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Volume 14 Issue 11
Your newspaper. Your news.
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Students accused of ‘dumbing down’ for work
Helen Edworthy bathimpact Reporter n 25th April, the University of Bath chose to continue to be affiliated with the National Union of Students (NUS). It was a clear victory, with a total of 67.7% of 1217 voters supporting our continuing affiliation with the NUS. Campaigning for the referendum officially started on Friday 19th April, with voting opening at 9am on Tuesday 23rd April, and
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closing at 10pm on Thursday 25th. Two campaigns were run during the referendum; one for voting Yes to staying in the NUS, and one for voting No. The majority of The University of Bath’s referendum campaign was done online, with the ‘No’ campaign being almost exclusively through Facebook, and featuring a ‘reasons to leave the NUS’ post style. In contrast, the ‘Yes’ campaign was also supplemented by canvassing taking
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place on parade, and at the entrance to the SU. The agent for the ‘vote No’ campaign was Henry Rackley, and the agent for the ‘vote Yes’ was SU President Chris Clements. During the debate that took place on the first day of campaigning, Henry Rackley was aided by Media Officer Nick Hill, and Chris Clements was aided by NUS Wales Deputy President Raechel Mattey. The constitution of the University of Bath states that in order for the vote to have been
science comment comment “I’m an anti anti-smoker”
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Hugo Verity discusses the stigmatisation against smoking, and its harmful effects on people who turn to it because of their stressful lives.
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ratified, at least 5 percent of the total student population had to have voted in the referendum. The other condition was that there had to be a majority vote, not counting voters who chose to abstain. Should the university have chosen to disaffiliate from the NUS, it would have been amongst the likes of Southampton University, the University of St Andrews, and Imperial College London.
bite
Professor Science and the meaning of life
e5 pag bite takes a look at dreams and reality
Our loyal scientist takes one final shot at science’s most pressing issues. This week tackling the most important question of all: why are we here?
bite examines all the exciting twists and turns our dreamworld has to offer, including Iwan Best’s take on film and reality.
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Editorials
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The dangers of mob justice A
s with 9/11, the 24hour news channels went rather overboard with their coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings. The same few seconds of footage were played over and over again and the moment of the explosion enhanced. There were telephone interviews with anyone and everyone a reporter could get their hands on, and every few seconds a new pittance of information would scroll across the screen. Then, even though the hysteria reached such a state that it appeared Piers Morgan would climax right over everyone’s twitter feeds, there was a manhunt and the process of news got even more Hollywood. However, while this is the usual response by the news media, there was a new play-
er in the development of the story last week in everyone’s favourite source of essay fodder; the internet. More specifically, this post refers to the usually very entertaining and oft celebrated Reddit - although 4Chan, Facebook and Twitter were also heavily involved. The wide availability of the videos and images meant that thousands of people spent hours trawling through the footage trying to pinpoint who was the culprit. While some users did this in a mature and responsible way - such as Joseph Stuhr, who created a feed that posted information from multiple sources faster than most mainstream news outlets, in many other cases it turned into a racist game of Where’s Wally. Two cases stand
out from the crowd where particular harm was done to two individuals. Seventeen year-old Salah Barhoun was identified on Reddit due to the fact that he was carrying a bag that appeared to be heavy, as it was described as “sagging”. His image was circulated online and eventually ended up on the front page of The New York Post under the headline “bag men”. The Post directly stated they were wanted for questioning, despite also adding “there is no direct evidence linking them to the crime”. The other main instance was that of Sunil Tripathi, a 22 year old Boston resident who has been missing for weeks. After being identified as a suspect on Reddit, his name ended up trending on Twitter. His already suffering family also started facing
Rowan Emslie Editor-in-Chief impact-editor@bath.ac.uk
harassment, and his social media accounts started being inundated with threatening messages. Many of the suspects wrongly identified on sites such as Reddit and 4Chan stated that they feared for their lives. This situation could have potentially escalated, adding more trauma to an already horrific experience. Actual law enforcement agencies and media outlets have far more information at hand than a few seconds of low quality video to play ‘spot the brown person’ with, and this incident clearly shows the dangers of this new form of mob justice. Not only that; playing detective and trivialising the event from behind your computer screen is also incredibly offensive, and a trend that bathimpact feels should be avoided.
Elliott Campbell Deputy Editor impact-deputy@bath.ac.uk
Gabriela Georgieva Design Editor impact-design@bath.ac.uk
Thomas Gane bite Editor impact-bite@bath.ac.uk
Liv Hows News and Comment Editor impact-news@bath.ac.uk
Benjamin Butcher Features Editor impact-features@bath.ac.uk
Matthew Powell Sport Editor impact-sport@bath.ac.uk
About the NUS referendumb L ast week Bath Students’ Union held a referendum on continued affiliation with the NUS (National Union of Students). The referendum will have been and gone by the time this issue of bathimpact goes to print, but nevertheless there are some important points that need addressing. Firstly, the time frame in which the referendum was conducted draws attention to the fact that very little coverage has actually been given to it. This is arguably just as important a process as the SU Officer Election campaigns, but in comparison it has received far less coverage and attention. Compared with the period of
at least six weeks of campaining given for Southampton SU’s NUS affiliation referendum, Bath’s was given just two, and if the referendum didn’t reach quoracy then it wouldn’t have been ratified. The referendum’s principle rules state that parties must not “do anything that another candidate cannot do”; as such, the rules limit the ability of Students’ Union Officers to influence students using their already firmly recognised position as influence throught their Bath SU social media accounts. However, one Students’ Union officer has circumvented these rules by commenting on his own impartial posts from his Bath SU facebook account via his personal account. While this
is an indirect comment, it has the same outcome as expressing their personal opinion in a public forum. Whether this influences voters or not, it raises serious ethical question as to whether the SU should indeed be managing the campaign in the first place. It could be argued that having been democratically elected as student representatives, the SU Officers act as the collective voice, although the opposite could also be argued as the SU Officers are elected as leaders and should use the information available to them to take a stance. Both the Yes and No campaigns make valid points regarding the financial implications of affiliation and disaffiliation, however none
of these have been validated with empirical evidence. The No contingent has been quite unpleasant in its conduct of campaigning, whilst the Yes campaign has remained professional. Perhaps more importantly, now is a time when both the Students’ Union and the student body should be asking itself whether the turnout shows a disinterested or uninterested electorate. It may be that instead of the default position of remaining affiliated, the question should be raised as to whether it would be better to disaffiliate. If the NUS delegate elections have an average turnout of less than 1%, then it seems students at Bath aren’t interested in the NUS.
Constitutional or irrational? O
n the 18th of April, legislation failed to pass in the US for the expansion of background checks on gun purchases. The law was held back by the Senate, who prevented it from passing despite the overwhelming opinion that this law is something very much needed in a country that has a very tightly-packed recent history of violent gun crime. President Obama himself described the failure to pass the law as ‘a pretty sad day for Washington’, with other sources pointing out that instead of enacting legislation to deal with problems the country is facing, the US Senate serves to block any action taken to deal with controversial issues. It is unlikely to have escaped anyone’s notice that, in recent months, the United States of America has had to deal with a
lot of large-scale gun crime – the most achingly remembered of which is the shooting of several children in Newtown, Connecticut. It seems almost unthinkable that despite the number of these shootings, changes to the laws surrounding firearms are difficult to implement. One side of the argument is of the opinion that they need to be restricted – or if not, at the very least the handling and selling of them should be more tightly controlled. The other side of the argument, however, has bandied about such phrases as ‘the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun’. This is instead of preventing a bad guy from having a gun in the first place. Stopping a terrible thing from happening works well, but this is an example of the main problem in that it was
able to happen in the first place. An immediate solution is effective, but prevention seems like a more effective route to take. After the shooting in Connecticut, it was proposed that teachers carry guns in school in order to act as a deterrent against anybody attempting a similar act. The problem with this is the overall effectiveness of deterrents. If we take another controversial issue as the model, such as capital punishment, the situation looks unlikely. The problem is that the deterrent has to be much greater than the crime to work effectively, and this creates a problem if you are attempting to prevent gun crime with a matching weapon. Is a person wielding a gun likely to be too worried about you pointing yours at them? Not if they have the chance to try to shoot you first.
The gun law failed to pass in the US most likely because the selling of firearms is a great source of revenue, and an enticing one at that; of all 45 US senators who voted against the legislation, 42 of them received money from firearms lobbyists. There is also the fact that a lot of Americans feel that having tighter gun control laws is a threat to their Second Amendment Rights – the right to keep and bear arms. To many people, this notion is personally offensive - more personally offensive, it seems, than the fear of being shot. This combination of factors means that the US Senate is not passing laws that the US public are, as a majority, in favour of. Which does nothing but add insult to injury to a country that has had to deal with more than enough.
Caleb Wheeler-Robinson Photography Editor impact-photo@bath.ac.uk
Katharine Agg Online Editor impact-it@bath.ac.uk
Scarlett Clark Publicity Officer impact-publicity@bath.ac.uk
Aran Gnana Treasurer impact-money@bath.ac.uk
Nick Hill Media Officer su-media-officer@bath.ac.uk
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m edia 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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I am 100 per cent sure that this is a setup. Zubeidat Tsarnaeva (mother of
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UPCOMING EVENT
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University of Bath Summer Ball Date: Saturday 1st June
The Deputy Editor of The Sun newspaper, Geoff Webster, has once again appeared in court after being charged with exchanging money for information with public officials. Mr Webster is facing charges of authorising payments of £6,500 and £1,500 by other journalists to public officials.
France is to become the 14th country to allow gay marriage, very shortly after New Zealand made the same landmark decision. Those in favour of the bill have a slight majority over the opposition, which is backed by both the Catholic Church and the French right wing. President Hollande is expected to sign the bill once it has faced any challenges from Parliament.
Acts include Nick Grimshaw, the Chip Shop Boys, Joanna Bradshaw and Everything Everything. Other features include a Pimms and champagne bars, a casino, a fairground, and a Moroccan themed chillout tent.
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The Bath Science Café Date: 7:30 pm on Monday 13th May Location: The Raven
James McCormick, a resident at The Circus in Bath, has been found guilty of creating and selling fake bomb detectors to governments, military and police forces around the world. The device Mr McCormick had been selling was based on a novelty golf ball finder, and the sales derived from it had allowed him to buy a £3 million home from actor Nicholas Cage.
Business Secretary Vince Cable and Universities Minister David Willets have launched a ‘charm offensive’ in the countries of Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia to encourage more students from Latin America to attend UK universities. This move is a response to fewer non-EU students choosing UK universities.
Next Steps in Journalism Date: 6:15 Monday 6th May Location: 6East 2.2
A talk about the science of colour in biology and the wonder of the most brightly coloured animals, presented by Professor Peter Vukusic from the Department of Physics at Exeter University.
Richard Sambrook, former Director of BBC World Service and Professor of Journalism at Cardiff University comes to Bath to give a free talk on journalism followed by an informal meet and drink.
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High Tension: DPRK Undercover I
his cameraman’s identities been discovered whilst still in North Korea, it could have meant detention of the entire party in a country whose current environment is already uneasy due to renewed nuclear tensions. The educational trip itself is thought to have been organised in the name of the prestigious Grimshaw Society (of the LSE International Relations Department), which is claimed to have circulated details of the trip to its members. This goes against claims from the LSE itself that the students were totally unaware of the trip. An LSE International Relations postgraduate student who prefers to remain anonymous told me that she “joined Grimshaw because it's a prestigious club and I was interested in attending their various discussions on current affairs. I wouldn't necessarily steer clear of the trips now but to me it reflects negatively on the club because they clearly don't know what their members are getting into”. The credibility of the BBC’s recent mission is further brought into question when considering the novelty and quality of the information ultimately presented in the BBC’s Panorama programme on April
15th. The majority of existing documentaries are filmed at the North Korean-Chinese border, and feature stories from North Koreans fleeing their country, with very few exceptions. The most notable exception to this is perhaps the documentary Children of the Secret State (2000), which captured the lives of homeless North Korean orphans, shot in the country using ‘underground’ cameramen. Although Sweeney’s footage was of the few filmed within the country itself, his Twitter account has been bombarded with comments degrading the quality of his work. Whether Sweeney’s insight added value or not, it is such ‘episodes’ that threaten to cast a shadow on the validity and credibility of investigative journalism. This is not the first time questions have been raised about how far journalists and the press should go in terms of what they are allowed to publish; findings from the 20112012 Leveson Inquiry revealed that, even in journalism courses, ethics are not singled out as being important. It remains to be seen whether Sweeney’s insight is genuinely valuable, given that North Korea is becoming increasingly isolationist and the mounting tension between North Korea and their ‘enemies’,
the US. and South Korea. prebano66
Daphne Karnezis bathimpact Reporter n March 2013, BBC journalist John Sweeney convinced not only the North Korean authorities, but also a group of unwitting students that he was in fact Professor Sweeney, History professor at LSE. This façade was adopted in order for Sweeney to accompany the LSE students on a trip to North Korea, thereby gaining entry as a tourist into a country that forbids journalists and has become known as “the last Stalinist state”. Mr Sweeney, a graduate of LSE himself, has earned a reputation as a journalist whose risk-taking has involved hiding in a car boot in Zimbabwe in order to meet with the leader of the opposition during the Robert Mugabe regime. His investigations have played a critical part in the acquittal of three women wrongly convicted of killing their children. In this case however, the stakes were higher. Although the full group was fortunate enough to depart from the country before North Korean authorities realised Mr Sweeney was in the country, critics are claiming he took investigative journalism too far, in that he knowingly jeopardized the safety of the students. Had Mr Sweeney and
Controversy surrounds the LSE concerning ethics in journalism
Tomos Evans bathimpact Reporter n May 2012, the University of Sussex announced plans to outsource 235 jobs from the University. In response to this, the University’s Students’ Union organised a peaceful protest on 7th February 2013. After the protest ended with over 300 attendees of both staff and students, a small group of protestors broke away from the group to become ‘Occupy Sussex’. The University’s Bramber House has been home to the protest against Sussex University’s proposed ‘privatisation’ of university services. However, the University was granted an injunction for the Occupy Sussex protest on 25 March. The injunction itself was met with scepticism on campus, as the wording of it went further than trying to end the occupation, and instead suggesting the banning of all forms of protest on the University’s campus.The Occupation also received public support from various people, including Independent Columnist Owen Jones and Caroline Lucas MP.
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Students arrested at Sussex protest I
Students protest University of Sussex’s job outsourcing plans
The protest came to an end on 2nd April when Police and Bailiffs moved in to remove the protesters, during which time the majority of other students involved voluntarily left the protest site. It was at this time that four students were arrested for breaking the conditions of the injunction, which allowed the University to evict them from the premises. Protesters argue that people were being arrested “for no reason”. The four protestors who were arrested included student Can Aniker, who pleaded not guilty to causing criminal damage at the Brighton campus on 25 March when appearing before Brighton magistrates on 17 April. He was bailed by Brighton magistrates, to be put on trial on 9 September. The other three students, Kristina Ilieva, Sarah Beccer, and Caradog Jones, have all denied charges of obstructing police and are due to appear in court on 17 June. Protests were held outside the court, with action group Defend The Right To Protest calling on people to attend the court date and voice their concern over the
charges of the four students. On 17 April, protesters defied the court injunction to return to occupy the University’s Arts Piazza Café. At least 100 campaigners turned out to further protest the planned outsourcing by attending an assembly given by students and staff members. The University states that about half the attendees remained to occupy the coffee shop. However, the occupy group Sussex Against Privatisation itself has said that hundreds attended the assembly. The coffee shop closed soon after the demonstrators moved in. The peaceful occupation ended at 6pm, fitting in with the café’s usual closing time. The Occupy Sussex campaign, also known as ‘Sort US Out’, covered a period of two months, during which time damage to university property took place. The damage included the smashing of windows. The occupation’s legal representation, barrister Jude Bunting, stated that the University’s claim that the protest posed “detrimental financial impact” was without evidence.
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Madelaine Winn bathimpact Reporter
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recent report by the New Employment Foundation and commissioned by the NUS has revealed that there is a growing phenomenon of ‘underemployment’ for university graduates. The study found that many graduates work for fewer hours or in jobs which require less skill than they would like, with the current figure at 3.3 million, compared with 2.3 million in 2008. While the prospects for both highly ranked and unskilled jobs look set to improve, it is predicted that the problems for graduates will continue well past economic recovery - with graduates failing to get suitable employment. This is due to the very small number of available median-paid jobs for graduates. The report highlights the surfacing of “underlying fractures in the labour market, such as pay polarisation”. Graduates face a “rude awakening” and “some [graduates] will see low returns, at least in the short to medium term, to the personal and financial investment they have made in their education”, according to the NUS’s report. This will be worse for those students who are raking up more debt, due to the
government’s increasing of tuition fees of up to £9000 per annum. Moreover, if graduates ‘dumb down’ their qualifications and take a job for which they are over-qualified they are quite likely to find themselves trapped in low-skilled jobs. One quarter of students who take non-graduate jobs in areas that require fewer skills, find themselves employed in the same job 36 months later. Conversely, those who secure graduate jobs are likely to be in the same position 3 years later. There has also been a rise in the number of ‘zero-hour’ contracts, in which firms ask employees to be available for work without giving any set hours, resulting in a situation in which workers don’t know whether or not they’ll be working that day. Even those with good graduate degrees face months of unemployment or unpaid work in pursuit of paid work, whereas those who are less-qualified are “left out in the cold”. According to the report, graduating from a Russell Group university, such as Durham and Edinburgh gives you an advantage, but no graduates are safe. NUS President Liam Burns stated “we're not saying there is no added value in getting a degree, but this shows that the idea that a degree is
a golden ticket to good, well-paid employment is not true.” Graduate jobs are few and far between, and this report highlights not only that graduates face an enormously tough labour mar-
his car. Mr Li’s defense also said that his client was worried about the future of his studies, due his fears about being able to move from his current student visa – which is due to expire – to a Tier 1 visa.
The judge, Michael Longman, said: "Your bid to achieve a pass mark by offering what was a bribe to your professor was ill-conceived to the point of being a spectacular mistake and one which was doomed to fail from the start."
ket, but also the dangers of ‘dumbing down’ and securing unskilled employment. The report describes the situation as “a perfect storm”, and for study leavers this would seem to be the case. wikimedia commons
Gloria Goodall bathimpact Reporter Bath Students’ Union’s ‘Big Plan’ is out for consultation, outlining their desired vision and ideas for the next three academic years. The announcement follows a period of consultation with students, staff and the local community, in order to assess what the SU should be prioritising in the future. Feedback concluded that “Students are the Students’ Union”, that active engagement in the SU must feature in the plan, and that SU communications should reflect the diversity of the student body. It also found that Bath students value being part of a student community in which they are encouraged to support and inspire each other. The plan is made up of 16 ‘Big Ideas’ split between four themes, each of which is based on “working together” towards various goals. These goals include “working together to change the issues that affect your student experience”, “working together to make your life easier”, “working together to build communities of students”, and “working together to improve your skills while enjoying new activities and experiences”. Extensive consultation also took place during 2012-13, on a review of the Students’ Union Mission Statement and Vision. A new proposal has been put forward for the former, stating that “the Students’ Union exists to help students get the most from their student experience”. The SU’s current mission statement is: “BUSU exists to represent its members and provide them with high quality services, support and opportunities for development to enable them to maximise the benefits of their overall student experience”. The proposed new mission statement is “the Students’ union exists to help students get the most from their student experience”. The SU’s vision has also changed from being “a leader promoting change through a highly influential student voice”, to the snappier “inspire communities of actively engaged students”. SU president Chris Clements, said he was “really enthusiastic about the new plan”. He was particularly pleased with the Students’ Union ambassador and volunteer recognition schemes, and believes that the plan will help the SU “go from strength to strength in the future”. The whole Big Plan can be found on BathStudent.
Poor market for graduates
Graduates are increasingly taking ‘low-skill’, low-paid jobs
Bath student fined & jailed Dylan Baker bathimpact Reporter former University of Bath student has been jailed for 12 months after admitting to charges of bribery and possession of an imitation weapon. Yang Li, a 26 year old Masters student in innovation and technology management attempted to bribe Professor Andrew Graves to give him a passing mark of 40% in his dissertation, after it was awarded 37%. At a meeting on 23rd November, Li offered Graves £5,000 in return for a 40% mark but Graves declined and asked Li to leave. Upon putting the money away, a replica gun which was loaded with six pellets fell from Li’s pocket. Professor Graves said he felt ‘fear’ and ‘alarm’ upon seeing the gun. Blake James, speaking in Li’s defense, argued that Li was in no way a “sham” student. He explained to Bristol Crown Court that it was not unusual for Li to carry large amounts of cash and that he was in possession of the 0.177 air pistol for shooting practice and didn’t want to leave it in
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Li was ordered to pay £4,880 in prosecution costs and spend twelve months in jail as he sobbed in the Bristol Court with his parents, wife and parents-in-law. He will return to China after he has served his jail sentence. Caleb Wheeler-Robinson
SU unveils ‘Big Plan’
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Mr Li’s defense said he was from an affluent family, and his father is a government official in China
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The right for freedom of choice
Hugo Verity comments on the harmfulness of the smoking stigma
Marco Gomes
C
atherine Zeta-Jones does it. So does Kate Winslet. You might have dabbled now and then or hate everything to do with it. You might hate me in 500 words’ time. The question is: who are the haters to tell the smokers they can’t do it? I’m not a die-hard tobacco lover or cancer sceptic; I would never encourage it or deny its risks. But I’m not an anti-smoker either. It seems a habit (ironically) of ours to divide the world into love or hate, black or white, good or bad. You either smoke and are stupid, or you don’t and are a saint. The powers that be, to generalise, tend to claim the latter. It doesn’t seem to strike them (not publically anyway) that it is all of these things - that it can be good and bad. And there’s a problem to all this; a problem that leads me to sit as I do, not impartial or critical but a defender of the underdog, even a promoter of freedom (depending how self-righteous I get). I’m an anti-anti-smoker. The problem with the ram-themessage-home mentality - one that dwarves all opponents - is that it is both patronising and stigmatising. It would be safe to say that many smokers realise the problem. It’s a
Many campaigns aimed at ending smoking are patronising and stigmatising to the point of being unecessarily harmful killer, a baby-deformer, an “expen- ter on prohibition (and history risks and to do it anyway says some- and few smokers hate the moment sive way to die”. Message received teaches us where that leads) but ban thing more than ‘that person’s an that a cigarette relieves boredom, and understood. It’s horrible. But something that people use to split idiot, a stupid and selfish fool’. It anger or grief. First and foremost, it’s also at least one other thing: life into manageable chunks. Stress says instead ‘it’s worth it and it’s up no good comes from stigmatising their tool for coping with the hell is a killer, you know. to me’. smokers. Why? Because they are of life. It makes me wonder: what Educate people, and the choice is Restrict it by all means, but not just smokers, they are people. happens to the prisoner and the theirs. We all believe in the right to hate people for it? Totally ban it? They are mothers, hard-workers, homeless guy, the labourer and the live, within reason, as we wish - the I’d sooner not. So, before you slate royalty and labourers. Seems a funburdened single parent? We seem impossible utopia that we all seek. people for their little ounce of pleas- ny way to go about creating a fairer unable to remember that if we take The point is (my little gym-goers ure remember this: smoking never world, telling people what they can’t away a pleasure, we’ll not only tee- and fruit-eaters) that to know the drove anyone to punch a bystander, do. Bring on the counter-attack.
British vs European: The Divide I
so it would seem. Even most nonxenophobes are hesitant to accept a continental identity, buying the line that to do so would be treachery to dear old Blighty. Being British must come before all else (unless you are Welsh, Scottish or Irish, that is). But it is ironic that this patriotism – or, to give it the less fashionable name, nationalism - should be a response to an apparently constructed identity thrust upon us by self-interested politicians and beardy intel-
lectuals. For it is from precisely this source that our sense of Britishness derives. Consider: The United Kingdom of Great Britain was formed just over three hundred years ago (Ireland didn't get added for another century) when the English monarchy formalised its annexation of Wales and Scotland into a single union. None of the parties concerned, even the English (who did rather well out of the arrangement) were thrilled
by the idea of sharing a country with the smelly foreigners who lived miles away. To pacify this incipient grumbling, English politicians and pro-unionists harnessed the power of nationalism, encouraging the divergent populaces to unite behind a convergent cultural identity; Britain. Britishness then, is just as much a construct as Europeanism. Indeed, other countries recognise this when, in their native idiom, they continue to identify us as English and England
vl8189
Tom Ash bathimpact Writer f you put a gun to my head and told me to answer, in one word, the question “where are you from?” then the answer would have to be “Europe”. Naturally, it is not the answer I would give in more amiable circumstances. I like to explain that I was born in Britain, but currently live in Spain and my immediate family are based in France; clarity saves on future misunderstandings, after all. But the only word which can hope to encompass all of those places is ‘Europe’. Surely that makes me (as well as others), whose national situation is a good deal more polygamous and interesting than my own, first and foremost European? What an odd proposition that is. At the risk of sounding sensationalist, 'European' has always been something of a dirty word in the British tabloid press (particularly, dare I say, when preceded by 'Eastern'). The barrage of euro-pessimism emanating from The Sun and chums equates positive endorsement of a cultural European demos, to overt subversion by the evil federalists towards a United States of Europe, or
‘Britishness’ is something people stand by, but the question is whether it is as rigid as it seems
(much to the other Home Countries' chagrin) and scarcely use the words 'British' or 'United Kingdom). If there is no shame in feeling British, then nor is there any in feeling European; less, even, given that the British Empire, warts and all, was popularised and justified by means of British nationalism. The two identities are not mutually exclusive of course – one can be both British and European (check your passport if you don't believe me) – but British people seem to think they are. There is a prevalent 'us and them' sentiment which seems to stem from the idea that mainland Europe has always been united against us. In reality, however, this is another red-top myth; Britain and its components have been allied with one European state against another throughout history just as much as they have been allied against us. Of course, the great irony is that the one time Europe was (officially) against us was when it was controlled by a totalitarian, nationalist regime during the Second World War. If that is where nationalism is proven to lead, then I would rather be a European than a patriot.
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The vital role of animal research irony being that the more animal research facilities have to go through checks, the more it disrupts their research. Animal research also benefits other animals, not just humans. As a result of research conducted with animals, both domestic and wild, healthcare has been improved and lifespans lengthened. Did you know cats now have a cure for Feline Leukemia thanks to animal research? I understand that some people think it’s immoral to use animals for our gain, but it is arguable that not testing at all is even more immoral. Animal research can benefit all living creatures – but only if people are doing it.
As we have learnt in the last issue, The University of Bath conducts animal research. They conduct research into how to help with addiction and curing cancer. They are not putting lipstick on monkeys; they are conducting humane experiments. They are working towards the bettering of all of our lives. So am I outraged by this? Surprisingly, I am not. If anything I am pleased, even proud, that my university is at the cutting edge of research that could really do some good. Some animal research facilities might have a bad name, but Bath isn’t one of those; it’s doing good work for good reasons, and we shouldn’t be tarring it with the same
brush. Particularly due to the possibility that maybe one day you’ll be diagnosed with cancer, and maybe thanks to one little fish, you’ll be cured of it. I understand that some people have moral objections to using animals that can’t necessarily protect themselves for our own gain, and good for them. I imagine these people also don’t eat meat, or wear leather, or use glue. But I’ve also wondered if these people would refuse to take insulin or have a vaccine against rabies, and I wonder if they were offered a cure to their cancer derived from research on fish, would they be so quick to condemn animal research? I suspect not.
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or using modelling software, which is great. Progress is great. However these are expensive and slow, which means medical advancements takes longer. I know that testing on animals isn’t ideal, but it is a necessary sacrifice on the altar of progress. Those against animal research continually call for public enquiries into the effectiveness of animal testing, despite the fact that no fewer than three independent inquiries in the last five years concluded that testing on animals is a scientifically sound method, has yielded great results in the past, and is crucial for future advances. Despite this, there is still a lot of unnecessary animosity surrounding animal research, the
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Leo Montoya bathimpact Writer am not in favour of putting lipstick on monkeys. I am not in favour of putting blusher on pigs. I am, however, in favour of saving lives. Animal research has played a vital role in nearly every major medical advance of the last century - for both human and veterinary health. The vaccination of Polio, which has led to its eradication from most parts of the world, was thanks to research conducted on mice and monkeys. Without this animal research, Polio could still be running rife. Nowadays there are alternatives to animal research, such as synthesising organs
The argument from one side is that animal research is inhumane and cruel, but the argument from the other side is that it does more good than harm.
Why being humane is not enough Ben Butcher Features Editor impact-features@bath.ac.uk
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he old hypothetical goes: “would you kill a monkey to cure cancer?” The answer is a resounding “yes, absolutely.” The truth is, despite my humanistic approach to animal research, I might even see five monkeys die to cure the tragic disease - which in the past year has taken the lives of both my uncle and grandma. But here lies the problem in hypothetical questions: they’re hypothetical. I could equally ask you the question “would you kill yourself for world peace?” If killing myself meant no more suffering from all manner of conflict related deaths, I would do it. The truth is, however, killing myself would do absolutely nothing to alter our natural lust for blood.
I am not a left-wing, irrational hippy who gets squeamish from the sight of animal suffering. Neither am I going to sit here and write that animal research has done little to aid our development. As I’m sure it will be argued, animal research is behind many health-related breakthroughs of the 20th Century. What I will argue is that we have entered a new age of reason. A scientific enlightenment. It may seem obvious, but a labrat is far from a human being. Fish think differently from a man, and a rabbit reacts contrarily to things that a woman might. Animals do not get many of the human diseases that people do, such as heart disease, many types of cancer, HIV, Parkinson’s disease, or schizophrenia; these have to be artificially induced in the animal. These
often crude and incomplete ‘animal models’ see the lives of millions of animals wasted alongside time and money. Medicine tested in the past to decrease fertility in humans has increased it, whilst
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Would you kill yourself for world peace?”
Thalidomide, a drug aimed at decreasing morning sickness, caused gross deformities in humans. Replacing animal tests does not mean putting patients at risk. It also does not mean halting medical progress. Replacing animal testing will improve both the quality and humanity of our science.
Thankfully, the development of alternative methods is a growing scientific endeavour. Due to innovation in science, animal tests are being replaced in areas such as toxicity testing, neuroscience and drug development. It will be argued that we are not there yet with alternative models, and perhaps this is true. But our ability to develop programs to replace animals is out there. It could be argued that we don’t simply don’t have the reason to rid ourselves of these testing methods, but I genuinely believe there are 115 million (the average global consumption of animals for research) reasons. We eat meat because we are designed to. Our bodies support it, and the ‘circle of life’ effectively endorses it. We wear the skins of animals to keep warm and protect
ourselves. We do not, however, need animal testing. We, as the most intelligent, humane species on the planet, are above it. We have the ability to think morally, and we should therefore act it. The report released last week was balanced, and presented the scientists working there as genuine animal lovers and I have little doubt that they follow every humane guideline in the book. They should be praised for this, as should our Government for producing some of the strictest regulations in the World. I do not, however, agree that what they are doing is what we were put on this planet to do. As the great humanist Jeremy Bentham said; the question should not be "can they reason?" nor "can they talk?", but "can they suffer?". Currently, 115 million animals are.
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Tuesday 30th April 2013
bathimpact
Politics
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The NUS: What you need to know NUS is able to buy a headquarters in Endsleigh Street
1935
1946
1950
NUS organises a lobby of parliament to argue against education cuts.
1974
NUS passes the ‘No Platform’ policy in response to increased racist attacks.
The International Union of Students is formed in Prague, and NUS is a founding member.
1960
NUS supports Cardiff University SU, which votes to boycott South African goods in protest against apartheid.
1978
1983
Trevor Phillips is elected first black NUS President.
1986
NUS organises the biggest student demonstration since the 1960s in opposition to government proposals to introduce tuition fees.
NUS defeats Keith Joseph’s attempt to introduce tuition fees.
NUS defeats proposals to introduce loans
1996
1984 1990
The NUS organises 40,000 students in a march against tuition fees.
Student loans are introduced, and NUS pressure forces banks to withdraw from the scheme.
2001
1998
NUS pressure secures manifesto commitments from all parties to rule out tuition fee increases.
2004
Tuition fees first introduced with a cap of £1000
2002
Tuition fee cap increased to £3000
Southampton disaffiliate from the NUS
2008
2007
Imperial College London disaffiliates The University of Bath’s Students’ Union votes to reject the NUS’s ‘No Platform’ policy
2009
NUS campaigning forces HSBC to drop plans to bring an end to interest-free overdrafts for graduates
2010
Durham choose to reaffiliate with the NUS
NUS drop their support for free education and back a graduate tax 50,000 students march against proposals to increased tuition fees. Tuition fee cap increased to 9,000 Two NUS officers force a debate on multiculturalism at Durham University to be cancelled prompting Durham to disaffiliate from the NUS
2012
2013
NUS launches NUS Digital, a new platform for communicating with students.
2012
Leeds SU decides to rejects the NUS’s ‘No Platform’ policy The NUS organises a demo in London that is largely considered a flop.
Supporting students
The NUS supports students across the UK on issues such as equality, finance and, for international students, visas. An example of this was during the London Metropolitan University visa scandal, the NUS was able to help 2500 students from having their visas revoked after the university lost its “highly trusted status”. They also have programmes aimed at helping students from lower income backgrounds as well as LGBT and ethnic minority students. The NUS have also been critics of government policies which directly affect students such as Article 4D and the tuition fee rise, to mixed results.
Coverage of the controversial #DEMO2012
Society and Citizenship
One aspect of the NUS’s role is to represent students within the wider structure of society. This therefore breaches the issues of tuition fees and general support, and expands their influence on politics. The NUS has campaigned for a ‘living wage’, gay marriage and made statements on international issues such as the Israel/Palestine conflict. Although many of the issues are quite rightly fought for, some are concerned that many of the issues are not within the NUS’s mandate and the NUS’s membership is manipulated to campaign for issues not necessarily agreed with by the masses.
Representing students
The NUS is a democratic institution, but its style of democracy has come under attack. Unlike individual SU elections, the NUS Officers and national policy are chosen by delegates from universities rather than directly being chosen by the NUS’s seven million members. Although anyone within the NUS can, in theory, stand for positions, there is criticism that there are a disproportionate number of left-wing delegates who have too much influence at conferences. Others will argue that the membership is representative of the student population as a whole, a significant portion of who are left-wing.
NUS
The Scottish Union of students is formed
SUARTS
1926
Discounts
Perhaps the most well-known role of the NUS is the work they do with companies to ensure discounts for students. Companies ranging from EasyJet to Spotify, Giraffe to Amazon, all have negotiated deals with the Union to give students greatly desired savings. With the purchase of the NUS Extra card students, the NUS claims students save an average of £512 a year. Through NUS services limited purchasing consortium, SU and associated organisations are able to source cheaper products for thier bars and shops. Incoming NUS President, Toni Pearce
NUS
1922
NUS is founded on 10–11 February at the University of London Club in Gower Street.
Supporting Student Unions
The NUS works with over 600 Student Unions, representing over 95% of all higher education institutions, and is keen to ensure that its ethos is represented in their member Unions. The NUS stands on the notion of collectivism believing that the student voice is better represented when the SUs work together. They therefore supply every one of their member unions with information and advice which proves invaluable in their work and, in the same mindset, individual university Student Union Officers are able to congregate together to discuss the development of thier Students’ Union
The University of Bath’s Students’ Union hold a referendum on whether they should continue their affilaition to the NUS; they choose to stay in. Outgoing NUS President, Liam Burns
Tuesday 30th April 2013
bathimpact
11
Politics
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Move towards division or equality? Daphne Karnezi takes a closer look at the recent ‘gay marriage’ act revealing several concerns. The ‘Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill’ (HC Bill 126) was voted back in February 2013, by a majority of 400 to 175 MPs in the UK House of Commons. Should the bill become law, it will enable same-sex couples to get married in both civil and religious ceremonies. The bill has been described as “landmark legislation” in modern Britain’s history. Even though the bill has been passed, there are still unsettling issues lying ahead. Not least is the fact that British Prime Minister
David Cameron’s ardent support of the bill has come with scrutiny from his own party. The bill has caused significant division amongst the Tories. Indeed, it seems that David Cameron’s struggle for equality has brought criticism from within the Conservative Party and there has been speculation that Cameron is losing intra-party popularity. Almost half of his MPs voted against the bill and voiced objections towards many of David Cameron’s arguments.
The Prime Minister however rejected claims that the bill is against his party’s values: “I don’t support gay marriage in spite of being a Conservative. I support gay marriage because I am a Conservative”. On closer inspection of the bill itself, certain issues arise, begging for a consideration of whether the bill is indeed a move towards equality. The bill was made available online at www.parliament.uk shortly after it was passed. The introduction to the bill states that the bill will be enforced only if “enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows”. This shows that celebrations may be premature since, in order for the bill to become legislation, it now needs to be approved by the ‘upper house’ of parliament. However, it has been predicted that the House of Lords will hold substantial opposition. Thus, even though the vote is a substantial victory for the equality of same-sex couples under the law, there is still undeniably a long way to go for the full legalisation of marriage. Another issue that arises stems from point 4 (section 1 of part 1) of the bill, entitled ‘extension of marriage’,
Some are worried that gay marriage will ruin the fabric of society which states that: “any duty of a mem- in this respect. In an interview with ber of the clergy to solemnize mar- CNN, UK same-sex civil partners Tony riages (and any corresponding right and Barrie Drewitt-Barlow, who have of persons to have their marriages sol- five children together, stressed their emnized by members of the clergy) is desire to marry in front of their fellow not extended by this Act to marriages churchgoers and “under the eyes of the of same sex couples”. This point high- Lord”. It remains to be seen whether lights the fact that religious institutions the Church of England will be able to retain the right to deny marriage to reject holding same-sex marriages as same-sex couples. However, consider- they have already voiced concerns that ing that one of the main reasons same- their freedom in choosing whether to sex couples want to be married is to be marry same-sex couples may be chalrecognised as a couple in the eyes of lenged in the European court of huthe Church, the bill may prove hollow man rights.
Tom Ash bathimpact Writer henever Tony Blair raises his head above the parapet of his charity castle, and comments on world affairs, there is always a certain amount of unease amongst politicians, Labour and Tory alike. After all, despite the Iraq war and the numerous other scandals that marked Mr Blair’s premiership, the Conservatives still retain a wary respect for the man who so utterly trounced them in election after election, and thrashed numerous Tory leaders over the pulpit of the House of Commons. Labour meanwhile, can’t quite decide how they should treat their party’s elder statesman. Take Blair’s recent article, for instance, was no doubt met with groans in Brewers’ Green as the current Labour leadership, lacking a truly media-savvy Alistair Campbell figure and unsure of how to respond, opened their copies of the New Statesman centenary edition. Within the confines of a single page, Mr Blair accuses Ed Miliband and Ed Balls of turn-
ing Labour into “a repository for people’s anger” by taking a reactionary stance to the coalition government, thus giving it the appearance of a party of opposition and not a government-in-waiting. He sets out a list of policy challenges that Labour must answer and, most tellingly, warns against a return to left versus right politics and “tack[ing] left on tax and spending”.
That last remark is most telling, because it recalls the political divides of the last decade within the Labour party, when the two Eds served as policy advisers to Gordon Brown during his time at the Treasury. Anyone reading Alistair Campbell’s diaries from the period will have confirmed for them not just the tension between Mr Blair and Mr Brown, but between ‘Team Tony’ and ‘Team
Gordon’. Ed Balls in particular is said to have displayed unbridled contempt for the Prime Minister of the day. Needless to say, the two men currently at the top of the Labour are well to the left of where Mr Blair continues to stand. It isn’t the case that they don’t have any policies; rather, that Tony Blair thinks that their ideas are wrong. Ed Miliband in particular
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The bill has caused significant division amongst the Tories”
Joseanavas
T
he French anti-gay protest clashes in March 2013 serve to remind us once again that the staunch opposition to such bills extends throughout the world. Considering the UK’s predicament on the issue back in February 2013, British Prime Minister David Cameron also faced opposition when the ‘same sex marriage’ bill was passed in the UK House of Commons. UK opposition was however mainly driven from within the Commons, rather than manifested in the form of public protests. In France on the other hand, the recent confrontations between police and the public on Champs-Elysees avenue, Paris, even led to the use of tear gas, as protesters demanded French President Hollande’s resignation. Similarly, on the other side of the Atlantic, as the Supreme Court in Washington held arguments on same-sex marriage and the potential legalization of such marriages in California, thousands of protestors rallied outside. Are these bills a step towards equality or do they simply enhance division? France would, however, become one of the few European countries to legalise gay marriage. Now that the buzz of the pivotal approval of the same-sex marriage bill in the UK has died down, I ventured to examine the bill itself more closely,
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ChathamHouse
Miliband and the Blair Bitch Project
Former PM Tony Blair has been absent from politics until now
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Tony Blair has had time to lick his wounds and move on”
would dearly love to be able to ignore Mr Blair’s words of wisdom, but when the only Labour leader to have won an election in thirtyfive years tells you something, you reply. In a video interview, Mr Miliband acknowledges that Blair “always has something important to say” but then attempts to refute the case presented by his political ancestor. Sadly for him and for Labour, his argument can
be boiled down to ‘I’m leader now and I’m going to do what I want’ rather than a substantive rebuttal. That isn’t to say, however, that he doesn’t have a point; Blair is not in charge any more. It does come across as a little graceless of a former Prime Minister that he should be chastising publicly, however gently, the party that he once led. Margaret Thatcher did the same, slamming John Major over the signing of the Maastricht Treaty two years after leaving office, but given the still-fresh knife wounds in her back, perhaps she could be forgiven (although embarrassing the Conservative Party by voting against the repeal of Section 28 in the Lords doesn’t help her case). Tony Blair however has had time to lick his wounds and move on from the slightly more subtle ousting engineered by the left of his party. They will not be best pleased by this latest foray of his back into the world of domestic politics; not least because, in the back of their minds, they are worried he might be right.
Tuesday 30th April 2013
bathimpact
13
Politics
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For the fear of using the F-word
Scarlett Clark looks at what it means to be a feminist in the 21st Century, exploring how culture and economics defines the movement
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JosaGola
hy do people say “grow some balls”? Balls are weak and sensitive. If you wanna be tough, grow a vagina. Those things can take a pounding.” ― Betty White. After attempts to secure the right to vote for women, it was in 1912 that a turning point was established. Asquith, the Prime Minister of the time was close to signing a document giving women over the age of thirty the chance to vote yet pulled out at the last minute. In protest, British suffragettes began to use more militant tactics such as setting fire to the contents of mailboxs, smashing windows, chaining themselves to railings and many went on hunger strike as a tactic against the government. So it is no surprise that even a murmur containing the words “I am a feminist” leads men and women to think I am about to burn my bra in aid of approaching sex and gender equality through social theories and political activism. As Siobhan Garrigan at the University of Lincoln, quite rightly states: “Young people don’t want to identify as feminists because there is this man-hating, frumpy, lesbian image forced on us.” The situation isn’t helped by Mary Berry, the elegant 77-year-old queen of The Great British Bake Off who, dismissing feminism, said in an interview in January “I would always stand up for women but I don’t want women’s rights and all that sort of thing”. Carla Bruni recently observed “We don’t need to be feminist in my gen-
krisKrug
Katy Perry is one of many figures in popular culture seen as undermining the feminist cause eration”, while the singer Katy Perry in my way because of my gender”. today’s culture, females are looked at accepted an award with the words It is no wonder then that society differently and judged for wanting to “I’m not a feminist, but I do believe believes that feminism is a dirty word, have a family, for their dream to be in the strength of women”. However when in actual fact we are merely a mother. To give birth is the most Naomi Wolf, a much more informed standing up for the strength of wom- rewarding and empowering thing a individual who celebrates feminism, en. Society is scared to use this new F- woman can achieve and it is a privihas argued “On one level, saying ‘I am word; not only should we be scream- lege that we can experience the closa feminist’ should be like saying ‘I am ing and shouting the term but we est thing to magic. At business tables a human being’... On another level, should be effing and effing until our it is often unpopular that house wives feminism should be broadly under- voice gets heard. attend, but why are they being judged stood as a humanistic movement for Two thirds of presenters on Italian for raising their children? They are in social justice... On this level, ‘I am a television are women; Lorella Zanar- fact bringing up the future generafeminist’ means ‘No one should stand do, the maker of a documentary about tion, the leaders of tomorrow. Women the topic, says “What we are dealing should be appreciated for whatever with is a constant stream of soft porn their choices may be and this is a thefrom morning until night on our TV screens. The real difference between Italy and other European countries is that women’s bodies here are reFeminism is believally shown as objects irrespective of ing in the strength of the programme you’re watching.” Zanardo’s documentary is aimed at womenhood” exposing this and showing men and women what women are subjected to on Italian TV. It includes a woman be- ory determining the strength of woming made to sit in a see-through ‘cage’ en. Men and women strive to follow a dressed in skimpy clothes while the particular career path; we could argue presenter hurls insults at her; another that they are following their dreams, being hung from a meat hook and why is wanting to become a mother having her backside ‘stamped’ like a considered a cop-out, an exit, a pit side of beef; perhaps the line should stop from reality that is modern sociebe drawn at the contestant who was ty. These judgements and perceptions encouraged to sling her bra at the are absurd. Women’s strength should male presenter. The twenty minutes be noticed by men and women, all of of shocking revelations include state- whom should perhaps take note of ments such as “we are pretty girls who what an achievement it is to raise a aren’t allowed to speak but are just family. Society needs to come together there as mute companions”. and realise that the strength of wom‘What do you do?’ not, ‘who are en, whether an astronaut, a mother or you?’ The latter is most definitely the chief executive are on the same level question not asked; women are judged and most importantly equal. International Women’s Day has become a day for protest on their position at the workplace. In In many places around the world,
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women have little or no access to education. For example, less than one-third of women in Pakistan are literate and in Mingora last year a 14-year-old schoolgirl called Malala was shot in the head by the local Taliban for championing the education of girls. In Nepal, women who can read make up just one-quarter of the population; and in India, only about half the women are literate. Countless studies show that uneducated women are more likely to suffer from poverty, illness, and malnutrition, and that their communities have high infantmortality rates and lower productivity. Educated women are also more likely to stand up for themselves, understand their rights, participate in household decision-making, and to contribute to community level or national politics. Cultural and traditional values stand between girls and their prospects for education. The achievement of girls’ right to education can address some of a society’s deeply rooted inequalities, which condemn millions of girls to a life without quality education – and, therefore, also all too often to a life of missed opportunities. Improving educational opportunities for girls and women helps them to develop skills that allow them to make decisions and influence community change in key areas. One reason for denying girls and women their right to an education is rarely articulated by those in charge: that is their fear of the power that girls will have through education. Feminism is believing in the strength of womanhood- from obtaining an education, to standing up to the image of women and understanding that job choices are on an equal level and we should be asking each other who are you? Not what do you do? Men too can be feminists, we are human and we should be uniting. Either sex has the capability to stand up for women, recognising the future steps of feminism. I am human - I am feminist, you sure won’t be whispering this any longer. Feminism is about celebrating women’s strength, recognising how far women have come and the ability society has nowadays to highlight changes that still need to be made and truly believing in the power of men of women to make a difference. “Why do people say “grow some balls”? Balls are weak and sensitive. If you wanna be tough, grow a vagina. Those things can take a pounding.” ― Betty White. So Britain, to the believers in the strength of women , raise your voice, be heard, men and women unite and use that F word.
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Tuesday 30th April 2013
bathimpact
Politics
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Difference between ‘them’ and ‘us’ Alex Egan looks at our reactions to two different tragedies this week
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One argument could lie in the foundations of the ‘Us/Other’ dichotomy. Although Europe is a similar distance away from both the United States and Iraq, around 3,500 miles, cultural distances also come to the fore. An example of this could be the religious differences between Europe and Middle Eastern countries creating a barrier, which, combined with differences in language and historical dissimilarities, make identification with Iraq extremely difficult for many people. This lack of concern for the ‘Other’ is a sad reality of the present day. There is also a certain aspect of camaraderie that Europe and the US
nate the minds of Western people who do not really have a clue what they are talking about. The victims of the Iraq bombings this month were innocent civilians too, targeted by a group likely to be al-Qaeda. It is however, important to acknowledge that it is difficult for the Western world to sympathise after the terror acttacks that the US and the rest of Europe have been subjected too. In addition, the Western image of Iraq being a warzone dominated by terrorism in itself means that the likes of car bombs and assassinations have,
in the eyes of its civilians, become a daily occurrence. The reality of the situation is that bombings are more common in the Middle East, so when there is an explosion reported on the news, people are not as shocked. A developing country torn by internal conflict is, unfortunately, not particularly interesting to the more developed countries of the world unless an immediate threat to their own nations becomes apparent. When a dominant country on the world stage, such as the United States, is targeted by terrorists, an unavoidable media-frenzy is created. It is
not necessarily that one country and its peoples are more important than another, although some may believe that this is true, it is more likely that the world is not used to seeing a more powerful country get provoked or attacked, having learnt lessons from history, such as the two world wars. We are all guilty of overlooking important situations that go on in other parts of the world, and although events closest to our hearts are ones we prioritise, it might be an idea to open up our minds a bit and consider what is going on elsewhere.
feel for one another, with their various joint political and historical affiliations and escapades. After the likes of the 9/11 attacks by al-Qaeda, the whole of Iraq has become synonymous with terrorism and labelled an enemy, despite many of the people being innocent and powerless to prevent such accusations amongst the internal political conflict that is behind the Iraq bombings. Ignorant statements such as “they will grow up to be terrorists anyway” domi-
The Boston bombings, which killed 3 and injured 170, recieved mass coverage and shocked the World
Adam Fazackerley bathimpact Writer argaret Thatcher’s service as Prime Minister was the product of the outdated, adversarial British political system. The result was a conviction politician of such divisiveness and hatred within British society who provoked some of the most violent protests and strikes in this country’s history, yet, in stark contrast, her leadership saw a constant rise in the Conservative share of the vote and she was the longest serving Prime Minister of the 20th Century. The great resentment towards her state funeral was manifest in the ex-mining town, Goldthorpe, which saw the burning of a Thatcher effigy on the day of her funeral. When juxtaposed with the sight of a weeping George Osbourne a symbol develops, illustrating the variety of reactions the name Thatcher stirs in citizens of Great Britain. My personal inability to relate to either reaction serves as an example of the historical disconnect between the younger
and older generations; miring ourselves in the context of old debates of British politics is a pointless endeavour that stirs old emotions that should be remembered and debated, but not relived. Thatcher serves as a great example and catalyst for this discussion; the raw emotion that Thatcher draws from large swathes of the
public, blurring the lines between respect for the dead and the right to freedom of expression. One cannot deny she is a political figure of great importance in British and world history, and the divide over whether her policy and opinion should be celebrated or commemorated highlights the fundamental issue with state funerals. No matter how large
BayAreaNews
eporting from Baghdad for the BBC, Rafid Jabboori and his camera crew capture the essence of chaos. Surges of hysterical people who are looking for loved ones, hurrying the injured to ambulances and some simply speculating ‘why?’ take to the streets. A young girl, disorientated and upset, clinging to a man, presumably her father, is being carried away from a recent nearby explosion. Covered in gravel and dirt, she points towards where she just came from, a look of fear and distress on her face. This girl is around the same age as Martin Richards, a victim of the recent Boston bombings, who died at the age of nine. Martin is now symbolic of tragedy, like the young Iraqi girl, he is incarnate in the bombings that occurred at the finish line of the Boston marathon on 15 April. The U.S. afternoon bombings, which killed 3 people and injured more than 150, were widely publicised across the world and received the recognition and concern they deserved. However, the same cannot be said for the deadly bombings that occurred, on the same day, across Iraq. With ten times more people killed, and approximately 50 more injured. Why is it that a similar tragedy on the same day but in a different area of the world is not as well known?
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We are all guilty of overlooking important situations”
Rolling back of the state... funeral
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There are a variety of reactions the name Thatcher stirs”
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her impact or how historically significant she may have been, there is an explosive potential in a state funded funeral (in a democratic state, that is to say). The facts are these; a democratically elected Prime Minister of this country has died, and any Head of State is automatically entitled to a state funeral. Let us not confuse
The funeral was full of ceremony that only the British could pull off
our political divisions with discussion of a tradition, and be brave enough to face the real question of whether this is a tradition we want to respect. However, political points scoring is the typically British way, and such discussion reduced the event to an altogether uninformed squabble serving no other purpose than to reinforce the divisions of this country.
Although I would be amongst the first to decry any defenders of her political, economic or social policy, I believe the discussion surrounding her right to a state funeral should try and remain separate from our political leanings. So, I pose to you a question that transcends Thatcher; should we, as a people, agree to pay respect to those who serve us as our Head of State? One could argue, if the political conditions of Britain cannot develop to a stage beyond the institutionalised divisive politics that breeds poor political discourse and social discord; stop state funerals – we should not reinforce the class divide that exists in this country. However; if a discussion were to develop beyond politics of the petty and into truly airing the issues – perhaps a healthy political environment may exist where a mutual appreciation of every Statesman and Stateswoman’s public service may be possible, because their service would actually serve and be understood by the entire nation.
Tuesday 30th April 2013
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Business
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Twitter presents an increasingly influential form of media cial media. after this Twitter hacking, being The dangers of social media credited to a phishing e-mail. “In have always been clear (identity light of this, news organizations fraud, racist tweets from politi- have to certainly increase secucians, inadvertedly tweeting a pic- rity procedures so that they can’t ture of your penis) but with break- be hacked so easily,” says Stephen ing news taking place through Ward, director of the Center for social media and then through Journalism Ethics at the Univermedia outlets, not the other way sity of Wisconsin-Madison. “(If it was phishing that led to this), then that is not proper security. They’ve got to review security proMany are treating cedures.” Information is key to Wall Twitter as a market risk Street, and many are treating factor.” Twitter as a market risk factor. Jeffrey Kleintop, a market stratearound, security measures and gist at LPL Financial, believes that newsroom use of social media this event has “exposed the weakmay have to be revisited. ness in the fabric of the market”. Re-tweeting is still a murky He went on to observe that “if area for news corporations, es- something is happening it’s going pecially given the source of the to get there first. And as implausiinitial tweet on this occasion, ble as the tweet seemed, you still but newsrooms may have to re- had traders and investors reacting visit their security procedures to the outside chance it was true.”
Sophie Esslemont bathimpact Writer Spotify will make a huge leap into developing markets this year as it expands its live streaming service into Latin America and South East Asia. The service went live in Mexico on the 16th April, followed by the program becoming accessible in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore soon after. The Swedish company currently has 24 million users worldwide, primarily in Europe and North America.
It is believed that the launch is a pre-emptive move against Apple who are expected to launch a similar live streaming service - named “iRadio” - in the third quarter of this year. Apple has been in negotiations with major record labels over the past few months, hoping to involve some companies who have previously refused to work with Spotify. Of it’s 24 million users, it is estimated around 6 million of those are paying members. The company has had to pay
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Dylan Baker bathimpact Writer REAKING NEWS: There have been two explosions at the White House and President Barack Obama has been injured. Wall Street has immediately been hit hard as the Dow Jones industrial average takes a 128 point plunge into the economic abyss and the future of the White House, Wall Street and the global economy lie in limbo. Ok, not quite. On Tuesday 23rd April at 1pm EDT the Associated Press tweeted: “Breaking: Two Explosions in the White House and Barack Obama is injured.” The tweet was retweeted by thousands, including multiple reputable news agencies and the stock market reacted accordingly. The Dow Jones dropped 143 points over the following hour, 128 of which were in the minute following the tweet. It turns out the Associated Press Twitter account had been hacked (by the Syrian Electronic Army who hacked CBS and some BBC accounts in the past two months) and the tweet was bogus, a revelation made within six minutes by the Associated Press themselves. White House spokesman Jay Carney addressed the Press and reassured everyone that he “was just with [the President]” and that he was “fine”. Wall Street bounced back within the day and no harm was done. Evidently, even the mighty Wall Street is not immune to social media influence. This comes in the same week as The New York post ran a front page story accusing two innocent adolescents of being the Boston bombers after a crowd sourced investigation on a page of the website Reddit led to a picture of the two “Bag Men”. Not a great week for America and so-
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Spotify set to expand £500 million to rights holders so far, and is expected to give another £500m in 2013. Mexico is rated 16th by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry in it’s list of leading digital music users. Since 2008 it’s market has grown by 17%. It is expected that Spotify will make the move to Brazil where iTunes were surprised by the amount of interest in it’s product after worries that the culture of piracy had become entrenched there.
Economics of... Terrorism
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ne of the most difficult things I have ever done in my life was taking my ex-girlfriend’s virginity. The lifechanging role you perform is both beautiful and tense; a sign of your commitment of your love towards a fellow human being. It is a terrifying memory filled with intense pressure and responsibility, and one which I would like to avoid again. It is because of this experience that I have promised myself never to become an Islamic martyr. One virgin was enough, let alone seventy-two of them. To be completely blunt, terrorism is an extremely cost effective way of making a point. On 15th April, a bombing during the Boston Marathon saw the deaths of three innocent civilians and injured two hundred ninety-nine. Security was increased all across the World, runners pulled out of the subsequent London Marathon and the memory of the tragic 9/11 attacks, an event we have tried to put behind us, was bought back to the forefront of our mines. All this fear and attention came at a price to the terrorists of course: a measly $100. Terrorism is defined as by Schmid and Jongman as “an anxiety-inspiring method of repeated violent action...whereby the direct targets of violence are not the main targets.” It’s a relatively accurate definition. Terrorists do not aim to destabilise political systems; they aim to destabilize societies. To what extent does this pay off? Well, if we take the case of America, where a reactive media only exacerbates tension, it has had a profound effect. There is a one in twenty-million chance of dying of a terrorist attack in the United States – hardly terrifying – compared to the one in five risk we face from heart disease. A rational economist would assume therefore that we would spend far more money aiming to eradicate heart disease, the single biggest
killer, but unsurprisingly this is far from the case. Around $10,000 is spent on each victim of heart disease, compared to a whopping $500 million per victim of organised terror. If the desired response of terrorists is irrational panic and a disruption to the norms of society, they have certainly achieved their aim. But what processes a suicide bomber? We can assume it’s not just the virgins; you can find that many (if not more) at a Dungeons and Dragons convention. We should rule out stupidity and insanity as well, as terrorists are usually better educated than the average civilian. The economist Eli Berman in his book Radical, Religious and Violent: The New Economics of Terrorism, however, suggests that they have actually made a viable economic decision in giving up their lives. Berman argues the lifeline of terrorist groups is social services. Where the state cannot provide education, electricity and healthcare for families, terrorist groups can. In exchange for offering their lives for ‘the greater good’, their families (or even their family’s families) can live a life of relative dignity. The heads of these terrorists cells also benefit. They will never have the money to fight the oppressors conventionally, so carefully concealed suicide bombers – home and abroad – will have to do. Misguided altruism may well be the true essence of terrorism. Labelling a terrorist a terrorist automatically makes them an evil human being, but to many of those involved in these harrowing acts they are merely ‘freedom fighters’, struggling for respect of their lives, the protection of their families and in defence of their faith. The only economic model one can suggest to fix the problem can surely be the Make Their Lives Better Model. If you eliminate the causes of terrorism, you eliminate it altogether. BirdEye
BREAKING TWEET!
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Very few Muslims endorse the use of terrorism to defend Islam
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Tuesday 30th April 2013
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Science & Technology
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Prof Science: the meaning of life Our boff attempts to answer the most important question of all.
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Well, I’m going to first off just stop what I’m assuming is every single one of my reader in his/her tracks and state right now: if you are thinking 42 right now, just stop it. Every literate person in the northwestern hemidemisphere has heard of the work of fiction in which author Douglas Adams makes a humorous attempt to show the futility of searching for a meaning within our random, infinitely improbable bags of chemical reactions we call intelligent life. However, Douglas was missing one thing I am not. A brain the size of a planet. So let us dissect this question. The meaning of life has a number of levels. If we take the lowest form I think most humans are arrogant enough to think that there is no meaning in the life of the lowliest bacterium, and we don’t even classify viruses as life forms so there is surely no meaning within their existence? So where do we draw the line? Almost all philosophers are egotistical enough to only try to define the meaning of humans. What about
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ear Professor Science, What is the Meaning of Life? - From the artist also known as Arrogant Overlord
give humans a chance to be alive for a bit before they die and cease to exist as an individual and at worst it’s because someone wanted to watch billions of lesser beings suffer for eternity because he has no other friends to talk to. But fiction aside what monumental, narcissistic vaingloriousness is required to ponder over the meaning of a localised entropic decrease that’s been given to us by the energy output by a nearby 2nd (or more) generation star. And actually take a good look at what we’ve done to the planet we were put upon. We have tried our darndest in the last few hundred years to upset the delicate balance that took over 3 billion years (a number so mind bogglingly large you really don’t understand it) to provide the planet with any sort of worthwhile life. And so I ask you: Why would there be a meaning to a specific species of apes that have developed self-awareness to the point that they want to be other apes so badly they will kill for it? What reason have we to seek meaning in our worthless and inconsequential drift through the vastness of space? The absurdity of our contemptuous self-importance makes me physically, violently sick.
apes? They’re really clever! I’ve seen a video of an orang-utan fishing with a spear that he saw some blokes doing earlier that day. Give them half a million years with natural predators and there would almost certainly be some intelligent ones capable of selfrecognition within themselves. But because they were beaten to it by hu-
mans they almost certainly will never get there. So due to timing there’s no meaning behind the life of a chimp? Seems harsh to me. Religions can add focus to this question – the meaning behind life is an omnipotent being(s) that has, itself, no reason to exist or have been made, that decides that it’s bored in
the universe so it creates a universe/ planet (depending on how advanced science was when the religion is thought up) and fills it with bloodthirsty, murderous intelligent life that attempts to wipe itself off the planet it has been gifted again and again. Thus at best the meaning of life is because someone wanted to
fantastic inbuilt jokes to hear a few: If you to ask Siri why did the chicken cross the road how responsible his response depending on your region, would-be I have no particular insight into the motivation of chickens. Not to make it all about theory I started writing this section of the paragraph of the article sorry are you think a android powered meet mobile telephone which is a orange san diego and we shall see
asking a genuine French-Canadian. Tripartition alcohol stay out of that is illegal messages are endlessly French-Canadian weather. Don’t know that didn’t work. I don’t retried my phone. When I speak to my phone in english when its in english mod it generally understands me quite well jetzt schauen wir am was passiert aus ich mit meinem Handy auf Deutsch sprechen sie aus das ist ziemlich gut bestanden senden RS4 wenn es auf deutsch muss sein. Really need some work. I think you are gathered by trying to read the above article, that theory has bondability is not 300% accurate. I believe that this article have proof that we are making Large amounts of progress with voice recognition technology as previous previous iteration is however there is much work to be done. Despite this I bet the forefathers of competing wouldn’t believe in year 2013. bathimpact stongly apologises for any grammatical or spelling mistakes on the part of Siri.
Siri is the lazy mans writing device, but its accuracy is poor
Simon Rushton bathimpact Writer s it came to the end of this year I have become lasering lazy with my articles. Therefore I decided to review Siri by writing is full article only using software no typing at all. As you will gather this will lead to many grammatical errors but as a test of Siri I’m not going to change any of them. Starting with the basics Siri is a piece of voice recognition software this is available on all Apple products using iOS five or six. I’m currently writing this on my Apple iPad bought with retina display basically you’re interested please you aren’t very sorry. I should make from the start that as I’m dictating this article I don’t think I’ll get taken very seriously for the remainder the article and may Welgarth Tangent, so I apologise for that. Siri Apple’s personal assistant was born on 4 October and all widely regarded as her birthday it was launched on the iPhone 4S. Of course the voice recognition software can be launch without some
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I have no particular insight into the motivation of chickens”
how it compares well you can see how this compares when we get the final article published full stop. Juliana Stacey are courtship of 40 on holiday I see the miracle of the day prefectures. That last sentence of my attempted speaking fractiously evidently didn’t work, this could have something to do with my accent however. So I tried
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An article on Siri, written by Siri
Tuesday 30th April 2013
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Science & Technology
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Why science makes nature better
AndrewfromSydney Clockwise from top right: the luscious Semuc Champey, Yosemite Valley and stunning Blue Mountains with the sweat from the punish- tle bit of paradise is notoriously yet complete and probably never ing sun, the trees barely covering difficult to reach, but many do. will be. The result of ‘hot spots’, your neck. As you sit down for a At the moment, one can quite where sub-oceanic eruptions have break, your guide pulls you over happily jump between the pools, spewed lava which has hardened and points. You are now over- slithering down the natural slides to create the islands, the islands looking the valley of the Cahabon and hiding underneath the caves, are then carried by the Nazca River. This isn’t any valley though; but I can’t see it lasting if tourist plate westwards. That means that it is the natural wonder of Semuc numbers increase. The limestone with each significant eruption, Champey, a series of turquoise beauty is formed by a series of we are treated to a new island. pools layered over each other landslides and the natural force They take thousands of years to with clumsy perfection. This lit- of the river. During this process develop – hence the hugely difwater acted like an acid on the ferent landscapes on each of the limestone, eroding it as it filtered 18 main islands – treating us to, through small cracks; it then con- that’s right, evolution in progress. tinued its way through fractures in It’s expensive to get there and to the Karstic soil and, with time, it travel around, but in exchange you formed the cave called “El Sumi- are treated to the tranquillity of an dero” where the Cahabon River now enters. Finally, water sought its natural causeway, and it created the mouth where it now comes Much like the Galapaout with great pressure to contingos, it is time that has ue its extensive course. Nouhailler
1. Semuc Champey, Guatemala – You hike to the top of the mountain, your skin drenched
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have always underappreciated most science. There is something about it which bores the hell out of me. For me, science has always been about digital programming, motor engines, DNA and pi. I haven’t misunderstood anything about the subject; I know its study and understanding is vital for the progress of humanity, but I guess I just thought it was the business of other, more boring people than myself. Natural sciences, on the other hand, have fascinated me from an early age. From before I can remember, my dad would drive me around the Norfolk countryside, taking me out in the car to show me some of the natural wonders his part of the world had to offer. Appreciating nature is one thing. Understanding it is another. Understanding nature adds a whole level of intensity to the complex web of how our world works. With the Summer quickly approaching and many of us finding ourselves with four months of nothingness, I have decided that now would be a good time to invite you on a journey of the most amazing natural wonders our planet has to offer. If you’re lucky, the science will just blend in naturally:
RaneyLaMoine
Scientifically cursed Ben Butcher explains how, despite his boredom with the subject, understanding how it works, makes it better
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created this beauty.”
Top: the forceful Iguazu Falls. Below: a sealion at the Galapagos
2. Galapagos Islands, Ecuador – From the second the plane lands and the airport and your first all-too-friendly lizard approaches to greet you, you realise that you are somewhere truly enchanting. The islands are famed for being not only the source of Darwin’s inspiration, but also for being perfectly preserved. So much so that not a single animal fears humans, so it is the perfect place to view wildlife in a vividly real scenario. The fascinating thing, however, is that these islands are not
archipelago only a handful are allowed to visit each year. 3. Iguazu Falls, Argentina/ Brazil – Power has never been more beautiful. The roar of the falls can be heard for miles, the energy created by the river powering almost 90% of Paraguay’s electricity. You can watch from afar or, if you feel brave, from right on the edge of the 82 meter falls. Strung out along the rim of a crescentshaped cliff about 2.5 miles long
is a series of some 275 individual cascades and waterfalls separated by rocky, densely wooded islets. Some of the cascades plummet straight down for 269 feet into the gorge below. Others are interrupted by ledges and send up clouds of mist and spray, creating a dazzling display of rainbows. It is, inevitably, just a waterfall, but it does do justice to those dire geography lessons we all used to sit through. 4. Blue Mountains, Australia – Considering most of us just assume Australia is a vast desert; the Blue Mountains contradict this image with a vengeance. This lush, mountainous region is simply breath-taking, but few will appreciate the geographical forces which were behind its creation. Most iconic are the Three Sisters, who survey the Jamison Valley with a quiet dignity. The Sisters were formed by land erosion, the sandstone easily eroded over time by wind, rain and rivers, causing the cliffs to be slowly broken up. The valley itself is more accurately a gorge, much like the equally magnificent Grand Canyon, where waterfalls have slowly eroded backwards leaving a fertile plain of rainforests in its trail. Much like the Galapagos, it is time that has created its beauty. Truly astonishing. 5. Yosemite National Park, USA – Nowhere has made such an impact on the way I have looked on the world as Yosemite has. The immensely popular attraction, quite justifiably, is roasting. Yosemite Falls and El Capitan create a little bit of shade, but not even close enough to cover the unbearable heat. It is fascinating to think, therefore, that this is the consequence of glaciers. Almost all of the landforms in the Yosemite area are cut from the granitic rock of the Sierra Nevada Batholith, a batholith, of course, being a large mass of intrusive igneous rock that formed deep below the surface. The erosion, which saw these huge masses of moving ice scratch away at the rocks surfaces, catching boulders in its belly and throwing them across the valley, has defined this whole region’s landscape. Again, this has only increased it biodiversity and natural beauty, leading it to become a favourite spot for Theodore Roosevelt and Ansel Adams.
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World
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Palak Wadhwa bathimpact Writer t is a Dove commercial, a woman shows up with matted hair and the complexion of porcelain. Then the team starts its work. They turn the porcelain face into a perfect tanned one and the hair stylist makes the nappy hair shiny and beautiful. The photograph starts snapping. The pictures are stunning, but they still get edited. The woman’s neck stretched out, wrinkles removed, and her eyes are blown up to look like a Walt Disney cartoon. Supposedly, she is now a “perfect” beauty. Most of the girls want to be like her. This makes them happy. Another commercial of a man having a perfect job coming in Lamborghini and most other men are envious of him. In today’s global scenario, we all perceive happiness to be in money, cars and good looks. Is it true? Can happiness be really found in these materialistic things? People have always said that happiness cannot be gained
from materialistic things as it is a virtue only eternal love for you and for others can give. Is this proved wrong? If we look into our own lives, we are all running after different means which could provide us happiness. Our whole life has become a quest for happiness. We all have our own different definitions of happiness, whether it is a big house, a nice job, money or
anything else. You may be thinking why all of a sudden is she giving us a dose on happiness? I strongly believe that this is the root cause of turmoil going round the world. Today we can see that man is becoming an enemy not only of nature but of other men as well. Why can’t we see others happy and be happy?
Why are we murdering nature for its resources? And on the larger scale why do countries fight with other countries for resources and power? Well, my article may not be important. But this issue is. It is important for us to understand and realise that real happiness lies in eternal love for everyone and everything including yourself. As when the real happiness would be realised by all of us, the apple which polluted Adam and Eve will lose its significance. And this would eradicate the demons of society which would bring a new dawn removing the darkness from our lives. The darkness which lies within us like an onion, we have to peel of its every layer from our lives. Why can’t we be happy to see a handicapped child smile away his sufferings? Why can’t we be happy to see an army of ants make a living for themselves? Why can’t we rejoice in a butterfly sipping nectar from a flower? We have a lot to learn from them. Just think.
Nicholas West bathimpact Writer esterday I wandered up to a group of people on parade. They were putting up signs proclaiming ‘PEACE’ on a rainbow background. These are things that I normally get right behind, peace being a definite crowd pleaser outside of the military and I offered to help them set up as I had the afternoon free. At the time, however, I didn’t realise it was one of the campus’s religious societies. What I’m going to say should not reflect on them in any way, you couldn’t find nicer people. So what made it awkward and uncomfortable for me? Well, being gay and an atheist, I’m not really at home around Catholics. I used to be a member of the Christian Union at my sixth form college, since I can get along well with Christians, agree with their ethos and I love learning about the faith that so many people hold dear. But after some unfortunate encounters with the Christians of Bath, I’ve largely avoided them and this was no different. While I was helping them set up, I got to read some lovely literature on the anti-choice (I don’t like to call it pro-life because - especially in America - it’s more pro-birth, no freeloading from the state) movement, asking us to pray for the 6 million murders that the NHS had carried out. Then there was the discussion of
the flag. ‘We need to reclaim it from the dirty sinners.’ This argument persisted for a while, I tried to weigh in as little as possible for fear that something in my speech or gait - maybe my slight lisp or tendency to trill ‘faaaaabulous’ - would give me and I would be rejected. They danced around the issue, but it was quite clear what they thought on this. Being gay was bad. Being thought to be gay was bad. And, according to one muttering, I and everyone like me was going to hell. And knowing that these people think I’m going to hell is something I find disconcerting. ‘Hate the sin but love the sinner,’ claim some. Yes, try that. Say that about a paedophile (something a few consistently conflate with homosexuality) and see if you can still love the sinner or if you feel what everyone feels about someone who commits
statutory rape. It’s a wonderful soundbite, but it really doesn’t stand up. You would not love a murderer, a thief or any other ‘sinner.’ So what is it about homosexuality that is so different to any of these other ‘sins?’ Well, either you believe that homosexuality isn’t really a sin, but a technicality that some people can be brought up on by God. Or you really do hate us. There are some truly kind souls in the world who genuinely love everyone, even murderers, and see the good in them and treat them with kindness and compassion. From them, I can accept this argument. But if you have ever judged someone on the news as evil after some atrocity, then you do not hate the sin and love the sinner. Most Christians hate the sin and the sinner. So that begs the question do you hate me, or do you accept that being made gay isn’t really a sin?
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Can happiness really be found in these materialist things?”
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Ask yourselves: what is happiness?
An image of happiness, but is this a true representation of it?
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A Catholic problem A Berlin trip
A gay pride flag, similar to the flag outside of the Students’ Union
Lucy Woodcock Societies Publicity Co-ordinator
A week ago 18 members of the German society were Berlin bound, armed with layers of clothes to protect us against the sub zero, snowy Berlin weather. We arrived in Berlin promptly (you’d expect nothing less from Germany) and after a few brave but stupid snow angels later we reached the hostel. Some of us then opted for the slightly tamer club in the hostel, while the more hardcore among us hit a club – a messy move for one individual. Those who were alive in the morning headed to Berlin Zoo, the oldest and best zoo in Germany. Highlights included a cheeky elephant making snowballs, the incredible-sized hippos being fed and being so unbelievably close to the animals. Next we did our own thing, including: visiting the Absinth Museum, touring the Jewish Museum and seeing Checkpoint Charlie. We rounded off the day at Brandenburg gate to see this iconic landmark illuminated against the night. In the evening, we started on an alternative bar crawl with some very unique pubs, before finishing at a club. Needless to say a fair amount of alcohol was drunk and friendships grew (some grew very fast
indeed!). The few of us awake the next morning visited the massive shopping centre and German market. Afterwards we headed to the spectacular Berlin Cathedral and, despite having a quick power nap in a pew, we appreciated the grand interior. No rest for the wicked though and the next stop was the German History Museum. It started with Medieval Germany and took us all the way to the horrific World Wars, which was both fascinating and shocking. We then met up for a leavers’ group meal in a German restaurant, where we tried German specialities including schnitzel and spätzle. After some group bonding and revealing many secrets, we finished off the night in Weekend Club, a club based on the 12th floor of a building - it definitely put XL to shame! The next day was unfortunately our last and no-one wanted to leave. Due to the snow, were unable to tour the Reichstag, so instead we visited the Holocaust Memorial and explored Berlin, until meeting at the airport. We were sleep deprived, freezing and had no money left, but everyone will agree that it was an amazing time with amazing experiences shared with amazing people. Aufwiedersehen Berlin.
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Sport
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Ben Hooper impactsport Reporter hat does the acronym NHL (National Hockey League) mean to you? I’m guessing it doesn’t mean a whole lot and just looks like I’ve spelled NHS wrongly. Well you can un-hold your breath; this isn’t going to be an article about sport in the health service, or a team of nurses in tight spandex fighting their way through the underbelly of the seedy custard wrestling championships. No - this is an article about Ice Hockey. I’ve mentioned the NHL because it’s what most people have heard of when it comes to the top flight of professional leagues; the British Elite league amongst others goes unnoticed to those in an area without a local ice rink, and ice hockey is an alien sport to most Brits and continental Europeans. The first thing people mention (in my experience) about the sport is violence, people with no teeth and more violence. Although it is a fairly violent sport, the violence is almost completely a tactical necessity of the game - so don’t let it put you off. Nowadays, the sport’s stereotyped brutality is far outweighed by the intricate skill and fitness of the players - however, this is only true of the top flight of pro-
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fessional ice hockey; there are some leagues in which as a spectator, you are guaranteed a certain number of fights. The Team: Five out-skaters on the ice at a time, and one net minder (goalie.) The out-skaters are made up of two defence-men, (left and right) and three forwards (left wing, centre and right wing) The Hockey Rink: There are three zones on an ice hockey rink, one team’s defensive zone, the neutral zone and the same team’s offensive zone. The ice is separated into three sections by two rather large blue lines along the ice; the neutral zone sits between these blue lines. The offside rule in hockey is pretty straightforward; it states that the puck must enter the attacking zone before any of the attacking players. The BUIHA (British University Ice Hockey Association) run the national Ice Hockey league. Unfortunately, there aren’t many teams, especially in the local area, and British ice hockey suffers on occasion from lack of support. For example, just last year, Bristol’s ice rink was closed after 46 yearswhich meant the end of many hockey teams, and that the rinks nearest to Bristol are now in Cardiff and Swindon. Temporary Christmas rinks pop up at Christmas- However, for
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What does Ice Hockey mean to you?
The play-offs for the American National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup begin April 30th anyone who really wants to experi- has a devout fan base and is thor- or Nottingham play I strongly recence the freedom of skating, this is oughly entertaining, but despite ommend it. hardly an alternative. Many teams this, there are only ten teams in Otherwise, the NHL play-offs have a large cohort, and play at a the league. This wasn’t always in the US is just about to start, the semi-professional standard, usu- the case - in fact ice hockey was a most exciting period of the seaally benefitting from foreign play- massively popular sport in Britain son, where after 82 games, the top ers from some of the world’s lead- until before WWII, with crowds eight teams from the Eastern and ing hockey nations. numbering in the ten thousands Western conferences battle it out The league winners fluctu- for the world’s first ever ice hockey in best of seven round-robins until ate somewhat year to year, but Varsity game, between Oxford and there’s just two teams left. the teams with a high number of Cambridge (This is played yearly After years of drought the Toforeign students prosper - which to this day). ronto Maple leafs are looking good makes the league unfair but adds Now, just a few thousand turn going into the play-offs, for the competitiveness, and allows able up to professional games. Even first time in six years but whether British players to develop amongst though British Ice Hockey is on they can beat the steaming HOT higher skilled players. the decline, if you get a chance to Hawks or Penguins remains to be British professional ice hockey catch Cardiff, Coventry, Sheffield seen.
Chris Gayle makes cricket history Tom Gane impactsport Reporter f you were following the Indian Premier League last week then you are likely to be aware that Chris Gayle basically broke cricket. Playing for Bangalore he scored a century in 30 balls on the way to a 66 ball 175 not out.
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For those of you who aren’t quite sure how ridiculous that is, it’s the equivalent of Robin van Persie scoring a fifteen minute hat trick or LeBron James scoring 50 points by half time. It was an insanely powerful d i s play that included 17 sixes (the one that took him to
The Indian Premier League has attracted a new viewer to cricket
his hundred was still going up as it soared out of the ground) and epitomised exactly what the IPL and T20 is all about. However, many people still feel that the IPL and Twenty-20 are changing the game for the worse rather than the better. That the pitches are being made too flat to encourage higher scores. That it creates an emphasis on bat over ball that takes away a lot of the classic aspects of the game. That it encourages clubbing and power over skill and technique. It’s also consequently creating a smaller audience for Test Cricket, the traditional home of the purist, and there is a fear that the long form of the game will become increasingly marginalised. These are issues with T20 in general, then there are few more problems created by the IPL specifically. The vast amounts of money available mean that a lot of players have started shaping their seasons around the IPL rather than their international teams. Last summer’s Kevin Pietersen
scandal is a prime example of this. Being paid such large salaries creates a far more football-esque culture in the sport that tends to make players with larger egos think that they’re bigger than the team. This is obviously an issue in any sport, but it’s definitely lamentable for a sport which values sp ortsmanship so highly. It’s just not cricket. Still, these issues can probably be fixed as the league develops, it’s a very young league remember. What do you do when you’re young and suddenly end up with a lot of money? You buy a crazy car and get done for speeding. One day soon the IPL will have a bad experience and the come down
will be awful, but does that mean we should completely disregard the highs? Hell no! I want to see Chris Gayle hit a ball so far that it splits in two. I want to see people in the field making stops like David de Gea on Red Bull. I want to see games go down to the final over in a floodlit arena full of tens o f thousands of screaming fans. It needs a bit of editing, but in terms of pure entertainment then it’s definitely a good thing for cricket and not only getting more people into the sport but also encouraging more people to go to watch cricket, who previously wouldn’t have gone, as the searched for fast paced exciting sport.
Tuesday 30th April 2013
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Nine reasons to sell Suarez Lasagna on Toast or Julio Cesar Salad. The only thing that should be trending on twitter is #SuarezOut. If you don’t believe me or use the argument: “Oh, he’s really good at football,” Then here’s another nine reasons why Suarez is worthy of the boot: 1. When he was 20 he got 3 yellow cards and a red card in a single game. Now one yellow card is acceptable. Two, mate calm down a bit. Three, definitely gone a bit far (and, what was the ref doing?). And a red card on top of that. He also got sent off on his national debut for Uruguay. I mean c’mon. 2. He turned on a team-mate in a game at half-time, live on television in front of millions of people. 3. In the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Cup Suarez stopped a Ghanaian header on the line with his hands and was subsequently sent off. When Ghana missed the penalty he zealously celebrated from the sidelines. 4. He bit someone else whilst at Ajax. 5. He dives better than Tom Daley. Which to be honest isn’t that hard but without a diving board it
Suarez, doing what he does when not biting other footballers makes you look a bit stupid. This to me shows that Luis Sua6. He was banned for racially abus- rez should not have a future in the ing Patrice Evra. Enough said. Premier League, this is not the way 7. He refused to shake the hand of a role model should be encouragPatrice Evra before a game after ing young football enthusiasts to the previous. play. So my advice is to sell him. 8. He celebrated ridiculously by Though I doubt we’ll be seeing any diving in front of an opposing less of him in the future because team’s manager when he scored it is clear that he sells tickets; apagainst his team. parently he’s quite good- and who 9. He publically admitted that he cares about morals when there’s cheats. money involved?
Simon Rushton impactsport Reporter he Bahrain Grand Prix once again caused controversy on, and also unfortunately, off of the track. Formula One is going back to race in its most controversial country, and political tensions arising from the Dictatorship and pro-democracy demonstrators protesting were high, (along with security around the track) with Bernie Ecclestone once again having to defend his decision to allow the race to carry on. The controversy arises from the fact that Fortunately for all concerned, the race went on without a security hitch, and unlike last year there were no reported attacks on team personnel. On the track, the weekend started badly; Lewis Hamilton's tyre disintegrated on the back straight, forcing his team to change his gearbox - which lost him 5 places on the grid. During qualifying however, Mercedes' fortunes were turned with Nico Rosberg securing his second ever pole position. This secured back to back pole positions for Mercedes, proving that their car is far more impressive than first thought. This joy for Mercedes was short
lived, as pole sitter Rosberg struggled for race pace, and slipped further and further back. This left Vettel, Raikonnen and Alonso to compete for the lead. This three horse race (which may be the same now as for the end of the season) was reduced to two when there was a rare failure of the DRS on Alonso's car, causing him to pit on two consecutive laps, thus ruining his race. Ferrari's woes were further compounded when Massa
had two consecutive sets of tyres delaminating, and hence caused him to have to crawl to the pits, which lost him large amounts of time. During the race there was a large amount of close racing within the midfield, most notably seen between the two McLaren drivers. A resurgent Sergio Perez, after having been told to hurry up by the higher echelons of the team, tried lap on lap to overtake But-
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Ed Peterson impactsport Reporter great deal of professional footballers don’t behave the way they should. As well as this, they are overpaid, and it seems that most of the time it goes to their head, or their hair if talking about Wayne Rooney. However, there is one footballer that outdoes them all, Liverpool Football Club’s Luis Suarez. You should be aware, (and if you aren’t aware I suggest you come out of whatever hole you’ve managed to hide yourself in) that recently Luis Suarez bit someone in a football game, again. Now to bite someone once is enough of a disgraceful thing to do and one would hope that the aftermath of such events would dissuade this person from biting someone again. But clearly this wasn’t the case for Suarez. Quite a lot of people have taken this piece of information and used it for comedic value. They may call him a cannibal or suggest he changes his pre match diet, because clearly he’s not getting enough food, or keep him away from Dimitar Burgertov or Bacary
Baharain F1 race goes ahead
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ton. One attempt resulted in Perez failing to overtake Button and even worse losing his front wing end plate. The next lap Perez moved to the outside and was not left any room by a clearly angered Button, who proceeded to drive him off the track. Overall the race at Bahrain could be deemed a success for the sport- the racing was successful, however it may have left Pirelli scratching their heads.
After much protest and speculation on the whether the race in Bahrain would go ahead - it did
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Sport
Powell’s Peeves
Keepers creepers
This latest and rather upsettingly last entrance into my sporting sentiments is going to at a subject very close to my old ticker. For those of you that are regular readers of my ramblings over the last year, or if indeed you know me, will more than likely know that I am one of those lunatics that decide to stand between the sticks week in week out all in the name of fun. The reason I am telling you this, is that I need to get one of my biggest pet hates off of my chest before I disappear onto distant shores for my placement years. This hate is that of the idiocy of the fans who decide to say stupid things about the performance of the heroes that put their bodies on the line for their team. The species that I hear is known as the goalkeeper. These fans who clearly have never stood in a training session whilst the whole team pelt balls or pucks towards the goal. Take a hockey keeper for example, the poor fool stands there in the D, with so much padding he looks like Mr Blobby. It is well documented that being a keeper is a lonely career, where you put your reputation in the air every week ready for it to be smashed to pieces. If a striker misses a chance, big deal, if a keeper makes a mistake, 99 times in 100 it results in a goal, cue the verbal assassination of said individual. Granted we know what we are signing up for when we take on the role of being ‘a cat’. But when fans continue to sit in the stands eating their pie, whilst criticising goalkeepers, I will not be able to sleep at night. I was recently stood in the terraces of a football establishment, surrounded by ignorant pigs, sorry football fans. In goal was a young goalkeeper who had recently turned professional. I am sure he would be the first to admit that he didn’t have his greatest match, however the incompetence of the fools playing in front of him just left him entirely exposed and helpless between the sticks. Having read the comments of these ignoranuses on fora on the Berners-Lee network, I felt sick, the young keeper who was singled out from the rest of his incompetent teammates. No wonder we rarely produce quality keepers in this country nowadays, because who on earth would put themselves through this criticism when they know they are going to earn less money than every single player in the club. Rants 2012-13 over.
jaredpolin
Inside impactsport
3:Thirty Club
Tuesday 30th April 2013
Ice Hockey in Britain page 22 3:Thirty Club Team Bath
impactsport The imperious Chris Gayle
impactsport reporter Tom Gane informs us on the progress within cricket and the opportunities that T20 and the IPL are offering the sport. Page 22 has the full story
9 reasons to sell Suarez Ed Peterson tells impactsport of the case of Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez, and why Liverpool should finally consider letting him go, after his latest ban. See page 23 for more info
Bahrain race goes ahead The University of Bath’s Sports Training Village was put to full use for the InterHalls Championships, with all of the courts being used.
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ednesday 17th April saw the University of Bath hold its second annual recreational sport day, the ‘Inter Halls Championships,’ building on the success of a year’s worth of student competition as a part of the 3:Thirty Club, funded by Sport England. Whilst not all of the 3:Thirty Club activities were hosted on the day, a number of Students’ Union clubs put on either competitive or drop in sessions for both First and later year students. Every single one of the University’s large range of sport facilities were used on the day- from Lacrosse being played on the Medical Pitches, through to games of Basketball in the Founders Hall. The day began with the University’s Inter-Departmental Football clubs holding a tournament on the St. Johns Pitches, where a last minute decision that was made by the players themselves saw the format change from the tradition-
al 11 to 7 aside football, to ensure that the pitches were able to last the day. This late change led to a much greater competition and hence a greater show, and overall, in excess of 150 boys took part. The games were played in a league style format, ending with Economics eventually taking the crown. In the Sports Training Village,
Netball and Volleyball took place court side, with a huge amount of students who don’t normally take part donning their trainers and hitting the courts. Alongside this, badminton courts were available as part of a few ‘No Strings Sessions,’ where a number of people took the opportunity to rock up and play, without making any
3:Thirty Club
Jordan Kenny Sport Development Coordinator
Departmental teams battling it out in a 7 a side tournament
commitment to any clubs. Further into the Sports Training Village, the Swimming and Water Polo club had organised a ‘Duel in the Pool,’ pitting two great sets of athletes against one another! Back outside, both Astros hosted the Inter-Halls Hockey, where two full games were played amongst mainly Freshers, battling to represent the halls that they live in. Over in the Founders Hall, the Basketball Club hosted their normal recreational session, with four hoops free for anyone to turn up and show off their skills. Finally at the Medical Pitches, Lacrosse looked to finish their recreational programme on a high for the year, embracing the existing four teams to battle it out all afternoon. Over the final few weeks of term, further competitions will be taking place, plus a number of ‘Get fit for summer’ activities. For further information on these, check out bathstudent.com/sport, teambath.com/3thirty or email 3thirty@bath.ac.uk.
impactsport Reporter Simon Rushton runs through the controversial Bahrain Grand Prix that went ahead last week, despite protests. Turn to page 23 to read the full story
Powell’s Peeves impactsport Editor Matthew Powell explains his issues with the criticism of the goalkeepers and the lack of understanding from sports fans towards those lonely chaps/chapettes standing between the sticks. Turn to page 23 for more
Get involved If you are interested in sport and want to contribute, then contact impactsport Editor Matthew Powell (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 take part, or just all round sports buffs to help out. So, if you have a story you want to share, don’t be afraid to get in touch!
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Tuesday 30th April 2013
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bite Editorial: eternal haze This issue of bite aims to explore, in various ways, the ideas of dream and reality and how our everyday we are consumed with these thoughts. Hi there, my name is Benjamin Charles Hooper (hoops to anyone who agrees that Ben is a boring name). Some of you may not know this, but I have often been accused of tailoring my absurd writing style towards a very small audience of absurd people, those people who almost purposefully destroy their own lives, people who purposefully live in a state of ‘non-reality’. I’m sure those who like to psychoanalyse might relate these afflictions to some repressed childhood issues or absolute fear of actually committing to the rat race. Admitting this fear and committing isn’t scary because you can’t attach yourself to things, but because you can, your fear of eventual detachment encourages you to flee from exactly the thing you want. Ultimately the fear is based within some sort of struggle to find self-worth, the path that you desire and the ‘truth’. The pursuit of these things for me at least, has often struck me as a solitary path; it at least seems much more romantic that way. All these things, these analyses fundamentally are based upon the social constructs we’ve been laden with since birth, supposedly at one point mankind wasn’t faced with this dilemma, but upon the path of enlightenment, or whatever you want to call it, this seems to be a natural process. So we are faced with this environment, the ideas and physical manifestations of straight lines and language we have created. We create things that uniformly represent our desire for uniformity and our language helps us explain all these things. People constantly moan at each
A nibble of bite
other, for being on different paths in life. Those who desire a life as a vagabond as opposed to those who join the rat race, get a sturdy job and raised model children. Alan Watts, part of the universes’ human project, was often concerned that as modern humans we’re locked in to some sort of non-reality, within what we see as reality, and how many humans regard our existence on earth as something wholly unearthly, that we are somehow disconnected and non-related to the earth we live within. He used the example of the common phrase, “I was put on this earth” and the idea that many young children ask their parents “who made me”, as if they aren’t an intricate part of everything. Which is opposite to what Watts ultimately argues, which is that the idea of God being within all of us. His ideas on religion are certainly not that cut and dry and neither is anything he says, so take what I’m saying with a pinch of unicorn hoof. It’s just here to make you engage in the idea, as is the word hoof. My argument needs to come back round to my original idea, I seek out the absurd, yes, yes, probably because of strange dick related Freudian things but ALSO, I have an inherent desire to change things in some way. The thing that blows my mind now, is that earlier today I probably would have rounded this off by declaring I can’t change anything; but after reading Watts’ ‘The Nature of Consciousness’ I know I will have an effect on the grand plan, the human project. Knowing you need to be enlightened is enough to start you upon and enlightened path. Watts likened this human path to an electric current running along a cable, the whole world round – alerting us to the fact, that the current can only
This weeks’s theme is... Dreams and Reality. This week bite reminds the dreamsy students of Bath that they are indeed in a dream world, in fact in some sort of limbo between the dream of secondary school (its foreign equivolents) and the ‘real’ world (and its foreign equivolents) On page 5 Iwan Best explored the ideas of reality in film, Helen Edworthy puts social media’s ‘real’ influence in perspective. Levi Roots gives us an inisight into the world of business and John Barlow, a home grown westcountry poet supplies home grown verse on page page 12.
It’s not goodbye it’s farewell for now, but until summer...
travel if indeed at the other end the cable is connected to itself. So, ultimately, we are connected, eternally to our beginning and our end. The race we are part of is long, but has a higher plane. This is something since beginning to educate myself about the renaissance and other spikes in the general philosophical movements of mankind that I have generally thought that since the digital age, we are on the verge of our next revolution. I’m not sure what it will be yet. I’ll keep you posted. Alan illustrated this point by pointing out that people once believed the world was flat, without much reservation, and concluded that “Well, in a few years, it will be a matter of commons sense to many people that they’re one with the universe. It’ll be so simple. And then maybe if that happens, we shall be in a position to handle our technology with more sense. With love instead of with hate for our environment”. Anyway, enough of the brain destroying stuff and on with the issue. On page 2 Tom Gane explores some less ‘wet’ stuff with a reality check, and on the ensuing pages Helen Edworthy and Iwan Best explore similar ideas about dreams and our reality in terms of the things that we create. I hope you enjoy the first issue of my tenure and I look forward to seeing you all again in September.
To get involved in bite and hear the playlist for this issue, head over to our facebook group at www.facebook. com/bathimpactbite Or email us at impact-bite@bath.ac.uk
Blog of the week: http://stuffonmyrabbit.tumblr.com/ Ever wondered how many you people you could entertain by just taking pictures of ‘stuff on your pet’ and blogging it? that questrion is unanswerable, but this blog has 27 pages worth of good times. Some of the best rabbit-topitems bite’s seen are: Plastic comestibles: tick. Pancake: tick Collander: tick. Calculator: tick. Banana: tick. Ice cream cone: tick. Ample christmas themes: tick. WMD: NOT YET.
Things to... Watch: Vikings ! (The History channel’s encomium to legendary Norse hero, Ragnar Lodbrok) That’s all! Read: Ghana Must Go by Taiye Selasi, a fictional tale of a Ghanaian family struggling to make a life in America. The Democracy Project by David Graeber: current thought on the anti-capitalism Listen: Early John Martyn’s first two albums and Nick Drake‘s only three and only albums are sure to put you in a dream like state and have no bearings on reality
It’s the last issue of bite ALL SUMMER, the guide is limited as far as the entire summer is concerned, so we’ve had to pick the creme of the crop. Check out the guide for worthier exam procrastination than Facebook. Also, if you’re free on May 24th, get to The Exchange in Bristol, for some good old fashioned happy go lucky pop punk for the quite recently refomed Allister.
Best quotes from our heads
New Release:
“Let us toast to animal pleasures, to escapism, to rain on the roof and instant coffee, to unemployment insurance and library cards, to absinthe and good-hearted landlords, to music and warm bodies and contraceptives... and to the “good life”, whatever it is and wherever it happens to be.”
Fall Out Boy explore a new sound on Save Rock and Roll
It’s been a good year at Bath, let us go forth and multiply? Actually, remembr what Hunter S. Thompson said (above) use contraceptives. bite bids farewell to it’s outgoing editor and welcomes in a new era. Let us rejoice.
Their long awaited fourth album, Aptil 29th
Tuesday 30th April 2013
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We’re forever blowing bubbles bathimpact.tumblr.com
Written by Tom Gane
Just as that guy at the new years party sang over and over again “slip inside the eye of your mind, don’t you know you might find a better place to play.” Or was it Wonderwall?
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riends. Colleagues. Esteemed gentlemen and ladies of Gondor. We live in a bubble. A bubble full of 3am library sessions to meet deadlines. A bubble in which the alarm clock goes off 15 minutes before our first lecture and if we don’t wake up we are chastised only by our ever diminishing consciences. A bubble in which we get to dictate our work around our drinking and dictate our drinking around how much of our free money is left. To many this may seem ridiculous. To many we are simply grafters. Taking advantage of our so called education, to get a free ride for a few years. A few years that will mostly comprise of sleeping, drinking, dancing and, for those without troubling issues such as my face, my body and my personality, sex. However, we also serve a valuable purpose. Who else would the older middle class chastise when they get bored of the working class? Who else would keep knock-off jäger sellers in business? Who else would blindly and ignorantly shout loudly about left wing issues, purely so we could keep ourselves in Hollister clothing to be instagramned on our smart phones? I guess as usual, I took the joke too far, but the point stands. We are incredibly lucky to be living the life we live. Just last week three people died in Boston because they decided to cheer along those who were completing an arduous task for charity. The families of those people who died in the bombings had their lives changed forever. Those who were falsely identified as suspects (see our editorials for more information you lecherous dogs, we know you just go straight for the horoscopes and the puzzles) also had an incredible amount of stress put on themselves and their families. Even just focussing on this disregards the countless others who died in similar situations in all corners of the globe because they needed to get water, or buy food, or go to worship the God of their choosing. As a country, neigh, as western civilisation we are too often guilty of taking our situation for granted. For assuming that clean drinking water and plentiful, albeit Tesco Value, food is a given. That each of us will be granted an education. That each of us will be allowed to worship our deity of choice. That we can go where we want to go, curse who we want to curse, fuck who we want to fuck. As a western culture we are always guilty of this, but within it we are also incredibly out of touch. Andrew Lansley, Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Gove are ignorant posh boys who live in a little Eton flavoured world in which their actions have no consequences, and Gideon is their smirking overlord (I’d include DC in this list, but I think that he honestly believes he’s doing the right thing, he’s just misguided). I’m pretty sure that most of George Osbourne’s dreams involve him wield-
ing a sceptre that rips the souls out of anyone who’s not from a Russell Group and then feeds them to his dogs, Richard and Littlejohn (that’s not a Robin Hood reference, ironically it’s literally the exact opposite). The recent changes to Welfare were horrific. They demonised those who had no way to defend themselves. The main focus of the debates has been how it affected those were unemployed and those on welfare, but I’m not going to focus on these areas (that’s not to say they aren’t important, it’s just there are many articles readily available written by people who are far more articulate than me and also far more knowledgeable about the subject… Jesus Lana, read a book), but I’m going to bring up something you guys may not know of. The disabled are being shafted by the Tory’s. Shafted like the miners were shafted by Thatcher (too soon isn’t a thing and who cares, it’s a pun). I apologise if this seems as if I’m portraying the disabled as a group that can’t fight for themselves, in fact the reason I’m aware of this are people on Twitter such as Francesca Martinez (a disabled comedian) making me more aware, but it is just an issue I feel has been unrepresented. These cuts create a lethal cocktail for the disabled, a sharp fall in housing benefit, the closure of the Independent Living Fund, reductions in benefits and the end of many essential local services. Iain Duncunt Smith has stated that he’s “not scared to light the fuse on disability reform” and that “the system is riddled with abuse and fraud”. I’m sorry, but what the fuck does he know? Has Iain Duncan Smith ever been on benefits, disabled or otherwise? Other than a few numbers that were obtained from studies, that given recent revelations about what the Tory’s believe to be credible (this is a shout out to you Reinhart and Rogoff) are probably bullshit, what real world information do they have? The issue is that none of the cabinet has any ideas about what being on any sort of benefits is like. How difficult it can be to find the enthusiasm to better yourself when, according to your government, you should be ashamed of yourself? How working hard to get good grades in Eton is a little less hard than working hard to get good grades in Liverpool? It’s not necessarily the current cabinets fault (although they are still cunts); it’s a general issue of our political structure. The people who rise to the top were born to rise to the top. The people creating policy have no experience of how the policies actually affect people outside of a spread sheet. They’ve been living in a dream world. How many of them have had to actually struggle to get where they are today? How many have been on benefits? Fuck that, how many have even been on minimum wage? Admittedly, neither have I, rendering this whole process rather pointless. “No!” I hear the NUS cry out! “We are here to represent the
students! The left! The common man!” Bullshit. Not to sound like Hemmingway, but I was at the last demo and it was pretty fucking pathetic (you weren’t there man, you weren’t there, you don’t understand). There was a protest and there was a reasonable amount of people protesting. The problem was that people weren’t entirely sure what they were protesting for. The problem was people weren’t sure who they were angry at. The problem was that most people were instagraming pictures of the protest in just the right sort of way that you could just about see their Hollister hoody and Starbucks latte along with their socialist fury! “Fuck the Torys! Fuck the corporations! Fuck the system… although give it a few minutes, I’m only one stamp away from a double shot half soy caramel Marxiatto”. That’s the issue. We’re a fucking embarrassment. The fact we’ve even had a referendum on the NUS shows it’s gone too far. We’re out of touch. We’re as bad as the Torys. We live in a little dream world in which we think a few retweets and angry blog posts will make a difference. That shouting for a few seconds about something that briefly captured our imagination will do anything other than provide a bridging gap between cat pictures. We’re detached from a lot of society. Don’t get me wrong most university students are, but I have the feeling that we here at Bath are particularly guilty of it. “I don’t get what everyone’s complaining about, I haven’t noticed a difference in my Bath home or my Guildford Home”. We’re a little studenty bubble inside a city wand encased in a country sized box which on a truck that encompasses western civilisation and it’s headed towards a mushroom cloud sized clusterfuck. Put our campus in parts of Wales, Scotland or the midlands/the north and I’m pretty sure people would change their tune slightly. Put one of us in somewhere like Somalia and we’d be so eager to sell our story that we’d agree to spit roast Baroness Thatcher’s corpse with Harry Styles if it’d get us on the front page of The Mail. By the way, I’m just as guilty of it as everyone else and I fucking hate myself for it. I’m not saying you’re a bad person. I’m not saying you should drastically change how you live. What I’m saying, as this article suggests, is fuck all. I’m just saying be aware. We live in a dream bubble in a dream bubble in a dream bubble, and we should probably pop it and wake up. What you do when you wake up is up to you. Donate a shit load to charity. Think about it all next time you’re going to complain about a deadline. Hook yourself up to a vodka IV drip. Whatever, I don’t give a fuck. Just wake up.
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Tuesday 30th April 2013
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A world wide dream world world
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he thing is, we all know how to use the internet – and if you don’t, you are kidding yourself. Granted, there is still the odd person who types Google into Google when they’re already on the website itself, but even this stems from a basic knowledge of what search engines are for. I would argue that it is basically impossible to manage not to have worked out how to use the internet at this point. The question is, however, when it changes from being able to use the internet effectively to being related to everything you do. I, for one, am guilty of needing the internet for everything, and basically don’t know how to function without it. Wake up? Internet. Going to bed? Internet. Five second span of time wherein there is nothing to do? Internet. You get the gist of what I’m saying. Everyone’s heard the horror stories of kids who never go outside and only play World of Warcraft or Minecraft or Diablo 3 every minute they can, but playing a single game for hours on end is something that can get pretty boring after a while. What nobody seems to talk about is the fact that everybody is online constantly – at least, if you have a smartphone. Which most people do, at this point. People may make fun of others who feel the need to be attached to their laptops at all times, but if you have twitter or facebook on your phone then you’re the same. Beyond that, however, is the question of whether people present themselves on the internet the same way they do in real life. I know that I am personally guilty of being much nicer on the internet than I generally am in face-toface conversations. This might be as a reaction to being so disappointed that people use being online as a rationalisation for just being flat-out rude. Even being guilty of this, however, I don’t quite know what the motivation behind presenting myself differently is, other than the fact that when it started, it was a natural thing. My reputation of perma-sarcasm has followed me for just about forever, and the thing about text is that you generally can’t convey tone of voice. As such, I had to be nice – otherwise, I would have just been straight-up abrasive. The internet is very provocative in that sense – you have the ability to present yourself any way you want, and almost create a cult of personality around yourself. This prospect is especially inviting if you are a shy or awkward kind of person; it’s difficult to talk to people if you struggle with eye contact, and the internet safely takes the possibility of this away. The hope is that before you’ve grasp, that you can manage to have perfectly lovely conversations with people without realising how awkward you would have been before. All because you’ve had the buffer of the internet as a safe space to be able to learn to make contact with other people, about things you are interested in. This is the upside of spending so much time on the internet; you have the chance to mould yourself in a positive way, and you learn to be yourself. The flip side is, however, the point at which you can only interact online, and begin to spend all of your waking hours in this detached, almost dream-like state of yourself where you are allowed to present yourself any way you wish. To a point, it’s a good thing. It’s when this is the only way you know how to be, to the detriment of interacting with anybody else – to the point where you are scared and nervous to be away from this ‘support group’ for any length of time – when you have to take a step back and wonder if you are taking part in life at all. The problem is that you begin to exist as a separate being, almost, and the reality you have chosen to be constantly interacting with is removed, and intangible, and never good enough. Living in this one-step-removed dream state is good for a while, but it can never quite fully replicate the reassurance you could get from a person who could talk to you face to face. I’m not trying to suggest friends you meet online aren’t real, but there does come a point when you need to tell yourself that you need something more. Dreams are all well and good, but I can say from experience that reality can offer so much more.
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Thomas Gane
written by Helen Edworthy
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Helen did actually once fall asleep and wake up in the internet, or at least she thinks so, it could have been XL
Tuesday 30th April 2013
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Forget everything you know bathimpact.tumblr.com
WHO GABBY??????
written by Iwan Best
Imagine a world in your mind where unicorns would be more common than Jeremy Kyle who would always present his show on horeseback, or unicornback. whatever!
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eing eleven years old is much more fun than being twenty-three. Okay I get to drink, but eleven year old me got to chase make believe monsters with water pistols in the back garden and pretend he was in a bobsleigh team, riding his skateboard down the drive on his arse (he was a lonely-only child). Did you wish all those things were real? That the goal posts at the end of the garden really were at Wembley? I did. How many times did you ever try bending a spoon using the power of your mind? Use the force to pass the TV remote / cup / lightsaber? Wake up early because you’re so sure that today is the day you’ll get your Hogwarts letter? Real life is so boring. Not least as a student in the weeks leading up to exams. I mean, did Harry ever actually do any studying? And didn’t Dumbledore just cancel exams all together one year? Would Harry have even realised that you’re not supposed to use rhetorical questions unnecessarily? It’s not exactly like they actually had any English lessons, or any lessons vaguely relevant to life beyond fighting Dementors. Your life will (almost certainly) never be that interesting, easy, or lived in such close proximity to Emma Watson. Would you change that if you could? And would it matter that it wasn’t real? I’ve always found these ideas interesting and while that could have led to a successful academic career in philosophy, it has instead led to having watched the Matrix more times than is normal. I, like Neo, am sure that there is something wrong in the world but unlike him I think they could best be summarised as ‘animal cruelty, One Direction and George Osbourne’. If only I could be unplugged from these. Neo on the other hand becomes a physical manifestation (or not physical?(“what is real, Neo?”(my head hurts))) of George Berkeley’s ideas about philosophy. Berkeley tells us that there isn’t even an external world anyway, just our ideas of it, and calls it ‘subjective idealism’. If you can make yourself look past the fact that he basically made it all up because Newton had just effectively disproved the idea of any kind of God (“what is real, Neo?”) and, as a Bishop, this upset Berkeley significantly, then it makes for fascinating reading. Summaries of his theory could easily serve as Empire’s 1999 review of the Matrix, but having actually read Empire, I’d imagine it read something more like ‘Special fx good. Use lots of green.
That’s art. Recommended for fans of: Die Hard’ Berkeley would have said that the most interesting question that the film provides us with is ‘would you want to be unplugged?’ For the uneducated (watch it, I promise it’s better than whatever Rob Schneider is releasing this month (just checked - ‘InAPPropriate Comedy’, 2.3/10 on IMDB)) there is an important scene in which Cypher (who’s a total dick) sells out Neo & co in exchange for being ‘plugged back in’ to the matrix. It means that he’ll go back to living in the computer generated false reality where he’ll be programmed as a rich and famous dick, which he finds more appealing than remaining ‘free’ as a poor and hungry dick (was that really so hard now Morpheus? “No one can tell you what the Matrix is” my arse). The idea that if we could create a perfect reality and enter it forever in a dream-like state where we thought we were awake, would we? I mean, what do you think William Shatner really used the holodeck for? I’d like to think that I’d naturally desire freedom over the perfect illusion. But maybe then I’m just doing exactly what the architect knows I’ll do (what is real?). Would it be worth it? Whilst on one hand it could be a world in which Americans don’t arrest people in front of the whole world without even reading them their rights and Everything Everything aren’t headlining the summer ball (seriously, Cancer Bats are playing Moles the same night, do you really want to see the Chip Shop Boys again that badly?). Having said that what if the ‘real’ (what is real?) world doesn’t have cats? To be honest, unless I’m Neo, I can’t say I’d be massively keen on the whole unplugging thing. It looks painful, and nobody else gets to fly across a sort of green New York accompanied by a Rage Against the Machine soundtrack. The question posed is not a new one, but is certainly asked more directly here. Luke knew that ending his training and flying to Cloud City to save Leia was a really bad idea. The illusion he has created where he would save the day and defeat Vader was so strong that despite the wisest Jedi of all time telling him it will mean the end of all of his kind and hand victory to the Emperor, he heads off anyway. He definitely still wanted to bang her. Leonard in Memento (SPOILERS) knows what he’s doing when he refuses to let himself remember the truth and SURELY somewhere deep down Juliet
would have thought “well I really like Romeo, he’s sort of a cool guy, but I’m fourteen and I’ve known him for like two days so maybe I shouldn’t drink this poison”. The desire in films and literature, especially for love, is strong enough to ignore what we deep down know to be true. Can the same be said for the real (what is real?) world? Robert Nozick devised a thought experiment (an experiment for lazy people) to show that “ethical hedonism was false”. He basically created what scientists (should) call the ‘William Shatner Sticky Holodeck Conundrum’ which asked if scientists invented a machine where you could have your brain ‘stimulated to induce pleasurable experiences’ but weren’t aware that it was an illusion (what is real?), would you? He claimed that it is not rational to be plugged in. To be honest, the whole thing sounds a bit untoward anyway. Just in case I’m one away from the ‘most unnecessary popular culture references in one bite article’ award, I feel like I should close this out like Stan would. I learned something today. Maybe sometimes life is shit. Revising for exams is difficult because for the last year when I should have been studying I was watching the Matrix over and over. Maybe life for some of you is really really shit right now, and the troubles you deal with every single day, without any due recognition, is a testament to your strength. Because you could unplug yourself really. Free will exists somewhere because I don’t believe the oracle really exists. They are, and must be, mutually exclusive. You could run, hide, leave university, leave the country, ignore responsibilities, apply to be an extra on Vikings (one more to be safe) but you don’t. Because freedom doesn’t have to mean the ability to run and hide. Sometimes freedom is the ability to see what’s really there, to assess what you want to do and to actually do it. Not because you have to, but because you want to. But then again, maybe I’m saying this because I have to. Shit. P.S. I just looked up the Hogwarts exams being cancelled. It was because Salazar Slytherin let loose a Basilisk in the plumbing. A quick glance at candidates from our alumni suggests Millwall fc’s chairman as probably the best option. Maybe we could ask him to get some of their ‘fans’ to fight amongst themselves in the library. Glynis would have to do a Dumbledore then.
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Tuesday 30th April 2013
Lad culture’s growing accptance
bite
written by Jessica Walsh
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t’s a common sight on a night out, a group of young men surrounding a lone girl on a night out and offering her drinks, if she refuses she is considered to be frigid and is often continually harassed with men seeing her as a challenge. The worrying aspect is that many girls now consider this the norm and accept crude sexual comments and touching as a normal part of a night out. It is after all only seen as ‘banter’ and nothing serious. This is something I have experienced first-hand, despite identifying as a lesbian. Although most men are respectful, it is guaranteed that at least once during a night out a man will ask to be involved in a threesome, or offer to ‘convert’ me to heterosexuality. In one instance during a night out in Bristol I was followed into the female toilets by man and this continued all night. This sort of intimidation cannot simply be accepted as a part of life. Sexism can often be linked to ‘lad culture’ which is prevalent around most universities. This culture is fuelled by excessive consumption of alcohol and an attempt to gain ‘lad points’, which often come from sleeping with as many girls as possible. This has led many male students to embark on nights out with the intention of pulling as many ‘sluts’ and ‘whores’ as possible, seeing them as merely a means to gaining points. I have even spoken to a few girls who are reluctant to attend the club night Score, an event for sports teams, due to the predatory nature of some sports clubs who focus rather aptly around ‘scoring’. This culture is emulated in Facebook pages such as Uni Lad which represents women as mere sex objects, often judging their worth on how aesthetically attractive they are, with little consideration for their intelligence or other attributes. This culture is not only a problem for females, but also affects male students. Polly Williams, a Senior Policy Adviser for the Equality Challenge Unit stated how “a dominant lad culture may also damage the experience of many male students who either feel they have to conform, or become disengaged from campus life to avoid it.” The study ‘That’s What She Said’ by the National Union of Students underlines how these views are quickly becoming ingrained in university culture. The study claims that 50% of students have been exposed to sexist attitudes, harassment and lad culture. The NUS findings reported that nightclub owners often promoted lad culture in students within their establishments in order to promote their image. This sexism was also seen to go beyond the clubbing scene and evade everyday life, with many students reporting sexist and misogynistic conversation as the norm. Even more shocking were the findings of the ‘Hidden Mark’s’ study, a nationwide report investigating female students experiences within universities. It found that 68% of participants had been a victim of sexual harassment on campus during their time as a student and that students were overwhelmingly the majority of perpetrators. Olivia Bailey the NUS Women’s Officer claimed that “Women students can be left feeling like they are to blame for the violence committed against them.”. Lad culture no doubt helps to contribute to this as women are left feeling as though sexism at university is normal and are not encouraged to report harassment. Despite this, many people consider sexism to be a thing of the past and deem feminists who continue to campaign against inequality as ‘feminazi’s’, a highly derogatory term. The Everyday Sexism project was launched as an attempt to expose how sexism evades everyday life. Thousands of experiences have been submitted by women around the world. The project unveils sexism in all walks of life, including university and the clubbing scene where one woman stated that she couldn’t count the number of times she’s been groped in a club. It is shocking that many students see this as perfectly acceptable behaviour, even acting to encourage it at times. For many people, university is considered the place where teenagers are able to grow into adults and are shaped into the people they will be for the rest of their lives. If this underlying sexism is allowed to continue it will not bode well for the future of women’s rights. So if you ever go out with the intention of adding to your ‘slut chart’, think about how that reflects on you as a person!
Charlotte May Godfrey
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Are the boys already corrupted, or is it lad culture that’s creating a breeding ground for socially accepted sexism?
Tuesday 30th April 2013
bite
7
The ever present news cycle
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tigerlillyshop
written by Lily Morris
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ecause we can now get every tiny detail of ongoing events, it is tempting to sit and stare and watch as things unfold. Twitter, CNN, and Reddit all showed themselves to be unreliable sources of news in the week following the Boston marathon bombing, so following the minutiae of tragedies often doesn’t even help with understanding them. Likewise, even if you listened into the police radio scanner, at times the police didn’t know what was going on – and left listeners feeling dazed and confused, and above all scared. And that’s not good. The easiest way to not let these kinds of events get to you is to stay away from the news. Get a trusted friend to pass onto you the important details, but without the soundbites of explosions or photos of gore. This makes it easier not to dwell on things: words can be a lot less emotional or triggering than seeing and hearing events over again, and it is easier to move on with your day. A week or two after an event, there will be more impartial analysis around the internet, and less emotion. If you’re still curious about a story, that is the time to start reading, but in moderation. Anywhere from one to five years after the event, depending on its complexity and severity, the official reports and investigations will start to publish their results and findings. At this point, you can be sure that instead of reading breathless speculation you have real facts at your hands, and these reports often include changes to be made moving forward, which can be comforting. If hearing for the first time about the Kings Cross fire of 1987 freaked you out, reading the latter part of the report which makes safety recommendations for things to be changed, and then the long list of things which are now done differently can make you feel a lot more positive. In twenty-five years, we will no doubt have improved public security systems, just as fire safety on mass transit has improved immeasurably. The truth is, for every bridge that collapses and kills ten people, or every freak rainstorm that ruins people’s livelihoods, there are thousands of bridges that don’t collapse, and thousands of livelihoods that aren’t ruined. It’s easy to forget the good news, because it doesn’t make it to the news. But that doesn’t make it irrelevant. So instead of endlessly scrolling through your favourite online news networks, go and look at cats smiling on YouTube, browse Gives Me Hope, or pick up a copy of bite for your fortnightly dose of laughter and sarcasm.
Review: Hit the Deck Fest While informative, 24 hour news can create a lot of stress amongst their viewers
it The Deck is an annual pop punk and hardcore festival which had its maiden Bristol date this year. Originating in Nottingham, the one day festival takes place in venues all around the city and in Bristol took over the O2 arena, The Fleece, The Thekla and The Exchange. Starting at an ungodly 12:30, the first massive band to take the main stage were Mallory Knox. Having experienced a surge in popularity since their debut full length Signals was released in January, the already packed O2 weren’t disappointed. Sonic Boom Six then got the room bouncing before Attack Attack! showed why they were the hardcore scene’s sole main stage representatives. Out of the main stage bands I caught, the show stealers were undoubtedly We Are The Ocean, showing why they’re being tipped as the next big stars of the UK alternative scene. Roaring through massive hits from three incredible albums, they sounded like a band far beyond their years, they made it hard to believe that they weren’t headlining shows like this yet. Heading over to the Thekla I caught the end of pop punk veterans Army of Freshman’s set before heading upstairs to the Acoustic Stage. It was here that the beauty of these events was to be found. Vinnie Caruana, lead singer of the awesome I Am The Avalanche and now disbanded Movielife delivered a show stopping set which had every single person in the room gripped to every word from start to finish. Incredibly though, there were only twelve other people in the room. With this in mind, I momentarily gave up on commercially successful music and decided not to walk back to the O2 for We Are The In Crowd and headliners Don Broco, but stayed at the Thekla for Pure Love. Who were shit. Just shows you can’t win them all.
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written by Iwan Best
bite’s picks: Pure Love - Classic rock and roll from ex-punk Frank Carter. Listen to: Bury my bones, Handsome Devils club. Don Broco - Rising stars of the alternative scene and festival headliners. Listen to: Priorities, Whole Truth WATO - Post punk band from Essex with an incredibkly energetic live show. Listen to: The waiting room, Bleed Vinnie Caruana - Ex punk turned solo singersongwriter from America. Listen to: The drinking song, Somehow the world keeps turning Sonic Boom Six - Ska punk rockers from Manchester who combine multiple genres into a cacophony of awesome. Listen to: Piggy In The Middle, Keep on Believing
Ex-Gallows frontman Frank Carter with new band Pure Love at Hit the Deck Festival
Tuesday 30th April 2013
Bath Beauties:
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Trends Caught On Campus Written by Sophia Guilfoyle
JACKET WITH COMBINATION SLEEVES ZARA £59.99
Photographer: CalebWheelerRobinson
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bathimpact.tumblr.com MONOCHROME BUTTERFLY LUREX CHIFFON SCARF ACCESSORIZE £12
This blonde beauty is rocking a look that makes her look fabulous and chic. I love the combination of sophisticated black trousers accessorised with pale neutral tones, it really compliments her pale hair. Her sheer top is elegant and feminine which contrasts with her sassy wedged boots. This look is easy to achieve, matching a light jacket would transform this into the perfect Spring look.
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his week I went scouting for fashionistas on campus to show that students at Bath really do have great taste. I found an abundance of ladies who looked chic and sophisticated in their high-street (and sometimes designer!) outfits and accessories, and boys who prove that picking the right clothes really does make a difference!
Tuesday 30th April 2013
bite bite
NEON CLOUDS SWEATSHIRT BELOVED SHIRTS $59.00
VINTAGE SURPLUS 90’S STEAM SUNGLASSES URBAN OUTFITTERS £16
COMBINED WEDGE ZARA £49.99
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Swedish beauty Caroline looks refined and classy in her ZARA blazer – a real favourite. The delicate pale green tone works wonders with her blonde hair and Caroline continues this theme of soft colours by matching her blazer with a very pale silver shimmer jumper from River Island and accessorises with a SNO beaded necklace with silver and white tones. A very feminine look, we will all be eternally jealous!
Yuanita Noviana caught my eye with her unique style. And I was right about her individuality – Nita makes her own clothes! Nita designed and created her bespoke striped top, and lucky for you she doesn’t keep all of her creations, she sells them online too! Nita looks glam with her leather jacket (from Indonesia), her knee high wedged boots, and of course of Louis Vuitton sling bag.
BLOCKPRINT SKINNY TROUSERS H&M $42.00
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50-50 OVER KNEEBOOT KURT GEIGER £395.00
Carolina, another fashion-hungry Swedish blonde, shows off her casual look with her high-waisted playful trousers from H&M. A great buy for the summer months to come as they’ll keep you cool and comfy, they provide the perfect alternative to having too much leg out with shorts! I love the print on these trousers, Carolina creates a really individual look. She perfects her outfit with a Kurt Geiger scarf and a leather jacket from Acne. Bag the featured Block Print Skinny Trousers from H&M for £42.00 this Spring. They will spice up any outfit! I think I scared Chris a little with my enthusiasm for his outfit, but he looks edgy and outgoing with his red and black jazzy ASOS jumper. He’s a high-street enthusiast with his striped TOPMAN shorts, his Diesel belt and his Fred Perry bag. But he’s got the look down to a tee as he was also spotted for Mariannah Vintage’s best dressed page, so he’s clearly in the know! Check out the amazingly creative BELOVEDSHIRTS website. They’ve found a niche in the market with those hipsters out there. They take awesome high resolution photos and print them onto sweatshirts, hoodies and iPhone covers! This zipped bag from TOPSHOP I absolutely love, big enough to keep your wordly possessions safe on a night out, but small enough not to be a nuisance, it is the perfect bag! Grab some wedges for the summer season - not too girly and flowery like most summer wedges on offer, these will keep you looking classy and fabulous all summer long!
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DIESEL BAUSY SERVICE CINTURA BELT BLACK GREY LEATHER £40
WOVEN BOX CHAIN BAG TOPSHOP £30.00
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Tuesday 30th April 2013
bite
Review : Tape Deck Heart
bathimpact.tumblr.com
written by Robert Page
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ton College. Some of you may have visited it, some of you might celebrate it, some of you may resent it and, because this is Bath, some of you may have even been educated at it. Whatever your opinion happens to be there can be no argument that the famous old school boasts alumni that our country can be really proud of. We have Eton to thank for George Orwell, Ranulph Feinnes, Spencer Mathews and Boris Johnson, amongst many others. There is however another Old Etonian, a lad from Hampshire who attended Eton on a scholarship and who we should celebrate as an example of what this country is really all about, what it is we do. His name is Frank Turner. Tape Deck Heart is Turner’s fifth studio album, although it doesn’t have the feel of an album from such an experienced artist. Widespread success has only been on the cards for Turner since the release of his last album ‘England Keep My Bones’. By their 5th LP, most artists have gone a bit ‘experimental’ but not so with TDH, if you love his previous work than this is an album for you. If you’ve never heard his work before, the album is free of the sense that you’ve missed out on the narrative somehow by not listening to his, rather extensive, back catalogue. With 18 tracks in total, this is not an album lacking in depth, indeed this is the main problem with the album. There are two albums worth of material stuffed into one here and with an artist such as Frank Turner that means its two albums worth of message packed into one. Not a good thing. It’s confused, after listening your left unsure what the album is about, if it even has an underlying message at all. There is too much fragmentation between ideas, it is clear how opinionated Turner is and that’s not a bad thing in itself but there are songs here about love, loss, alternative culture, tattoos and absolutely everything in between. As individual songs, they are all outstanding, but grouped together as an album the songs just don’t really click (although that said this issue is more prevalent in the deluxe edition, with the 12 track standard album focusing much more intensely on love, loss and self-reflection). Highlights include lead single ‘Recovery’, the sentimental ‘The Way I Tend To Be’ and, for me, the outstanding song on the record ‘We Shall Not Overcome’. For days the lyrics “The bands I like don’t sell too many records and the girls I like don’t kiss too many boys / The books I read will never be best-sellers but come on fellas at least we made our choice” have been going round and round my head. Frank Turner is an outstanding talent only now getting the recognition he deserves. Tape Deck Heart is a really good album but the problem is, it’s actually two really good albums, instead of one truly great one.
Review: The Place Beyond the Pines M
written by Ron Morrow
ost times I leave the cinema I’m the chattiest man on the planet, talking nonstop about the bits I enjoyed, the bits that annoyed me, and everything in between. Sometimes though, I leave the cinema speechless. This was one of those times. The Place Beyond the Pines is a great film, and for better or worse the way it’s story is told is unlike anything else. Ryan Gosling plays Handsome Luke, a man with incredible skill on a motorbike, a questionable past, and more tattoos than most would find acceptable. After discovering that a past fling (Eva Mendes) had his child, he drops everything in a misguided attempt to provide and be there for the baby. After failing to generate enough money on minimum wage, bank robberies become a much more appealing option. Fresh faced street cop Avery (Bradley Cooper) steps up in an attempt to bring Luke down, subsequently becoming the star of the show. TPBtP’s story isn’t nearly as simple as it appears on the surface. While granted the robberies Luke commits form a centric part of the plot, the main themes can be much better described as paternity and transference. Both Luke and Avery have young children and the film touches heavily on how the interactions between father and son heavily affects their outcome. The film spans a good number of years in total, in effect telling three different stories instead of one three-act story. While this does work, creating an engaging and interesting plot, the set up required to introduce each new section slows the pace dramatically. The end result being a long film with some sections that can’t hold attention spans long enough. While no particular character can be said to have enough screen time for any one performance to dominate, both Gosling and Cooper give brilliant renditions as mirrors of one another. The duality that exists between them works very well and both capture the mood effectively. The shooting style adapts to reflect each section too, with some very impressive extensive single shots. The Place Beyond the Pines suffers something of an identity crisis, being unsure whether to focus its attention on the characters themselves or the links that connect them. However, it still stands tall as an example of what can be achieved when the standard model is disregarded. It makes for an interesting watch and gives the viewer just enough to spark their critical thought process. 7.5/10
Tuesday 30th April 2013
bite
Nicole C. Kilbert
bite meets fergie10
The Guide
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11
Levi Roots!
It’s been a few years since you slayed the dragons and the Reggae Reggae brand just keeps going from strength to strength. Forgive the pun, but what’s your recipe for this success? We are fearless and we have a great team. That’s what business is about. A lot of people tend to see the entrepreneur as a sort of lone wolf, but it’s not, the real entrepreneur will tell you that it’s all about building the right team around you that let you see what you need to do. And we have a fantastic team around us so because of that we know that the future is bright. I have a brilliant mentor, one of the best, in Phil Jones from Dragons Den so with him and the team around me we all know that the future is really bright for us and for the brand.
We’ve got a very large business department here at Bath, do you have any tips for any budding entrepreneurs out there?
Music
Film
Dave Hause, Friday 3rd May at Exchange, Bristol. Tickets: £9
Daleks’ Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D., Sunday 5th May, 14:45 at Little Theatre, Bath. Tickets: £5.50
The loved ones vocalist/guitarist is kicking off a summer of gigs and festival dates with this gig at the atmospheric Exchange. Look out for his awaited 7” singles on coloured vinyl.
“Peter Cushing stars as the eccentric Time Lord in Flemyng’s second Who adventure. Introduced by author and renowned Dr Who expert Cavan Scott, who will be signing his brand new book Who-ology.” Littler Theatre
The Twang + Cast, Friday 10th May at O2 Academy, Bristol. Tickets: £16
From the Wings Over America Tour, Wednesday 22nd May, 20:30 at Little Theatre, Bath. Tickets: £5.50
Birmingham’s fated sons The Twang co-headline with Brit Pop legends: Cast, who Noel Gallegher once dubbed as “a religious experience”. The two bands both have an urban anthemic rock sound which really grip a live crowd.
A concert film of Wings’ 1976 tour of the US, directed by Paul McCartney and publicly unavailable until recently, the film features 30 songs from four concerts.
Dave Hause has been touring the with Gaslight Anthem and is a seasoned act, with a great folk rock sound
Beans on Toast with Oxygen Theif, Thursday 16th May at Moles, Bath. Tickets: Free ‘til 12 Beans ‘Jay’ on Toast brings from Essex his unique, and brilliant drunk-folky-political-slurs, supported by the energetic folk punk soloist Oxygen Theif.
This House, Thursday 16th May, 19:00 at Little Theatre, Bath. Tickets: £5.50 A critically acclaimed fictional account of machinations in British politics leading up to the vote of no confidence in James Callaghan’s government in 1979, set in the palace of Westminster.
Well, the immortal tip from me is always about mentoring because I feel that is a very valuable point. You always need someone who knows more than you and give you some advice, whether that’s professional advice, legal advice or business advice and it’s about getting these things in place before you even start your business plan so they can guide you. So that would be my mine piece of advice is to get yourself mentor, a real proper one. And as we’ve seen today, you’re not just a businessman or a cook, you’re also a musician. So are you a cook who plays music or a musician who cooks? [Laughs] That’s a good question! I don’t really know what I am, man. I just like doing both things, although I’m glad you said cook and not a chef as I’m definitely not a chef. I’m just somebody who just enjoys cooking and because Caribbean is such a new cuisine I seem to be the guy that is at the forefront of it in the UK, but there are many other Caribbean cooks out there who could call themselves chefs. I would tend to think that I am more of a musician, and then the cooking comes after. Your live shows are quite different to what a lot of people might be used to, is it odd bringing the sunny music of the Caribbean to rainy Britain? It’s a contrast and this is what reggae brings, this free spirit that allows it to land whether ever it goes and I think it creates a very chilled vibe. Then I also always have my daughter singing with me and I always say it’s about family values. My daughter was with me iwhen the sauce was developed and she’s always on stage with me and that’s how we want it to be. It’s all about the family, man.
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Tuesday 30th April 2013
To be Jon Hamm
written by Benjiman Butcher
bite
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e meet in the same bar every night. The bottles scattered across the shelves, the oak panelled walls blackened by the smoke, dampened by the humid sweat. On the stage, the greasy haired pianist lulls the patrons into a trance, anticipating the tips his weary audience never leaves. As usual, the rugged man by the bar spares his drink the attention and looks up at me. As usual, a reluctant wink and a melancholy smile is all he can muster. It’s been a rough day for us all. This was never the life any of us wanted. This was never any of our dreams to end up in a sorry little bar like this. I approach the bar and make a hazy hand gesture, but the bar-tender understands. He pours me a drink. A whisky. Neat. I mutter my gratitude, he returns the grumble. For five straight minutes, I stare at my liquor; it never goes down well, but it’s the best thing this bar sells. Then, it happens. Then she enters the bar. I don’t look at her at first, even though everyone else does. They have to. She pulls up the stool next to me and I catch her in the corner of my eye. I see her pitch black hair and her perfect curves. I can feel the velvet of her dress as if it were touching my own skin. I smell her perfume as it runs up my nose. She catches the barman’s attention with a similar hand movement. I can’t resist: “Let me get that drink for you.” The whole room holds its breath. The pianist stops. The barman’s eyes dance between both of us, mouth open. “Gracias.” She replies. The music continues and our audience returns to their conversations. A couple mutter jealousies amongst themselves. “Gringos,” they say, “first they take our pride, and then they take our women”. I turn my head for the first time almost in harmony with this beautiful creature sitting next to me. Her hair falls back revealing her face. The dark brown eyes, the red lipstick, the perfectly tanned skin; it’s all the same. So is the conversation. “What’s a broad like you doing in a bar like this?” “I see pain behind those eyes.” “The only cure for heartbreak is to fill it with passion”. Within minutes we fly out of the doors into the humid air. The buildings loom over us, watching us two, the young lovers, as we begin our ascent to pleasure. We run home laughing, skipping in our glee. I burst open my door and throw her on the sofa, ripping off her velvet dress like it’s a godforsaken rag. Her lips never leave mine, the sweat running off our bodies as they collide together in an ecstasy of tumbling. I feel her perfect skin, as she strokes my glands with flawless rhythm. She gasps as we fall into other; the connection pure bliss. She moves up and down on me, never stopping for a moment. I throw her on her back and take the reins; she was never one for mucking about. Our lust is unstoppable. Our passion unbridled. For what seems like a lifetime we are lost in each other. We never stop to think about the consequences, our desire only ending as we climax. This is it. This is life. She rolls back towards me, the hair covering her face. “It was everything I could’ve wanted it to be” As she falls off my softening cock, we pause for a moment. Exhausted, I force out the few words I can. “How was that?” I smile. A smile I haven’t done before in a long while. I lift my quivering hand and pull her hair back:
“MUM!” I shoot up. Not again. Not fucking again. Every time. Every time the dream gets good, she appears. How many times does my subconscious fool for it. I’m not in South America. I hate whisky. Bars with that much smoke in them make me nauseous. I may need to get those mother issues sorted though. An hour after waking from my dream and shamefully putting my sheets into the wash, I’m on campus. God, Bath is so much more boring than Buenos Aires. The Plug doesn’t match up to my imaginary bar much at all. The women aren’t quite the same either. There’s fat ones, skinny ones, preppy ones, slutty ones, clever ones; they’re just all too real. I’m smoking now. When I smoke, I imagine I’m a 1960’s ad-man in New York City. It helps me process the cancer a lot better. After all, Don Draper smokes, drinks and pops aspirin all within minutes of each other and he married January Jones. It’s aspirational television. I just feel like when he does it, it’s a lot cooler. When I do it, it’s cold, I’m alone and the only company I have is a ravenous seagull who only joins me when there’s food left on the Parade tables. Life is a lot more exciting when we pretend. It’s a lot more exciting when others pretend with us. When I was younger I could get away with convincing my parents I was an astronaut or a fireman or a zoo vet. Now I can’t convince anyone of anything. The only people I can convince of stuff are the people in my dreams, but they have to listen to me. I’m their life source. They say that everyone we see in our dreams has, at some point, crossed paths with us in reality. That worries me, because at some point I have met the Latina lover of my dreams. It means that at some point I walked past her and didn’t notice her. I didn’t get the chance to meet her, or woo her, or fuck her. What would I do if I was to see her again? The more I think about a fantasy, the more it hurts. What would I do if I spoke every language? How would I react if I was told I had one week to live? Where would I run to if I finally murdered that girl who refuses to acknowledge me? The more I think about every possible option, every possible destiny, the more I realise that I am simply escaping the thing I fear most: reality. Reality is a bitch. I won’t marry that Latina girl. Chances are I probably vomited on her during a coke-filled night in Argentina whilst traveling. I’ll end up marrying a perfectly fine brunette girl, she’ll have BA from a fine university, she’ll be fine at speaking Spanish and she’ll get on fine with my family. I won’t learn every language. No matter how bad I treat my body, I’ll probably just die in a car crash with no predetermined warning. I won’t murder the girl, and will never have to opportunity to watch her bones dissolve in my bathtub. All these things exist in the caves of my imagination. They are a nice place to escape to when I’m bored with myself, but there is no portal that will transport them to the forefront of my life. Unless we find said portal, I am stuck in this very real world till the day I die. But what would I say if I did see the Latina girl again?
Tuesday 30th April 2013
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Ever Dreaming written by John Barlow
Prone in fields of blue Shadow floating free Eyes closed, earth quick leaving Clock melting, Time slow seeping Lost like years ago Grin cradled golden grass such a state Suns gaze melts worlds Realities meet in hazy eyes Breathe in. Open wide That shell That husk you call man Start tune and listen Strings, brass, wood and wind Breaks though mist Sets true mission Enthralled by squall By body rapture Letters and words Merge and mash Collide, yet never fail to capture Now Shadows pass The grass does weep The soul still stirs Ripples spread round heavy feet Rhythm owns the second The minute owned by Rhyme Why bother counting days When music holds all time So embrace the vision; Safe haven yet coffin. Open ears, Embrace love, Come; Join the Restless dead. Become the ever dreaming.
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Tuesday 30th April 2013
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I’ll huff and I’ll puff, but you won’t
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written by bite’s sex columnist
I
Dear Lucy and Edie,
Dear Lucy and Edie,
It’s my dream to write an erotic novel based on sports, but I’m struggling to get metaphors and innuendos in there. Any help would be really appreciated.
I have really vivid sex dreams to the point where things often end embarrassingly in the morning. I’m going on a weekend trip in a few weeks with some new friends and we’re all sharing a room. I’m really worried that I’m going to have a really intense dream while we’re away and that everyone will discover my secret. Please help!
Thundershead That isn’t a balloon, the balloon is in her mind, balloons are so patriarchal!
t’s all coming to a head. After a cocktail or two, talk often turns to tales of cock. Blow jobs seem to be one of the most discussed topics among girlfriends, and, of course, their male counterparts. Whilst the majority of men see the blow job as the Ferrari of sex, women don’t seem to be as eager. That said, I appreciate that not every man enjoys getting head, and not every woman dislikes giving it. The question is: what makes women protest so much about giving oral sex? Many women have argued in the past that giving oral sex is degrading and goes against the values of feminism. ‘Servicing your man’ has been criticised by feminists the world over because it implies female inferiority and suggests male dominance. Some women are quick to argue that, despite being comfortable with giving blow jobs, they feel that it’s unjust that they get nothing in return – blow jobs are the subject of many male conversations, with jokes about gagging and facials to the unfairness of the once-a-year ‘birthday blowie’, but there is rarely talk about pleasuring your female partner in the same way. Feminists cite this as the main problem: giving is fine as long as you get something back. They are striving for equality, after all; and what better place to start than the bedroom? Interestingly, a lot of women see giving head as their chance to prove that they have the upper hand. Instead of seeing it is a vessel of male dominance, women see themselves as the superior; forcing their man into submission through sexual desire. It’s often argued that men have untameable sexual urges, so, despite being on your knees, you have complete control over whether or not those urges get fulfilled. NEW LINES!!!! If giving head is your choice, surely that counts as a feminist action? As women, we make thousands of decision every day: a lot of us choose to wear makeup and dresses and heels – not because we are submissive to society and the ‘female’ silhouette and stereotype that has been created for us, but because we want to. A lot of women choose to give head because they want to. And, if anyone’s going to be accused of being submissive, it should be the man involved – after all, their most vulnerable body part is at risk of attack by your incisors! So is it all just a question of politics or is there something more to the female resistance to giving head? Women with no particularly strong feminist views seem just as hesitant to go down as the Emily Pankhursts among us. Is it the taste, the sensation, the fact that we do actually have gag reflexes or just the fact that it’s a penis and it’s in the wrong hole? Or is it maybe the fact that we’re scared of doing it wrong? There seems to be an opinion that men take longer to learn how to please women, and, more importantly, that that’s okay. When it comes to pleasuring a woman, a lot of the work seems to come from the woman herself: it’s perfectly fine to teach a man how your body works; to show him what you like and to give him time to learn how to hit the spot, and, often, where to actually find that spot. But when it comes to giving your man what he wants, it seems that you’re somehow meant to know exactly what he likes. It often feels like you’re expected to go in there, nipples blazing, porn-star noises at the ready and give him the best blow job of his life. So far, so unfair. Maybe it is a feminist issue, or a question of religion, or principles, or taste-buds. Or maybe it’s simply the fact that men are allowed to be bad in bed but women aren’t. At the end of the day though, sex is sex, and you can say what you like about the great ‘to give or not to give’ debate. Just remember not to talk with your mouth full.
Agony Aunts Lucy and Edie Lots of love, Alex
Soggy-sheeted Anon
Dear Alex,
Dear Anon,
We too have that dream and so have a few pre-prepared sports-related sexual anecdotes. The most obvious one relates to balls, so make some kind of reference to ‘holding balls’; ‘ball bags’ and ‘humungous balls’. Try out a few lines to do with badminton, or ‘bad-menton’, as you should refer to it from now on. Word plays around shuttlecocks are always hilarious and sexy, much like us agony aunts. Our personal favourite has to be: ‘I’m going to shuttle my cock right in your face right after badminton practice, you minx’.
I could just tell you that this kind of thing is normal, that everyone goes through it and that it’s nothing to be embarrassed about. But we both know that that won’t help. Sleep is scary in that we never really have full control over our minds and bodies. So why not try lucid dreaming? It involves controlling your dreams whilst you are asleep and might really help you to stop having such wild sex dreams. Or you could try switching up your diet and seeing if not eating cheese or drinking alcohol makes a difference. Or, of course, you could just embrace it. Your new friends might be surprised. But they might also be really impressed.
Happy writing! Have fun and let loose, Lucy and Edie Lucy and Edie
Tuesday 30th April 2013
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Real Dream Desserts written by Lily Morris
When essays and problem sheets and exams get you down, one of the easiest ways to remember that life isn’t all against you is to eat something delicious. Here are two of my top picks.
The best ever flapjacks This is a recipe that has been handed down through my family: the flapjacks that result are gooey and delicious and so much better than the ones you can get from a supermarket.
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Heat 100g caster sugar, 100g butter or oil, and 100g golden syrup in a pan over a gentle heat. Don’t boil the liquid: you just want to melt the sugar and butter. Keep stirring, to make sure nothing burns to the bottom of the pan.
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Press into a lined square tin – a 20cm square brownie tin works but so does a roasting tin. Bake at 140˚ C for 20 minutes, and then leave to cool. Cut into portions and hide from your housemates!
4 garethedwards36
Take the pan off the heat, and mix in 225g oats and a handful of dried fruit, nuts, or chocolate chips if you want them until all of the oats are fully coated.
For all you chocolate lovers out there, you can also drizzle in (or pour) chocolate for that extra bit of decadence.
Kentberry Says
Banana bread Lots of recipes for banana bread use huge amounts of bananas and eggs, which really defeat the point of it as a way to use up leftovers in your fridge. This recipe uses American cup measures, which are roughly equal to 240ml – if you have a small (250ml) mug it will work just as well.
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In a large bowl, mix together 1 large banana (the riper the better), 1 egg with enough milk added to it to make 1 cup of liquid in total, 1 cup of butter or margarine, 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder, 1.5 cups of flour (and 1 teaspoon of baking powder if you used plain flour), and one cup of sugar.
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When it’s fully mixed, add a crapload (technical term there…) of chocolate chips, and put into a standard 2lb loaf tin (I use a silicone one which makes the washing up process easy) and into an oven at 180˚C for 50-55 minutes. When it’s done, a knife or skewer put into the cake will come out clean – or very nearly clean.
Sa
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Leave to cool or serve warm, tastes great on its own or with something spreadable like butter, but before you do that, stick a banana in the top and discuise it as a shark to really scare the rest of the gang in the bread bin.
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Tuesday 30th April 2013
bite
Puzzle Corner Sudoku
Horoscopes bathimpact.tumblr.com
CalcuDoku
Taurus
April 21 - May 20
Great happiness and relief will soon be entering your life, praise be for laxatives
Gemini May 21 - June 20
bite would just like to offer apologies to anyone who does believe in astrology and has been offended by our PAHAHA I can’t even finish it. Fucking idiots
Medium
1
Leo
July 22 - August 22
Dingbats
You’ve been tempted Leo but be strong. A crack habit can be debilitating and take over your life and ...have you get any? Seriously dude, I’ll suck you off, work the pipe , cradle the balls, swallow the load, just give me a hit, man, one hit
2
3
June 21 - July 21
You’ve been restless because you’re not sure if you’re satisfying your partner, but fear not! They don’t love you and have been sleeping with their flatmate so you can sleep easy now
Hard
Word ladders
Cancer
Virgo
August 23 - September 22
I know it seems like the end. That nothing will ever compare to it and there’s no point living anymore. Everything looks dark. But in a few years they’ll run out of track suit money and JLS will be back
Libra
4
September 23 - October 22 As Mars enters your sector it is crossed by Venus moving in and out and it shakes it all about, and that’s the Hokey Cokey and you turn around. That’s what it’s all about
Number ladders
Cartoon Corner
Scorpio
October 23 - November 21
A lot of people have commented that your horoscopes have been pretty dark Scorpio but puppy cancer
Sagittarius
November 22 - December 21
Your evil plan is coming to fruition, the devil applauds you, just remember, avoid crosses and holy water or you’ll melt... Oops, sorry this is George Osbourne’s horoscope
Capricorn
December 22 - January 20
You’ve always had commitment issues when it comes to sex and relationships Capricorn, but I think this Herpes is something you can really stick with
Aquarius January 21 - February 19
Worried about your friends thinking you’re drab and dull, well maybe you just need to introduce them to your new friend, Mr. Cutty Knife, and we’ll see who’s dull
Aries
Pisces
February 20 - March 20 She doesn’t love you
March 21 - April 20
by Xtreme Mad-Man
You’ve been worried about your grades Aries but fear not, we have a plan for you. All you need is £5000 and a replica gun....