topics such as psychotic boyfriends, fistfights and the “sneaky freak” spying on her husband for your enjoyment. Mogwai – 02 Bristol Academy – 19th February The semi-legendary Scottish post-rock group are gracing Bristol this year celebrating the release of their eighth album Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will, which goes on sale today. This band are excellent. The Guide isn’t sure how else to put just how good they are. Their musicality is incredible, their composition skills are perennially brilliant, they create atmospheric music that can completely draw you in to the point that you will completely lose yourself. We unreservedly use that phrase, no matter how remarkably foolish it makes us sound. Seriously we cannot recommend them enough, please download all their back catalog ue and go on and enjoy. The Boxer Rebellion - The Fleece, Bristol - 8th March If you fancy going to see a band that has been so hyped for the next year that advertising executives are sitting in their offices with hard-ons/wide-ons just at the thought of their potential commercial appeal then this is the gig for you. They are going to be all over screens for soon enough so you can go ahead and smirk when people (future people) go on and on about how cool this band are and say that you saw them in a pub in Bristol months before they’d even heard of them and how they were so much better then and how everyone else doesn’t understand.

Life of Riley – Theatre Royal, Bath – 14th-19th February Alan Ayckbourn, while being no William Shakespeare, has now with the production of his 74th play written twice as many plays as the bard. In this Tragi-comic, the protagonist George Riley is a school teacher, who has recently been informed that he is dying. Interestingly though, he is never actually shown on stage. While never in the audience’s view, they get to know him through his friends and family as they reflect upon his life, and how losing him will affect their future. Instant Wit: The Quick Fire Comedy Improvisation Show - Tobacco Factory Theatre: Brewery Theatre 30th January to 27th March Hey you comedy loving people! We know how you enjoy watching comedy shows and tweeting about how disappointing 10 o’ Clock Live is so maybe this is the show for you. It includes funny types who do jokes on stage for the mirthful audiences. Is it obvious that we’re not entirely sure as to what this actually entails but we’re almost certain that taking in a comedy show is fun. In fact, regardless of whatever comedy show you actually do go and see we implore you to go and see some kind of live comedy show because the experience is really rather fantastic and something that people seem to have forgotten about. Seriously! You all need to take in a comedy show, do it and do it lots. Chuckle Brothers - Bristol Hippodrome - 20th February Yeah, you read correctly, the Chuckle Borthers are actually in Bristol, peroforming to hordes of nostalgia seeking 20 somethings. It turns out that the legends of Barry Chuckle being dead weren’t at all true and Paul (the older brother) has sufficiently recovered from his goat related injuries of 2007 so they will be bringing their slapstick-for-simpletons routine to one of the biggest venues in the south west. This might well be a gig filled entirely with children but don’t think about it, enjoy it and enjoy the memories.

Cosima von Bonin – Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol – 19th February Good old reliable Arnolfini are bringing you yet another fantastic exhibition. This time it is the first UK show of an interesting German sculptor who uses a variety of materials and a wonderful array of influences, most notably referencing pop culture, to create an exciting and vibrant display. While this might sound a bit like a peacock orgy it should genuinely be an enjoyable afternoon well spent, especially because you can claim to have bettered your mind and get a lovely cup of tea and a bun at the same time (the café is quite nice). The entire building is a delight and all the exhibits are almost always delightful so it’s worth going even if you aren’t interested in German sculpture. Which you should be. Shelter – Cinemas Everywhere – 25th February What do you get when you combine the Weinstein Brothers and Julianne Moore? A nailed on hit, that’s what. Here’s the story of a psychologist – Ms Moore – who is administrating to a patient whose multiple personalities are all murder victims. Now if that doesn’t sound like a humdinger of a psychological thriller than we don’t know what does. Julianne Moore was in The Big Lebowski so she’s kind of awesome – she even bore The Dude’s child, massive respect to her – plus the Weinsteins always, always, always make hits. So if you fancy this film then it might be worth booking early. Rango – Cinemas Everywhere – 4th March And here comes the Johnny Depp star vehicle! A Nickelodeon animation fronted by Tim Burton’s favourite pet is bound to pull in many a reporter for the interview circus. Add in Hollywood’s favourite English bad guys – Ray Winstone and Alfred Molina – and it’s a good sign for an entertaining film that should give you a delightful evening of distraction. Which, let’s face it, is all any of us can hope for (sorry, bit of a bummer but we’re so, so tired).

Monday 14th February 2011

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Monday 14th February 2011

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Fashion: Our photographer combats a start-of-term hangover for your style

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Photos and interviews by Harriet Tangney

Abi Ogunnusi - Marketing MSc

Zoe Wu - Marketing MSc

Simon Rea - BBA 4th Yr

Annette Behrens - Politics & Economics 2nd Yr

Where do you usually go to shop? Urban Outfitters, Topshop, everywhere really, I’ve got no defined style, I just wear what I like. So you spend quite a lot on clothes? Yeah, well I just recently bought a really flimsy dress from ASOS for £120. So you’ve got no limits when it comes to looking glam? Nope!

If you could describe the way you dress in one word what would it be? Freestyle. What do you love wearing, and where do you usually go to shop? I like dark colours, and shopping on ASOS.com. Where do you get inspiration from? Hong Kong style.

Describe your style. Really chilled out, also I love knitwear. And hats. My friends and I run a hat company, Wooly Mammoth, selling crocheted hats in Bath Uni colours. So you got any fashion advice for your fellow Bath Uni students? Stay classy.

Who inspires you? Just real people I see out on the street. Oh so you’re a bit of a people watcher. Any fashion advice for your fellow students? Don’t try to follow things because your friends do, just be yourself. Current obsession? Sociology of the body.

HOT

NOT

Written by Rowan Emslie

government by young people, we seem to be taking on their fashion sense. Personally, I find it slightly disarming to bump into a fellow student, angry about tuition fees, who looks like they hunt pheasant on a bi-weekly basis. It’s a contradiction that I can’t quite get my head around. Perhaps it is a subversive movement designed to destabilise the establishment by assuming control of their iconography, taking the symbolism of the enemy and making it your own so as to break down all distinctions and thus create a fairer, better society. I imagine it’s run by a secretive collective of radical students, obsessed with human rights and Marshall McLuhan with links, sources suggest, to Wikileaks and Anonymous. They all address each other by codenames that refer to famous figures who sought to change the world while working within the system: TS Eliot, Franz Kafka, Tony Benn. They study the works of great media thinkers to subtly undermine how the man keeps us all down – it turns out politicians can only identify who to oppress and exploit by the way they dress and the way in which they speak, their senses are highly specialised. Like the T-Rex in Jurassic Park that could only see people when they moved. Of course, less romantic explanations for this change also exist. For one, music tastes have inevitably ebbed and flowed, leaving the mid-Noughties’ Nu-Rave garishness behind and going on to Nu-Folk, a genre that inevitably has ties with the pastoral idyll and facial hair. Environmentalism is hugely popular with us young folk so this rural themed styling could well resonate with that. The overwhelming doom and gloom of ‘austerity Britain’ might have impacted our fashion choices, leading us to more muted colours and sensible garments that might make us look even vaguely employable. But maybe doubting their existence is just what the collective has wanted all along...

Country chic

s 2011 gets into its stride we’re beginning to see an emerging dominance of posh culture. Downton Abbey’s huge critical and popular success towards the end of last year was an indicator of things to come; now The King’s Speech is winning awards and charming millions of us with the tale of a stuttering monarch. Even Tim Burton, the man who makes teenage geeks feel like part of the mainstream, and his oh so alternative wife Helena Bonham Carter spent New Year’s Eve with the Cameron’s at the Prime Minister’s country home, Chequers. It seems everyone is embracing the once incredibly unfashionable aristocracy – as a recent Guardian article pointed out, the New Labour ‘Cool Britannia’ era is well and truly over. But what, I hear you cry, does this mean for our wardrobes? Arguably, the increasing cultural affinity to all things posh started with our clothes: the rise and rise of exorbitantly priced, polo shirt focused super chains like Jack Wills, Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister has been going on for a while after all. While these brands always attracted Sloane Rangers so they could match their back-combed big hair with suitably expensive leggings and hooded sweatshirts, it now seems that the look has become a little more established and a little more inventive. Suddenly high streets are filled with unisex skinny chinos and sensibly woolly v-neck jumpers (in muted colours, most often a dark green or red). When aligned with Urban Outfitters staples like the vintage brown leather satchel, safari boots and skinny belts a new breed of semi-rural street fashion has been born. This seems to be a sort of collision between the much maligned Hackney Hipster look and the sudden popularity of green Barbour jackets and chic wellington boots that took a hold of trendy types towards the end of last year. Despite all the protests, the vandalism and the new wave of hatred being poured on a – as people are never slow to point out – predominantly privately educated, wealthy and white

Hackney hipster

The gentrification of our high streets

Monday 14th February 2011

bite-bathimpact

Monday 14th February 2011

bite-bathimpact

Fashion: Our photographer combats a start-of-term hangover for your style

www.bathimpact.com www.bathimpact.com

Photos and interviews by Harriet Tangney

Abi Ogunnusi - Marketing MSc

Zoe Wu - Marketing MSc

Simon Rea - BBA 4th Yr

Annette Behrens - Politics & Economics 2nd Yr

HOT

NOT

Written by Rowan Emslie

Country chic

Hackney hipster

The gentrification of our high streets

Monday 14th February 2011

Theatre:

Avenue

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Q‘s

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charms

and

Written by Rowan Emslie

Bad Idea Toffs: Nick Clegg (left) and David Cameron about to give some more terrible policy advice

Not sure how far this analogy will stretch: Lord Ashcroft here before fleeing abroad to avoid taxes

had heard a lot about Avenue Q, how it was funny and rude and had strangely perverse versions of Sesame Street characters in it, but, as an avowed hater of musicals, I wasn’t expecting very much from it. To my surprise I very much enjoyed myself – nauseating fake American accents aside – because of the way in which the show didn’t fall into the trap of making ham-fisted stabs at teaching the audience moral lessons that musicals often do but rather, self-reverentially and gleefully, poked fun at the genre while enjoying its charms. A particular highlight for me was the occasional appearances of the ‘Bad Idea Bears’ who entreated the main characters to drink excessive amounts of alcohol, inappropriately grope eachother or to hang themselves, all delivered with the squeaky voices and desperate cheerfulness familiar to anyone who has seen children’s TV in the last thirty years. The furry pair got me thinking about another pair of basically identical muppets (I couldn’t help myself) – David Cameron and Nick Clegg. Since coming into power the messages that these two have put out regarding arts and culture have provoked lamentations from anyone with any sense at all. They seem to pop up every so often, presumably bored with irritating students or taxpayers or voters or whoever it is they happen to be in a room with at that time, and put forward some incredibly terrible suggestion for the artistic community. Oh look! It’s the Bad Idea Toffs! Look how strangely inoffensive they are! What’s that fellas? You’re going to cut the vast majority of UK film funding? But... how are we going to make films? ‘Make more films like Harry Potter, they make loads of money, which is what you want from films’. Oh yeah, brilliant, thanks. Just in case you find yourself agreeing with such (paraphrased) policy – for shame – I’ll quickly go through a few reasons not to. Firstly, they do make more films like Harry Potter, all the time (including seven of the bastard Harry Potter films in the first place), but because they have huge casts and require lots of special effects they need a whole boat load of money. This is why they get made in Hollywood, where they actually fund films, and not Britain, where they don’t. Secondly, perhaps any suggestion to base the production of art or culture solely on the basis of money is, I don’t know, entirely missing the f*cking point. Profits are made from things like film or music or visual art but thinking that this is the driving force behind such things leads to Simon ‘the Archduke of Turd Polishing’ Cowell and an endless carousel of forgettable, lookalike entertainers distracting us all from the inevitability of death. It turns out, things like Trainspotting or Kidulthood (both UK Film Council funded) did go on to make money but because they were actually good and they established important figures in the industry who have gone on to bigger and better things – Danny Boyle is Hollywood’s hottest director and he’s never been near a poncey wizard hat. Surely producing artistic product that affects people in a lasting way, that leaves people inspired, is a great tribute to this country: you know everyone in the rest of the world still identifies Britain as being the home of Benny Hill for god’s sake. We can do better! Of course arts funding cuts don’t stop at film, across the board there has been a reduction of 30% of all funding. I don’t want to suggest that the arts cuts are the worst policies the Bad Idea Toffs have come up with (my vote goes to the social housing cuts) but it indicates a worrying Tory-isation of culture that we should all be doing our best to avoid. Of course, the arts, like other industries, need to retain popularity to be considered vital. But if we leave the market entirely in control then we end up with product that suits the vast majority of people in the

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Monday 14th February 2011

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the evils of the Bad Idea Toffs

cheapest possible way, which, in its own way, is great. If I were talking about, say, fuel, this would be fantastic – most people are going to get what they need for less. But what we stand to lose is so much more than in another industry – the arts are industries that produce more than simple entertainment, or amenities, they play a significant part in how ideas and information are disseminated, how language evolves, they drive conversations, they unite groups of otherwise dissolute people. Put simply, the arts are a way of communicating and are perhaps the most sophisticated ways we have of doing so. Because of the sophistication involved in, for instance, producing a novel, the complexity of the ideas that can be incorporated into it far surpass an ad hoc conversation or a political debate or a newspaper article. I heard the actor Giancarlo Esposito telling a crowd of acting hopefuls that the secret behind that familiar refrain of cheesy musicals, ‘an idea can change the world’, came down to how you told it, “Art is the language of many different nations and people. It’s all about being a good communicator.” Why do so many people get impassioned about that CD or that painting? You often hear people saying that ‘it speaks to me’ and, hackneyed as the phrase might be, that does go some way to explaining it. Art is important to people simply because it seems to be the most enduring and most affecting way of communicating. Practically every community around the world, in various stages of development, exhibit artistic expression: cave paintings, ritual dances, Mongolian throat singing, epic poetry, traditional stories and legends, the list go on and on. If it were as pointless as luddites like to claim as they denigrate ‘pointless’ arts courses or ‘wasted’ local authority culture funding then why is it such big business and so incredibly widespread? Clearly, it has its place and to dismiss it out of hand is nonsensical.It is worth bothering with! In 2002 a nationwide voting process asked us to decide on whom we thought the greatest ever Briton was. William Shakespeare came in at number five. Even though he was an adulterous, sexually ambiguous playwright who wrote in purposefully obtuse language hundreds of years ago he remains very much present in British life. His legacy impacts on us every day, not just because of the near universal reverence of him as a literary figure, but through his actual words: it’s all Greek to me, there’s method in my madness, a foregone conclusion, the truth will out, set your teeth on edge to cite just a few examples of his words that are in common usage. These phrases and expressions are so much a part of our culture that people don’t even think about where they came from. In Avenue Q the Bad Idea Bears are a hilarious take on theatrical tradition – a bizarro world version of Deus Ex Machina – and serve to move the plot onwards whilst commenting on the distractions and temptations of modern life. In real life, Clegg and Cameron do nothing of the sort, simply serving to limit the forms of artistic expression. The legacy of our era will be the incorporation of pig Latin spells from Harry Potter into everyday lexicon; autotune will become universally applicable, from meetings to public transport; all critics will simply judge films and plays by determining whether or not they LOLed. Hopefully things like Avenue Q will outlast this Tory led blanding of culture, seeking to develop genres and changing what’s come before, allowing artists to communicate effectively with contemporary society. Remember, art is communication. Without art all we have is the Bad Idea Toffs and their ilk, speaking in beige soundbites in identical suits as their foreheads slowly take up more and more of their faces.

Shakespeare: Almost certainly never thought it’d be OK to rhyme ‘umbrella’ with ‘ella’.

A Tuvan throat singing group who won last years’ Mongolia’s Got Talent. This probably isn’t true.

Monday 14th February 2011

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Film: Student riots doc reveals that ‘both sides have d*ckheads’ www.bathimpact.com

Written by Dave Langdale

n December last year the student population took to the streets of London to protest the Coalition’s planned rise in University Fees and the cuts to EMA funding. Weeks of protest saw repeated displays of a familiar pattern, as initially peaceful marches quickly descended into skirmishing, violence and riots, which received widespread condemnation from media outlets and politicians alike. But what drove their creation, what did they achieve and what will the efforts of a few thousand people mean for 2011? A year which will see more people in the poorer brackets of society hit hard by cuts to services and funds, while they watch their Coalition government sneak through policies which keep the banks rich. Innovative news and music website VBS recently released the documentary ‘Teenage Riots’ which explores these concepts and ideas and, via numerous interviews with protest participants, anarchists and gang lords, paints an ominous picture, both of the inevitability for violence during large scale protests and the increasing likelihood of military-style coping strategies and armed rioters. Despite the website being harder to navigate than a mythological labyrinth, this five part documentary reveals an interesting insight into the motive undercurrents for the shift in large scale attitudes, the opportunities for local gangs and thieves and the imagined structure and development of future conflicts. The first four six-minute webisodes appear, on the surface, to be yet another unoriginal rehash of the same footage strung together to depict familiar scenes of unlawful be-

haviour and over enthusiastic policing. However, it quickly becomes obvious that the balance in coverage from VBS, along with an array of extremely engaging interviews create a stark separation from national news. One such interview with an expert on gang culture, Graham Johnson, reveals that many of the gangs around London, if they had met on any other occasion, would have immediately started fighting. Yet, uniting against a common enemy, the police, saw several hundred criminals descend on London purely to incite violence and steal from protesters. Indeed, a further interview with a local gang lord shows him remorselessly explaining his haul of £2,500s worth of merchandise, along with a colourful monologue of political apathy about the opportunities for making money provided by large scale protests. Possibly more interesting is the insight into how the trouble escalated so quickly. Various on-scene VBS reporters and hindsight theorising argue that it was a mixture of increasingly panicked policing and agitated students, placing blame for the first punch thrown on both parties as they dutifully adhered to their long-held stereotypes in front of the camera. This argument, leant weight due to their proximity to the trouble, is in direct opposition to the popular view of media outlets and politicians, that students solely shoulder the blame for the escalation of violence. It is a stand summed up by the narrator of the series in a rather eloquent display of succinct philosophy: “both sides have d*ckheads.”

So what does this mean for the future and what did the riots achieve? Episode five in the series pays particular attention to these questions, considering both sides of the conflict. Graham Johnson deftly explains how riot police are spending a worrying amount of time learning counter insurgency techniques for large scale conflicts used in Iraq and Afghanistan, while at the same time improving their weapons and armour. Similarly outlined is the notion that future protesters may feel less inclined to use traditional weapons such as bricks and petrol bombs, instead favouring a more advanced arsenal. What is created via these sentiments is a rather sinister picture, described potentially as more like the L.A. riots in the 1990s than those in decades earlier. Despite persistent kettling and aggravation, claiming that these marches have not only sparked a fire under students, but the working classes and the poorer democratics in society, a feat necessary for the creation of a revolution. Unfortunately what could have been a brilliant concluding episode, is ultimately let down by the lack of any discernible input from police offers and riot experts, either at the scene or speaking retrospectively. As such, rather than a uniquely balanced portrayal of prospective events, in which police, protesters and anarchists alike prophesise further unrest and uprising, what is instead presented are numerous interviews of hearsay and opinion from students, gang lords and union leaders which collectively hold as much argumentative weight as a premise put forward by a packet of Mini Cheddars.

Teenage Riot: The latest in a series of good documentaries from VBS. Particularly recommended is 2009’s ‘Swansea Love Story’, a tale of drugs, tragedy and love.

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Monday 14th February 2011

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Music: The soundtrack of your future, from your TV

Misfits: Look to this show to promote some big hits this year. Series 3 is rumoured to be back on our screens in the autumn. Can our ears wait that long?

Written by Holly Narey

imilar to the last several years; 2010 was a year of success for the R&B and pop scene, having hit after hit finding success both in people’s homes and in clubs nation and worldwide. The charts were full of predictable names such as Katy Perry, Rihanna, Tinie Tempah, and Lady Gaga; superstars churning out song after song that their audience seemed to lap up greedily without a lot of reflection or critique. There were also, however, a lot of lesserknown newcomers that had a lot of innovation and originality to offer to their somewhat smaller audience. Musicians such as Gold Panda, Sun Airway and Everything Everything arrived to critical acclaim, and older, better known artists such as the National came back with impressive contributions to the year’s musical yield. 2011 has barely even begun, and already the quality and quantity of new music it has to offer is overwhelming (despite losses of acts such as The White Stripes); I’m sure you’ll have all heard Jessie J’s cries about how she can “do it like a dude”, a devastatingly catchy song that along with her other contributions has already ensured her place as one of the biggest names of this year. Chase and Status have already released their aggressive new album; No More Idols, and there is already a lot of hype about the Vaccine’s album What did you Expect from the Vaccines? Out at the end of March. I’m also sure that we will all be whipping our hair back and forth at least until summertime. Whip it real good. Even the most snobbish music lovers amongst us must hold some nostalgia for Blink 182, which is probably for

the best in light of the news that they are releasing a new album this year. It also seems that Gwen Stefani is finally returning to work on some music with her band No Doubt after her long foray into a solo career. As always, advertisement is going to play a massive part in what we listen to this year; however, I am hoping its power will be limited. A few artists are being hugely overplayed on every possible platform, like Claire Maguire. Her presence both in the very influential Spotify and 4od adverts may bring her out of obscurity, but no matter how much she tells me in these adverts that there ‘ain’t nobody gonna love me like she does’ it does not necessarily mean that she has any more right to success than the least mentioned new acts. Advertisements with huge amounts of financial backing from record agencies will never replace the power of word of mouth when it comes to music. There is no doubt that what makes up the soundtrack to our favourite television shows will have an effect on what we will be listening to, and with their shows being amongst the most edgy and youth-oriented, Channel Four is definitely one of the most influential channels. The Naked &Famous are already the soundtrack to many of their shows, and their fame is, as expected, quickly growing. After enjoying their first singles “Punching in a Dream” and “Young Blood” their audience is waiting avidly to see how the rest of their album turns out. A show that has really led the way with introducing new acts through its soundtrack has been Skins. Since 2007 this series focussed on the drama and angst of teenage life has been bringing attention to

countless new artists and reminding its audience of timeless classics, making the songs it uses the soundtrack of its audience’s lives. This time round, however, as it moves into its fifth season, it seems to be missing out on this opportunity. Remember, for instance, the first series’ effect on the Gossip’s release of Standing in the Way of Control, making it a nationwide hit, compared to their recent lazy use of the 2009 Christmas number one from Rage Against the Machine. They seem to be passing the torch of making songs that wouldn’t necessarily reach the charts into anthems of today’s youth to other shows like Misfits. 2011 will definitely be a year to keep an eye out for new musicians and the fresh ideas they will bring; in response to the continuance of the growth of uncreative and repetitive R&B and pop the newcomers are coming up with more and more creative and innovative ways to grab your attention, such as Mirrors, from who you may recognise a couple of members from Mumm-ra, the band most famous for their top-ten record She’s Got You High, who are rising to fame with their return to the eighties pop-noir style. Musical tastes obviously vary wildly between people; one person’s epic ballad is another person’s monotonous dirge; but for every listener it’s worth if a song makes you feel something then it is worthy of credit; music is art; not just catchy lyrics and a memorable tune; it is a combination of creative merit and emotional effect; the delicate balance between originality and accessibility. Here’s hoping 2011 has a few artists that get this right. So far it’s looking good.

Monday 14th February 2011

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Literature: Old habits, old medium, old news? Written by Jessica Hicks

s we enter 2011, a year rich of economic and technological change, we may have to bid farewell to some of our established traditions to make room for such advances. One organisation at risk is the publishing industry, evidently set back by the internet and the booming eBook business. Film and television has evolved dramatically in recent years. Gone are the days where greyscale dominates the small screen and subtitles dominate the big, as we can now obtain thrilling 3D experiences from our trips to the cinema. Special effects in particular can essentially hypnotise the audience, making them feel as though they are “there”. There is simply no need to employ your own imagination, which is a requirement when reading. Perhaps we are just getting lazier, acquiring the view that technology can do more for us, rather than putting the effort in by ourselves? A book has the ability to transport the reader into a world projected by imagination. But has this concept shifted over to the film industry? 3D films now often possess this power, captivating the viewer with their realistic settings. However it is also clear that most people continue reading despite our advancing technological world. We always see people engrossed in a book on the train, on buses and in libraries. So what’s the issue? Some see reading as a “slow” pastime, a time consuming pursuit. It is a procedure that can take weeks, if not months to complete. And if you are a very busy student like me, you struggle to find time to sit down and relax with a novel! This notion is undoubtedly common in

higher education. It is a gloomy reality; out with the old Harry Potter series and in with the textbooks. For us, in this sad situation, it would obviously be easier to go to the cinema and watch a condensed three-hour version of the same tale that is for sale on bookshelves. So what is the future of literature? It seems that the most popular, best selling books consist of fantasy and mystery genres. I for one am a great fan of the “Millennium” trilogy by Stieg Larsson, which have become international bestsellers. In my opinion it is the intensity and suspense that makes these books worth reading, not to mention the fact that they make the reader crave more after each turn of the page. Other best selling literature like the “Twilight” saga by Stephenie Meyer sold exceptionally well arguably because of the fantasy approach; which is easy to imagine in relation to an average fictional story. Children’s books are also consistently popular. Parents could be encouraging their children to read books for their educational value. Maybe becoming increasingly exposed to television and cinema as they grow up would result in their interest in literature diluting over the years. These books indicate how the publishing industry can adapt and evolve in this challenging climate. It could be argued that companies have somewhat identified the publishing crisis and adapted to this societal shift. With some eBook sites offering free excerpts, it is apparent that such a resource would result in being cheaper than their hardback counterparts. For example, Amazon recently released the Kindle, its aim being to

“download books on the go” (which is evidently easier than travelling to a book shop!) The newest version can store up to 3,500 books, and as the London Evening relevantly quoted, “they’ve cracked it – this is the future.” A backlash in the literature business would be controversial. It is already hard enough for new and aspiring authors to break into literature due to the vast availability of books. Plainly, it is difficult to stand out. Although some have succeeded, the genres in which they write certainly differ from previous times where literature by Thomas Hardy and the Bronte sisters were the most popular available. Nowadays, countless numbers of celebrities release autobiographies that almost always sell successfully. This is possibly because people are increasingly obsessed with fame, stardom and the concept of “celebrity”. People become attached to their favourite sports or music personas, and therefore obtain a desire to gain information concerning them. Autobiographies and biographies give the typical fan a chance to see their hero behind the façade that they present to the public and media. Although I still regard myself as a supporter of literature, it is a less frequent hobby which I can see dissolving slowly as time passes. My shelves of crime, adventure and classical literature have been replaced with theoretical textbooks and DVDs. The downfall of modern literature and publishing would benefit other organisations, although it does seem sad that such a long-lived technique, first used in about 1440, struggles to survive in this developed day and age.

The Amazon Kindle has sold in extremely high numbers. The ease of access to an enormous range of books is clearly a big draw and could well mean the end of printing.

Monday 17th January 2011

Puzzle Corner

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Handily placed on the back of bite, ready for your emergency coffee break. It’s the start of the semester, you shouldn’t be working too hard yet - so spend a bit of time doing the sudoku, and give the crossword a go (this issue has even more clues, just because I like you) and try the new (but classic) brain teasers. Comics are once again courtesy of bathimpact’s resident artist, Darius G.

Puzzles by Katie Rocker

Across

Bright green (4) Rotate (4) Social position (6) Man-made waterway (5) 36. Loud (deep) noise; rapid increase (4) 37. Flimsy, having thin consistency (7) 38. Cure, solution (6) 39. Tighten, shrink (8) 40. Level of sound (6)

10. 11. 12. 14. 17.

Down 1. Book section (7) 3. Military accommodation (8) 4. Small valley (6) 7. Opponent to technical progress (7)

Copy (9) Mass of ice (7) Hints (4) Put up with (8) Defeated, unsuccess- ful (8) 18. Two (6) 19. Bison (7) 21. Broadcast defamation (5) 23. Miss school (6) 24. Salt water (6) 25. Similar, related (4) 28. Steal (slang) (4) 30. Boil gently (6) 31. Sphere (5) 32. Find a solution (5) 33. Disgraceful event (7) 35. Focus; indicate (5)

Darius G

2. Thief’s tool (7) 5. Walking style (4) 6. Dihydrous monoxide (5) 8. Metallic sound; tune (6) 9. Tired, worn out (8) 13. Attached; influential (9) 15. Left (4) 16. Biblical plague (7) 20. South East county (4) 22. Marine mammal (6) 26. Sufficient, accept able (8) 27. Peter Pan’s fairy (10)

29. 30. 32. 34.

Solution for last issue

Brain Teasers

2.Think fast: There’s an electric train traveling south. The wind is from the north-west. In which direction would the smoke from the train be blowing? 3. You have a 3 and a 5 litre water container, each container has no markings except for that which gives you it’s total volume. You also have a running tap. You must use the containers and the tap in such away as to exactly measure out 4 litres of water. How is this done?

Darius G

1. I started 2 watches at the same time, It turned out that one of them went two minutes per hour too slow, and the other went one minute per hour too fast. When I looked at them again, the faster one was exactly one hour ahead of the other. How long had the watches been running?

Easy

Hard

3. There are two alternative methods, both similar, I’ve only given one. Fill the 5 litre can from the tap. Empty the 5 litre can into the 3 litre can - leaving 2 litres in the 5 litre can. Poor away the contents of the 3 litre can. Fill the 3 litre can with the 2 litres from the 5 litre can - leaving 2 litres in the 3 litre can. Fill the 5 litre can from the tap. Fill the remaining 1 litre space in the 3 litre can from the 5 litre can. Leaving 4 litres in the 5 litre can. 2. An electric train has no smoke 1.The faster watch gains on the slower one at the rate of three minutes every hour. After 20 hours, the faster one will be ahead by one hour.

Brain Teaser solutions