bathimpact issue 6 Vol 13 by bathimpact

Heartache? Science page 19

NOM NOM NOM

Bath’s got balls News page 6

with bite

bathimpact The University of Bath Students’ Union Newspaper

Volume 13 Issue 6

Monday 6th February 2012

www.bathimpact.com

In this week’s bathimpact

Top of class

More universities are awarding higher classifications of degree to a greater number of students. New research shows first and uppersecond class degrees are becoming increasingly common. So if you fear you didn’t do as well as you hoped in exams, you statsically are likely to have done better than previous years! Turn to page 6

thisisbath

Enraged Bath

Illuminate Bath was a roaring success! The Roman Baths have also recently announced an increase in visitors... we can see why!

Placement to employment

As application season gets underway, be assured it’s all worth it Kylie Barton bathimpact Editor in Chief impact-editor@bath.ac.uk

igh Fliers Research, the UK’s leading body in graduate recruitment research, have confirmed the positive link between undertaking some form of work experience such as a placement and opportunities for employment post-graduation. ‘The Graduate Market in 2012’ makes some positive projections for UK students for the year ahead. The research which included interviews with over 17,000 students and numerous top graduate employers, found that over a third of graduate jobs would go to students who had previously worked with the company in a placement or internship scheme similar to the one offered

by Bath. The graduate recruitment process itself is suffering somewhat less than the rest of the job market which is facing a 17 year low with nearly 3 million unemployed. The research projects increases of 6.4 per cent for this year in graduate recruitment. Employers themselves are very vocal about the benefits of completing some form of internship before entering the job market, with over half stating that those who have experience are much more likely to secure a position. Despite such optimism, the graduate job market is yet to fully recover from the recession with positions still lower than before the economic crisis, but the trend is moving upwards. Similarly to all sectors, wages are frozen as the cost of living stead-

ily climbs. Students have picked up on this trend, and more and more are carrying out one or a series of placements in the sector they wish to enter. Companies have received an average increase of 19 per cent in applications for work experience in the first part of this year, meaning that although students who undertake such work are more likely to be offered a place, the number of students doing so is growing, leading to increased competition. Faculty placement managers at Bath have stated that the number of students taking up a placement dropped during the depth of the recession two years ago, but last year the numbers increased, and are projected to do so again this year, which is something that is reflected nationally. Statistics for the Faculty

of Engineering and Humanities and Social Sciences show a steady increase. Experience heightens qualities rated highly by employers such as interpersonal skills, organisation, and time management. Such skills can be honed in through other forms of extra-curricular activities such as taking part in Students’ Union societies, or part time work. Students are increasingly using a combination of these to ensure that their CV stands out amongst the crowd, a crowd which is growing in numbers. This year there will be 50,000 more graduates than five years ago. This suggests although any increase is welcome in this climate, when looking at the full picture, 6.4 per cent may not be enough to cater for the large base of qualified young people.

A YouTube video has caused Bath to make the national news. The clip shows a local shop owner with extreme road rage ranting at the person who took the footage. The incident has sparked claims that Bath is particularly bad for road rage. Read Imogen Grace Ware’s view... Page 9 of Comment

Egypt today

Around this time last year the Arab Spring was on the approach. The world was excited about the potential for democracy in the Middle East. This year there is already talk of a ‘Sub-Saharan Spring’ with trouble mounting in areas such as Angola and Swaziland, and the Middle East is far from settled with Syria and Yemen facing escalating problems. Egypt was one of the first countries of the Arab Spring, how far has it got in one year? On page 17

Web of greed

Ignorance is no longer bliss. It is time to understand the internet in its full capacity so we know the limits of the possibilities... if indeed there are any? Are we being greedy by expecting the internet to be whatever we want it to be whenever we want it to be it? Explore with bite. bite pages 2 & 3

Monday 6th February 2012

Editorials

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Kylie Barton Editor-in-Chief

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The University of Bath Students’ Union Newspaper

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Holly Narey bite Editor

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bathimpact Students’ Union University of Bath Bath BA2 7AY 01225 38 6151 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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The twits at Twitter anger the activists

witter unveiled plans at the end of last month that would allow countries to censor tweets that violated local laws. The move has had activists who chose the medium as their tool have been up in arms about that move, but will country specific censorship harm the cause that tweeters twitter about or actually raise the profile of the issue? New media and social networks thrive on the concept of free speech; it is one of the most prominent reasons for their continuous success. Let’s face it the internet is a broad enough medium that if activists dislike the laws of one they may quickly flit away to another. In a similar way to many of those who read The Times online to access their news soon changed their hab-

its when a pay wall was implemented. The whole point of the internet is its openness and un-conditionality, once barriers start being implemented either financial or legal, a new portal will open up that latches back onto this original appeal. The main grievance with the changes is that it appears ‘Twitter is committing social suicide’ by turning its back on the followers who need it most. Although Twitter is banned completely in countries such as China, people still use it. But this law will mean that Twitter as a company aids this when a country deems any particular tweet to be contravening one of their laws. The places most affected will be the countries with the heaviest censorship laws, therefore such medi-

ums are the only place where free speech can take place even if not technically allowed. Groups which transcend national borders such as LGBT organisations and other pressure groups are highly critical of the step, fearing that it will not only censor a cause but actively encourage the subjugation of the minority groups who are most likely to be active on the platform. The progressive medium, provoking and enabling regressive regimes. There is a saving grace to all this, as Twitter claim the move will actually enhance transparency. Any ‘removal requests’ will be published, and so if a government is actively censoring tweets, the whole world will know about it. This may actually have a greater effect and prompt

a stronger response than any amount of trending. Before there was a covert level of influence, with the intervention of Twitter, censorship becomes easier, but more risky. International attention will be drawn to the trends which are constantly muted and the government’s legitimacy and policies will be more greatly scrutinised – ergo the activist’s original intention may transpire with a lot more gusto. All the speculation is mounting as to how this will affect the organisation, but until countries begin to send in removal requests, it is unclear how such censorship will directly affect the liberty of the tweeters. Freedom is nonetheless an absolute, and social media can either support it wholly or not at all.

answer for a newspaper: I have no earthly idea. I will however explain why. These laws are being written by a group of Congressmen and Congresswomen. The average age of such people is just a whisker shy of 60 years old. Not wishing any offence upon such people, who undoubtedly have an invaluable level of experience in governmental affairs and in making the laws of the land, I think it is safe to say that technology is rarely their strong point as a group. My Dad is younger than that and still can’t programme the VCR. I’m not sure if he knows that nobody uses VCRs anymore. I certainly wouldn’t trust him to give me a solid definition of The Internet.

The Internet is considerably more complicated than a VCR. Just to give this some weight, I am writing from the viewpoint of a Computer Science degree. But let us assume, for the sake of writing a law that makes some sense in terms of terminology and such like, that they do understand what The Internet is. They do not understand those who rule it. The people at the very heart of The Internet are far more technologically smart than those who sit in Government chambers. If you shut down a website, it will reappear an hour later under a different domain name. If you do it again then you should fully expect a group of hackers to get into all their favourite government web-

sites and break them. They have done it before on a number of occasions and they will do so again. In response to this is was suggested that they would not focus on specific sites but instead on using searches. It was a serious suggestion to trudge through pages of Google entries every hour, looking for illegal activity. That is akin to having policemen wandering the countryside at random, just in case they bump into someone breaking the law. So in summary I cannot say that I am at all worried by this bill. The protection of intellectual property is important but please let’s come up with a solution that is less laughable due to its ridiculous naivety.

This said, surely we are more likely to boast about sex if we’re having more of it? And this study says there’s more of a link between sexy Facebook posts and oral sex, not full-blown nights of passion - so is it just about getting ourselves out there? It’s possible that people use social networking sites to subtly hint that they’re sexually active. In doing so, we’re sending out a little sex beacon telling others we’re up for it. Those who aren’t keen don’t send out that message and so don’t have any sexual encounters. We’re communicating in the least intimidating way possible about a private part of our lives. And there we have our correlation. Facebook is a phenomenon that’s genuinely changed lives, especially for

our generation. Before Facebook, the only way to subtly hint at something was actually in person. Now, we can do it via a small change to our ‘Interested in’ or maybe a cheeky ‘What a stunning night ;)’ status. We’re using the internet to communicate and share all the little details we can’t share in real life, because (even in a day and age where you can watch Sex Season on BBC3) there is a taboo surrounding sex that we have learned from the older generation which means for many young people, it’s an impossible subject to breach even with our own parents. So the safe, young-person inhabited sphere of Facebook is a safe place for us, a place where we can talk about our experiences and, if that means other people are attracted, so what? Just because we’re

discussing about our sex lives on chat doesn’t mean blowjobs are mandatory for anyone who reads it. It is, ultimately, pretty logical that we’ll talk more about sex if we’re having more of it and this will, in turn, attract people. Sex is a big part of teenage life and we are a generation that talks about absolutely everything with anyone who’ll listen. So maybe it isn’t that surprising that, in a world where we’re some of the first people who have broken the Pandora’s box of sexual openness, there’s a lot of talk about what we do and who we do it with. After all, it’s better for that attractive guy from your course to find out about the black fluffy handcuffs and cherry lube under your bed than for you to write to your parents about it. It’s just communication.

So what actually is the deal with SOPA?

am sure that almost all of you heard something over the last few weeks about the Stop Online Piracy Act. For many I am sure that this was because Wikipedia went dark for 24 hours during exam period. So what is all the fuss about? This is a bill in the United States Congress, so it is difficult to see how it affects us. Essentially the bill was to expand the powers of the United States Government to shut down websites that host illegal material of various kinds. This all seems well and good. It is a power that they already have to a lesser extent and many countries have equivalents. So once again I must ask, what’s the big deal? I am going to suggest an unusual

Well, it’s not quite cybersex, but...

n a recent press release received by bathimpact, The Journal of Sex Research informed us that, essentially, the more sexual you are on Facebook, the more sexual you are in real life. Well, more specifically, they found that there is an association between sexual references in online spheres such as Facebook and Twitter and the likelihood that you will have engaged in oral sex. But is there really something behind how much we talk about sex in public settings and how much we initiate sexual contact in real life? It seems likely. Generally, students are one of the most sexually active areas of society, we rack up most of our sexual partners at this age and (sometimes) manage to find the last sexual partner we’ll ever have.

Monday 6th February 2012

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Students Satisfied NSS launched Dafydd Angove bathimpact Contributor

Tomos Evans bathimpact News Editor impact-news@bath.ac.uk

reliminary results of this year’s Student Opinion Survey have been released, showing an improvement in the opinions of the Students’ Union here at Bath. Alongside this improved perception of the SU is an increase of respondents. Questions asked in the SOS included, ‘how you would describe your experience of the SU’ as well as, ‘[whether] has had a positive impact on my time at the University of Bath’. In all areas the SU improved its score when compared to last year. The only exception to this was ‘[whether] The SU works in close partnership with the University to improve things for students’ which saw a fall of 12 per cent of students responding positively and agreeing with the statement. This could be due to last year’s opening of the, then new, SU centre.

This year’s survey also had a new question which will appear in this year’s National Student’s Survey, used to compare student satisfaction across British universities. The question in this year’s SOS asked how satisfied the student body were with the SU. Although there is no comparison with last year, the preliminary results reveal that 82.2 per cent of students were either ‘definitely’ or ‘mostly’ satisfied with the SU. David Howells, SU President said; “Even though the survey

hasn’t closed yet, we are obviously very pleased to see improvements in many of the most important questions, which reflect student’ satisfaction with their Union”. Prizes for filling out the survey totalled a value of £1000, including free entry to Score and Fuzzy Ducks for the rest of this academic year, £500 cash and VIP passed to the Summer Ball. More detailed results, as well as the names of the winners of the prizes will be released at a later date, once the survey has closed.

Bath applications up!

his year’s National Student Survey opens today for all final year undergraduates. The NSS combines both academic and student satisfaction and is used to rank institutions. Last year’s survey ranked the University of Bath 6th out of universities in the UK. The survey is in its eighth year and is increasingly seen as the best measure in which to rank universities. By combining both student and academic satisfaction the survey hopes to create a better idea of what an institution is truly like. In previous years it has been hard for prospective students to access the information and results of the NSS, however, it should be noted that the NSS is becoming increasingly important due to the increases in tuition fees. The Government has also set out that there is a legal require-

M Evison Simon O’Kane bathimpact Contributor

he total number of undergraduate applications to the University of Bath has risen compared to last year. This is in spite of total applications to UK universities having fallen by 7.4 per cent. This has been confirmed following the passing of 15th January, the first national deadline for university applications. For comparison, the number of applications to courses with an October deadline (Oxford, Cambridge, medicine and dentistry) has remained roughly static since last year. Last year, application num-

bers reach a national record high, which can generally be put down to the ailing job market and the coming academic year’s trebling of tuition fees deterring prospective student from taking a gap year. This year’s national decline is widely blamed on the rise in tuition fees; for non-EU students, for which the new fees do not apply, applications have actually risen. Although data from individual institutions is confidential, detailed national statistics provide a degree of explanation for Bath’s insulation from the national trend. Bath’s focus on science, engineering and business, for which the decline is less pronounced, as

well as its high intake of non-EU students, go some way to explaining the rise, as does its recent Sunday Times University of the Year 2011-2012 accolade. It is widely believed that institutions like Bath that rank highly in national league tables will show a similar insulation from the national trend. The Student Union’s Academic Executive noted that while the total rise in applications should be welcomed, it does not necessarily mean that the number of applications from ‘widening participation backgrounds’ also showed a similar rise, stressing the need for this to be continuously monitored by the University.

For more information go to www.thestudentsurvey.com

Alumni funding Clodagh McGuire bathimpact Contributor

The University of Bath has bucked the trend as applcations to the institution increase in 2012

ment for universities to provide the information needed to allow prospective students to make an informed choice. Bath University is hoping to build on its 6th place showing from last year. The increase in applications to Bath can be put down, in part, to this position in the league table. This year’s survey also features a new question on students’ satisfaction with their Students’ Union. This is the first example of student satisfaction with their union being monitored on a national level. Bath University Students’ Union is quoted as “being hopeful about the results of the NSS for the union, but we are worried that this could lead to the league tabling of student’s unions across the United Kingdom”. The results of the NSS will be released in due course.

panel of donors, students and staff have awarded over £50,000 in grants to 15 projects to improve the student experience. The Alumni Fund is made up of donations by thousands of former students. An Alumni Fund Telethon campaign is run twice a year to raise money for a variety of projects. Current students call former students in the UK, USA and Canada to discuss the donation process and encourage them to contribute to the Fund. The Alumni Fund awards scholarships and hardship grants to provide financial aid to those students that otherwise would not be able to attend university and provides placement grants for more unusual opportunities that are either unpaid or abroad and require significant travel as a result. As well as these, the Fund provides grants to clubs and societies to fund their extracurricular activities and to departments that want to offer more than is currently provided by their courses. The Alumni Fund panel meets twice a year to decide which projects should receive this funding. Those projects that the panel feel will

provide the most benefit for current and future students are awarded grants. Among the 15 projects that have successfully obtained funding this time around is a new high-tech teaching space for group and project work that will benefit all departments by establishing new learning methods. The Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering has been awarded funding for an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle that will be used for final-year projects. The SU Sports Association has been granted money for two heavy-duty pop-up gazebos that will provide pitch-side base for changing, first aid and refreshments at tournaments, events and sports festivals. The “A Day to Change your Mind” event is planned for November 2012, which the Alumni Fund has made possible. This is an all-day event; the idea behind which is to challenge students to explore new ways of thinking and develop new perspectives. The grant means that six internationally prominent speakers will be attending and lecturing on the day. The aim of the Alumni Fund is to benefit current and future students, and is solely reliant on the donations and generosity of graduates.

Monday 6th February 2012

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University’s work awarded Simon O’Kane bathimpact Contributor

The University of Bath has been awarded a prestigious Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education for the Department of Social and Policy Sciences’ research into child poverty and its support for vulnerable people. This is the second time the University has won the biennial award, the other being for the research of the Centre for Power Transmission and Motor Control in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Vice-Chancellor Professor Dame Glynis Breakwell said: “Over three decades, the University’s Department of Social and Policy Sciences has been engaged in original

and applied research in the field of family wellbeing, promoting the interests of some of the most vulnerable in society, in particular lone mothers, children and the extreme poor. “The Department has made a substantial and sustained contribution, by this innovative research, to the development and delivery of social policy in the UK and in other countries. Its work is recognised as exceptional and distinctive by policy makers and charities both in the UK and globally.” The University of Bath is one of 21 institutions to have received this prize. The awards ceremony takes place on 24th February in Buckingham Palace.

Dame of the Order for VC Anthony Masters bathimpact Deputy

The University of Bath’s Vice Chancellor has been made a Dame in the Queen’s New Years honour list, for her services to higher education. Professor Dame Glynis Breakwell gained a worldwide reputation as a social psychologist after writing over 20 books on the subject and joined the university as Vice Chancellor in 2001. The University of Bath has increased its profile as a top research university under her leadership, which is now ranked 5th according to the Sunday Times, which also made it University of

Year 2011-12. Chancellor of the university, Lord Tugendhat said: “Professor Breakwell richly deserves this honour. She is an outstanding ViceChancellor and a significant contributor to our national life. Her extraordinary energy and determination have enabled the University of Bath to achieve great success over the last ten years.” Dame Glynis commented on her honour: “It is wonderful to be honoured for simply doing the things I love, working with people that I admire, as part of a great University in a city of beauty and spirit.”

Imogen Grace Ware tells the cost of loans on the public coffers

esearch by investment managers Skandia reports that unless students immediately earn a £50,000 salary upon leaving university, a “significant amount” of their debt will be written off, costing the Government £8.7 billion worth of debt by 2045. Estimating that the number of university applicants remains the same, the debt can expect to hit the £8 billion mark, depending on interest rates, but could potentially rise to £9.6 billion. The newly tripled £9000 yearly fees coming into force in September 2012 will be paid in the form of a loan, but any part of the loan unpaid in 30 years will be ignored, costing the taxpayer around £9 billion a year, regardless of whether they attended university or not. The report entitled First Steps to Wealth warns “In 30 years’ time the UK government is likely to be sitting on huge liabilities as it is forced to potentially write off debt of between £30,649 and £64,935 per year for every full-time university student who graduates in 2014.” The research also discovered that graduates earn approximately £600,000 more in their careers than an 18 year old entering the work force. This averages to more than £14,000 per year. If these figures are correct than “the additional salary received by graduates more

than off-sets the debt incurred in studying for a degree” according to Graham Bentley head of investment strategy at Skandia. Although the potential debt has been described by many as a ‘ticking time bomb’, Universities minister David Willetts believes that: “Higher education is life-changing for most students and university is a very good investment” with Bentley adding: “Those who are able to study for a degree can expect to earn a good living over their lifetime even if they don’t get the job of their dreams straight away and despite incurring costs to complete the course.”

Bentley also stated that: “Perhaps the biggest challenges highlighted in this study are for the Government” with the writing off of debts a possible result of their approved increase of student tuition fees. Students also take out maintenance loans, as well as tuition, accumulating to debts of a minimum of £40-50,000. Yet, Willetts argues “It is fair that graduates should contribute more to the costs of their own education, and our reforms ensure well-funded universities” and ensures the Government is “increasing maintenance grants for poor students and reducing monthly repayments for all graduates.”

William Warby

he Accommodation and Hospitality Services have sought to improve the provision of food and labeling in the Bars and Eateries on campus. The Equalities and Diversity Committee had recommended such action after the results of the Religion and Belief survey. There will now be colour coded dots to indicate not only which dishes contain ingredients of religious significance but also ones that may affect dietary preferences, such as those containing gluten and dairy products. This has been as part of a response by the Accommodation and Hospitality Services to emphasise their focus on the dietary needs of customers. As well as the new labeling of food using the dot system they have also specified that the chefs of campus venues source their chicken from a Halal supplier. They added that prepackaged items do not contain Halal meat unless they are clearly labeled. Alcohol use is prohibited in cooking and will be addressed by using

alcohol free wine or ale in dishes traditionally needing these ingredients. The venues that will be using the new labeling system are Level 1, Sports Café, Parade, 4W Café, Claverton Rooms and Wessex Restaurant. The chair of the Equalities and Diversity Committee, Mark Humpriss, stated; “I am delighted to know that we will now be able to better serve the diverse needs of our students and staff in this way, acting on the clear feedback we received from the religion and belief survey last year”. To see the labeling information that is on the printed menus, visit the Bars and Eateries Website at www. bath.ac.uk/bars-eateries/whatwhen/

The cost of student loans is being decribed by some as a ‘time bomb’

Katy’s not a wipeout Charlotte Stone bathimpact Contributor

University of Bath student Katy Parrott was seen bouncing her way around the notoriously difficult course on the BBC television programme Winter Wipeout on Saturday 28th January. The biology student donned a tiger outfit for both her audition and appearance on the show and was dubbed ‘tough kitty Katy’ by Richard Hammond. This tenacious attitude is also evident in the fact that she beat over 10,000 other appli-

cants to gain her place amongst the other contestants to compete for the show’s £10,000 prize. Katy admits that she had a rather laid back attitude to the course itself,

10,000 Number of applicants “there wasn’t time to think about what I was going to do, I just ran at everything. It worked out pretty well… although when I bounced off the balls, my shoe came off and my trousers fell down around my an-

kles. I was pulling my trousers up while trying to find my shoe and swim around the course!’ Katy made it through the first round in a time of two minutes and eleven seconds, but was eliminated in the penultimate part of the show after spending most of her time in the air as opposed to the safety of her podium! Katy’s TV appearance is also something that she hopes will stand her in good stead with regards to her future career choice as a producer of wildlife documentaries. Flickr

Lizzy Roberts bathimpact Contributor

Flickr

Dot to dot to dot Student loans, really a loan?

Bath’s own Katy was flown to Argentina to take part in the show which has gained a cult following

Monday 6th February 2012

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University applications fall amidst increasing fees bathimpact’s Ben Butler explains the reasons behind national drop Flickr

he university admissions service UCAS has reported that university applications have fallen by 8.7 per cent this year, since the introduction of higher tuition fees in England and Wales. The largest impact has been on English students with applications falling by 9.9 per cent. The number of Welsh students applying to university in any location was down 1.9 per cent as students from Wales will not be charged the increase in tuition fees, whereas the fall in applications from Scottish students was down 1.5 per cent. Those applying for part-time degrees fell sharply by 8 per cent compared to a fall of only 3 per cent in full-time degrees. The report also tells us that agricultural studies saw the steepest rise in undergrad applica-tions by 11 per cent, but architecture saw a decrease for the third year in a row, with applications falling by 5 per

Cardiff University. Students from Wales have not been affected by the increase in tuition fees cent. of age or older re-duced by 10.9 egory. Mary Curnock Cook, UCAS Nicola Dandridge, chief execu- per cent, from 62,355 in 2011 to chief executive, stated “Widely tive of Universities UK, said on the 55,560 in 2012. expressed concerns about recent BBC that the “decrease is not as Universities Minister David changes in higher education fundbad as many feared”. The number Willets said; “It is encouraging ing arrangements having a disproof applications from 18 year old that applications from people from portionate effect on more disadstudents was 259,001 in 2011, some of the most disadvantaged vantaged groups are not borne out compared to 252,214 this year, a backgrounds remain strong”, after by these data.” fall of 2.6 per cent. Applications a small decline of 0.2 per cent of Liam Burns, NUS president, from students who are 25 years applications from that student cat- expressed his concerns over the

“worrying drop in those over the age of 21 applying for university.” The general secretary of lecturer’s union UCU, Sally Hunt, said that “UCU has long warned that making England the most expensive country in the world in which to gain a public degree would deter people from applying to university and today’s figures lend weight to that argument.” Any doubts that there will be empty seats in lecture rooms across the UK can be counted out by the fact the large increase in overseas, non-EU students applying to study in the UK whether they attend a campus in Britain or not. Those applying to study at British campuses saw a remarkable increase from 400,000 to 500,000. British applications for other EU member states can be seen to have increased with Maastrict University in the Netherlands recorded a surge in British applicants.

Gemma Isherwood Deputy Editor impact-deputy@bath.ac.uk

Lee Haywood

fter a remarkable evening of fundraising at the RAG fireworks event last semester, charities across Bath, including the Royal United Hospital (RUH), have benefited to the tune of £38,000 raised by the 10,000 visitors who attended. The event, held jointly by Bath RAG and the Rotary Club for the first time last November, attracted hordes of students and residents alike, who were more than willing to dig deep for a variety of charities. The event was held at the Rec, combining the annual RAG fire-

works usually held on campus and the Rotary Club fireworks which are held in town. The collaboration allowed for a pooling of volunteers and resources which made the night really go off with a bang! Even with the money from tickets and the bucket collections going on throughout the night, the final amount raised was another step up from last year’s total and that of the year before. The money raised for the RUH has been spent on 24 new patient vital-signs monitors to be installed in A&E cubicles which can, for the countless patients that the RUH A&E sees every week, save lives. The RUH admits patients from across the region and the implementation of such

Several A&E patients come from further out than Bath city

high-tech instruments in the A&E cubicles will not only speed up the admissions process but also mean clearer and more comprehensive analysis of patient’s vital signs. The vital signs monitors purchased collate all the necessary information about a patient that doctors and nurses might need in orer to treat patients faster and more accurately. Coming in at around £800 each, the monitors are an invaluable addition to the life-saving equipment the hospital already has, and the donation from the RAG fireworks has helped enourmously in pushing forward the expensive program to replace obsolete equipment which has become more and more difficult in recent times. The money raised has been a great help to the RUH and is something RAG is extremely proud of; “We’re really happy that it was such a successful night for fundraising and we hope to do as well for all our other charities this yearespecially our Big Four” said RAG chair Hanna Wade. RAG have more fundraising in the pipeline to raise money for their Big Four charities this year; Golden Oldies, Time to Share, The Rainbow Centre for Children and Julian House. A variety of exciting events focused on getting students involved to raise money for charity

Charlotte Lightowler bathimpact Contributor

ath’s biggest tourist attraction has become too popular, say councillors. The Roman Baths welcomed 975 000 visitors last year, the highest figure for 25 years. This year, the attraction is aiming to lower this number by 100 000 to avoid “facing significant overcrowding”. Cherry Beath, Liberal Democrat Councillor for Combe Down, calls the goal “a realistic objective”, as she remarks that “the tourism industry will be disrupted this year due to the Olympics, Europe-wide recession and other factors”. The surge in popularity follows a series of improvements implemented by Bath and North East Somerset Council. The changes focus on incorporating new and formerly neglected sectors of society. For example, individual audio guides are now available in a range of languages, including British Sign Language for the hard of hearing, and audio description guides are provided for the blind and visually impaired. Mandarin and Japanese translations have been introduced on information boards and the complex has been adapted to become more accessible to wheelchair users. This has naturally led to an even greater popularity; Beath describes it as “a testament to the hard work of all the staff involved and the effectiveness of new measures to enhance the experience”. However, the council insists on a programme of quality over quantity,

Kylie Barton

Equipment for RUH Baths overrun

pointing to its efforts to ease overcrowding, such as using new technology to reduce the hot temperatures underneath the Pump Room and encouraging school groups to visit during the less busy autumn and winter terms. Its success was confirmed by last summer’s exit surveys, says Beath, where the public “did not perceive crowding to be too high”. The council is already planning further projects such as a slope to the Temple Courtyard, providing disabled access to the life-sized gilt bronze head of the goddess Sulis Minerva, which many officials argue is the attraction’s finest piece. Whether this will cause an unwanted increase in visitor numbers remains to be seen but Beath maintains: “we certainly have no intention of resting on our laurels as our investment is continuing.”

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High grade inflation Ben Butler bathimpact Contributor

Clodagh McGuire bathimpact Contributor

A Karl Baron

he amount of graduates receiving a high classification of honours degrees has increased, with almost two thirds of all graduates receiving a first or an upper second. The data released by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) has revealed of those receiving their first degree in 2010-11, 64 per cent gained a higher honours grade, up 4 per cent from five years ago. The statistics have been released to cries of ‘grade inflation’, particularly due to the fact that a majority of universities assess degrees themselves. The Quality Assurance Agency, the independent higher education watchdog, gives assessment guidance to universities but with most league tables using the proportion of firsts and upper second class degrees as a key indicator there is little surprise that some are wary of the steady increase. Various university groups are undeterred by the allegations. Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of vicechancellors’ group, Universities UK told the BBC; “As in previous years, the proportion of firsts and 2:1s

Daylight robbery

Critics argue that degrees are getting easier for students awarded has increased marginally. But A-level performance has also improved in recent years, so it is unsurprising that degree results would also show an improvement.” Universities Minister, David Willetts, refrained from accusing universities of inflation but did stress the need for “academic integrity” and refrain from the temptation of marking up students work. He added that the need for a reformed assessment system was becoming increasingly viable as the 200-year-old honours system ignores other aspects of university life such as extra-curriculum activities and sport.

The University of Bath remains high above the national average with 76.6 per cent of graduates receiving the coveted grades, above Bath Spa who still managed to surpass the average with 69.0 per cent. HESA also confirmed the fact that women perform better than men during their first degree. Around 51 per cent of female students received an upper second compared to 45 per cent of males, but those receiving firsts was more evenly matched with women trumping men by only 1 per cent. However, women still represent a greater number of undergrads with 57 per cent being female.

robbery occurred outside Lloyd’s TSB on Moorland road in Oldfield Park. The two men intercepted a delivery, and a considerable amount of money was stolen. At 11.15am on Wednesday 25th January, a G4S security van making a delivery to the bank was raided and a money box taken. Two men were involved. The first, a white man wearing a balaclava, snatched the money box from the security guard. 88 year-old Gordon King, a former police officer, witnessed this and intervened using his walking stick in an attempt to foil the robbery. He states “I’m not a hero. It was just instinct.” As a result of his bravery, he is being hailed as a hero. Mr. King hit the man several times trying to take back the money before his stick broke. Although no weapon was used in the robbery, Mr. King was injured when he was knocked down by the second man, a black man wearing a beanie hat, who he had not noticed. He hit his head as he fell and spent several hours in hospital being treated for his injuries. The two men then drove off with the stolen money.

The actions of Mr. King have been praised by the police with Detective Chief Inspector David Gill stating that “the citizens of Bath will be very pleased with his actions”. Despite being knocked down, he suffered no serious injuries. The men used a stolen black Mercedes to commit the raid. It was later found nearby in Mayfield road sporting the false registration plates Y840 NGW. The police are looking for witnesses to come forward who may have seen this vehicle. A white transit van was also seen driving behind the Mercedes, which may have been involved or could be a potential witness to the crime. The police have not stated how much money was taken in the robbery; it is just known that the G4S van was carrying a `significant sum’. Kate Lambert, a sales assistant at Tile Solutions, also on Moorland Road, overheard that between £30,000 and £45,000 was taken by the two men. Police are appealing for anyone who was in the area at the time and may have seen something to contact them. They believe this raid may have been carried out by an organised gang involved in attacks all across the country.

local business owner has recently been subjected to a tirade of abusive messages and phone calls, after a video of her lashing out against a fellow Bath resident in a `road rage confrontation’ was seen by thousands of people online. Sarah Duncan, the owner of a knitwear shop in the city centre, attracted the attention of a fellow Bath resident in November, who began filming with his mobile phone as Mrs Duncan’s car inflamed congestion issues on George Street. The video shows Mrs Duncan’s car blocking a lane of traffic while attempting to enter Milsom Street, which was closed all day to facilitate preparations for the Christmas lights switch-on ceremony. After noticing the camera, the video shows Mrs Duncan’s reaction as she confronts the anonymous gentleman. The seven-minute video sees her following the cameraman, demanding to know why he is filming and asking him to stop, saying: `Give me that phone. It’s illegal, give me that phone’ and threatening to phone the police. She also threatens to fabricate and report an assault by the cameraman. Explaining his reasons for filming the situation, the cameraman insists that he saw the situation as: `an in-

Sarah Duncan’s knitwear shop teresting example of where the traffic closures in Bath have caused a problem’, and the way in which certain road-users were not dealing with the situation appropriately. He continues filming, and also threatens to call the police as discussions become more heated and Mrs Duncan’s husband becomes involved, shouting `why are you intimidating my wife?’ The video was uploaded in November shortly after its filming, but only went viral between Friday 20th and Sunday 22nd January this year when the original video was removed from YouTube. In three days, it was seen by over 37,000 people and provoked hundreds of comments on YouTube, Facebook and Reddit, mostly critical

of the businesswoman’s behaviour. User comments branded Mrs Duncan as aggressive, arrogant and rude and encouraged boycotts of her business, attacks and prank emails. The shop’s website has now been reduced to a single page stating the shop’s address. Mrs Duncan’s personal contact details and email address have been removed. Police are examining the video footage to ascertain whether police action is necessary, but are taking the threats against Mrs Duncan seriously. Steve Mildren from Bath Police has commented: `Whatever happened between the woman and the man who filmed her, it is unacceptable that unknown people should then start sending her abusive and threatening messages and phone calls’. The gentleman who filmed the video and remains anonymous said that he found some comments `inappropriate and offensive’. `My intention was to highlight traffic problems and how people deal with them. Businesses in Bath are having a hard time anyway and this doesn’t help the reputation of our lovely city. It was the right decision to take it down.’ Mrs Duncan has been advised not to comment on the issue but has said she is grateful for her customers’ support.

Emma Clarke bathimpact Contributor

lluminate Bath is a festival of lights that returns to the City after a successful first showing last November. This year the event took place in Janaury, to brighten up the city with an impressive display of light artwork projected onto internationally famous landmarks around the ancient roman city. Various ‘playful’ displays were set up in public spaces and were free for all to enjoy. The Roman Baths also participated in a somewhat eerie display as pictures on our front cover. Thousands attended the event between the 24th and 28th January, which included exhibitions from students of Bath Spa University who organise the event in conjunction with RELAYS (Regional Educational Legacy in Arts and Youth Sports). Illuminate Bath is part of a cultural celebration in the run up to the Olympics known as the ‘Cultural Olympiad’ which aims to facilitate a feeling of involvement with the games in the run up to the main event which starts in July this year, and encourages innovation among young people.

Anthony Head, the Creative Director of Illuminate Bath and Lecturer at Bath Spa said the event was sure to ‘enthral audiences’ and that ‘one of the highlights’ was aiding students to work with international artists

Lee Stone

Bethan Rees bathimpact Contributor

Flickr

Road rage mayhem A brighter Bath

Oldy worldy phone box illuminated

such as ‘Greysworld’. Locals and tourists alike are quoted as saying that they thought “the lights were lovely and really showed off the architecture of Bath”. The Cultural Olympiad will continue across Britain in the run-up to the 2012 Olympics in London

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Rescuing the Disunited Kingdom Anthony Masters bathimpact Deputy

Rev Stan

ollowing their convincing victory in the last Scottish parliamentary elections, the Scottish National Party (SNP) has thrust Scottish independence back onto the British political landscape. The SNP was founded in 1934, following a merger of two nationalist parties. The discovery of oil in the North Sea resurged desires for independence, hailed with the slogan “It’s Scotland’s oil!” Whilst a 1979 referendum for a devolved parliament missed a voting threshold, one was eventually established in Holyrood in 1998. Instead of placating desires for independence, the new Scottish Parliament provided the perfect forum for the SNP to flourish. This culminated in the SNP being Holyrood’s first majority administration in 2011. The independence referendum will be held in the autumn of 2014, soon after the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn, the decisive military triumph in the First War of Scottish Independence. The question is provisionally: “Do you agree that Scotland should become an independent country?” The SNP’s urge for 16 and 17-year olds to vote and initial refusal to accept oversight by the Electoral Commission led to legal questions over the

Scotland will have to cross stormy waters if they want to leave the UK behind on the horizon referendum. The coalition government’s attempts to clarify the vote’s legal status yielded accusations by the SNP‘s Deputy leader Nicola Sturgeon that Westminster was “trying to interfere in Scottish democracy”. There have been other attempts to manufacture separatist sentiment. Following the discovery of an English haggis dish that predates other known recipes, First Minister of Scotland and leader of the SNP Alex Salmond said that this was “akin to a land grab” and “I don’t mind the English claiming haggis as their own, as long as they leave us our country”. The current settlement for Scotland is considered too favourable, creating resentment. The Barnett formula is a 1978 convention made by former Chief Secretary to the

Treasury Joel Barnett, designed as a temporary solution to Cabinet disputes arising from the planned devolution in Scotland. According to the Treasury, the 2010/11 projected average UK government spending per person was £10,212 in Scotland, compared to £8,588 in England and £9,829 in Wales. Spending per person was £10,706 in Northern Ireland. Despite their ostensible backing of fiscal devolution, the SNP actually endorse the Barnett formula’s perpetuation. Linda Fabiani MSP said on the BBC that the Barnett formula was fair as “there are English regions that get more than Scotland and Wales”. The Holtham Commission found that Wales is chronically underfunded compared to Scotland, by £300 million a year. Plaid Cymru, the Welsh nationalist party, declared

support for any Westminster party that would rectify this disparity in funding. This perceived treatment of Scotland has also awoken a sense of nationalism in England, with calls for the establishment of an English Parliament. The English Democrat Party, which has the creation of English Parliament as their main policy, holds the mayorship of Doncaster, despite being a small party. Also, in most polls, Scottish secession from the union is more favourable with English people than with Scottish people. Another source of vexation for England is the West Lothian question, namely that Scottish MPs influence legislation that only affects England and Wales, but are powerless over matters in their own constituencies. An example of this was the introduc-

tion of top-up fees for English universities, which passed only with the votes of Scottish Labour MPs. The rejection of elected English regional assemblies by referenda in the North East in 2004 instituted this constitutional asymmetry. Now, the government is starting a commission to find an answer to the West Lothian problem. The Act of Union 1707 joined the two kingdoms of England and Scotland, creating Great Britain. This is one of the most successful political unions in history. Scotland has the right to political selfdetermination, which it will soon wield in the referendum. However, the current constitutional arrangement is making all members worse off. The SNP believe that Scotland is being subjugated by the union, whilst Wales feels poorer compared to Scotland, and England feels drained to bolster the high spending of devolved assemblies. The common issue is that political power, especially over fiscal measures, is too centralised within Westminster. Allowing Scotland, Wales and English local councils to be financially autonomous would remove the power of Westminster to distribute money over the union unfairly. A federal union of this kind is the best way to save the United Kingdom from dissolution.

Taxing times at University library bathimpact’s Daniel Lane shares his gripes over library fines row DVDs from the extensive collection, on the condition that they are returned the very next day BEFORE 10am. That’s not 10:01am, as I once found out. The penalty? FIVE ENGLISH POUNDS. FIVE. That’s about 2 pints of bitter, 8 loaves of bread, 250 turns on those fun 2p machines... And for what? So the DVDs can sit there gathering dust until somebody else happens to chance upon

the same obscure Argentine film? The SALC is a fantastic facility, a real tool for language students, but I highly doubt that anybody’s studies have been seriously affected by not being able to watch a movie. So whilst the SALC maintains its dictatorial fines policy, and the rest of the library continues with a laissez-faire approach, the system doesn’t really suit anybody. Except the University of Bath’s coffers, that is: in 2009-2010 the university received £65,519 from university fines from an alumni of 13,959 students. That’s an average of about £4.60 per student per year.

Tell us about it

of figure that gets you up to campus on a day off, for example, to return a few books. 20p is the sort of amount that you let the taxi-driver keep, that you give to the homeless, that you plop in the STV lockers every time you go to the gym. On the other hand, the Special Access Language Centre on Level 5, with its many shelves of foreign films, has a very different policy on loan privileges. Students can bor-

If, for example, the fines were raised to say, £2 per day when another user has a hold on the item, that would surely act as a significant deterrent for tardy borrowers. Less fines, less frustrated students, less stress in general. That would probably also mean less money for the university, and less money for the upkeep of the library. But when students are being seriously hindered by the late returns of books, especially at crucial times of the year, the university should be taking tougher measures to make sure that the library is firing on all cylinders. At the moment, it’s not.

Something you’d like to get off your chest? A burning issue which you think the student body at the University of Bath ought to know about?

Then bathimpact’s Comment section needs you! Whether you’re a first time contributor, or a veteran reporter, contact the bathimpact Comment Editor Tomos Evans to find out more details about how to get involved:

Kai Hendry

t must be a perennial frustration for students around exam time: a well-meaning trip to the library blighted by the absence of all but the least appealing of all books on the bibliography. If they’re simply being borrowed by another user, fine. We all start the semester with intentions of being the first through the library doors to snap up the best books, but these plans are soon undermined by our own (my own) laziness, disorganization and general indifference. But what really gets my goose is overdue books that show no signs of being returned. For the sake of fairness I must say that I have, despite my best efforts, incurred the odd late fine. However, for the sake of this argument I must also say that if I’m borrowing a book in a busy essay-writing/revision period, I get it back on time. The problem is that the fine system is simply no deterrent. 20p per day for 28 day loans and 40p per day for 7 day loans isn’t exactly the sort

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Imogen Grace Ware bathimpact Contributor

ments on the videos and ‘Sarah Duncan (Road Rage In Bath Official Fanpage)’ have been petty and whimsical, tenaciously teasing her absurd argument and playing up to the infamous women drivers row. Her husband’s shouting of the words “Stop intimidating my wife” have also induced comedic value due to the hypocrisy of his claims, as it is the man filming who is being intimidated by the couple’s persistent dispute! Sarah states she will tell the police the man ‘assaulted’ her, to which he replies “I haven’t touched you!” This is met with the response “I don’t care I’ll tell them anyway,” this statement alone demonstrates Duncan’s sheer daftness and delirious retaliation for being caught in the wrong. According to neighbouring store the Salcombe Trading Co, the Duncan’s outbursts are not a first, as highlighted by the amusing comment: “We have the great pleasure of being a neighbour to

Jim 2036

Flickr

he ‘Bath Road Rage’ video has generated huge attention, not only in Bath but astonishingly UK wide. The seven minute clip shows Mrs. Sarah Duncan a knitwear shop owner irrationally arguing with a passing pedestrian who was filming her horrendous parking on George Street. The original video was reportedly uploaded in November however it has only recently taken off, receiving 37,000 views before being taken down by the yet to be named camera man. Mrs. Duncan parked her car on George Street opposite ‘road closed’ signs blocking the entrance to Milsom Street, on the day of the Christmas lights switch on. She disrespectfully held up all westbound traffic, causing a huge pile up and aggravating many busy locals, appearing to not even care about the bedlam she was creating. After spotting an innocent pas-

ser-by filming her parking antics, she proceeded to chase after him, exclaiming “Who the fuck do you think you are, filming me? I’m trying to get to my place of work, how dare you, you fat little lump”. She insists filming in public is illegal - it’s not - and claims she “has all day” to follow and retrieve the video of her, despite not having “all day” to find a more suitable parking space. Her husband, Roy, supposedly moves the car before catching up with his wife to ask the man “Why are you filming us?” a grand total of 11 times. The video was intended to be an example of the chaos caused by road works in Bath, however it has turned into a hilarious internet phenomenon. There have been spoof videos, dub-step and club remixes of Sarah Duncan’s voice, Facebook pages and articles in national newspapers such as the Telegraph and the Guardian. Many of the messages and com-

A screenshot from the video of the scene of the incident that has become a nationwide sensation these screaming banshees. I am afraid the irrational, expletive-laden ranting is a common occurance.” When watching the video for the first time, I, like many others deemed this woman crazy and laughable, and it proved a hilarious topical discussion amongst my friends. Yet, I cannot help but feel that the subsequent boycotts, malicious messages and exposure of her personal information such as her email address are a step way too far. Comments have included “She was in the WRONG, and is a total bitch by the looks of things, her husband included,” “She is the worst kind of example of our sex and if I could vote to evict her from it I would.” Yes, she is obnoxious and ridiculous, but surely such abusive messages are unnecessary and

as inane as her shenanigans? Mrs Duncan has since allegedly received abusive personal emails and phone calls resulting in her contacting the police. Inspector Steve Mildren of Bath police said; “Whatever happened between the woman and the man who filmed her, it is unacceptable that unknown people should then start sending her abusive and threatening messages and phone calls.” The video was taken down by the camera man stating “In my opinion, some of the comments on YouTube were inappropriate and offensive. My intention was to highlight traffic problems and how people deal with them. Businesses in Bath are having a hard time anyway and this doesn’t help the reputation of our lovely city. It was the right decision

to take it down.” Whilst this seems like a mature decision in light of the above mentioned events, the video has been re-uploaded by another and the hate messages continue. Some even believe that he “should be reporting them for the abuse. Not the other way around.” I cannot deny that this woman has poor judgement and is a blatant liar, BUT, does she really deserve all this hurtful harassment and the failure of her business? After all, she only parked there to get to her shop anyway! One would hope that the embarrassment of this video will encourage Mr. and Mrs. Duncan to pick their battles more wisely and prevent any further nonsensical arguments; however the video is comedy gold!

Cruel intentions or misapprehension Kylie Barton talks, Britain, race and twitter

acism is an issue that is always there, underneath the radar, but on occasion certain events allow the topic to resurface, throwing all the same old questions back into the limelight. Last month, Dianne Abbott MP, created such an event, with a ‘tweet’ which was then taken out of context and portrayed as wait for it... racism against white people... from a black woman? Who knew. ‘White people love playing “divide and rule”’ she twitted, in a discussion about colonialism; a place where such a comment would be more than apt, and (arguably) still relevant with the international hierarchy and the new imperialism of conglomerate companies. It is nice to see we have reached a level of equality where any person can be accused of racism, despite their ethnic origin, it is the next stage after positive racism (the act of almost patronisingly praising a person or group from a minority demographic in excess, as if to make up for years of subjugation); something we haven’t entirely got over, and in many people’s minds is almost as bad as the original format. I feel however, the real issue here has been somewhat overlooked. The internet is a fabulous form of communication, but it also leads to selective viewing and reading, kind of like selective hearing, but easier to accomplish. The web has certified the long standing claims that 90 per cent of what you say doesn’t come out of your mouth (or fingertips for that matter), and that gestural communication, body language, and many other factors matter much more than actual words. Everyone has had it, an ill thought out comment posted on Facebook, or a slightly badly worded email that has lead to a whole load of trouble due to how somebody has interpreted your words in a different way to what

“

White people love playing divide and rule Diane Abbot MP

”

you originally intended. This fatal flaw with the internet is most likely to occur around emotive subjects, where pre-

AWardEver UK

Dear Duncans, stop intimidating our town

Stephen Lawrence existing norms and values taint the reader’s view of the words that they read, and can allow all other contextual information to be omitted. This is especially the case considering the only other contextual information is more dry words as opposed to flamboyant hand waving, or eye flirting. Believe it or not, it is not just Abbot’s careless tweeting that is the only context where race has become an issue, or at least has been highlighted again. The Stephen Lawrence case was drawn to a close with the conviction of Gary Dobson and David Norris. This monumental news, regarding a case which brought about impressive challenges to the practice of institutional racism was somehow pushed into the shadows by the media, with some commentators claiming the almost satirical story of tweets overtook a hard and fast news story when it came to the agenda. The sensationable wins again. Race inequality is still apparent in Britain, and across the globe. The African National Congress (the group which rose to power through the Apartheid regime headed by Mandela) celebrated its centenary last month, the celebrations of which also attracted widespread criticism for the lack of real change in terms of race related social standing. It is good the issue is once again on the agenda, but how it has got there is part of the overall problem. MP’s were forced to buck up and listen when one of their own crew said something that could be construed as offensive remotely related to the subject of race, but when it gets down to the important, broader stuff like concurrent issues within crime and society related to race, it is easier to turn the other way. It will be interesting to see how long this new wave of interest lasts.

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Sabbs Corner

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It’s a Sabb’s life... but what’s it all about? You can find more information about all the roles and the elections at www.bathstudent.com/runforsabb

arch sees this year’s Sabbatical Elections, where you have the opportunity to pick your sabb team for next year. Nominations open next week (13th February), but if you are interested in getting involved (or simply curious), you might wonder what a sabbatical officer does. All of us are full-time student representatives, championing your issues and running your Union. As elected posts the focus of each role changes with every new holder, but here is a guide to an average team…

SU President

Responsibilities: leading the sabbatical team, representing students, campaigns, communications, finance, student media Likes: student centres, committees, others sabbs, speaking in public Key issues: buses, social space, buses, the NUS and buses Defining role: student leader

VP Education

Responsibilities: Education. All of it. Also: Academic Reps Likes: reports and papers, formal meetings, high election turnouts, the Student Voice Key issues: feedback, teaching, elearning, placements Defining role: student representative

VP Community & Diversity

Responsibilities: welfare, community (student and local), volunteering, diversity Likes: condoms, resident meetings, equal opportunities, the Council (ish) Key issues: housing, money, community relations, the international student experience Defining role: student campaigner

VP Activities & Development

VP Sport

Responsibilities: societies, student enterprise, training and employability Likes: societies, student enterprise, training and employability Key issues: the arts complex, part-time jobs, skills accreditation Defining role: student organiser

Responsibilities: sports clubs, representing sporting interests Likes: BUCS points, 3G Pitches, students playing sport Key issues: sports fees, facilities, recreational opportunities Defining role: student co-ordinator

it. As human beings, we tend to dislike change and this may be one of the reasons that many of our New Year’s resolutions aren’t followed through; though realistically, trying to revamp your life the morning after a night of celebration isn’t the best idea that could spring to mind! Failure can be another reason that our resolutions fall through as we either don’t set them high enough and so we either forget about them or get frightened away by them after a few days. “So what have you decided to do this year?” I hear you ask. Well, amongst a variety of personal goals for myself, I have decided to make sure that I can attend an event run by every society for this new semester. Given that so many

events are run at the same time, it is no easy feat but I do hope to be able to finish of the challenge that I set myself not least given that it is so much fun to see the wide variety of activity that happens in the area! Hopefully this has spurred you on in your resolutions or perhaps it has sparked a reason for change. If you feel that you have missed the boat then perhaps tie it in with the Chinese New Year or Lent - you can never be sure what you can achieve when you put your mind to it! Or perhaps look at this with a bit of humour and take a leaf out the book of one of my twitter followers who said that they bought a new wall made from Velcro - unfortunately they didn’t stick to it!

4-6pm. There will be a notice board up in the day for you to post a message if you can’t make it. There are also message boards on www.bathstudentpad.co.uk where you can find people in a similar situation. The website also has the list of accredited properties available to rent for next year which will go live on 8th February, with the unaccredited list going live on the 22nd Feb. If you don’t know what an accredited property is, or you have other queries, make sure you have picked up (and read) the ‘Bath Student Accommodation Guide 2012’ from the Advice and Representation Centre.

Once you have found your perfect house, don’t forget that you can get your contract looked over and explained to you by dropping into the Advice and Representation Centre from 10-12pm and 2-4pm or booking an appointment with Accommodation Services Centre in 6W by visiting www.bath.ac.uk/ accommodation/contactus/officeenquiry If you have any further questions or queries then please don’t hesitate to ask! Either pop into the advice and representation centre or email us on sucommunity@bath.ac.uk or suadvice@bath.ac.uk. Good luck!

The NSS & you A new year, a new start David Howells SU President supresident@bath.ac.uk

or those of you who missed it on page 3, the National Student Survey (NSS) launches this week. If you are a final year undergraduate, there are plenty of good reasons to fill it in (not least of all: they harass you until you do), but there’s one very important reason to do so: this is your best chance to be listened to. The NSS covers all of the most important parts of your student experience. It is used as a key measure in many league tables, and is the most definitive test of student satisfaction. For the less cynical of us, another significant reason the NSS is so valued is that over 70% of final year students here fill it in, which coupled with the thousands of students across the UK provides a very solid evidence base. Because of this, the University takes NSS very seriously. The University is keen to respond to student feedback, and never less so than with the NSS. Over the years student concerns raised in the survey have prompted improvements in teaching, feedback, programme cohesion and much more. Without these changes, none of us would be able to say we went to the University of the Year 2012. We in the Students’ Union

highly value the results, as they aren’t just your opportunity to let the University know what you think, but also to give us a clear picture which we can work with the University to improve. Often, the NSS is the evidence we need to drive forward change.

This year, for the first time, the results of the survey will be published in what is known as the Key Information Set (KIS), the vital information provided to potential applicants. By filling in the survey, you can help guide future students in their choices. For final years, this is your last, definite chance to let the University know what you think of it. For the rest, either your time will come, or you will have other opportunities, such as the Postgraduate Taught and Postgraduate Research surveys (PTES & PRES). But when your time comes, if you’re satisfied, make sure you let the University know. And if you aren’t? Well let them know that too. The NSS stays live until the end of April, but do it now, as the surveyors will hound you mercilessly until you do!

David Cameron VP Activities & Development suactivities@bath.ac.uk

o, it’s that time of year again, the time where we all vow to make a change in our lives for one reason or another. Some of us may choose to get fitter or lose some of those pesky extra pounds; others may choose to try and complete one of their life ambitions or do something daring such as bungee jumping. We all have our reasons for doing this, but they all stem down to one key thing - making a change in our lives, ideally for the better. Changes on its own can be big and exciting though it can also be daunting when you first think about

There’s no place like home... Naomi Mackrill VP Community &Diversity suactivities@bath.ac.uk

t’s that time of year when house hunting is on everyone’s minds, apart from those leaving Bath for pastures new. *sniff* But here is a gentle reminder of all the things to be aware of househunting-wise: ‘Find-a-housemate’ - if you don’t know who you are living with next year, or maybe need an extra person to fill a room, there are two options for you. On Monday 6th February there is a “find-a-housemate” event on level 3 of the student centre from

Monday 6th February 2012

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Activities

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Socs update W

tions for next year will open after the Sabb Elections have closed in March, a space has opened in one of the Treasurer positions and this will be filled with a by-election. Nominations open on Monday 6th February, close at noon on Thursday 9th February with voting opening immediately after nominations close. Voting remains open until Sunday 12th February. Do consider standing as this is a way to both produce change in the Societies area and also develop your skills, particularly those relating to financial management. If you have any queries about the role and its requirements then please email suactivities@bath.ac.uk for more info.

reshers’ Week kicked off for TeamBEST with a massive surge in membership. We had a highly an-ticipated first semester around the corner, one that truly wouldn’t disappoint. The weeks passed, we were already at our first academic event of the year and it couldn’t have gone better. International Economics Week gave us the opportunity to indulge ourselves amongst the expertise of 9 high profile speakers, including talks from sponsors Nomura, a particularly fascinating discussion on debt and quantitative easing by Phillip Coggan, and a once in a life time opportunity to meet the BBC’s Economics Correspondent, Hugh Pym. Such an inspiring week certainly paved

has been hard at work to provide the BEST socials on campus. Our 400 person invasion of Bristol in November really set a benchmark that was going to be hard to beat, especially with the high demand for tickets. However Oceana Bristol proved not to disappoint, as our second social also reached our unusually high standards. To thank all the people who have helped us achieve everything we have done in this last semester would be an almost impossible challenge, but one project that has probably passed most by has been our work with BathImpact and more specifically providing three young economic journalists the chance to gain experience in the world of press. Aran Gnana, Alexander Latter and Laura Tingle have been writing some fantastic articles this last semester and let’s hope that their fine work will continue. For all of this fantastic work we were awarded the BEST society from the 1st Semester so how could we possibly improve on this, I hear you cry. Our Economics Summit on 14th March will be guaranteed to be filled with more of the high profile economists and entrepreneurs that we have become accustomed to, and which will include for the first time ever, our Diversity Hour, which will contain various different talks focusing on opportunities in finance and business for those with disabilities, different race, sex or sexual preference. We are also launching our School’s Project where TeamBEST members get to teach 6th form students around Bath and share their experiences of university with them. We shall of course not let this hold back our unbelievable socials and trips to Bristol, Bath and talks of a BEST Fuzzy Ducks on the cards, this could be just the moment for bigger and better BEST socials.

Team BEST-est F

The team at the last Socs Fair the way for our blockbuster event of the semester, the Taysom Evening. Starting with a champagne reception in the roman baths, the congregation which included staff, students and corporate bigwigs gathered for a 2 course meal followed by a talk from Julie Meyer. The online Dragon provided us with a unique speech involving trains, tracks and entrepreneurs leaving many awestruck. The event, which was capped with a ball and live music, was truly a fantastic end to the academic year. Of course it would be wrong to say that BEST were neglecting the social side of university and our social team

Hanna Wade Chair of RAG RAG@bath.ac.uk

hat does Semester 2 mean to you? For RAG (Raise and Give) it means RAG Week, Fashion@Bath and the annual hitch-hike to Paris! Last semester, a record £37,900 was raised at the RAG Fireworks display and the Sleepout, which saw 45 students take to Parade for the night in aid of the homeless charity Julian House, raised £1,871.14, yet another record! With lots of new members, loads of money raised so far and several feel-good volunteering opportunities, this semester also means Krispy Kreme doughnut sales, Valentine’s Day roses and other fantastic fundraising events. Read on for an overview of what’s to come… RAG Week is a week of daily events and entertainment between 20th and 26th February, including the traditional Bierkeller, Take Me Out, Gunk-A-Sabb, Jumble Sales, Pancakes on Parade and lots more! All of this is sponsored by KPMG and, for more information, find RAG Week 2012 on facebook or check out our website: www. bathstudent.com/ragweek2012 Looking FAB and being FAB is just a hint at what the Bath University Students’ Union’s own RAG annual Fashion Show - Fashion@Bath - is all about. On March 14th, student models will hit the runway showcasing the finest pieces from shops in and around Bath at the very prestigious Bath Assembly Rooms. Not only do we all get to admire beautiful women and handsome men in clothes we all wish we had, but with the as-

sistance and support of Bath RAG, we are helping out for a good cause: Sue Ryder. Tickets are on sale soon - watch this space! For more information visit our website fashionatbath.tk or find us on facebook: www.facebook.com/fashionatbath Paris Hitch: This sponsored hitch-hike to Paris is one of the annual highlights of the RAG calendar! Bidding au revoir to Bath on 23rd March this year, this is the ultimate Bath student experience and teams will race in pairs to the foot of the Eiffel Tower; a total must-do! Enjoy a night and day in Paris and then RAG takes you back to campus by coach to make up for the exhausting journey there. French fun and frol-

ics galore and, even better, we are using JustTextGiving for people to sponsor participants of the event. Interest meetings for the hitchhike will take place: Wednesday 22nd February 13:15 (8W 2.10) Tuesday 28th February, 11:15 (1W 2.7) Friday 2nd March, 15:15 (1W 3.15) If volunteering, event management or fundraising is something you are interested in, then keep an eye out for our upcoming RAG Committee elections for next year (2012/13) and take the chance to have a leading role in RAG! Anyone can run and it’s a great attribute on your CV for employers to see. Look out for our event management and publicity training sessions during RAG Week to develop even more keen (and employable!) skills. There’s a lot to gain from getting involved with RAG: to keep up to date with all of our news and events, join for FREE at www. bathrag.com or send us an e-mail at rag@bath.ac.uk

Lights, camera, recycle!

nterested in the environment? Think recyling is cool? Want to win £300? Then why not design a film to promote recycling at the University of Bath? The Estates Department, with Alumni funding, is running a competition to promote recycling at the University and we’re asking students to make a 60 second film to show how important it is to recycle at the University. Entrants can work on their own or in a team with prizes including: • First prize: £300 worth of Amazon vouchers • Second prize: £200 worth of Am-

azon vouchers • Runners-up prizes TBA The film needs to be engaging with the emphasis on encouraging students and staff to participate in recycling across the cam-

Heather Vescent

hilst in this section we would normally highlight particular events that were coming up, there are so many for the start of the semester there are too many to be able to mention every single one! Therefore, check out bathstudent.com/socs to get to each society’s pages and find out what they are planning and how you could get involved. You could also head along to the Refresh Fair on Friday 10th February, 11am - 2pm where there will be a small selection of societies available for you to talk to and find out more about what’s on offer. Also, have you considered being on the Socs Exec? Whilst nomina-

RAG-ing into the new year

pus, points will be given to films which are both interesting and informative. The deadline for registering to enter the competition is Friday 2nd March with the film submission deadline on Friday 30th March. Winners will be announced week commencing 16th April. The winning film will be shown across the University and used in future recycling promotions. For more information and to register your interest please contact the Waste and Recycling Manager on e.j.rhodes@bath. ac.uk or 01225 383735. Good luck!

Monday 6th February 2012

bathimpact

Activities

www.bathimpact.com

Access for all ‘Fashion@Bath’ time I

n order to get the best out of your University experience here at Bath, both in terms of enjoyment and academic success, it’s important for you to be able to access the things you need. Things like learning materials, lectures and support staff, but also things like catering facilities and toilets on campus. Everyone is different and has different needs, abilities and limitations. There are disabilities and conditions, illnesses, injuries, diseases, special circumstances and it doesn’t matter whether these things are temporary or permanent, severe or mild - what matters is at some point in our lives most of us have some kind of problem accessing things we

need. When that happens it’s good to know you’re not on your own, and that there might be ways to solve, or get around those issues to ensure you can access what you need. Access is an all-inclusive group designed to support students with access-related needs and liaise with

the University to see how those needs can be met. It is student-run and student-led, supported by the Students’ Union Advice and Representation Centre. The group is completely free to join, non-discriminatory and confidential; anyone is welcome, because everyone is different. You can join online for free at www.bathstudent.com/welfare/ student-groups/accessgroup We provide peer support, as opposed to the professional support provided by the Advice and Representation Centre, Student Disability Advice and other such bodies. Access’ informal meetings are a great way to make new friends from different backgrounds, but you can also keep in touch via email. Members will also receive email updates about what the group is doing, access to our online forums and be encouraged to stand and vote in committee elections. If you would like to find out more about Access and what it can offer you, email the committee at access@bath.ac.uk or visit our stall at the Refresh Fair on Friday 10th February. Anyone’s welcome, because everyone’s different.

ath, mark your calendars! Only 37 days to go until our models strut the catwalk and you get to witness it. The F@B 2012 team is busy getting everything organized for the big day and cannot wait for it to arrive. However, first we have a few special events for you. To kick off the first week of Semester 2, we are bringing Krispy Kreme to you on campus. Nothing gets the day started like a good doughnut and it surely will help you stay awake during those first lectures! Come find us on February 7th on the Parade from 10am onwards. Furthermore, Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and we have arranged for a surprise! So watch our Facebook page and check our website to find out what it is. Also, have you seen our lovely models around on campus? Have you always wanted to go on a date with one of them? Or have you always wanted a model to fetch you lunch, get you a coffee or do your washing up? In support of the University of Bath Raise and Give (RAG) we are auctioning off our models during RAG week, which takes place from the 20th-26th of February. Bodysoc will also be showcasing their talent at the event. So support Bath RAG

and your university and come find us on February 24th in the Plug and Tub during Happy Hour - 4pm onwards! In preparation for the show on the 14.03.2012, we are looking for volunteers! Interested in helping out at the fashion show? Contact us through Facebook or via e-mail. Moreover, you will also be able to sign up as a volunteer for the show, during the model auction on February 24th in the Plug and Tub. We really appreciate your support! Last, but definitely not least: ticket sales for the show are due to start soon! Students will be able to their student tickets from us on the Parade and orders will be taken via

phone - details to be released soon! Student tickets will cost £15.00, which will include a champagne reception on the night, a goody-bag and free entry to the after party. VIP tickets can be bought online at www. bathunigifts.co.uk, and are priced at £27.00, which will include a champagne reception on the night, the best seats in the house, a VIP goodybag and free VIP entry to the after party with queue jump. You can find details to tickets sales and all our events on our website, www.fashionatbath.tk and on our Facebook fan page. So keep an eye out for what we have in store for you! Look F@B. Be F@B.

Give the Mediation service a fighting chance There are currently nine trained volunteer mediators. They all undertook Open College Network accredited training through Mediation at Work, an external organisation, and have already worked on several cases across the University. Due to demand for the service we are training 6 new mediators who should qualify early in 2012. Mediators need to be able to identify the underlying issues and help staff and students to find their own solutions. The training focussed on key mediation skills, including how to listen, be nonjudgemental and empathetic, and how to reflect back rather than advise. Amy Phillips, Department Coordinator in Chemical Engineering completed the training in 2009. She said: “The cases I have been involved with have been very different but the underlying common factor was that of a communication breakdown.” “As a mediator my role is simply to facilitate the meeting, not take sides and to assist the clients through the process, we are not there to give advice. The Mediation service is available to both

students and staff and is confidential. Mediators are asked before taking a case to ensure that they have no previous knowledge of the case. This ensures impartiality. Students should not worry about information about mediation appearing on their student record.”

Mediation can take place separate from grievance/complaints process and is entirely confidential. Mediators don’t take notes and will only report the outcome to the Mediation Service Manager; the only detail on record is that mediation has been attended (so

Ed Schipul

he University has a mediation service for staff and students which offers a way of resolving conflicts in the university community. Here, Impact speaks to Marlene Bertrand, Mediation Service Manager, who leads on this policy. The mediation service is an informal way of providing support if there has been a breakdown of a work or study relationship, whether it is the result of a long-standing dispute or a one-off argument. This could equally happen to a student as it could to a member of staff, take for example the working relationship between a supervisor and a student. “I’m sure most people can think of someone they know on campus who would benefit from having an impartial person to mediate in certain difficult situations,” said Marlene. “Mediation provides people with an impartial, confidential service where participants volunteer to come and talk through their dispute in a structured environment, try and find some common ground and identify their own solutions.”

Use the mediation service before things get out of hand

you don’t need to worry about it going on your student record). Mark Humphriss, University Secretary and Chair of the Equalities and Diversity Committee, supports this initiative, “Many people have benefitted from the mediation service over the past four years. It forms an important part of our commitment to ensuring good relationships for studying and working across the University.” For details of the mediation service, see http://www.bath.ac.uk/ equalities/activities/mediation/ For details of the Dignity and Respect for Students and Staff of the University of Bath: Policy and Procedure for Dealing with Complaints, see www.bath.ac.uk/ equalities/policiesandpractices/ dignityandrespectpolicy.pdf Students can find out more information about the Mediation Service by contacting the Advice and Representation Centre found in the Students’ Union building, by emailing suadvice@ bath.ac.uk or phoning 01225 386906. You can also contact Marlene Bertrand on 01225 383098.

Monday 6th February 2012

bathimpact

Media

www.bathimpact.com

What’s on this week? News from H ello there Freshers… it’s mintyfresh here! So we’ve not heard from you in a while and though it’d be nice to have Freshers’ Week again - the parties, the crazy dress-up, the Freshers’ Fair and the endless drawing on people/objects/things, right? Sadly, however, we realised that there are actually ZERO hours left until terms starts again so we had very little time to prepare. Fortunately, the lovely, organised people in the SU have been busy putting together something a little more low-key (because we at mintyfresh don’t actually think we can handle the jager and late nights again) but still full of fun and a pretty decent ‘Welcome Back’ after the huge stress-fest that was exams. So here we have it… Refresh Week! Remember those awesome fizzy sweets from your childhood? With the crazy stripes? Well this is even better than those. You’ve got a whole week to browse the various things that are going on (and at the same time show the rest of the students that you’re not the new kids any more and can actually perform bodily functions that don’t involve

vomit). So here is your run-down of exactly what Refresh Week 2012 has to offer! Monday 6th is a day for buying posters (Parade), a Merrill Lynch stall (Student Centre), buying exciting lunches (Parade), finding housemates (46pm, Student Centre), performances from various societies and will finish with a stunning, as ever, night at Bridge - will the mintyfresh team see you there? Tuesday 7th has a lot going on in the SU all day, get down there for a chat with your sabbs, buying yet more posters, a BP stall (9-5pm, Student Centre), an ISA ‘Tea and Talk’ in the SU, a performance from Break (Student Centre), MASH Café (5:30-7:30pm, Student Centre) and a slightly more relaxing evening at the Plug Quiz. We bet you can’t beat the mintyfresh team. Wednesday 8th gives us an Ernst and Young stall (10-5pm, Student Centre) and there’s a another crazy night lined up at Refresh Score (get your tickets. Seriously. We at mintyfresh can barely remember the last time

we were there… and it was EXCELLENT). Thursday 9th brings a myriad of wonderfulness as it is… wait for it… MEDIA DAY! As this is the case, Media will be out and about, 9 til 5, on the Parade and in the Student Centre, showing off how awesome bathimpact is, what 1449am URB can do for you and seeing who out of our terribly attractive student population might have the face for CTV. Who’s game? There are gonna be opportunities to try your hand at filming, seeing how the radio station works, chances to see how bathimpact and the very sheets you read off are made! Come chat to to get you involved! There are also MusicSoc performances and the Postgraduate ‘Cuppa Coffee’ (4W 2.5) and then open mic night for you to showcase your amazing singing skills. Friday 10th is the highlight of the week with the Refresh Fair (Student Centre) and some fun with the 3:Thirty Club (Founders’ Hall) followed by Weekend Warm Up (The Plug) and band night featuring Beans on Toast from 8pm. YouTube him, he’s excellent, who’d have thought a song about Tesco could be so catchy?! Saturday 11th There’s a discover trip to Cardiff in the morning - well worth going on, Cardiff is lovely - and the 3:Thirty Club are playing dodgeball (Founders’ Hall) then there’s a revival of the Show Your Colours theme at Fuzzy Ducks in the evening, so dig out your tshirts and give Eastwood/Westwood/Norwood/wherever you’re from a good run for their money! And, as if that wasn’t enough, you get a BOGOF deal in The Plug and The Tub on drinks during the day (that’s your recovery coffee sorted on Tuesday/Thursday morning) but only with a flyer, so grab one from the nearest surface and get to the bar! Our only regret is that there will be no mintyfresh this time around, but rest assured we are watching your every move. Well, not so much watching because that sounds kinda creepy, but we can’t wait to hear what you get up to. You guys have the best stories. Peace and love. x

bathimpact

irst of all welcome back to normality on behalf of the bathimpact team! We hope your exams went well and you celebrating making it through properly during ISB. We at bathimpact have had a couple of changes to your team. We can now properly welcome Tomos Evans as our new News and Comment Editor (impact-news@bath.ac.uk) who has successfully carried on and embellished on the wonderful work started by his predecessor with this first issue of 2012. The position of IT Officer on the bathimpact committee will soon become open, as Jack Franklin has taken the decision to leave the committee due to an offer for a position high up in a national group. If you are interested in websites,

ur Editor-in-Chief Kylie Barton has been working hard to arrange a fantastic ‘Media Careers Day’ for bathimpact, media and any students interested in a career in the industry. The agenda for the day can be found on the Facebook event page hosted by bathimpact. The lineup included the Director and Founder of the BBC’s Journalism Training Scheme, Editor of The Journalist, Deputy Editor of the Bath Chronicle and speakers who have worked in television production and radio, so there really is

design, and working with a fantastically innovative team to carry on improving our new website then please contact our Editor-in-Chief Kylie Barton on impact-editor@ bath.ac.uk. The position will be filled at bathimpact’s next General Meeting, the date is yet to be confirmed, keep an eye on Facebook and our media newsletter for more info. Our new website is up and running! We are in the middle of an ongoing process to make sure the site is as streamlined as possible, including making the new ‘Letters to the Editor’ section more than just a way to email the editor, but as a place where you can have your queries published and responded to in an open forum. Please be patient with us!

something interesting for everyone. Speakers will discuss a variety of topics, host interactive workshop style sessions including how to structure a news story, and will take part in a question and answer session. This is a great chance to network and find out more about the industry from people who have been there and done it. The day takes place between 12:30 and 15:30 on 24th Feb in 1W3.15. Head on over to Facebook or come chat to us in The Plug on the 9th and keep your eyes on your inbox to find out more!

Monday 6th February 2012

bathimpact

International

www.bathimpact.com

n January 3rd, after months of conflicting poll results and intense political disagreements, the Republican Party’s American presidential season kicked off with the Iowa caucus. For those of you who missed the excitement of Fox News’ live coverage in the early hours of the morning, Mitt ‘safe-pair-ofhands’ Romney narrowly beat the new kid on the block, Rick Santorum. One recount later, and the results were turned. The boost had been expected in the Santorum campaign since Iowa is both his home state and full of the radical Republicans he appeals to. Since then the left-leaning New Hampshire has voted for Romney and the right-leaning South Carolina has gone for former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. This Republican campaign for who will stand against Obama in November still has a long way to go, but to those who have watched

its progress since midway through last year, it feels like it has been going on forever. Tea party pinup Michelle Bachmann pulled out after the realisation that, despite the publicity her radical movement received, the support was minimal compared to the more close to centre campaigns of Romney and Gingrich. The incredibly unlikeable pizza mogul Herman Cain ‘suspended his campaign’ after his numerous affairs left him unpopular with Republican conservatives. Scrutiny is part of the campaign, but this year, particularly with the Democrats so united behind Obama, the personal attacks seem greater than ever. The most bruised survivor is Mitt Romney. His tax receipts suggest he pays little over 14%, Gingrich and libertarian Ron Paul claim he is ‘too moderate’, and in a recent ‘attack ad’ he was accused of committing the crime of speaking French! Most of these points are legitimate; his business ethics

during his multi-million pound career doesn’t match the lives of the average American in these belt tightening times and, when his policies are lined out, he looks more like a centralist Bill Clinton than a neoliberal George W. Bush. This, however, is also his greatest strength. Whoever wins the Republican ticket will not, unless something catastrophic hits the Obama administration, win the November election. Convention favours the incumbent, especially this year with the clear split in the opposition. Most Americans are not ready for another Bush, something Gingrich and Santorum don’t recognise. What the Republican party needs is a candidate who can win over the most floating voters who backed Obama in 2008. The moderate, likeable Romney can best achieve this. In all probability, within a month, Santorum will drop out of the race and Paul will follow soon after. The race remains between

Newt Gingrich looking tough Gingrich and Romney, two very different characters who will appeal to very different Republicans. The gloves were taken off a while ago, but the fight will only get bloodier in March as Super Tues-

Gage Skidmore

Ben Butcher bathimpact Contributor

Gage Skidmore

Republican voters are split

Mitt Romney fighting back day (in which 12 states will decide their candidate) approaches. It is important though to remember that this is only the beginning; November 6th is still a reasonably long way off.

One hundred years of the ANC Kylie Barton looks at how 100 years on; the original sentiment of the Mandela’s historic movement may have been temporarily forgotten

hundred years on, this focus has either shifted, or been temporarily forgotten, as South Africa still faces huge problems of inequality across both class and racial lines. As is the risk with all new democracies, the ANC have had a string of leaders who had, at one time or another, faced corruption

World Economic Forum

hat was most striking about the rise of the ANC in South Africa in during the Apartheid was their unequivocal and highly admirable focus on equality as opposed to what comes most naturally in such a horrific situation of subjugation... revenge. One

Will South Africa allow Zuma to have another term in office?

charges. Equality is always championed until you get to the top and the power hungry begin to change their priorities. The current South African president Mr Jacob Zuma, who will run for a second term, is said to be primarily concerned with protecting his own business interests. This is something which has been bolstered by a new information bill which will allow Zuma’s government to label any information to do with the state as being in the ‘interests of national security’. This will limit the ability of scrutinising bodies and individuals, such as journalists, to ensure that any corruption is ousted from the system. A media tribunal’s panel will be set up to ‘sanction’ journalists; however punishments could include 25 year jail terms. Youth disengagement is a huge problem for many reasons, including this abject disregard for what the ANC once proudly stood for. Members of the ANC youth group often describe Zuma’s presidential style as that of a ‘traditional African chief, using his office to distribute state patronage to allies, friends and family’. This opinion could be understood

if it was directed to South Africa’s neighbouring autocratic monarchy Swaziland, but when the words are spoken about one of the most famous new democracies in the world, one can’t help but feel slight disbelief. A disengaged youth is often the root of change, as seen with the Arab Spring, and the next generation of South Africans are certain-

“

Equality is always championed until you get to the top and the power hungry begin to change their priorities.

”

ly tired of the continuous struggle they face. January the 10th, this year, a stampede took place at the University of Johannesburg when over 9,000 students were trying to submit late applications competing for only 800 places. It was a last act of desperation for many of these poorer black students to get onto the ladder. In law they may be equal, but in practice, this just isn’t the case.

Laws are increasingly flouted by the political elite for their own advancement, whilst the nation still suffers from high crime rates, low access to provisions and crises of education. Activism in the form of protests is on the increase in the area, and many analysts have already commented this may be the ‘Sub-Saharan Spring’ with demonstrations in Swaziland and unrest in Angola and Zimbabwe to name a couple. Sinicism aside, a second term for Zuma would see a continuation (and almost acceptance) of undemocratic behaviour, and further entrenchment of the attitudes that couldn’t be farther removed from the original aims of the ANC. Regard for the party is still extremely high, as the people still associate it with freedom. There is no doubt that internal change is needed, as the people still believe in the ANC. It just needs to remember its roots and renegotiate its boundaries and prerogative with the electorate, so that the next big milestone can be celebrated with a more positive tone.

Monday 6th Feburary 2012

bathimpact

International

www.bathimpact.com

Egyptian revolution aftermath Wad of World News

side we have the invigorators who cast doubt on the achievements obtained so far. Shaimaa Zain descended onto Tahrir Square a year ago to demand change and claims that the reason she has returned is because, “Things haven’t improved. In fact they got worse”. She echoes the fears of many other compatriots in saying that there is a conspiracy between the military and the extremists. The parliamentary elections saw the overriding victory of the Muslim Brotherhood, long smothered under Mubarak’s rule, and the more extreme Salafists, who together control a majority of seats in parliament. Some worry that the Islamists will not challenge the power of the military, which still sits comfortably at the top of the pecking order and has been keeping the democratisation process going at a leisurely pace.

Floris Van Cauwelaert

he next few words encapsulate the ambivalent feelings surrounding the revolution. “Mubarak was the head of a pyramid and what we find is that while he has been toppled, the rest of the pyramid is still there.” They were spoken by a protester in Tahrir Square who, along with thousands of fellow Egyptians, gathered to commemorate the first anniversary of the revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak’s regime. On the one hand there are those who see the 25th January as a celebratory day, which saw Egypt break free from the shackles of decades of authoritarian rule under Mubarak. In the words of Wael Ghonim, the young Google executive who became the face of the revolution after creating a Facebook page for the protesters, “a psychological barrier of fear has been broken”. On the other

One of the more peaceful protests in Tahir Square last February

Rvongher Divers searching for survivors from the cruise ship Costa Concordia, which ran aground on 13th January off the coast of Italy, have given up. Fifteen people remain missing whilst seventeen are known to have died. Gwydion M Williams

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak

The fear is that the Islamists will not mobilise their popular support to displace the military’s coddled position of strength, because the current democratic process has paved their way to power. Similarly, the military will ensure the process ratchets ahead in such a way as to favour the Islamists. However some have dismissed such fears as unfounded. Egypt’s political class is divided in a triangular contest for power between the military, the Islamists and the revolutionaries. Roger Hardy explains that the military and the Islamists are actually wary of one another, despite having been forced into “tactical accommodation” by events in the past. Roger Hardy further claims that the army has unwittingly found itself in the limelight of the revolution, and is eager to return to the sidelines. Provided, of course, that its core interests are not threatened, such as its budget and privileges. This is probably an excessively sanguine view of the situation. Whilst a seamless transition like that in Tunisia was perhaps a bit elusive for a country like Egypt, the military certainly seems to have embraced its newfound position of power with gusto. The statement on its Facebook page for the eve of the one year anniversary emphasised its prominent role in the revolution: “The military protected the revolution, stood with its objectives, embraced its demands and promises to fulfil it”. The revolutionaries and liberals thus find themselves in an awkward position, where they need the military to guide the delicate political process whilst simultaneously calling for its exclusion from the political scene. Having achieved their unifying goal, namely the end of Mubarak’s regime, the revolutionaries have failed to coalesce into a credible political force that can counteract the strength of the military and the Islamists through the normal political channels. They have largely failed to translate their effervescent moral force into an efficient election-winning machine. For now the world waits with bated breath to see whether political Islam will indeed prove to be the democratic model for the Arab world. Revolutions, by their very nature, are rarely predictable. Egypt has been no exception.

When the casting crew for the new Peter Jackson film The Hobbit opened up auditions in Lower Hutt, New Zealand this week for extras, no one expected that the turnout would be over 3,000. Police officers had to be called to the scene to shut down the call due to health and safety fears. E-Magine Art

World Economic Forum

Julia Fioretti tells bathimpact how the country has fared a year after the topple of Mubarak

Over 36 patients have died in a Pakistan hospital after they were given faulty drugs to treat their cardiovascular diseases. The proprietors of the pharmaceutical firm that distributed the pills were arrested by police.

Monday 6th February 2012

bathimpact

Science

www.bathimpact.com

Invisible cloak a reality

visible light which relies on a multitude of wavelengths. So whilst this new found invisibility can have practical uses, they will typically be for sharper scanning microscope resolution, rather than realising any Potter-esque invisibility cloak ambitions just yet. Although there is still hope as these researchers are only just beginning in their search for invisibility, strange as it may seem to search for something you cannot see. They will be exploring the possibilities of combinations with meta-materials and different wavelengths. They believe that theirs is the technique to be used for practical applications in the future. Like non-stop housemate pranks then. We live in hope. stuartpilbrow

ow would you like to be invisible? Imagine living the Potter dream where anything would be possible from walking around naked to seeing how Derren Brown really does his tricks when no one else is watching. The opportunity for the ultimate student prank would be almost too tempting. I bet you think it is a combination of Rowling’s imagination and CGI that makes Harry’s invisibility cloak such a success. Think again, invisibility has just become a reality. Texan researchers have successfully made a 3D object invisible from all angles, a feat never achieved before. Previous methods have had partial success, such as the ‘carpet cloak’ which uses a cover of meta-materials to channel light rays around an object. We see objects through the light that bounces off of them, so if the light is not reflected then as far as we are concerned the object is not there. Yet the new Texan findings have for the first time cloaked something in ‘free space’. ‘But how?’ you ask as you eye up your housemate’s room for potential chaos. Well the science

behind it involves plasmonic materials that are used to make a photo-negative of the object. These influence the fields directly opposing the object and effectively cancel it out. Professor Alu from the University of Texas explains: “What we do is different; we realise a shell that scatters [light] by itself, but the interesting point is that if you combine the shell with the object inside, the two cancel out and the object becomes completely invisible”. This research successfully caused an 18cm long cylinder to disappear, but would need to be tailored specifically for different objects. There is a catch though, this technology has only been developed to function in the microwave level of the electromagnetic spectrum and is unlikely to work for

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Emma Watson bathimpact Contributor

Hide and seek? No need to hide under the bed with an invisible cloak!

Polariton success

bathimpact contributor Simon O’Kane reports on polaritons and how they may bring us closer to quantum computing Photons cannot be used for spintronics because they have no spin; polaritons, on the other hand, do have spin. The main advantage polaritons have over electrons for quantum computing is that unlike electrons, polaritons are not subject to the Pauli Exclusion Principle, meaning that it is possible for more than one polariton to occupy the same point in space. Robin Hartley and his supervisors Dr. Dmitry Skryabin and Dr. Andrey Gorbach are theoretical physicists who have been researching the quantum mechanics of polaritons, predict-

Hartley’s predictions of the existence of soliton states have recently been observed by experimental colleagues at the University of Sheffield. This breakthrough allows polaritons to be held in the same spin state for long periods, paving the way towards potential use in quantum computing and information storage. Dr. Skryabin is held in high regard for his expertise on nonlinear physics, which provides the basis for exotic phenomena such as solitons and chaos theory. He Rick Kimpel

postgraduate researcher in the Department of Physics and his supervisors have just had a paper published in the prestigious journal Nature Photonics. The research, which concerns exotic particles called polaritons, has the potential to bring quantum computing a step closer to reality. When energy is supplied to a semiconducting medium by, say, shining light on it or passing electricity through it, short-lived quantum particles called excitons are formed. These can interact with light particles called photons to form polaritons. Such photon-exciton polaritons are not to be confused with other types of polaritons, for example photon-phonon polaritons. Polaritons have potential applications in what is called spintronics. In electronics, the charge of electrons is used to convey information; in spintronics, information is conveyed not by charge but by a quantum number called spin, which governs the electron’s magnetic properties. Information on a computer’s hard drive, for example, is stored by the electrons in the hard drive being “locked” into a specific spin state.

Research at the University of Bath is reforming the computing world

ing the existence of “soliton” states. Solitons arise in systems governed by nonlinear equations, occurring when a quantity, in this case the quantum wavefunction of the polariton, neither grows nor decays in time, but remains unchanged until a parameter in the equation is altered.

lectures on solitons in his final year Physics units, explaining the mathematics behind pendulums that swing forever and high intensity laser beams that never diverge. Dr. Gorbach, meanwhile, is among several new lecturers the Department has recently appointed.

Water from air Fox Kiyo

Is taking water from the atmosphere the solution to our shortages?

Christiana Langma bathimpact Contributor

ur water usage is highly unsustainable; we are in danger of running out of sufficient clean, fresh water to meet our needs. A lot of people are currently surviving on inadequate water supplies and many areas of the Earth are water stressed. With a growing population and the looming threat of global warming, where do we find supplementary water to meet global demand? Some scientists and inventors have been looking to the winds. An atmospheric water harvester (AWG) is any device that can be used to extract potable water from air. According to Sciperio (a science R&D company), the ‘ubiquitous nature’ of water vapour means an atmospheric water harvesting system can be installed in ‘virtually any location’ with advantages not only to communities living in dry regions, but also providing ‘a clear logistical advantage for soldiers, community workers, healthcare officials, and others in the field’. Aqua Sciences, Inc., a leading American company in this field, claims it to have developed ‘a revolutionary and practical scientific breakthrough’ (details of which are well guarded) that produces ‘water at a fraction of the cost of bottled water’ and describes atmospheric water as ‘a renewable and infinite source of drinking water’ that will provide ‘plenty of water for every man, woman and child’. Most water harvesting systems work by chilling air to its dew point (where it reaches 100% humidity) and water vapour in the air condenses so it can be collected for useful purposes. The ‘Whisson Windmill’ by Australian Max Whisson is one such system. It uses a refrigerant to cool the blades of a windmill so that as they spin, water vapour in the air condenses after coming into contact with the cooler blades. It is run purely by wind power (winning it major green points), but unfortunately, it is pretty expensive – nearly £30,000 for one unit. ‘AquaMagic’ by Jonathan Wright and David Richards works in a similar way but the refrigerant is run through a coil instead. Its main drawback is also price (over £15,000 per unit) and the fact that it is pow-

ered by diesel fuel (not very green!). With their heavy price tags, these systems have unsurprisingly found it difficult to find financial backing. On the other hand, another Australian, Edward Linnacre, has taken the cheaper route with his concept of the ‘Airdrop’ Irrigation System, which won him the 2011 James Dyson Award. ‘Airdrop’ basically sucks water vapour, with the aid of wind or solar energy, underground to be cooled in coiled metal piping (copper is used owing to its good thermal conductivity). The water collected is stored underground and pumped to the roots of plants for irrigation. Linnacre says the concept was inspired by his experience of the ‘devastating effects of drought’ on farming in his homeland. ‘One rancher/farmer a week was taking their own life as years of drought resulted in failed crops, mounting debt and decaying towns.’ With his invention, he hopes to put an end to this and help farmers worldwide keep their farmlands fertile in spite of arid conditions. Linnacre’s design stands out for its simplicity. He first tried it out in his mother’s garden, generating ‘about a litre of water a day’ and now plans to improve the concept and make it feasible for mass production. SXSW Eco, an international conference on environmental challenges, said: “This is not the world’s first machine to condense air, but it is cheap and easy enough for rural farmers to install and maintain themselves.” However, dehumidification technology is not always the best choice when conditions are well below the dew point. Hence, research companies, such as Sciperio, have been looking at using liquid desiccants (typically hygroscopic salts such as LiCl or LiBr) to directly absorb water from the atmosphere and extract potable water from the solvent-desiccant solution formed. Liquid desiccants have ‘the immediate advantage of eliminating the need to remove sensible heat’ from the air stream as no cooling effect is required. With time and advances in research, the use of water harvesting systems will surely become more widespread. But what will be the consequences of such systems on the Earth’s natural water cycle?

Monday 6th February 2012

bathimpact

Science

www.bathimpact.com

Do your genes make Professor Science you want to murder? Is 2012 the end? S

Micah Baldwin

icture the scene: a middleaged man is standing up in court, accused of murdering his wife as well as a woman, after being provoked in an argument. When asked, “How do you plea?” the man replies; “I am not guilty of the offence, but it is my genes that are guilty”. The man in question carries the ‘Warrior Gene’ which is his reasoning for his sudden aggression towards the two victims. Is his genetic disposition a viable defence for his actions? The ‘Warrior gene’ is known scientifically as onoamine oxidase A (MAOA). It encodes for an enzyme that is involved in the breakdown of neurotransmitters in the brain, including serotonin, noradrenaline and dopamine which all affect mood. Scientific studies based on men expressing a high-functioning MAOA (MAOA-H) versus men with a low-functioning MAOA gene (MAOA-L), found that the men with the MAOA-L gene were significantly more aggressive as less of the mood-influencing hormones were broken down in the brain. But what might be the underlying psychological phenomena underpinning these actions? If this could be answered, it could in turn explain why the genetic differences had varying behavioural outcomes. This brings us to the case of a Tennessee massacre. In 2006, after an argument with his wife and her friend, Bradley Waldroup broke out into rage and shot his wife’s friend eight times and then cut her head open with a sharp object. He proceeded to chase his wife, cutting her

If you ever hit your housemate on a night out, just blame your genes with a machete but did not kill her. droup’s defendent argued that he There was evidence that his actions did not choose to be abused as a were intentional and premeditated, child and did not choose his genetic such as him telling his children to make-up and the case was closed say goodbye to their mother. On on grounds of Waldroup receiving a hearing this, a forensic psychiatrist sentence of life imprisonment rathchose to look at the broader picture. er than the death penalty, which Following a blood test, Waldroup is the usual charge for first degree was found to carry the MAOA-L murder in Tennessee. Waldroup’s variant of the gene, but this alone main defence in this case was ‘a bad would not be reason for his intense gene is a bad gene’ and the use of outburst of violence. The second ‘Neurolaw’ saved his life. factor to contribute towards his agOn the other hand, Waldroup’s gressive behaviour was the fact that conscience was not affected by the he had a history of abuse as a child, ‘bad gene’, yet it may have made and children who suffer from abuse him hyposensitive, inhibiting his during their childhood as well as feelings of guilt and wrong-doing at possessing the low functioning the time. Is this hyposensitivity parMAOA gene are more likely to be- allel to cases of murder by children come antisocial, aggressive adults and psychopaths who are omitted (Caspi et al., 2002). In court, jurors from full murder charges? It is in took Waldroup’s neuroscience re- cases like these, where while bringsults into account when they were ing us revelation, neuroscience is presented as evidence during de- also provoking debate on the real liberation of the conviction. Wal- meaning of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’.

o we all know the deal. This is the year that we all die. The end of the world, and the end of our existence. But what have we all done to deserve this…? (Apart from the whole constantly battling with each other, hunting helpless animals to extinction and bleeding the Earth dry of its natural resources thing). The Doomsday Clock was moved forward one minute closer to midnight, leaving us with a measly 5 figurative minutes before we all officially begin writing our own obituaries. The clock is a way to symbolise how close we are to certain nuclear disaster. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists made the change on 10th January 2012, because of the “failure of multiple nations to control the spread of nuclear weapons”. That said, impending nuclear

Roy Niswanger

Emily Mobley bathimpact Contributor

The Mayans didn’t predict our deaths disaster isn’t the only thing we have to apparently freak out about. According to some rather foolish folk who have access to the internet, the Mayans were fortune tellers and conveniently predicted that doomsday

would fall on 21st December this year – 2000 years after they themselves would all be dead. Yet, for some reason, I have no real need to run out onto Parade naked, loot Fresh Express and then request a Nickelback track on URB. Things aren’t that bad people. The Mayan calendar we’re talking about is known as the Long Count, which is large and circular. It simply states that what we’re thinking of as the date of death is actually the start of a new cycle. So it’s essentially just like the One Direction calendar in your room that happens to end on December 31st. Once it finishes, it doesn’t mean we fall into a realm of nothingness. Get out of the house and buy a new calendar. Okay, so let’s say that you’ve ignore everything that I’ve just told you, and still believe that the world will end this year. How will it happen? Well it looks like the very thing that gives us so much life will cruelly yank it all away. The sun. Solar activity is thought to heat up this year and will try it’s very hardest to fry our planet. However, NASA astronomer David Morrison says that these large solar storms occur on 11 year cycles, and seeing as 2012 isn’t a peak year, we have nothing to worry about for now. If not solar storms then what else? How about a rogue planet that will either collide with ours or at least skim it. The Planet X theory, also known as Nibiru, was predicted by a woman who was contacted by aliens, and should have hit us in 2003. So to be frank, we probably haven’t got any sane grounds to panic over. But if you need additional reassurance, Morrison tells us that “There is no object out there.”

Lily Jackson

Dropped heart successfully transplanted

Faceplanting rather than transplanting...

Clodagh Mcguire bathimpact Contributor

heart has been successfully transplanted in Mexico after it was dropped by medics who were delivering it to the hospital for transplant. More than 3,000 heart transplants are carried out worldwide each year as a treatment for severe heart failure. The recipient of this now notorious heart transplant was Erika Hernandez, a 27 year old woman born with a congenital heart defect. She has since been released from hospital. The heart was donated by 20 year old Rafael Gomez who was

pronounced brain dead as a result of a car accident. He comes from a region were 40 percent of people donate their organs and it is hoped that this incident will not have a negative effect on their donation rate. Miss Hernandez was not told of the incident involving her new heart. Doctors decided it was up to her family to decide whether or not to tell her. Two Mexican medics transported the heart by police helicopter to La Raza hospital in Mexico City. One of the medics tripped on the pavement as they made their way toward the hospital and as a result dropped the cooler containing the donor heart. The heart fell out onto the pave-

ment but was quickly picked up and returned to the cooler. The medics then rushed on leaving ice and bags of saline behind. The heart was not damaged during its fall and was successfully transplanted in a 4 hour operation. The heart was kept in a waterproof steel container and wrapped several times to protect it during transportation so luckily it could still be transplanted despite its unusual journey to its recipient. Unfortunately for the medics carrying the heart, the moment was captured on film by journalists and they have been ridiculed over the internet and become a national joke.

Monday 6th February 2012

bathimpact

Business

www.bathimpact.com

W***** bankers Alexander Latter bathimpact Contributor

Sam Beebe

s delegates gather in preparation for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, they prepare to make difficult and important decisions. A few valleys over in the Swiss Alpine town of Klosters, the members of a different and somewhat more exclusive club also wrangle with a conundrum, should they drink the Dom Perignon or the Bollinger tonight? The annual snow polo tournament in Klosters draws together the rich and well connected from

all over Europe. As the very foundations of European social capitalism crumble around them, the 1% make it very clear that they are ready to step back into the high life. Meanwhile in London, a hedge fund manager takes his 9-man team out for a booze fueled party and spends £41,000 on Prince Harry’s favorite brand of vodka and leaves the night with a £70,000 bill including a £10,000 tip for the waitress. All of these are examples of the behavior largely attributed to bankers and the rest of the super rich.

One of the many ‘Occupy’ protests that are still taking place globally

The Occupy Wall Street protestors, alongside the press, have been quick to criticise and vilify bankers, however only five of Forbes 400 richest Americans and 12% of the world’s billionaires are financiers. In addition, the number of these individuals who conform to the media pigeonhole of “bankers” are few. So who are these people that control all of the wealth? Well, it’s all of us. Whilst saying ‘America’s 99% is the world’s 1%’ may be something of an exaggeration, it is surprisingly close. Those in the top third of US income are in the top 10% globally, and those in the top half are in the top 7% globally. Even the very poorest Americans, those belonging to the bottom 2%, are in the top 62% globally. When it comes to the issue of income inequality, many of the people camped out in front of St Paul’s advocate 50% tax bands and limits on bonuses, but would they be so supportive of being taxed themselves? The average UK income in 2007/8 was £18,500 and the top 10% earned £45,000 plus. All this begs the question, who is rich? And hence, who should be taxed? The Occupy Wall Streeters appear to be suggesting high taxes on any person earning in excess of £30,000. For those who own 3 houses and a tent in Paternoster Square however, this would be anathema. “Tax the bankers, not me,” they would wail, as well as “the rich must pay.” The problem is that when asked who is rich, we all say, “not me.”

UK economy downturn Magali Calabressi bathimpact Treasurer impact-money@bath.ac.uk

he last quarter of 2011 has left us with some shocking figures. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the UK economy shrank by 0.2% during the last three months of 2011. Although a disappointment Chancellor, George Osborne, has said that these figures come as no surprise. “They are not entirely unexpected because of what’s happening in the world and what’s happening in the eurozone crisis,” he says. The staggering truth about the economical contraction may well be related to the austerity measures that the government has been taking, such as massive cuts to

public spending. It is important to note that public spending accounts for twothirds of the economy. Such a reduction comes as a first after the end of 2010, when the economy saw a 0.5 per cent drop in GDP in this case, the weather was to blame. This figure is worse than expected however, as real figures exceeded the predicted 0.1 per cent drop. Additionally, these figures come after a 0.6 per cent growth in the third quarter of 2011. As a breakdown, contraction was centred upon a 0.9 per cent fall in manufacturing, a 4.1 per cent fall in electricity and gas production due to warm weather causing people to use less heating, and a 0.5 per cent fall in the construction sector (figures from BBC).

If the first quarter of 2012 follows suit, the UK will officially be back into recession. The Bank of England claims recession may be dodged as the last quarter of last year and the first of this year will be ‘broadly flat’. CPI figures however, have showed a surprising decrease in inflation from 4.8% to 4.2%. Figures for January have not yet been released but Bloomberg economists are not so optimistic, predicting a plunge back to 4.8%. Given that the UK is coming out of an enormous credit bubble, figures come as no surprise, paying back the £1 trillion debt that the UK owes will clearly inhibit future growth. Many are optimistic for the second half of 2012, but this heavily depends on the Eurozone’s political efforts.

BANTER comp B

ANTER the University’s entrepreneur club have organised another fantastic event for budding students with a keen eye for business ideas. This opportunity is for the technologically minded, and challenges students to design an app. The competition is the first of its kind, organised by the Students’ Union Enterprize Department. The competition will be launched on the 8th Feb between 6pm-8pm in the East Building, where two amazing mobile moguls will share their wisdom with students and tell them what the latest developments are in the fast-moving world of smart phone apps. David Maher Roberts (CEO of The Filter and mentor to students involved in other BANTER projects) and Stuart Scott (CEO & co-founder of app developers ‘Intohand’) will be talking about what makes a great idea for an app, and how to turn it into a moneymaking success. Student’s interested in technology are welcome along to the evening, even if they have no intention of entering. The competition itself will run from the 8th Feb until 8th March, when entrants will get the chance to pitch their idea to a panel of industry judges. Contestants will be judged on a broad spectrum of criteria, ranging from their quality of research to financial analysis, design and implementation to the quality of their articulation

The QR for the Apps Crunch and performance during the pitch itself. There are some incredible prizes on offer, including free VIP tickets to the XML (X-Media Labs) Conference, where speakers include Ralph Simon, mobile strategist for Lady Gaga, Madonna and U2. Tickets for this event would usually cost £350 each, or £95 for standard entry to the opening event for Bath students. Another incentive for the young entrepreneurs will be free tickets to Bath Digital Festival which kicks off for the first time next month, which would give the winning team a great opportunity to network with leading local tech employers and other entrepreneurs like themselves. The winners will also spend half a day with the Intohand developer team to work on their app idea and turn it into a real product. To find out more about the event, head over to bathstudent, or contact the enterprise department who live next to the bathimpact office; Norwood House, Level 4.

Monday 6th February 2012

bathimpact

Business

www.bathimpact.com

he current job market for graduates is a tough one, with a recent statistic stating that almost 20% of graduates are unable to find a job within a year of graduating. Now I can guess what you’re thinking; tell me something I don’t know! The difficulties of finding a job as a graduate is something the press has been all too good in reminding us about, but the important thing is to focus on what can be done about it. As a Bath graduate you are already in a fantastic position, as an employment rate for graduates is above 90%. The signs are positive. This does come with a caution however, as by itself, it won’t be enough. Employers are looking for more than solely your degree and I believe the key to getting this right is to think about it early. I graduated from Bath this summer with a BSc in Economics, and I am now on the graduate scheme at National Grid. My experiences with National Grid began before I even came to university, however, as I undertook a year-long placement after I left sixth form and before I started at Bath. The benefits of being exposed to the world of employment so early began to unveil themselves to me almost immediately, and have continued to do so ever since. The key benefit being that it put post-university options on my radar before I had even set foot into The Plug Bar! I’m not suggesting that you need to be working on career plans dur-

ing Freshers’ Week, just that even in first year; it’s never too early to begin thinking about what’s in the outside world. There are a number of ways to get relevant employment experience, and there are a number of

“

Don’t leave it too late to think about post-uni options

”

large companies, such as National Grid, that offer a wide range of opportunities. At Bath, industrial placements as part of your degree are highly popular, and immensely beneficial. It is a good opportunity for you to try your hand at a profession and gain that all-important relevant work experience that graduate employers are looking for. Many companies will offer sponsorship packages to their high performing placement students, so these are definitely worth looking out for! I, for example, was offered sponsorship from National Grid during my placement and I received a bursary for my three years at university, an allowance for textbooks, guaranteed paid work in my summer breaks and a guaranteed place on the graduate assessment centre. Aside from the obvious financial benefits, the summer placements also allowed me to prepare for the graduate application process, and in essence,

The rates of people taking out personal loans has fallen by £377 million the biggest amount so far on record. The Bank of England says that “The drop was due to a fall in borrowing on overdrafts, bank loans and hirepurchase agreements”.

Blatant World

Thanks to his early planning, Paul is set for life.

permitted me to begin a career while I was still at university. University life can be like living in a bubble; a fantastic exciting bubble full of friends, socials, fancy dress, sports trips, and maybe even a few lectures. Although there’s nothing wrong with living in a bubble, at some point we all have to leave. In dipping your toe in the lake of employment during your time at university you will ease the transition from Bath into the big wide world. This can be in the form of a year-long placement, but it doesn’t have to be. The summer months are an ideal opportunity to gain important work experiences through internships and other schemes organised through large institutions. As an example, for any budding engineers the IET (Institute of Engineering and Technology) runs the Power Academy programme. This offers summer placements and sponsorships at various engineering companies, such as National Grid, for students of its partner universities, of which Bath is one. By actively taking part in employment roles during your time at Bath and taking yourself out of the university bubble, you will see the benefits post-graduation. A big part of this will come at graduate interviews when employers often ask for details of experiences where you have used certain skills. If your examples include those from working life, you’re going to stand a good chance. Another key point is that the contacts you make during a summer or yearlong placement will be invaluable and can continue to be useful after you graduate. It will also give you an insight into the ancient and exciting art of networking! Since returning to National Grid as a graduate I have already gained opportunities through many of the contacts I made on my previous placements, some of whom I initially met over four years ago before I started at Bath! It’s at this point that I want to leave you with a simple, clear message or piece of advice…so here it goes! Don’t leave it too late to think about post-uni options - act early and gather your experiences, both inside and outside of university. The excitement doesn’t end after you graduate, and getting yourself involved with employers before you do will open up exciting opportunities.

The number of unemployed individuals within the Eurozone has hit an all time high. The seventeen countries involved with the Euro currency have about 16.5 million people out-of-work, and this is set to increase this year according to Guillaume Menuet, an economist for Citigroup. He says, “In many cases you find firms continuing to delay investment projects. For those that are still making profits, hiring is being frozen, and for those which are under pressure to hit results or losing money, job losses are becoming the only solution that they have.”

Elliott Brown

get on in the real world after graduation

A bite of business Matt Brown

Be the early bird! Paul Lowbridge advises you on how to

The former RBS boss Fred Goodwin has lost the knighthood bestowed to him by the Labour government in 2004 in the wake of the problems faced by the bank in 2008. The Royal Bank of Scotland had to be bailed out by the taxpayers with £45 billion, after Goodwin supervised the deal taken by the bank to purchase ABN Amro, its Dutch rival. A cabinet office spokesman said; “The scale and severity of the impact of his actions as CEO of RBS made this an exceptional case”.

Monday 6th February 2012

Sport

bathimpact www.bathimpact.com

Owen Tomlinson bathimpact Contributor

Jonathan Gleave

arlier this year, Laura Dekker, a 16 year old Dutch schoolgirl sailed into St. Maarten harbour in the Caribbean. It was a year long voyage which made her the youngest person to sail solo around the world. The Dutch authorities had originally wanted to stop her voyage amid fears that it would harm her emotional and social development. Laura had to appeal against this decision and eventually won a court ruling, allowing her to sail around the globe and into the record books. Miss Dekker is by no means a one-off sporting sensation. Golfing superstar Lydia Ko, recently won the New South Wales Open at the tender age of 14 to become the sports youngest ever tour winner. Martina Hingis won the ladies title at Wimbledon when she was just 16, and Boris Becker winning the men’s at 17. Barnsley striker Reuben Noble-Lazarus became the youngest ever League footballer at 15. This makes F1 World Champion, Sebastian Vettel, seem like a senior citizen when he won his first Grand Prix at 21 years of age. These teenage marvels force us to ask the question, just how young is too young? Are we set for a string of sporting stars that are only going to be younger than the last? At which point must we focus on the child’s physical, social and mental development instead of their phenomenal sporting prowess? Being an embarrassed and socially inept teenager is a rite of passage we must all undertake and no child should be allowed to sail away to escape it. All this success made me realise that at the age of 24, I can now only become the youngest person to compete in the most ridiculous of events. So for the next few months you can find me training to become the youngest person to complete the longest time for someone to continuously cycle with no hands… Oh, apparently the boy who broke that record was only twelve. Damn.

Shooting Club; ready, aim, fire Michael Patrick bathimpact Contributor he first rule to a successful shooting trip is to be organised. Bath University Shooting Club has traditionally been very bad at this over the years. In the past, we may have left campus horrendously late, or forgotten the odd gun or two, or lost a key shooter due to an unexpected bout of Chlamydia, but somehow, in true Carry-On style, we would overcome all these issues to emerge triumphant in the final act. For the annual Winter InterUniversity Shoot at Monmouth however, things were going to be different. No more would people’s arrival to campus be dictated by the chaos theory. This time, transport to the university for that Sunday mornings shoot had been carefully coordinated, and the minibus would leave campus at 8:15am precisely. No-one thought the plan would work of course, least of all the Club Secretary, who, at 8:00 am, was already happily engaged in predicting complete disaster and otherwise infuriating everyone else already on campus. Namely due to his abil-

ity to be so nauseatingly awake at such an ungodly hour. But to his, and everyone else’s great surprise, the plan actually went without a hitch. At 8:15 am, scarcely believing what was happening, the entire team found themselves on the road, heading in the general direction of Wales and a fun day’s shooting. This leads neatly onto rule two. In order to successfully undertake a fun day’s shoot, always make sure that you have enough cartridges with you at all times. At no point is this more important than when

undertaking a flush - a very special shooting event in which teams of shooters simultaneously fire without a break at a large number of clays (in this case, 100). Unfortunately, the inexperienced second ladies team found this out to their cost as, towards the end, they all began, one by one, to run low on cartridges. Help was on hand in the form of veteran Chair, James McGarley. Springing into action with selfless zeal. This dashing knight in shining armour, whose quiet charm and so-

phisticated manner has continually proven very popular amongst the young ladies of the shooting club, leapt to their rescue. He dashed from stand to stand to provide relief cartridges, and thus ensured that the guns never fell silent. At the end of the day, with individual competitions sewn up and all shots having been fired, the team found that once again they had racked up some impressive scores. Leading the way was new shooter Simon Bell, who in his debut appearance for the club had ratcheted up an outstanding 44 out of 50. Hot on his heels were Myles Corbett with 40, Bert Jones with 39 and Richard Hartz with 37. Leading the ladies was Lisa Camm, with a solid 24. Furthermore, the men’s first team had achieved an impressive 73 in the flush, with the second team putting on a sterling effort to just pip them with 76. As is customary, this was the first official competition for many of the team members, and all rose to the occasion magnificently. We now look forward to the annual BUCS championships in February and further shooting shenanigans.

The 3:Thirty Club, your ticket to fun Tom Lacey bathimpact Contributor

fter a successful first semester, the ‘3:Thirty Club’ is moving into 2012 with a brandnew programme of sport, providing more opportunities to get involved in sport. The new Sport England funded club aims to plug the gap in participation between BUCS level sport, and those who have to book things individually as well as offering social, recreational and intramural sport. All this is in an attempt to get people participating in 3 times 30 minutes of exercise per week. There are also a number of social sessions that are run in a casual laidback environment: ideal if you just want to go play sport with a couple of friends or get away from your studies for an hour during the day. For those of a more competitive nature, we currently run the IDFC competition, as well as setting up 6-a-side and Futsal competitions over the course of this semester, and have plans to take these frameworks into other sports over the next couple of years. The latest initiative coming from the 3:Thirty Club is the setting up of Halls Sport Reps. 18 reps have just been appointed in order to promote recreational sport across campus. Most of the campus is covered, but the programme still needs volunteers

from Norwood, Marlborough, Wolfson, Brendon, Osbourne, The Lodge and all off-campus accommodations to come forward and become a Halls Sport Rep. These Halls Sport Reps being appointed now are seen as the start of a long-term plan to promote sport at a recreational level across the university. The hope is that these individuals will come back during ‘Freshers Week’ 2012 and appoint the next years Halls Sport Reps. These Reps will then sit on a committee chaired by the Intramurals Officer on the Sports Association Executive Committee, and work as activators across the university, getting students playing more sport as well as steering the intramural and recreational sport programme to make sure it provides what people want. At the start of the year, ‘Fresher’s’ were showing their colours during an epic ‘Freshers Week’, but since that point there hasn’t been much opportunity for you to do just that. The 3:Thirty Club’s answer to this are the one-off sporting events throughout semester 2, where you and your mates can enter a team. Try out a new sport, whilst also winning points for your hall. Currently lined up we have Dodgeball, Futsal, Lacrosse, Touch Rugby, Hockey, Touch Tennis, Raveminton, UV Table Tennis,

Volleyball and Trampolining. If you want to enter a team for any of these then email us at: 3thirty@bath.ac.uk or find our Facebook page. You can also win points for your halls through the ever-expanding 6-a-side and Futsal Leagues running for the duration of second semester. Last semester’s 6-a-side competition was won by Sam Berry’s Team and Inter Mynan. Team submissions for semester 2 are now live and spaces are limited, so get in contact ASAP if you want to get involved! Currently Conygre, Mendip and Quarry top the Halls League with, with 2235 points Wolfson, Brendon,

Osbourne and The Lodge in a close second with 2113 points. Everything can change as a lot of points will be up for grabs this semester and winning one of the intramural leagues could win your halls 200 points. Over the first semester, 850 people took part in 3:Thirty Club activities and 48 people volunteered to run the programme. If you weren’t one of those and want to know how you can get involved this semester then find us online at teambath.com/3thirty. For a list of competition events taking place this semester then turn to the back page. 3:Thirty Club. Be a part of it. Jonathan Gleave

Are top athletes getting younger?

Michael Patrick

3:Thirty club sessions in full swing last semester

Monday 6th February 2012

bathimpact

Sport

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Tom Heathcote/Bath Rugby

ne complaint often heard is that, for all Bath's emphasis on sport, the only choice are mainstream games, with others lacking the infrastructure to excel. However, clubs like Jiu-Jitsu do much to disprove this. With seventy members, regular training and strong community links, Jitsu are an organised club with the desire to expand. So what is Jitsu? Committee member Lucy Finlay explains: 'Jitsu is the 'gentle' martial art, it's about using the other person's strength against them. It's great for self-defence and keeping fit as

well as meeting people; most of my friends are from the club.' Regular socials facilitate the latter activity, however the club has a competitive side as well; Finlay considers three medals at the National Championships a disappointing result, however promising performances by new members demonstrated hope for future success. The club is active nationally, being named Jitsu Foundation Club of the Year and achieving a 100 per cent success rate in belt gradings. New members will attempt to earn their yellow belt this month, with two older hands attempting black belts. Readers, rest assured that the

Heathcote visualising a kick, and possibly his bright future as well Continued from page 24 late lectures or catch up on work I Will Chilcott: “Tom, thanks have missed. Although sometimes for making time for this in- it is the last thing I feel like doterview. Firstly, how hard is ing after a day of training. Exam it to balance rugby with such time is never nice for anyone, but a full-on degree?” it gets very hectic cramming reTom Heathcote: “It is difficult, vision in around training so that but despite a lot of training we was definitely the worst time of are normally done by about 2 pm. the year.” This gives me time to either make WC: “What's it like rub-

positive tone of this article is genuine and does not stem from a desire to avoid upsetting seventy trained assassins. Definitely not.

Tom Ash

Tom Ash bathimpact Contributor

bing shoulders on the training ground with World Cup winners such as Lewis Moody and Stephen Donald, as well as other international household names?” TH: “Bath is a great club and we are very lucky to attract some of the biggest names in English and international rugby, so for a youngster like myself starting out, you have to pinch yourself a bit and it is pretty special. At the same time though they are just normal guys who make you feel welcome and part of the group.” WC: “What makes Sir Ian McGeechan such a great coach, and what’s it like playing and training under his watchful eye?” TH: “‘Geech’ is a great coach and his previous achievements are testament to that. I think what makes him special is the clear passion he has for the game, and the way he transfers that into every training session and match. He demands high standards on and off the field which has developed the culture of the club in line with its new high ambitions. To play under him is special and has been great for my development.” WC: “And lastly, I have to ask this, how long will it be before we see you in the England number 10 shirt?” TH: “I still think I have a long way to go! I'm just focused on developing my game at Bath for now and seeing where it takes me!” Despite his modesty, Heathcote was recently selected for the England under 20’s squad and and will naturally be looking to emulate the achievements of players such as Freddy Burns and Owen Farrell. There is also no doubt that this is the kind of form that Bath Rugby will be looking for in order to help Bath climb up the table.

Gleave’s gripes 500 million Freddos or Ronaldo?

elcome back everyone. What with this being the first issue after exams and all, content was somewhat lacking. So, as an early Valentine’s Day gift to you all, I have delved deep into my box of grievances and come up with an extra long gripe for you all. Enjoy. As I opened my presents on Christmas morning, the idea for my next gripe hit me square in the face like two watermelons. Namely because they were, essentially, two watermelons, or close enough. It was a Crystal Palace Cheerleaders’ calendar (somebody in my family knows me well it would seem). This got me to thinking about the objectification of women in sport and how wrong and sexist it is! But then I remembered that I quite like boobies, so that was out. Still struggling for an idea, I sprawled out on the sofa a few days later to watch a documentary about Bundhai Singh. For those of you who are unfamiliar with his story, Bundhai was a three year old Indian beggar who was sold to a local man for 800 rupee’s (about £13) because his mother could no longer support him. As it turned out, he had a heart like a little freight train. This boy could run. Like, properly run. He ran 42 miles at the age of four in just shy of 7 hours. He then passed out and threw up everywhere, but that’s not the point. A tale of greed, deception and murder followed, although that’s not the part I’m interested in. The part that interested me was the price. In what modern day world can you put a price on anJonathan Gleave

Woo-hoo it’s Jiu-Jitsu

Half a billion of these please

other human beings head? Yet it is something that happens in the sporting world on a daily basis. It would appear that transfer fees and contract negotiations are to the world of professional sport as prostitution is to Amsterdam. In many respects it can be argued that selling a player to another club is much like a pimp selling you his best hooker, as in essence, you are buying the service of that person for your club. There’s nothing wrong with selling players to other clubs, but some of the amounts they go for is ludicrous. Just last week we saw Newcastle buy Papiss Cisse, a relative unkown in the footballing world, from SC Freiburg for an extortionate £10 million. The world record for the highest fee ever paid for a professional footballer currently stands at an astronomical £80 million for Cristiano Ronaldo. Compare that to the fee Newcastle ‘paid’ for Demba Ba last summer: nothing. Yet he has single-handedly been keeping Newcastle in the top half of the Premiership. Yes he’s a better player, but exactly who is to say that Ronaldo is infinitely better than Ba? The best way to keep the top leagues in the world competitive is for clubs to demand a fee for their best players. Sure. But for £80 million Real Madrid could have bought a multitude of more useful things then a gallivanting metrosexual. For example, they could have bought: half a billion Freddos, the exclusive rights to play ‘Ride of the Valkyries’ at every home match, or Greece. With talk of the introduction of transfer spending caps on football clubs, it’s surely only a matter of time before transfer fees are capped and they aren’t sold for the price of a small countries economy. The way things are going, a cap on how much they get paid must also be an inevitability. Until that day comes, however, I shall continue to moan about distinctly average players being sold for highly inflated prices. Perhaps I’m despondent about this whole issue because of the fact that I was once sold (not in Amsterdam I hasten to add) at a date auction in my second year and I went for just one pound. There is no way Ronaldo is a better human than me by a factor of 80 million. This Valentine’s Day, therefore, I can be found in The Plug, in a booth, on my own, shovelling pizza and beer into my face whilst shouting profanities at the television. Bidding starts at £2...

impactsport Monday 6th February 2012

Exclusive interview with Tom Heathcote Rugby Union, p23

Inside impactsport Intramurals are expanding Through the ‘3:Thirty Club’, this semester will see a host of new and exciting opportunities to get involved in intramural sports See page 22 for details

Shooting Club visit Monmouth The Shooting Club hopped over the border to Wales for the annual Winter Inter-University Shoot. With newbie Simon Bell leading the field with an impressive score of 44 out of a possible 50 The ‘3:Thirty Club’ has a lot on this semester, including these events where you can win points for your hall, see page 22 for more details

Bath Rugby remain hopeful »»Lewis ‘Mad Dog’ Moody talks to impactsport Nik Simon and Will Chilcott bathimpact Contributors

ewis Moody, otherwise known as the ‘Mad Dog’, has been one of the biggest names in English rugby over the last decade. The former England and Bath captain has an impressive 71 international caps to his name. After a tough injury rehab session in the STV, Moody took some time out to share his opinions with Nik Simon on the latest goings on in English rugby. Bath Rugby currently find themselves lying in a disappointing 10th place in the Aviva Premiership. However, since the interview with Moody, Bath recorded an emphatic 46-14 LV=Cup victory over Northampton Saints showing some positive signs for the New Year. This result only reflects Moody’s optimism for the second half of the season. “We’re tenth at the minute, but if we have a decent run of games we’re aiming for a top four finish. We’re also in a strong position in the LV=Cup.” Speaking after the 24-22 loss away at Montpellier, Moody said “I

think at the minute we’re probably lacking a bit of confidence, which is because we’re losing games that we should be winning. The rugby that we’re playing is much improved from where we were, we just need to now get those wins. We’re losing games by a few points here or there and that game was a good example.” With key players slowly returning to fitness, Moody hopes that this will provide a significant push for the rest of the season. “At one point we had 3 hookers down so we had to call in a guy from America who did a great job, Chris Biller, but injuries are part and parcel of the game and when the guys get back fit it makes a big difference to where you’re at.” Moody’s retirement after the 2011 World Cup has been accompanied by a large shake up of the latest England Six Nations squad. When asked what he thought of Stuart Lancaster’s shake up, including the omission of senior players such as Nick Easter and Mark Cueto, Moody had the following to say. “I think it was the right decision

to go with a young squad with a view to 2015. At the end of the day those guys were all quality players and if they are still performing there will be a window of opportunity for them. I think Mark Cueto has been playing some of his best rugby at the minute and he’s probably the hardest done by, but I think it’s the right policy. You’ve got to build for the future and having a young squad, I think this 6 Nations will be tough for them, really tough, but they’ll have plenty of enthusiasm.” The name ‘Mad Dog’ came about through Moody’s tendency to throw his body on the line where others wouldn’t. His game is as much about a fearless mindset as it is physical presence. Moody has to take tablets for the rest of his life to combat rugby related injuries, but this does not stop his desire to play. When asked if he still had the heart to play for England he replied: “Yes of course. The mind is willing, but unfortunately the body is not. I had 13 seasons with England, 11 full years, and it was the right time for me. My body just

couldn’t do club and international seasons anymore, it’s just struggling to do the one at the minute. I’ll always miss playing for England, but it’s the right decision now just to focus on playing for Bath.” Back in Bath, Moody keeps a watchful eye over the development of young players. One of the most successful young players to recently come through the ranks is Bath University student Tom Heathcote. Moody holds Heathcote in high regard, “He’s a great little player. I saw him train hard through his ACL injury which he had last year. He put in some serious hard graft and some lonely hours in the gym. He’s come back this season at the start of the year when all the guys were away at the World Cup and has played some really good rugby. I think it’s only good for the club that young guys are coming through.” Earlier this year, Will Chilcott caught up with Tom Heathcote himself at Starbucks to hear about his life as both a professional rugby fledgling and a full-time economics student. Continued on page 23

Page 22

16 year old sails solo around globe Owen Tomlinson discusses whether or not we’re pushing youngsters too hard and whether or not elite athletes are getting younger and younger. See page 22 to see what he conludes and what record he will attempt to break

Jiu-Jitsu a real hit on campus Tom Ash spent a day with campus’ deadliest martial artists to get the low down on what makes jiu-jitsu a kick ass sport and also explains why he hasn’t got a bad word to say against them... Page 23

Get involved If you like sport and want to contribute, then contact bathimpact Sport Editor Jonathan Gleave (impact-sport@bath.ac.uk) to find out more details about how you can get involved. We’re always looking for writers, photographers, people to lay up, or just all round sports buffs in general to help out. So if you have a story you want to share then don’t afraid to get in touch!

GREED Take it while you can.

Monday 6th February 2012

bathimpact

EDITORIAL Written by Holly Narey

Holly Narey bite Editor

impact-bite@bath.ac.uk

CONTENTS Student Lifestyle

The Internet P(l)ayground Page 2 &3 Who are the Outtallectuals? Page 3 Overworked and underpaid Page 5

Sex & Relationships

New Year, New Beginning- Page 6 The socially awkward and unattractive need love too - Page 6

The Guide Page 7

Fashion

The week I lost my hairbrush (and my dignity) - Page 13 Generation Envy - Page 13

Food

bite’s guide to bites to eat Pages 8&9 Cosy Post Exam Noms - Page 15

Music

Interviews with the Vaccines and Howler - Page 11

Film

On DVD: The Guard - Page 12 In Cinema - A Monster In Paris - Page 12

Literature

Caitlin Moran teaches us a valuable lesson - Page 12

Puzzle Corner Page 16

www.facebook.com/bathimpactbite www.bathimpact.com U n i v e r s i t y

o f

B a t h

S t u d e n t s ’

U n i o n

STUDENT

m edia

Hi all, welcome back to bite.I hope you enjoyed your exams as much as I did, and I hope you enjoy this issue even more (can you tell when I stopped being sarcastic? Sometimes I struggle these days). I am very glad to be shot of words such as “antheridium”, “oogonium” and “sporangiophore”, and finding myself returning to the familiar and comforting words such as “a pint of Carling please”. It would be nice to say that I was enjoying a relaxing ISB like most of you, but as you can probably tell, my week was spent in the office again, but I do it for you guys, and you know why? Because I love you, that’s why. Be my valentine? (any flowers, cards, or chocolates, send to the bathimpact office on level four). This issue’s all about greed. Well, not all about greed, but some of it is. To be specific, glance slightly to your right to see our lead article, written by Iwan Best, discusses the looming threat of SOPA, PIPA and the European version, ACTA, and tells us how, or if it will affect us, whether for better or worse. On page 13, Harriet Tangney writes about envy, greed and rivalry between generations when it comes to image, but check out our centrepage spread for our main course. If you’re struggling on deciding where to go for your Valentine’s Day date, parental visit or lonely meal for one (perhaps with a copy of bite to read to make yourself look busy and important rather than lonely and heartbroken?), head to pages 8 and 9 to see the bite team’s recommendations. Thanks go to Sian Barnett, Kylie Barton, Hazel Garvie-Cook, Gemma Hazel Isherwood, Simon O’Kane, Melissa Parvis, Ewen Peter Trafford Nik Simon, Harriet Tangney and Matthew Walsh for contributing, you’ve done a great job. The rest of the issue is bursting with content for you to feast your eyes on, all courtesy of the hard work of our very own students. As always, I’d love some new blood on the bite team, so perhaps make it your new year’s resolution to get involved, head on over to our facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/bathimpactbite Or email me at impact-bite@bath.ac.uk Let’s start a magical adventure together. If you’re interested in music, film, literature, videogames, comedy, or even event organising, there will be a place for you on the team. Let’s make the bite brand grow. Are you with me?! Come on, cheer after three. One... two... See you in a couple of weeks.

Advertising Enquires Helen Freeman H.Freeman@bath.ac.uk 01225 386806

The internet Written by Iwan Best

he internet has been very angry recently. More angry than it was even in the aftermath of 2 girls 1 cup. SOPA and PIPA, a pair of American anti-piracy bills have threatened to change the way the internet works for good should they be passed in to law. A lot has been said about them on websites and message boards from around the world. Not all of it is true, and almost all of it is exaggerated; but anything that has such an impact as to shut the English language Wikipedia in the middle of exams must be pretty damn important. So first of all, let’s establish some facts.

What exactly are they? Other than being the Spanish word for soup, SOPA is the Stop Online Piracy Act put forward by the U.S. House of Representatives. PIPA on the other hand is the Protect IP Act put forward by the U.S. senate. The now available again Wikipedia tells me that the House of Representatives is Republican led, whilst PIPA’s origins are from the Democratic Senate, which sounds like it’s from Star Wars and so, should be a good thing. Is that how the world works? Probably not. Shame. Anyway, the two bills act in different ways but with the same goal - to fight piracy (the internet kind, not the buried treasure and tremendous hats kind). They want to stop you from downloading music, films and even porn for free. In a nut shell, the American government are currently almost powerless to stop websites based in other countries (e.g. Sweden’s piratebay.org) from distributing copyrighted material for free, and these bills would allow rights holders to request that funding be cut off to these websites by stopping payment providers, advertisers and search engines from doing business with the offending party. There are similar acts being prepared in other countries too, such as Canada’s Bill C-11. But if the House of Representatives have their way then these websites will lose such a large chunk of their clientele that they’ll be following in Megaupload’s footsteps and entering the vast catalogue of banished web domains. Here’s some useless trivia for those long Sunday nights: prior to his arrest, Kim Dotcom, one of Megaupload’s founders, was statistically the world’s number one Modern Warfare 3 player. Who knew?

Why the big fuss? Isn’t piracy bad? Yes and no. Don’t tell me you’ve never downloaded anything you should have paid for. Sometimes it’s better to break the law than have to walk into HMV, buy My Chemical Romance’s new album and be laughed at by the girl at the checkout, only to later find out it’s your friend’s fiancée. True story. The fact is though that piracy is illegal and the U.S. government are within their rights to do everything they can to stop it. Nobody’s arguing with that. Actually that’s not true, stupid American kids are arguing with that a lot. But they’re American. The problems are arising mainly due to the vague nature of the bill, which requires only a ‘reasonable belief of infringement’. This effectively gives the American government free reign to irreversibly damage websites, even if their claims of infringement turn out to be false.

Will they work?

University of Bath Students’ Union

Printed by Harmsworth Press Ltd.

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Damn, I wanted to watch Take Me Out

No. They won’t work. The bills will only serve to remove the human readable name from the domain system. So, if Google were ever to breach SOPA or PIPA then they could stop computers redirecting ‘www.google. com’ to the Google site. But anyone who is vaguely computer literate could get around that in a second. I won’t tell you how in fear that two black-tie clad American field agents will smash through the window and confiscate my laptop mid sentence. The fact is that despite what you hear, you will not get a longer prison sentence for uploading a Michael Jackson song than Conrad Murray got for killing him. Legally you could, if you received the maximum sentence, but the American government aren’t targeting you. Keeping people in prison is expensive, and you probably aren’t high enough on their list of priorities for them to allocate you a cell. There’s barely enough to accommodate all the suspected terrorists who haven’t received a trial, and certainly not enough troops who’ve got enough spare time to torture you too. Even if there were, what you would be doing is illegal. Maybe even immoral, but that’s not automatically implied. The fact is that we live in the right part of the world at the right time to be granted more freedom and access to

Monday 6th February 2012

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p(l)ayground www.bathimpact.com

David Berkowitz

multimedia and entertainment than ever before. The phrase ‘taking it for granted’ barely scratches the surface when it comes to most people’s views on the subject. No, piracy is not stealing, regardless to what the advert at the start of 90% of DVDs says. I wouldn’t steal a car, but I’d download one if I could. That doesn’t make it legal, but I’d do it anyway. I wouldn’t however complain when General Motors decided that this was bad for business and told me I had to buy one like everyone else. The sad fact is that privatisation and control of the distribution of copyrighted material on the internet is inevitable, and this is only the beginning. What started with Vevo and SOPA/PIPA will be continued by ACTA and whatever comes next. I believe more firmly than anyone, that access to creative arts, music especially, should be affordable and free whenever possible (just like the SU funded gig in Plug on February 10th), as do most of the artists who are losing out on money every time you download one of their songs. Even the ever moderate Liam Gallagher said “I hate all these big, silly rock stars who moan, at least they’re f**king downloading your music, you c**t, and paying attention, know what I mean? You should f**king appreciate that. What are you moaning about? You?ve got f**king five big houses, so shut up.” But there are people out there who care. They’re the producers, distributors, managers, stage hands and groupies who want their sizeable share of the cash, whether they deserve it or not. The sad truth is that these people are perfectly within their rights to do this. The people who have lost sight of what music and art (and porn) is really about, and can only see the dollar signs in everything that passes over their desks. But this is just another sad, inevitable truth. IKEA furniture doesn’t buy itself (wouldn’t it be nice if we could download it?). Somebody, somewhere, will only care about the money, and they’re the people who’ll rise to the top like the unidentifiable piece of slime that they are, floating to the surface of a murky river. So let’s enjoy this golden age of freedom while we can. Things will never be this good again. For a few brief years, mainly due the inability of the major media corporations to react to the digital revolution effectively, we’ve had access to more multimedia and creative arts than anyone before us, and maybe more than anyone ever will. Let’s realise how lucky we are and make the most of what freedom we have left.

Protestors take a stand in New York

The bathimpact office, censored

Who are the Outtallectuals? Written by bite editor Holly Narey

“We like to be modern classics...by being punk in our attitude, rasta in the way we treat each other, raver to any beat and funky in the way we look. All the other jazz shall follow” - The Outtallectual Artists.

was asked to do this article quite a while ago, and have spent a long time mulling it over. Our very own Aryan Ashoori, one of the founders of the Outtallectuals, approached me to write about them, to spread awareness of what they were doing and the opportunities it would present to likeminded students. Before being able to do this, I had to work out what they were for myself. First, I headed to facebook, to their groups; the Outtallectual Artists and Scientists, which link to noteworthy arts and news stories respectively, and provide a platform to discuss them. Their ideals echo that of the Occupy movement, a movement that I myself was very keen to show support for in their pursuit of change, but it left me with a similar vague confusion. They held an event in The Tub on 11/11/11, to launch the collective officially, which I attended. While it was not a well attended event, the people there seemed to really care about what it was they were promoting. I was still not a hundred percent sure what exactly that was. And then, recently, I got it. I went to see a friend’s band, a few kids and their guitars in a dirty little bar on the slow but deserved rise to success, and they greeted us with an overview of their year’s progress: “We’ve played more shows than Adele this year, and we’ve definitely played in more time signatures”. I’m not knocking Adele here, I love to blast out Someone Like You (although I do prefer the Jamie XX remix of Rolling in the Deep featuring Childish Gambino) just as much as the next person, but as this magazine and most others in the country state time and time again, there seems to be an unmistakeble stagnancy in a lot of popular music (although not, of course, all of it) and the desire to create, not just further examples of a tried and tested successful template, but instead something new and exciting is infectious and on the rise. Their website has examples of articles, poetry and music produced by the Outtallectuals, much of

it with a “stick it to the man” attitude. It seems to me, that like many things that have happened over the last year, uprisings against tyrants, inherently wrong systems ingrained in society, and stifling same-ness in the commercially successful arts, the Outtallectuals are another group of people saying no, this is not the way it should be. They provide a platform to share and discuss examples of creativity and “outward thinking” from all over the globe to those who want to find it, and in doing so encourage others to start thinking outside the box. They’re a voice shouting for innovation and revolution. For all this, I for one am behind them. If you think you would be too, go and check them out. Head to http://www.theouttallectualcollective.com/ or http://www.facebook.com/Outtallectuality to find out more

The Toastbox

The University of Bath’s very own toastie hut was created this year by one of our classmates to satiate even the munchiest of midnights. Every Wednesday and Saturday nights, the Toastbox hits campus outside the SU serving up cheese, pesto, BBQ bacon and reggae reggae chicken toastie combos to peckish Fuzzy Ducks and sleepy Scorers. Prices start at a measly £2, putting the bus-stop burger van to shame. Even if you haven’t been out, Freshers, take a midnight stroll to this upcoming brand – you haven’t lived your first year until you do. Join the Facebook group to put forward recipe ideas too.

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Overworked & underpaid Written by Rowan Emslie

Pablo Manriquez

The split personalities of aid, transparency and business

Nzalang Nacional Fans at Ticketing for Game 1 of the Africa Cup of Nations 2012

he African Cup of Nations is the 3rd most watched football tournament in the world. This year, one of its co-hosts is Equitorial Guinea, which happens to be the 3rd largest producer of oil in Sub-Saharan Africa. President Teodoro Obiang has been in power for 32 years, during which his regime has been connected with a whole litany of abuses of power – from electoral violence to failing to comply to international transparency standards to the extortion of public funds used to buy $32 million worth of property in the USA. There are numerous other teams in the tournament representing nations with highly valuable national resources that, all to often, do almost nothing to help average citizens while making politicians and corporate executives massively wealthy. Transparency is one of the most fashionable global development movements of the last few years. It makes donors happy and it addresses some issues regarding the division of industry power between the global north and global south. On top of the good it can do to alleviate extreme poverty, transparency is something that pro aid advocacy organisations and their associated celebrity advocates (and their media coverage) can use to combat most of the common anti-development arguments: namely, the ones about money. Transparency is a movement that has very high profile supporters in business – it’s easier to make a profit when doing deals doesn’t necessarily involve a marginnarrowing amount of bribery. This isn’t just the wittering of lefties: it’s an argument made by one time richest man under forty, Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky, and one that got him put in prison (there is a very good documentary on this subject, entitled Khodorkovsky). Most notably leading the charge is Bill Gates, now a figure who straddles the twin spheres of corpo-

rate enterprise and philanthropy so completely that he has become the figurehead of surprisingly large sections of ‘the fight on global poverty’ – as Bill Easterly referenced with this somewhat barbed tweet the other week, you can’t do much in global development without encountering the Gates Foundation.

“Maybe this is why we are the only people in development not funded by @BillGates” Football is another industry that has something of a split personality – the institutions that rise to the top are three parts sporting excellence and two parts ruthless money-making expertise. Sepp Blatter, a man who has constituted the top of the worldwide governing body of the sport, FIFA, for the best part of fifteen years, is no stranger to the term ‘transparency’ if only from the wrong side of a headline after Transparency International washed their hands of him after their recommendations to him were ignored. He has been accused of what can charitably be referred to as ‘shenanigans’ on numerous occasions, particularly when it comes to issues of financial impropriety. Expecting anything to come from FIFA on these issues of transparency will be an extremely long wait. Fortunately, there are other organisational bodies that can step up. EU legislation has been proposed that would require oil, gas, mining and forestry companies to publish all the payments they make to governments like that of Equatorial Guinea. This law would allow citizens to hold their government to account for the money received for oil and other things that you have to rip out of the ground at great expense and, often, to the enormous detriment

of the local environment and people, even in the rarefied global north (heaven forfend). The UK, France and the European Commission have all supported the law so far, but fierce lobbying from oil companies determined to maintain the secrecy status quo threatens its progress. One of the most important things about lobbying for increased aid and development spending is to lobby for that larger budget to be spent more effectively. Fortunately for everyone involved, it seems that aid organisations have started to get on board with this. Tom Murphy, who writes the excellent development blog A View From The Cave, recently wrote a post outlining how, in the face of ever increasing calls for lowered foreign aid budgets during the ongoing economic malaise, the humanitarian industry can start to help prove their worth to the general public:

“Providing disaster relief is hard and complex. IFRC’s Matthias Schmale, suggests that humanitarian organizations “Provide more credible leadership through less marketing and spinning, and ensure actions match words.” An effort to make the industry of development more effective in the face of probable financial restraints is one that should be applauded. It also throws the actions of corporations and governments who hold barely dimmed resources like oil yet fail to positively affect the people of the country that they benefit from into sharp relief. In fact, it makes them completely reprehensible. For more go to: rowanemslieintern.wordpress.com/ Or follow me at twitter.com/RowanEmslie

Monday 6th February 2012

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New Year, New Beginning Written by bite’s relationship columnist

Sam Short

on’t you just find that on New Year’s Eve, there is nothing you want more than to have someone to kiss at midnight, but as January rolls in, you think... actually do I actually have time for this relationship? With all the New Year’s resolutions and big plans you have started to make for the year ahead, it seems difficult to calculate someone else into that complex equation. January is officially the most depressing month of the year, and a relationship is statistically more likely to end in that month than any other. After the high hopes of what the year may hold for you, you reassess what is already in your life and question whether it is right for you or whether you have just stuck it out for pure comfort. This constant evaluation of your life, even if it doesn’t yet physically manifest itself into something which others can see, starts to rock the boat with those that can sense when your feelings change. If not addressed, this feeling can be deadly, and can bring said relationship hurtling to a cataclysmic end, hurting all those involved. Or if you are semi-rational, and honest with yourself and your partner, you can either work through your concerns together or get some temporary distance. Fight or flight, whichever it is, do not fly off into the arms of another, or turn the metaphorical fight into something

physically stressful. The ‘we were on a break’ thing really doesn’t wash... sorry Ross. All the New Year does is refocus the priority back onto oneself and this is no bad thing. It is just difficult to know who is good for you, until you yourself are sure of your priorities, and confident as an independent person. However, do remember Valentine’s Day is in February (as if you needed reminding). It was specifically created in a time where divorce was more than seriously frowned upon, to try and make couples hang on in there through dismal January, until rose tinted/drowned February came along (don’t know if that is technically true but it seems a good reason for its creation). So maybe wait until the post January blues have settled, and until you have enjoyed that concert/hotel/adventure weekend together before taking drastic measures. It is possible to be in a relationship and still focused on your own goals and ambitions, you just need to make sure you are with a person that shares that sense of determination to the same level as you; whether it be high or low, you need to be on the same page, it’s not about compromise, but cohesion, otherwise it is just a waste of time for the both of you.

The socially awkward and unattractive need love too. Written by bite’s sex columnist

’ll be the first to admit, over the Christmas period, I went through a dry patch. With an overbearing family unit and stressful exams, I was hard pressed to fufill my sexual desires and so, like hundreds of thousands of lonely singletons across the length and breadth of this fair nation, I signed up to a popular dating website. Don’t get me wrong, my sexual appetite has certainly not waned, I was just sick of sitting on my sofa watching Loose Women and eating cereal straight out of the packet. That, and of course, I was on the search for the ultimate sexual holy grail: a fuck buddy. Sex in relationships is great: feeling a deep emotional connection, never wanting to be apart, being able to just hold onto one another for hours and hours and never getting bored. The kind of connection that comes once in a blue moon. Unfortunately, we’re not all that lucky. Relationships are fairly hard to come by and hard to sustain – not in a bad way, but there’s a definite amount of effort involved in keeping things sweet with your significant other. Therefore, until the moon turns blue, fuck buddies are the next best thing! So, filled with excitement and optimism, I filled in the generic application form and uploaded a few sexy photos of yours truly. Regarding this cyberventure, I would urge all readers to not be fooled by the serene photos of beautiful couples on swings and picnicking on the beach. Finding someone on somebodysomewheremustloveme.com who is relatively undisturbed, sane and not wielding an axe is a fairly impossible task. It has, however, been an eye-opening glimpse into what my future will hold. When people become too old to find partners in bars and clubs, they switch to the internet: pages and pages of menopausal women and men who still type in text speak and look like they’ve been hit in the face with a variety of inanimate objects. In my attempt for find a partner for some hotel room acrobatics, I also noticed the uniformity of each and every profile. All these motherfuckers are exactly the same, answering the same questions in the same manner in order to

appeal to the masses to make up for their paper-bag-worthy faces. Everyone seems to love the outdoors, laughter (!?), a nice glass of wine with a bad DVD and travelling (Oh my god! You’ve been to Machu Picchu like EVERYONE ELSE on this website?! You’re so couth and exotic.) Maybe people who have these interests are doomed for internet dating? Or maybe they’re just trying to appeal to each other. The worst part about their monotonous claims

of being interesting is that everything seems to be presented in a language I don’t speak. That said, after my month of online dating, I have been able to translate a few of the reoccuring clichés: I suppose I got what I expected. Anyone who can’t get a girlfriend through actually talking to humans face-to-face clearly has the kind of problems I don’t really want to put in my vagina.

A Guide to the Language of Online Dating: Bubbly and curvaceous = fat, but cheerful. Volumptuous = fat and slutty. Great combo if you’re into that shit. Cuddly= clinically obese. Less about cuddling, more about crushing. Great personality= Fugly as sin. Paper bag that shit, pronto. Profile picture ‘with a cat’ = Wants children. NOW. Profile picture ‘ woman sporting short spiky hair in a polo shirt’ = Lesbian, but doesn’t want to disappoint Mummy. Playful = Up for S&M.

Can’t hug all the socially awkward S&M loving cats.

Seeking woman/man who is open minded. = Seeking someone I can take swinging . I’m a vivacious Aquarius with a curvaceous frame. = Toe-curlingly loud, deluded and morbidly obese.

Monday 6th February 2012

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The Guide

Sizbut Flickr

Written by Tom Rookes and Anna Vidos

If you don’t like cider then why are you at university in the home of Somerset Cider?!

Town

Komedia Brainwave Productions presents Macka B Music 6th Feb Happy Birthday to Bob! Monday the 6th of February marks what would have been Mr Marley’s 65th birthday, so to honour that fact Brainwaves Productions are putting on a party! The reggae legend Macka B and the Roots Ragga Band are set to headline with support from locals Largo Embargo and the amazing MessenJah Youths. Caribbean food will be served throughout the night along with a few ‘surprises’ that Brainwave Productions are keeping tightly under wraps. Want to go to Bob Marley’s Birthday Party? Yes please!

Bath Cider Festival The Pavillion 10th Feb Now I now most of us are only visitors in this strange county of combine harvesters, cider and farming but that doesn’t mean we can’t throw ourselves into the traditional Somerset ways. Lady’s and Gentlemen I present the Bath Cider Festival. I don’t think you can get more Somerset than a range of 100 ciders served alongside Hog Roasts and cheese platters with musical accompaniment. ‘A perfect cider drinking atmosphere’...what more could you want. Milton Jones, Isy Suttie and others Baroque Nightclub 12th Feb At a student price of £11, this is a steal. Critically acclaimed Milton Jones, who you will all recognise from Mock the Week, headlines the night, and with Isy Suttie (Dobbie from Peep Show) warming up the crowd with her musical lovesong, this will be an evening of variety and laughter. In the newly-opened Baroque nightclub the intimate and relaxed atmosphere offers the chance to have, for once, a bit more of a classy night than say,

Score or Fuzzies. The promise of drinks deals makes it all a bit more tempting now, doesn’t it? This is going to be a regular Sunday night event now that the Comedy Cavern has left the Porter, with student prices reverting to £7 after this week. Keep an eye out for acts such as Tim Clark, Roger Monkhouse and Damien Clark. Your Days are Numbered Rondo Theatre 15th Feb There is a 0.000043% chance that you will die during this show. Cows kill 20 Americans a year, but apparently you can halve your chances of dying from a heart attack by drinking 8 bottles of wine a week (so according to student stereotypes, we’ve got nothing to fear, right?). Featuring “stand-up mathematician”, Matt Parker, and writer/comedian, Timandra Harkness, this show, all about the maths and statistics of death, promises to be dead funny. At only £10 for concessions, head on over to the Bath Box Office website to book your tickets. Itchy Feet Komedia 17th Feb Itchy feet is making its second visit to Bath and whether or not you made it to the first party this second night is not too be missed. Itchy Feet is the self confessed ‘homeless party’ that moves from town to town and venue to venue bringing its world class DJ’s and great live bands along in order to give you the best retro alternative night out...ever. If you’re tired of the same top 40 songs being played on loop in every club in town then Itchy Feet is like a super early Christmas present for you. The DJs and bands play a toe tapping mix of Swing, Soul, Funk, Rhythm & Blues, Rock ‘n’ Roll and SKA that even the most uncoordinated, two left footed dancers will not be able to resist. This is what nights out should be like.

Campus

Welcome back Bathimpact readers! Let’s start a new semester by taking a look at how you can get involved with ICIA this term. Classes are starting up again, varying from visual art to theatre performance, from photography to one-on-one music lessons. Most of the classes offered are running for 7 or 8 weeks, and most importantly, are well tailored to a student budget. When you look through ICIA’s website, don’t be mislead by the first price you see; you need to look for the BUSU (Bath University Student’s Union) prices, which happen to be around 50% off or more. One exception is made, and those are the music lessons; £ 88 for 8 weeks, each week half an hour, but you get to choose the tutor that is most to your liking. Bookings are different for music lessons as well; you need to appear in person starting on the 8th of February, and be advised, the places fill up quickly, so don’t leave it last minute! For all the different classes, go on their website at: http://www. bath.ac.uk/icia/classes/ and book online. Events-wise there are two interesting projects in the next two weeks, with Katherina Radeva’s Fallen Fruit-now here, now gone, a theatrical premiere on our very own university grounds and Jo Longhurst’s Suspension exhibition. Katherina Radeva’s one-woman show will see daylight on the 11th of February at 7.30 pm, for a mere £5 for university students. There are workshops for those more daring, one on theatre (12th February £10 BUSU) and one on scenography (18th February, £10 BUSU). If you are more interested in photography, then visit ICIA’s Art Space 2 in 3WN to take a look at Jo Longhurst’s exhibition made up of hundreds of sports editorial photographs focussing on the human body, social systems and power and control. It’s for free! To find out more about the upcoming events, visit http://www.bath.ac.uk/icia/events/ or have a chat with the very nice ladies at the Box Office. It’s worth your money and it’s definitely worth your time.

Monday 6th February 2012

bathimpact www.bathimpact.com

bite’s Guide to

Bottelino’s

5 Bladud Buildings If the queue to Jamie’s seems too long, Bottelino’s certainly isn’t a bad choice, it’s easier to get into, but it’s still popular, and for good reason. Healthy portions and high quality Italian food make this a good place to go, and I found the service to be quick and friendly. The prices are still fairly high, perhaps a little less than Jamie’s, but once again the quality of the food is worth it. The building itself doesn’t look quite as nice as Jamie’s, and features a bizarre heated patio area under a marquee at the rear. However I’d still highly recommend it; even better if you can get someone else to take you!

The Lime Lounge.

11 Margaret’s Buildings, Off Brock Street

Although there is only a small menu the regular changes mean that there is always something new to try. Again this is only a small restaurant and you are unlikely to get a table unless you book. If you happen to go on a Thursday then the buy one get one free offer is sure to keep it cheap and a huge selection of drinks and some of the most original cocktails in Bath it’s a great place to start an evening. With a second restaurant recently opening near the Sainsbury’s petrol station then it’s just that little bit closer for those of you in Oldfield Park.

Adventure café

5 Princes Building George Street Conveniently placed on George Street opposite Revs is the Adventure Café. Always the place to go for lunch on those Sundays when my parents used to take me to Bath so I could follow them around antique shops. Their delicious gourmet sandwiches disturbed me as a child when I only wanted plain ham and cheese. Recently though I have been there a few times and realised that yeah, they do pretty nice coffee, and they know what a flat white is which makes me happy. The sandwiches on their lunch menu are actually pretty damn tasty, perfect for when the parents come down, and a lovely courtyard out the back for when the sun is shining, though it’s hard to imagine that happening any time soon.

Martini Ristorante, 8 George Street

Martini is a traditional Italian restaurant situated in Bath’s city centre surrounded by exclusive shops and restaurants. After having won the title of “Best Italian Restaurant in Bath” at the Good Food awards, expectations for the establishment are high and with good reason. Excellent food served by extremely welcoming and genuinely Italian waiters, giving a rustic and convivial atmosphere. Although not particularly well known by Bath students, Martini is well worth a visit and surely will not disappoint. The menu offers a wide range of possibilities to suit all tastes, all of which are authentic Italian dishes, along with a range of specials, changed daily and prepared using only the freshest of ingredients. Only critisism? Rather expensive for a student budget, best left for a special occasion.

Jamie’s Italian 10 Milsom Place

Jamie’s Italian is the endorsed restaurant of Jamie Oliver, who’s opened chains all over the UK to sell fine Italian food and drinks. And fine it is; having eaten there twice I’d say it certainly lives up to the reputation of Jamie for producing great food, and as the occasional meal it’s probably worth the price you pay for it. (As a student, dining there regularly won’t be cheap or easy, but it’s a classic place to take boyfriends or girlfriends for a nice meal out) You can’t book a table at the restaurant unless you’re a party of eight or more, and while that does mean that you can always get a table in the evening, the wait can be very long; a couple of times I’ve left the line because an hour and a half wait really doesn’t appeal to me. For a late lunch or early dinner it’s perfect though, and the wait shouldn’t be too long, and you’ll enjoy it if you’ve got a bit of cash to spend on a nice meal.

The Raven

7 Queen Street Who doesn’t enjoy a good pie and a pint? Living in Bath, every student should know not only about all of the large chain restaurants but also about the more local ones. The Raven is a tiny pub with only two stories and is known by locals as being one of the best pubs in Bath. A typical meal there would consist of a pie and a pint of one of their own ales or one of their many guest ales and ciders. Now these pies aren’t just good, they are unbelievable, a raven ale pie with chips and Guinness gravy (you get to choose your gravy! Much respect.) with a pint of ravens gold is my personal favourite and for the price of about a ten pounds it is well worth the money.

Monday 6th February 2012

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o Bites to Eat

Thai Basil

90A Walcot Street A Thai takeaway called last week when the library had taken its toll and my housemates and I needed some comfort food. Thai Basil is a great Thai restaurant (either eat in or takeaway) on Walcot Street. There?s a large and varied selection available on the menu and all four main dishes that we tried went down very well . Particularly recommended are the makua yao pad bia horapa (number 216 on the takeaway menu) and the coconut rice (number 115). For collection orders over £12, a 10% discount is offered which cuts the already-reasonable price down nicely.

The Tramshed Walcot Street

One of the first things that you see when you enter the Tramshed is the décor, with reindeer fur decorating the seats, artwork on the walls and a heated lounge outside your first thoughts may be that this is not a place that students belong, especially after looking at the menu and more importantly the prices. However if you are clever and get some of their buy one get one free vouchers or one of their regular groupon vouchers it’s worth the extra bit of cash. Their steaks are amazing and their staff are very friendly but I would recommend sharing the chocolate brownie. Not a lot of choice for vegetarians.

The Hall and Woodhouse 1 Old King Street

This pub/restaurant/bar opened last year in the old Bonhams auctioneers behind Jolly’s is situated right in the middle of town. Somehow this venue manages to be classy and sophisticated but equally cosy and casual. The H&W manages to fulfil the specification required for a coffee afternoon in front of the fire, a sophisticated and relaxed evening bar as well as a Great British pub and restaurant menu to pop. The house wines, service and prices left all of our party more than satisfied whilst being laid in architecturally designed finery. Whatever your needs or wants, The H&W will deliver.

The Real Italian Pizza Co. 16 York Street

Where most pizzerias in Bath serve a greasy American alternative, the Real Italian Pizza Co offers an authentic stone baked pizza. The service is relaxed and friendly, and the location around the corner from the abbey is ideal. The choice of menu is not extensive but it sufficient not to leave you searching the walls for the daily special. The Bella Vita is a best seller and is hearty enough to satisfy Bath’s biggest stomachs. For the less ravenous they also offer a range of pastas and salads but one would assume that pizzerias do pizzas best. The restaurant offers a policy to accept any competing vouchers, which is great for students as it means you can usually pick up a pizza for no more than a fiver. They also operate a takeaway service which is great for avoiding the lure of a round of limocellos to leave you out of pocket.

Yak Yeti Yak

12 Pierrepont Street

The Cosy Club

The perfect place for those who aren’t quite up for an Indian but fancy something similar, and for those who want to explore their inner hippy. Yak Yeti Yak is more reasonably priced than your average eastern food outlet, and has a wider range of flavours than just hot. The Nepalese restaurant is cozied underground on Pierrepont Street, you have the choice of sitting in a normal restaurant or a rather twee area with floor mats and ornate cushions in true Nepalese style. For starters I can recommend the Polayko Masu lamb or the cheese balls for the less adventurous. Pork Sag Aloe was very pleasing to the taste buds, but what was most enjoyable was the presentation of the food and the service. A great place for those who want to try something a little different with a modest budget.

Unit R4, SouthGate Place Tucked away among the Southgate Shopping Centre’s haven of boutiques, the Cosy Club is a beautiful respite just opposite the weird door to Hollister. You go in and up the stairs (it’s a pull door) and are immediately greeted by the most wonderful, oldy-wordly, Professor’s-house-fromthe-Chronicles-of-Narnia coffee area, full of proper sofas and armchairs. Further back, there are more conventional chairs and tables which make the eating lark easier. The food is wonderful, there’s something to suit every taste (Tapas Tuesdays are a must!) and there’s a long bar at the side of the room from which you can order just about any beverage you can think of. It’s a great, relaxing and wonderfully English place that’s ideal for a first date, drink with a friend or meal with the family.

Seafoods Fish and Chips 38 Kingsmead Street

Located amongst the cobbles of Kingsmead Street by Boston Tea Party, Seafoods is Bath’s oldest fish and chip shop, serving the city for over 50 years. This eatery tackles the interesting balance between eating-in and taking-away our favourite British meal. Huge portions and friendly staff make this a traditional chippie yet a varied menu with gluten-free options ensures Seafoods is an easy winner for all.

Monday 6th February 2012

bathimpact

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What did we expect from the Vaccines? Written by Gemma Hazel Isherwood and Melissa Parvis

he Vaccines, a London band formed in 2009 comprising of members Justin, Freddie, Pete and Arni, have just been nominated for Best New Band and Best Album at the NME Awards. Their first album ‘What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?’ was released in March last year and sky-rocketed through the charts to reach number 4 in the UK and was the biggest debut album from a band in 2011. Two of bite’s music lovers headed to Bristol to catch up with them on their UK headline tour… bite: The first and last time I ever say you was at Leeds Festival, what was that like for you guys? The Vaccines: That was one of our favourite shows ever, it was great. bite: What have you been doing since? The Vaccines: Leeds was our last festival of the year, then Justin [lead singer] had to have a small operation on his throat so we had a month of sitting around and writing individually and then another month of rehearsing and writing more and working on new songs. After that we started touring again, a couple of weeks with the Arctic Monkeys and their arena shows and now here we are! A few weeks into our proper headline tour! bite: How did the band form? The Vaccines: There were a number of phases I guess, it didn’t just happen like that, Justin and Freddie [guitarist] were playing together for a while and we all joined in bit by bit, it wasn’t an over night thing. bite: That’s pretty amazing you’ve come such a long way in such a short space of time! The Vaccines: Yeah I guess it is! It’s all just blown up… bite: It really has, after seeing you at Leeds I thought ‘God these guys are amazing’, but at that point you hadn’t had much exposure, then two weeks later you were all over Radio 1! bite: The first time I heard the band was about a month ago on the radio, my friend said “Oh wow! I love this song!” and made me listen to it. I think it was Post BreakUp Sex [their second single] that was playing. The Vaccines: It’s amazing how long it takes for songs to break through, I think we were first on the radio about 8 months ago or something with our first single [Wreckin’ Bar]? Ages ago. It’s so funny how long it takes.

bite: What made you want to be in a band? Have you always been into music? The Vaccines: Yeah, just seemed like the natural thing to do. We all played instruments and we all got on and loved music so it seemed like a good idea. bite: What’s your favourite music genre? Freddie: [Guitarist] I like Rock ‘n’ Roll music. The Clash are probably my favourite band. It’s difficult because I like so much stuff but I like The Clash for what they embody, they’re a really righteous band but realistically righteous. They know at the end of the day they’re just a band. That and that they never wanted to change, and once they did they completely stopped; you’ve got to give them credit for that. bite: What’s it like being so successful so quickly? Are you ever worried you’ll turn into arseholes one day? The Vaccines: We were arseholes to begin with! (laughs) The trick is to be very straight with one another from the beginning. To be honest its not like we pinch ourselves every day. Nothing’s really different, nothing is glamorous about what we do. Obviously it’s a great experience, you don’t ever think about it as having a beginning and an end; its full of tiny little steps that you take to make your music better as a band. Even now this is our biggest ever tour, but we’re still looking to the future. bite: Where do you see yourselves in a year? Pete: [Drummer] I’d like to see us doing the same thing as we’re doing now! Touring England. bite: Why not think bigger? The Vaccines: Well, this is because we know what we will be doing in a year, but we will be doing an Australian tour in February and some American festivals and a tour of South America, an Asian tour in the near future. A world tour I guess! Pete: [Drummer] We’re thinking big. I mean you don’t get to see the world when you do these things though, but you get to be… in… the world (laughs). Lots of airports. bite: Who’s the most famous person you’ve ever met? The Vaccines: Lady Gaga in New York. Well, she came into our dressing room at the David Letterman show by accident, dressed as batman, singing the batman theme tune, turned around, and walked out. bite: Queen or Rolling Stones? The Vaccines: Rolling Stones bite: Boobs or arse? The Vaccines: Arse bite: Fish and chips or Sunday roast? The Vaccines: Sunday Roast bite: Huge arena or intimate gig? The Vaccines: Huge arena. Followed by intimate gig. bite: Lose both arms or legs? The Vaccines: Both arms. bite: If you had to pick on idol, who would it be? The Vaccines: Elvis Presley. He started Rock ‘n’ Roll. As you would expect from The Vaccines, the gig was astounding. Held in a fairly small venue, the O2 in Bristol, but still allowing for the moshers to go nuts at the front while the more mature fans nodded their heads along at the back. The bar was pricey, but that’s only to be expected. Plus, we couldnt drink that much... we were driving.

Howler

e interviewed Howler in a First Aid room/bathroom in the backstage area of the O2 Academy. It was surreal. The Vaccines were currently onstage doing their soundcheck (quite vigorously) so we went on an adventure with the fine troupe of Amero-boys to find somewhere a little more quiet. We’d listened to a few of their tracks before arriving and were suitably impressed. I Told You Once is worth checking out if you’re into artwork reminiscent of My Chemical Romance’s Danger Days and a sound that’s something like a cross between an early (read: fairly terrible) Green Day and Rizzle Kicks. They are almost certainly going to improve with age. Interestingly, they can, for once, sing live. They seemed to generally be pretty excited about touring, saying they were enjoying the UK and looking forward to getting going with their own tour in 2012 and, amidst odd jokes about grandmothers and the drummer’s sexual practices, we basically chatted about their album (“exciting”), their growing fame (“kinda intimidating”) and where they saw themselves in five years (“not in some toilet with two English girls... or maybe we will be...”). Their debut album, ‘America Give Up’ is out now and they are currently touring most of the known world. Catch them if you can, they seem to be doing pretty well. Even if they are a bit weird.

Monday 6th February 2012

bathimpact www.bathimpact.com

On DVD: The Guard Written by Matt Walsh

Title: The Guard Director: John Michael McDonagh Price: £9.99 on Amazon “Listen, something’s come up, and I’m not just talking about my cock.” - Brendon Gleeson as

Gerry Boyle

Sergeant Gerry Boyle (Brendan Gleeson) is fat, lazy, Irish and more than a little bit racist. He patrols a small town of eccentric locals with his overly-keen partner and has no interest at all in the threat of a potentially huge cocaine drop-off in his area until it brings straight-laced FBI agent Wendel Everett (Don Cheadle) to his beat after a suspicious murder. The Guard is one of the most enjoyable films I have seen this year, with the arrogant Boyle and sharp Everett bouncing off of each other throughout providing subtle and not-so subtle humour , coupled with the action. With a fairly slow start you’ll be thoroughly glad that you gave it twenty minutes as you are provided with countless witty one-liners, drugs, prostitutes and of course it would not be complete without a hilarious gunfight. If you enjoyed In Bruges then I’m pretty sure you should add this to your list of ones to watch, especially seeing this film was written and directed by the brother of Martin McDonagh, the man responsible for that edgy comedy. It’s not your classic cop thriller, quite the opposite, it defies the conventions of the genre and, despite a few jokes that I feel as though you may have to be Irish to understand, will make you laugh, puzzle, and google the 1988 men’s 1500 metre freestyle.

In Cinema: A Monster in Paris Written by Ron Morrow

n Monster a Paris is one of those weird films that has no fanfair, no knockout cast and yet somehow has a particular charm to it. Set in 1910, this, originally French, film stars shy film projectionist Emile (Jay Harrington) and brash delivery man come inventor friend Raoul (Adam Goldberg) unwittingly creating and setting loose a terrifying, seven foot tall, razor sharp…totally harmless singing flea. Bear in mind that this is a kid’s film so they’re allowed to get away with this kind of thing. Of course being a French film there are obviously love interests for the boys in the form of Maud and Lucille respectively (IMDb wouldn’t actually give me a name for who voiced them in the English version, so make of that what you will). Throw in your standard overly zealous police chief who only wants to kill the beast for his own glory and his honest and diligent detective and you’ve probably got a good idea of how the plot unravels from here. Our singing flea Franceour possesses some serious music talent and a beautiful singing voice thanks to both the concoction of scientific potions that transformed him, and the vocal talents of Sean Lennon (you might know his dad a bit better, no prizes for guessing who that is though). Having teamed up with local cabaret singer Lucille, the pair dazzles the town and produces some startlingly beautiful and catchy songs. It’s just a shame that they stick to just leaving it to just a handful when the songs were just about the most stand out part of the film.

This is writer/director Eric ‘Bibo’ Bergeron’s third foray into directing, with his previous efforts boasting the equally average Shark Tale and Road to El Dorado. While he’s worked in the art department for some significantly better films previously (namely Bee Movie), his character design here feels like a weird uncertainty as to how exaggerated to make body features. People range from being as normal looking as you or I, to having a nose the size of a blue whale’s dorsal fin dividing a man’s face into two very distinct halves. For any animated film that comes out in this day and age the obvious bar to aim for is that set by the Disney/Pixar collaborations and their individual efforts. It’s fairly safe to say that it is yet another film to fail the high jump landing comfortably on the pile of all those who’ve fallen short previously. Bibo attempts to make all of the characters as fleshed out as possible, but in doing so only manages to show just how hungry for attention they are. The whole film ends up as a mad dash to the finish, determined to wrap up everyone’s sub-plot attempts in the 90 minute-flat target time. A Monster in Paris is an average film by just about every measure, where being translated for English release was quite clearly an afterthought. While I can definitely recommend YouTubing the songs if you’re a fan of Disney songs of yesteryear, it’s hard to recommend something mediocre in the face of more pressing releases (Hint: Go see The Muppets.)

Caitlin Moran teaches us a valuable lesson Written by Kylie Barton

Title: How to be a Woman Author: Caitlin Moran Price: £6.59 on Amazon

aitlin Moran’s ‘How to be a woman’ if judged by its cover could be mistaken for another series of feminist rants about the position of women in today’s society. But as soon as you open the cover you realise this satirical portrayal of life as a woman is intoxicatingly accurate and will have you laughing out loud on every page, with the occasional snorting fit (which tends to spread the amusement if your chosen reading spot is a pub or on the tube)... no exaggeration. After reading this book you will feel like you slept with a coat hanger in your mouth, and will also be left thinking it’s more than ok to use the C word. Pure genius. The book reads as semi-autobiographical, as you are taken through Moran’s morbid upbringing as a chubby, bullied teenager, to her first no-hoper band boyfriend, and then follow her through her successful career, journey into married life and parenthood. Throughout this journey, Moran picks up on and embellishes the parts of being a woman than are never usually discussed; in a blunt tone using the most abstract of metaphors which somehow make it all make sense! You will also appreciate her use of wonderful modern lexicon such as ‘rofling’. With chapters entitled ‘I start bleeding!’, ‘I become furry!’, and ‘I don’t know what to call my breasts!’, (admit it, that is a continuous problem throughout womanhood), she creates a journey from girl to woman through an intimate set of occurrences that we as a species normally fail to speak of. She speaks about the stealing of dad’s razors to slice off those first stray hairs as porn experimentation has taught

you that hair down there is not normal... pfft. After pondering her own transformation to the enlightenment of feminism, Moran provides a quick guide for those on the edge: “ A: Do you have a vagina? And B: Do you want to be in charge of it? If you said ‘YES!’ to both then congratulations you are a feminist.” Moran effortlessly guides the reader through periods, fashion, incidences of bi-curiosity, images of body dysmorphia, sexualisation, first ‘love’, and finally makes sense of lapdancing and stripping, and why neither of those things can ever and should never be portrayed as female empowerment... burlesque is the way to go. She is inconspicuously political and this book has given her an oh-so serious chance of becoming the next Jo Brand (but with Russell’s hair). A personal favourite quip is the answer to the question of what to call one’s vagina; every girl has their own word for it at that sensitive age, as vagina is a little clinical and also sounds a bit, you know, gackey. Moran traces this through the ‘foo-foos’, ‘la-las’, ‘minnys’, ‘muffins’ and minny-muffins , analogising that ‘the entire cast of the Teletubbies appear to be based on familial slang words for vagina’ and then lands on this stonker:

“ I, personally, have a cunt... Cunt is a proper, old, historic strong word. I like that my fire escape also doubles up as the most powerful word in the English language... I like how shocked people are when you say ‘cunt’ it is like I have a nuclear bomb in my pants or a mad tiger... compared to this the most powerful word men have got out of their privates is ‘dick’ which is frankly vanilla” – Amen.

Overall an excellent, amusing, and enlightening book, but readers must have a strong constitution and be open to the most abject and almost insulting forms of humour to appreciate it... which I am sure you have ascertained from this review.

Monday 6th February 2012

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The week I lost my hairbrush (and my dignity)

Generation envy Written by bite deputy Harriet Tangney

Written by bite editor Holly Narey

am notoriously bad at making decisions. Don’t ask me what I want to see at the cinema, don’t ask me what outfit I’m wearing tonight, and for goodness’ sake, please don’t ask me what toppings I want on my pizza unless you want to spend the next five minutes slowly letting your eyes go out of focus while you stare into the distance to the gentle soundtrack of my “uhm”s and “ah”s. The explanation for my inability make the simplest of choices lies in my track record for making very bad ones, often with terrible repercussions on my social and mental wellbeing. A prime example of this is how I cannot be trusted to make sensible decisions about my hair, an essential part of almost everyone’s image. Most people just rock up to the hairdressers’ for a trim, some new layers or a subtle and sensible colour change. I however seem to entirely forget all my plans the moment I step into a salon. I instead imagine a Hollywood-esque makeover to rival Mean Girls, a transformation so complete that my friends and even my close family won’t recognise me; strangers will stop in the street to stare at the perfect coiffure of the girl of their dreams. Men will fall at my feet and girls will become breathless at the sight of my goddess-like form. To my constant disappointment this has so far never been the case, although this fact doesn’t seem to deter me from trying it again. It began at the age of eight, when after a lifetime of bowl cuts and wonky bobs I decided to do something a little different, and so with my mum (probably sniggering) behind me, I got a boy-short cut, complete with what was referred to as a “duck’s bottom” (I’m still not sure what this is). This isn’t normally a problem for girls, but when they haven’t yet hit puberty, it can lead to... let’s just say ambiguity. The moment that I realised that this may have been a mistake was in a morning assembly, when bravely putting my hand up to answer a question in front of the whole school, was addressed as “the boy in the green jumper” by Father Nick, the visiting priest (I have since become an atheist.. perhaps this played a part in my loss of faith?), which resulted in laughter so loud from my peers that I don’t think I spoke in any assembly ever again. To be fair to Nick, it was an easy mistake to make. Even photos of me on my summer holidays, in my stylish pink swimming costume, I look like a daring boy, rather than a daring girl. Once my self-esteem and hair had grown back, I decided to do as everyone had always told me and follow my heart. My heart, unfortunately, was telling me to get a perm. Behind many unfortunate childhood decisions there is a parent willing to fund it, and so my mum, probably beginning to cry with laughter, booked me into a hairdresser, brought me a Mizz and a Milkybar (which I promptly hid up my sleeve for a melty treat later on) and left me to my fate. Perms are difficult to maintain, and at eleven I couldn’t even maintain a pot plant. Needless to say, within a couple of weeks I could have successfully been cast as Hermione in the Harry Potter films, if I hadn’t been cowering in my room too scared to leave for fear that a bird would mistake me for a nest. I think these past experiences must have cast a shadow over my soul, because as the months passed, I went to second-

Perm recovery with great glasses

ary school and my hair flattened into something more recognisably human I had a simple plan: dye, black, and now. This would often end up being an interesting shade of blue, making me look a bit like a mermaid, seeing as my hair was halfway down my back by this point and probably looked sea-salty and wave-caressed by the grease being exuded in partnership with surliness and hatred for the world out of my pubescent head. Eventually, this was not enough. I needed more, I needed that transformation. So back I trotted to the hairdressers and decided to go short. Really short. I didn’t mean for it to go as far as I did, and as I saw the locks I had tended so halfheartedly there is a chance I could have ended up feeling like Samson, instead I felt strong, rebellious even. The dark blue changed to purple, and I got myself a brand new attitude. I realised I had taken it too far when a teacher recommended to my parents that I get anger management. Things calmed down a bit after that, as they had to, to save my academic career. Once I had my A-Level results clutched in my hand I jetted off around the world, and for five months had no one and nuthin’ telling me what to do, so of course I went a little bit overboard. One day, literally in Thailand, I found myself in a pharmacy where the most ridiculous hairdyes were being sold for 180 baht, with little hair samples attached to them displaying the promised end result. One was an almost neon form of orange. I could not resist. Who in their right mind could? The box had no instructions, or gloves. My friend applied it with the aid of a plastic bag on her hand, and seeing as the little bungalow we were staying in for four pounds a night had a shower with absolutely no pressure, I had to rinse it out with what we referred to as the “bumwash hose”. This scared the biggest spider I had ever seen in my life out of the plughole, which scared me out of the bungalow for a good half hour while my friend killed it. To my initial disappointment and eventual relief, my hair settled to a bright shade of red. Thank god for that. It’s been red ever since. Now, as the classic skint student, I skimp on the things that normal people consider essential to fund my inadvisable lifestyle, such as haircuts. I find myself reaching the point at which I scratch my head to try to work out when I last had a cut, and I reach the astonishing realisation that I’m reaching the twelve month mark. That’s right, the length of time between haircuts has now exceeded the length of any relationship I’ve ever had. Perhaps the two factors are linked? Recently I lost my hairbrush. For a week. This was unmanageable and unbearable, I’d spend my days running my hands through my hair just so I could have a successful shower in the evening. I felt post-perm and eleven again. This has been a wakeup call to me, and so I’ve made an appointment. Can I be trusted not to ruin my own life this time? To avoid many sleepless nights of regret and money spent on hats? Only time will tell. Maybe I’ve learnt my lesson, or maybe I really, really want a bob. Or an undercut. Maybe I’ll bring back the girl mullet.

Short hair and... insane?

Hairdye, Thai style

desperately need creepers, and it may partially be because someone else has them. So to start from the beginning of the story, there’s this girl I know... Well to be honest I don’t really know her at all, I may have done some definitely-not-creepy-and-totally-allowed Facebook stalking, and all I know is that she is basically just like me, but cooler. Let’s call her... Gertrude, because I hate that name and I hate her. She has short hair like me, but is brave enough to shave bits of it off. There were definitely some other similarities but they have mysteriously gone missing in my mind. So now, I have found out from my sources that she has got herself some creepers. some black suede creepers (like, I don’t know, only the ones i have wanted since i was 15!). As an aside, just in case if you were wondering about how i responded when finding out this terrible news, there is a chance that I screamed out in the middle of Topshop about how this girl was “all up in my grill”. But really, my reaction can’t surprise you since this girl seems to have everything I have spent years pining over; I feel like she’s continuously outdoing me at every turn and I haven’t even met her. Truly, the most insulting part of this completely tragic story (first world problems) is that she’s younger than me. Three whole years younger to be exact. So I ask, when did it become okay for girls to think they can try and surpass their elders? I spent my time as a teenager desperately trying (and, as I rightly should have done, failing) to copy the style of that super cool girl in upper 6th. You know, the one who looked like a fucking bond girl with perfect dark brown locks, a fringe that touched her eyelashes but never any longer, liquid eyeliner flicks in the corners of her eyes and who wore amazing patterned tights and actual CAPES to school. Once she smiled at me, a smile that I have always convinced myself was because she liked my outfit, not because of the probably completely crazy stare I gave her every time she got some new shoes. But never did I have the cheek to try and be better than her. In fact I didn’t ever think it was possible! I thought it was a universally understood law that people who are are older than you are always better than you, right? They know what’s going on in the world, they eat sushi, they’re on first name terms with the girl who works in that cool little vintage shop you’ve never heard of and they see bands in tiny clubs in alleyways way before they are cool. Right? Right? I am shocked that not everyone lives their life like this, always trying and desperately waiting to grow up and eventually be cool. You know what this means, don’t you? it means that the time has come that instead of being jealous of cool older people, I am now getting jealous of people younger than me. I’m 20 years of age and I’ve passed my prime; I fear I’ve peaked too soon.

Monday 6th February 2012

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Cosy Post Exam Noms

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Wrtten by Nia Evans, bite Deputy

omfort food is a phrase that is thrown around a lot in cooking these days. But what does it mean to you? Perhaps it is the ultimate form of gluttony that on a cold winter’s day we have no problem in devouring a warm puff pastry pie or a delicious chocolate pudding. But for me comfort food is all about nostalgia. Nothing makes me feel warmer or fuzzier inside than a Welsh rarebit or cheesy mashed potatoes and spaghetti hoops from a tin. It reminds me of happy childhood times of coming into a warm kitchen after a hard days sledging down the snowy hills of north Wales. Fancy cooking and exotic ingredients have their place but let’s be honest, who wants to eat lobster thermidor when it’s zero degrees outside and you’ve spent all the money for central heating on post exam partying? Although comfort food is great and satisfies the most sinful of cravings, nowadays the phrase has become synonymous with heavy, rich dishes which can leave us feeling that we’ve overdone it a bit! But this doesn’t have to be the case. Comfort food is more than just stodgy meat stews and endless amounts of butter and cream. Light and fresh ingredients can achieve the same satisfying feeling but without the overriding guilt that you’ve just increased the risk of having a heart attack before you’ve reached 60! Take my recipe for a super simple one pot fish stew. It’s light but filling, packed with flavour and most importantly gives me the same sense of nostalgia. The tangy tomato based sauce sends me back to my grandfather’s greenhouse where he gave me cherry tomatoes straight from the vine and the fish reminds me of the salty sea air of the Pembrokeshire coast where he and my grandmother lived. And for those of you who prefer the comfort classics, here’s a sumptuous crumble to warm you up inside. So, if you’ve not been feeling all that adventurous during the exam period and have stuck to the generic beans on toast for revision fuel, get in the kitchen and share some of your childhood food memories with your housemates!

Spanish Fish Stew

Apple Berry Crumble

Ingredients

Handful chopped parsley 2 garlic cloves Zest and juice of 1 lemon 1 onion Olive oil 500g potatoes cut into cubes 1 tin chopped tomatoes 1 tsp paprika 1 fish stock cube 200g king prawns ½ tin chickpeas 500g skinless fish fillets cut into large chunks

300g/10 ½ oz plain flour, Pinch of salt 175g/6oz unrefined brown sugar 200g/7oz unsalted butter, cubed at room temperature Knob of butter for greasing 450g/1lb apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1cm/½in pieces 400g/14oz frozen berries

Method

Your fish stew might end up looking like this, but let’s be honest, probs not.

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 • In a large bowl sieve the flour, salt and sugar and mix together. Add the butter, a few cubes at a time, and rub it into the flour and sugar with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. • Cut the apples into medium-sized chunks and heat them gently on the stove to soften just a little for a few minutes. Make sure they still have a bit of bite to them. • Grease an ovenproof dish and place the apples and defrosted frozen berries on the bottom. Don’t forget to drain any juice from the berries otherwise your crumble will be very soggy! • Sprinkle the crumble mixture on top so that all the fruit is covered. • Bake in the oven for 40 minutes until the crumble is golden brown. (Serves 4)

Heather Sunderland

arsheffield

• In a large pan heat some oil and throw in the onion and potatoes. • After about 5 minutes once the onion has softened, add the garlic, paprika, parsley and lemon juice and zest. Allow the flavours to infuse for a couple of minutes before adding the tomatoes and stock cube with a little water. • Season with salt then cover the pan and let the ingredients simmer for about 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are cooked. • Next, add the prawns and chickpeas and stir through. Then, add the fish being careful not to break the large chunks. Cover the pan again, reduce the heat and allow the fish to cook for about 8 minutes. • Serve up the stew with a little more chopped parsley and some fresh crusty bread and butter – deliciously warm and comforting! (Serves 4)

Method

“That looks beautiful”

Monday 6th February 2012

bathimpact

Puzzle Corner

Quick Crossword

Puzzles made by Dorian Lidell

Brain Trainers

Arithmaster

Enter the numbers 1-6 into the grid so that each number appears precisely once in each row and column. Within each barred block, the result of applying the given arithmetic operation to the numbers in the block must be the number in the block’s top-left corner.

8. Stinging insect (4) 9. Largest portion (5,5) 10. All-knowing (10) 11. Dissolute man; gardening implement (4) 12. Expression of gratitude (5,3) 14. Make last (3,3) 16. Puzzled, perplexed (2,1,4) 18. Six-sided figure (7) 21. One’s husband or wife (6) 23. Accept (something unpleasant) (4,2,2) 25. Long narrative poem (4) 27. Rotund Christmas figure (5,5) 29. Practical person (10) 30. Having no legal force (4)

1. Tranquil, peaceful (4) 2. Not compulsory (8) 3. Spirited, courageous (6) 4. Declare openly that one is gay, or the like (4,3) 5. In a manner of speaking (2,2,4) 6. Rush towards (6) 7. Long and difficult journey (4) 13. Excited, angry (3,2) 15. German submarine (1-4) 17. Russian special forces (8) 19. (said of a nose) Shaped like an eagle’s beak (8) 20. Old German coin (7) 22. Set free (6) 24. Talkative (in a gossipy way) (6) 26. Fortified wine (4) 28. Fiercely unattractive (4)

Last Week’s Solution Arithmaster Solution

Unequality Solution

Bridge It!

Connect all the islands by horizontal or vertical bridges (straight lines), such that the number of bridges from each island is equal to the number inside the island, no two bridges cross, and all the islands are connected together. A maximum of two bridges (running in parallel if necessary) may run between the same two islands.

Darius N

Quiz This fortnight: film and television! Questions: 1. Which director’s final film was Eyes Wide Shut (1999)? 2. Who plays Gandalf in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy? 3. What type of animal is the Looney Tunes character Pepé Le Pew? 4. The first ever episode of Doctor Who was broadcast the day immediately after which US President was assassinated? 5. The Green Green Grass is a spin-off of which long-running sitcom? 6. “Nollywood” is the popular name for the film industry of which African country? 7. Which animated TV series popularized the words “cromulent” and “embiggen”? 8. Who was the very first host of Family Fortunes? 9. Emilio Largo is the primary antagonist in which James Bond novel and film? 10. Which character does Crystal Maze presenter Richard O’Brien play in The Rocky Horror Picture Show?

Answers:

Down

1. Stanley Kubrick 2. Sir Ian McKellen 3. Skunk 4. John F. Kennedy 5. Only Fools and Horses 6. Nigeria 7. The Simpsons 8. Bob Monkhouse 9. Thunderball 10. Riff Raff

Across

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